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Episode
34
Stop Wasting Your Business Expenses: The pay.com.au Strategy
The dreaded ATO bill. The money leaves your account and you get absolutely nothing in return. But what if you could turn that $50,000 payment into 50,000 frequent flyer points, and keep your cash in the bank for up to 55 days?
Join Mia and Leo as they unpack pay.com.au, the B2B payments platform that Ben De Rosa and the team at Aevum Accounting are recommending to clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is pay.com.au and how does it work?
A: Pay.com.au is a B2B (business-to-business) payments platform designed specifically for Australian businesses. It allows you to use your business credit card—Visa, Mastercard, or American Express—to pay anyone, even if the recipient does not accept credit card payments. You pay pay.com.au using your credit card, and the platform instantly forwards the funds to your supplier, contractor, or the ATO via a standard bank transfer. The recipient receives cash in their bank account, and you get the benefit of putting the expense on your credit card.
Q: Can I really earn credit card points on ATO payments using this platform?
A: Yes. Most banks heavily cap or completely block points earnings on direct government payments such as ATO tax bills. However, when you use pay.com.au to pay the ATO, the transaction is processed as a standard B2B purchase through the platform. Your bank does not see it as a government payment, which means you earn your full, uncapped credit card points at your card's standard earn rate. A $50,000 tax bill can generate 50,000 points or more, depending on your card's rewards structure.
Q: What is Pay Rewards and how does the double dip work?
A: Pay Rewards is pay.com.au's own proprietary rewards program that operates alongside your standard credit card rewards. When you make a payment through the platform, you earn your normal credit card points from your bank, and you can simultaneously choose to earn Pay Rewards points on the same transaction. This creates a "double dip" effect. Pay Rewards points are fully flexible and can be transferred to airline partners including Qantas Business Rewards, Virgin Australia Business Flyer, and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, or redeemed for gift cards.
Q: How does using pay.com.au improve business cash flow?
A: By putting expenses such as payroll, rent, supplier invoices, and ATO bills on your business credit card through pay.com.au, you gain access to your card's interest-free period—typically up to 55 days. This means you can hold onto your cash for nearly two months before you need to pay the credit card balance. For a business with significant monthly outgoings, this extended payment window provides valuable working capital flexibility and can ease cash flow pressure during tight periods.
Q: Are the processing fees charged by pay.com.au tax-deductible?
A: Yes. The processing fees incurred when using pay.com.au are generally tax-deductible as a business expense. The fee is a cost incurred in the ordinary course of running your business and facilitating payments to suppliers, staff, and the ATO. Your accountant can claim this deduction in your business tax return, offsetting some of the cost of using the platform.
Q: Does pay.com.au integrate with accounting software like Xero?
A: Yes. Pay.com.au integrates directly with Xero and other leading accounting software platforms. Transactions flow through automatically, and the reconciliation process is seamless. This saves hours of manual data entry and administrative work for you or your bookkeeper, ensuring your financial records remain accurate and up to date without additional effort.
Q: What are the FBT implications of using points earned through business expenses?
A: This is a critical compliance issue. Points generated by business expenses belong to the business, not to you personally. If you use those business-generated points for private purposes—such as flying your family to Bali for a holiday—it constitutes a fringe benefit provided to an employee or associate. This triggers Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) at the top marginal rate of 47%. That "free" holiday could suddenly cost thousands in tax. The compliant strategy is to use business-generated points exclusively for business purposes: flights to conferences, upgrades for sales team travel, or accommodation for client meetings.
Q: How can I use business-generated points legitimately without triggering FBT?
A: The key is ensuring the benefit remains within the business realm. Use points to book flights for genuine business travel, upgrade employees travelling for work purposes, or pay for accommodation required for client meetings and industry events. If the travel is primarily for business purposes and any private component is incidental, the FBT exposure is minimised or eliminated. Maintaining clear records of the business purpose for each redemption is essential. Consult your tax advisor before redeeming significant point balances.
Q: What is the referral code for Aevum Accounting listeners and what does it offer?
A: The referral code is 3C3D4B. When you sign up for a pay.com.au account and enter this code, you will receive 10,000 bonus Pay Rewards points credited to your account once you spend $10,000 through the platform within your first 30 days. For most businesses, this threshold is easily met through normal monthly expenses such as one rent payment and a single payroll run.
Q: Is pay.com.au suitable for all types of businesses?
A: Pay.com.au is designed for Australian businesses of all sizes that have regular outgoing payments to suppliers, staff, landlords, and government agencies. It is particularly valuable for businesses with significant monthly expenditure that want to maximise credit card rewards and improve cash flow. However, businesses should assess the processing fees against the value of points earned and cash flow benefits to ensure the platform is cost-effective for their specific circumstances. Speaking with your accountant can help determine if the platform aligns with your business's financial strategy.
Q: What happens if my supplier doesn't accept credit cards?
A: That is precisely the problem pay.com.au solves. Your supplier does not need to accept credit cards or even know you are using one. You pay pay.com.au using your credit card, and the platform forwards the payment to your supplier via a standard bank transfer. The supplier receives cleared funds in their bank account just as they would from any other electronic payment. You get the benefit of using your credit card, and the supplier experiences no change to their normal payment receipt process.
Read the transcript
Welcome to the podcast, our newsletter made easy. Please note, this podcast features AI-generated voices for your hosts, Mia Taylor and Leo Baker, bringing you expert insights from owner Ben De Rosa at Aevum Accounting. Each week, we're here to help you confidently navigate the ins and outs of Australian tax, whether it's for your individual finances or the complexities of your business. We'll cut through the jargon to give you strategies for compliance, smart planning, and that ultimate peace of mind. So if you're looking to understand your obligations, maximise your financial position, or simply gain clarity on your money matters, you're in the right place.
Let's get started with our review of the week. This week's review comes from Paul in Joondalup. He writes, "I just paid a massive quarterly bill to the ATO. It drained my cash flow and my bank gave me exactly zero credit card points for it. Ben mentioned a platform that fixes this. Tell me more."
Oh, Paul, you are speaking the language of every business owner in Australia. The dreaded ATO bill. The money leaves your account, and you get absolutely nothing in return. Well, Paul, today is your lucky day. We are dedicating this entire episode to a tool that Ben De Rosa and the team at Aevum Accounting are highly recommending to their clients. It's called pay.com.au.
So, what exactly is pay.com.au? It's a B2B—business to business—payments platform designed specifically to let Australian businesses earn rewards on their everyday expenses. We're talking rent, supplier invoices, payroll, and yes, the ATO.
But I can already pay my suppliers. What makes this platform different?
The magic of pay.com.au is how it lets you pay. It allows you to use your business credit card, whether it's Visa, MasterCard, or Amex, to pay anyone, even if your supplier or contractor doesn't accept credit cards.
Wait, so if my wholesale supplier only takes bank transfers, I can still pay them with my Amex?
Exactly. You pay pay.com.au using your credit card, and then pay.com.au instantly forwards the money to your supplier via a standard bank transfer. The supplier gets cash in their bank account, and you get to put the expense on your credit card.
Okay, my business brain is ticking. There are two massive benefits here. The first one has to be cash flow.
Spot on. Ben talks about working capital all the time. By putting your payroll, rent, and ATO bills on your credit card through this platform, you get to utilise your card's interest-free period. That's up to 55 days where you get to hold onto your cash before you actually have to pay the bank. That breathing room alone could save a business.
But the second benefit is the one Paul was asking about—the points. This is where it gets incredibly lucrative. Most banks have caught on and they now heavily cap or completely block you from earning points on government payments like the ATO.
I've noticed that. You pay a $50,000 tax bill and get 50 points. It's an insult.
But when you use pay.com.au to pay the ATO, your bank doesn't see it as a government payment. They see it as a standard B2B purchase through the pay.com.au platform, which means you earn your full, uncapped credit card points.
That is brilliant. So a $50,000 tax bill actually earns you 50,000 points, or whatever your card's standard earn rate is.
It gets better. Pay.com.au has its own rewards program called Pay Rewards. So not only do you earn your standard credit card points, but you can also choose to earn Pay Rewards points on top of that. It's the ultimate double dip.
Double points on the same transaction. What can I do with Pay Rewards points?
They are fully flexible. You can transfer them to airline partners like Qantas Business Rewards, Virgin Australia Business Flyer, or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Or you can use them to buy gift cards. They even have a Pay Travel concierge service that will help you find and book those elusive frequent flyer reward seats for your next business trip.
Okay, I'm sold. But my accountant radar is going off. There has to be a fee to use this platform, right?
Yes, there is a small processing fee depending on whether you use Visa, MasterCard, or Amex and what subscription tier you choose. However, Ben wants everyone to know a very important tax fact. These processing fees are generally tax-deductible for your business. So you pay a small deductible fee, keep your cash for 55 days, and earn double the points. It's a massive win.
Plus, I read it integrates directly with Xero, so your bookkeeper won't hate you for using it.
Exactly. It syncs seamlessly, automating the reconciliation process and saving you hours of admin.
Now, we spent three whole episodes recently talking about Fringe Benefits Tax, FBT. So my FBT radar is beeping. If my company earns 100,000 points by paying the ATO and I use those points to fly my family to Bali for a private holiday, what happens?
Beep, beep. That is a massive FBT trigger. Ben wants us to make this crystal clear. Points generated by business expenses belong to the business. If you use those business-generated points for private purposes like a family holiday, it attracts Fringe Benefits Tax. And we know that's a 47% tax penalty.
That free flight to Bali could suddenly cost me thousands in tax.
Exactly. So the smart strategy is to ensure those points are used exclusively for business purposes or business trips. Fly yourself to a conference in Melbourne, upgrade your sales team to business class, or book a hotel for a client meeting. That keeps the points in the business realm, saves the company real cash, and keeps the ATO happy.
That is a crucial warning. Use the points for the business.
So how do our listeners get started with this?
It's super simple. Go to pay.com.au and create an account. And here is the absolute best part. Ben has secured a special referral code for our listeners to give you a massive head start.
We love a promo code. Hit me.
When you sign up, use the referral code 3C3D4B. If you use that code, you will get 10,000 reward points added to your account when you start using the platform and spend $10,000 in your first 30 days.
Let me write that down. Code 3C3D4B. Spend $10,000 on normal bills in the first 30 days. And boom, 10,000 bonus points.
For most businesses, paying one month's rent and payroll will easily hit that target.
Exactly. You're spending the money anyway. You might as well get rewarded for it.
And that brings us to the end of this episode. If you want to stop wasting your business expenses and start turning them into flights and cash flow, get on this platform.
We hope today's discussion has provided you with valuable insights. Before we go, a quick but important reminder. The information shared today is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique and tax laws are complex. For personalised advice tailored to your situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional.
And as always, if you want to make sure your points strategy and your Xero integration are set up perfectly, connect with Ben and the team at Aevum Accounting. Visit us at aevumaccounting.com.au.
Use code 3C3D4B. Thanks for listening. Until next time, stay savvy, stay proactive, and make those bills work for you. Goodbye for now. See ya.
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