Van Cotter Partners

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Van Cotter Partners Penrith Office:
Level 1, 95b Station Street
Penrith NSW 2750

Van Cotter Partners brings together for SME clients a holistic mix of business coaching and management advisory skills that accompany the customary accounting and bookkeeping services.

Spotted us in the Leader this month? 👋Yes, that's our ad. No, we didn't pay the paper to put it next to the good crosswo...
20/10/2026

Spotted us in the Leader this month? 👋

Yes, that's our ad. No, we didn't pay the paper to put it next to the good crossword, that was pure luck.

If you only read the headline, here's the short version: your accountant should be calling you more than once a year.

Most small business owners find us after about three years of doing their own books at 11pm on a Sunday, wondering if that coffee machine was deductible. (It depends.)

What we actually do: bookkeeping, payroll and Payday Super, BAS and IAS, company and trust returns, business structuring, and virtual CFO work when you've outgrown the spreadsheet.

What we don't do: send your books overseas. Every job is done in our own offices by someone you can ring, or visit, or run into at the shops.

Still got the paper? Keep the ad. Still got shoebox receipts? Bring those too. 📦

1300 001 827 | vcpg.com.au

Meet Alison Duff – Senior Accountant & CPA program superstar. She topped the country & world in her CPA Subject “Ethics ...
12/10/2026

Meet Alison Duff – Senior Accountant & CPA program superstar. She topped the country & world in her CPA Subject “Ethics and Governance “

Alison deserves an extra round of applause! 👏

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗖𝗣?
From tax and bookkeeping to cash flow management, I help clients make sense of the numbers.

• 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?
Organised records today mean fewer headaches tomorrow - for both of us!

• 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮?
Tea! Where there’s tea, there’s hope.

• 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗹?
Night owl (perhaps it’s the tea?)

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?
Spend time with my family and scroll realestate.com

Want help making sense of your numbers? Call our team.
1300 001 827

Quick reminder for anyone who's been flat out and hasn't got to this yet: card surcharges ended on 1 October. 💳If you've...
08/10/2026

Quick reminder for anyone who's been flat out and hasn't got to this yet: card surcharges ended on 1 October. 💳

If you've already switched yours off, good. This one's not for you. If you haven't looked, it's worth ten minutes this week.

The ban covers eftpos, Visa and Mastercard — debit, prepaid and credit. American Express came along voluntarily, and PayPal's own rule started on 5 October.

Worth checking:

🔸 Your POS or payment terminal. Most systems don't turn the surcharge off on their own, someone has to change the setting.

🔸 Your invoice templates. Easy one to miss, especially if you've got saved templates in Xero or MYOB.

🔸 Menus, websites, booking systems and counter signage. Anywhere the surcharge was mentioned to customers.

🔸 September invoices still outstanding. If the customer pays by card now, you generally can't collect the surcharge.

Two things people get wrong:

Your merchant fees haven't gone anywhere. You still pay them, you just can't itemise them at the checkout. That cost sits in your margin until you reprice for it.

And renaming it a "processing fee" doesn't get around the ban. Same thing, different hat.

Weekend and public holiday surcharges are a separate matter and aren't affected.

This is enforced through the card networks and your payment provider, so the risk is trouble with your merchant facility rather than a fine in the post.

If you don't know what you're paying in merchant fees, that's the number to find this month, it's coming out of your margin from here on.

1300 001 827 | vcpg.com.au

Meet Felicity Cotter - CEO• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗖𝗣?As CEO, I wear many hats and am involved in almost every aspect of the...
02/10/2026

Meet Felicity Cotter - CEO

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗖𝗣?
As CEO, I wear many hats and am involved in almost every aspect of the business. From administration and client onboarding to managing our bookkeeping clients and social media presence, I help ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. I'm passionate about providing outstanding client service and making sure every client feels supported throughout their journey with us.

• 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?
The best advice I can give clients is not to try and do everything themselves. As business owners, your time is better spent serving your customers and growing your business. Leave the bookkeeping and compliance to professionals who live and breathe it every day—it's often more cost-effective and far less stressful in the long run.

• 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮?
Lately having oat flat white & on occasion I love an Iced Latte

• 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗹?
Neither! Definitely not a morning person though

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?
Watching crime/thriller TV series (love a Harlen Coben Netflix series), enjoying time with our 4 yr old son & dining out

Want to free up time so you can focus on growing your business? Reduce the burden and call our team.

📞 1300 001 827

⚠️ OCTOBER IS THE BIG ONE. Here's everything that falls due.If there's one month to get organised, it's this one. Four s...
01/10/2026

⚠️ OCTOBER IS THE BIG ONE. Here's everything that falls due.

If there's one month to get organised, it's this one. Four separate deadlines, and one of them has consequences that stretch all the way into next May.

Wednesday 21 October
September monthly BAS - lodge and pay
Annual PAYG instalment notice (Form N) - payment due
Q1 PAYG instalment activity statement for head companies of consolidated groups

Wednesday 28 October
Quarter 1 BAS (July–September) - if you lodge by paper or self-lodgee
Q1 instalment notice (Form R, S or T) - payment due
Annual TFN withholding activity statement for closely held trusts

Lodging through us electronically? Your Q1 BAS shifts to 25 November. That's an extra four weeks of breathing room, and it's one of the quiet advantages of having a registered agent in your corner.

Saturday 31 October is the deadline that matters most

Two things happen here.

1. If you lodge your own tax return, this is your due date. Because it lands on a Saturday, the ATO's next-business-day rule means Monday 2 November in practice. Miss it and failure-to-lodge penalties start ticking.

2. If you're not on a tax agent's client list by 31 October, you can't get the extension. This is the one people don't realise until it's too late. Get onto our list before 31 October and your 2026 return can generally run under the ATO's lodgement program often through to 15 May 2027. Leave it to November and that door has closed for the year.

There's no cost to being added to our list, and no obligation to lodge immediately. It simply protects your position.

Also falling due 31 October: outstanding prior-year returns (all of them, not just last year's), certain new-registrant SMSF annual returns, the annual investment income report, and the not-for-profit self-review return.

And the standing reminder - Payday Super. There's no quarterly super deadline this October. There hasn't been one since 1 July. Super now has to reach your employees' funds within 7 business days of every payday, and the late-payment SGC offset is gone.

📞 1300 001 827 📧 [email protected] 🌐 vcpg.com.au

Meet Kevin Cotter - Managing Partner• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗖𝗣?Whatever Alison, Holly or Felicity tell me to do! My team ar...
25/09/2026

Meet Kevin Cotter - Managing Partner

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗖𝗣?
Whatever Alison, Holly or Felicity tell me to do! My team are bossy but the best.

• 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?
Don’t take advice from the guy at the pub when it comes to tax and business.

• 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮?
Hot chocolate with a shot of coffee in it. Sweetness with a kick.

• 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗹?
Night owl

• 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?
What’s spare time? I have a four year old but when I can, sleep. If you’re a parent, you know.

Got a tax question? Skip the advice from the guy at the pub, and call our team.

📞 1300 001 827

📰 We made the paper!A big thank you to the St George & Sutherland Shire Leader for featuring Van Cotter Partners this we...
23/09/2026

📰 We made the paper!

A big thank you to the St George & Sutherland Shire Leader for featuring Van Cotter Partners this week.

The story covers how our founder and principal Kevin Cotter went from the Army Reserves, NSW Police and the Royal Australian Navy to accounting, and how he and our CEO Felicity Cotter built the firm in Kirrawee from December 2019.

"We're a family-run firm, and we treat our clients like family."

It also covers what we stand for: every piece of client work done here in Australia, by our local team. No offshoring, no call centres. Just real people who know your name.

We're also proud that we were a finalist in the Outstanding Professional Services category at the 2026 Sutherland Shire Local Business Awards.

Whether you're a tradie, a small business owner, a young family or a veteran trying to make sense of your tax, come and talk to us.

Read the full story 👇
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/9351540/veteran-accountant-trades-rifle-for-calculator-to-serve-community/

📞 1300 001 827 | 🌐 vcpg.com.au

👋 Meet the Team! Over the next few week’s we're introducing the faces behind Van Cotter Partners. Get to know the people...
17/09/2026

👋 Meet the Team!

Over the next few week’s we're introducing the faces behind Van Cotter Partners.

Get to know the people who make it all happen 👏

To the tradies, sole traders and small business owners keeping our local area running — this one's for you. 🛠️The single...
10/09/2026

To the tradies, sole traders and small business owners keeping our local area running — this one's for you. 🛠️

The single biggest thing that makes tax time easier? Not doing it all in one panicked sitting.

A few habits that pay off all year:
📂 Keep business and personal accounts separate: your future self will thank you.
🧾 Snap and save receipts as you go (a shoebox in June is nobody's friend).
📊 Check in quarterly, not just annually: it's easier to fix small things early than untangle a big mess later.
💬 Ask questions when they come up, not months down the track.

We'd rather be your year-round partner than your once-a-year emergency call. Regular check-ins mean fewer surprises, better decisions, and often a better result at tax time.

Running a small business? Let's have a chat.

📞 1300 001 827 | 💻 vcpg.com.au

Van Cotter Partners — Certified Practising Accountan

📅 SEPTEMBER KEY DATES — mark these in the diaryThe first quarter of the new financial year is already flying by. Here's ...
08/09/2026

📅 SEPTEMBER KEY DATES — mark these in the diary

The first quarter of the new financial year is already flying by. Here's what's landing on the calendar this month for our clients across the Shire and Australia wide.

Monday 21 September:
August monthly BAS and IAS — lodge and pay. If you're a monthly lodger, this is the one that catches people out after a busy winter trading period.

Wednesday 30 September Two annual reports fall due:
PAYG withholding payment summary annual report — where we prepare it for you. This covers payments that sit outside Single Touch Payroll.
Annual TFN withholding report — for trustees of closely held trusts who withheld amounts from beneficiary payments during 2025–26.

And every single payday: super.
Payday Super has been in force since 1 July. There's no quarterly deadline to work back from anymore — contributions must reach your employees' funds within 7 business days of each payday. Not be sent. Not be processed by your clearing house. Received.

The part that's still catching employers out: the old ability to offset a late payment against the super guarantee charge is gone. Pay late and the SGC applies, full stop.

If your payroll cycle hasn't been reviewed since July, that's the single most valuable hour you could book with us this month.

📞 1300 001 827 📧[email protected] 🌐 vcpg.com.au

Address

24B, 16-24 Waratah Street
Kirrawee, NSW
2232

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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