The Depreciator story

Depreciator launched into the Australian market in 2001 as a company dedicated entirely to Tax Depreciation Schedules.  This was a time when the Australian property market was taking off, and we recognised that there was a huge hole in the market for a Tax Depreciation Schedule specialist . 

At that time, there were no quantity surveying companies specialising in Tax Depreciation Schedules. Those that did tax depreciation work, generally did it poorly because it was not their core business. They didn't manage clients well, and didn't keep up with the ever-changing ATO rules.

And not much has changed. We are still the only national Quantity Surveying group that only does Tax Depreciation Schedules.   And there are still quantity surveyors out there making errors on Depreciation Schedules because they only do this work part of the time – usually in tax season.

We're hoping the March 1, 2010 requirement that people doing Depreciation Schedules need to be Tax Agents will weed out some of the quantity surveyors and other firms who keeping making errors.

You need to be aware that quantity surveyors generally aren't trained on tax. And many don't want to touch tax work because they know their limitations. We use our quantity surveyors for what they are trained for – estimating the cost of construction work and putting a value on Assets (fixtures and fittings).   We have built software that applies the most current ATO rules to their figures.

And we only use appropriately qualified people to visit properties. Be warned that there are companies out there who send people with no qualifications at all out to properties to collect data for a quantity surveyor back at head office to cost up. In one case, this head office is in another state! Are the companies like this cheaper? Yep. But we won't take short cuts with your tax affairs. And is the prospect saving a tax deductible $100 or so worth the risk?

Because this is all we do, and because 99% of our clients are ordinary mum and dad investors, you will find our service and systems very friendly. We are so good at dealing with clients that the majority of our work comes to us from accountants. They like the way we treat their clients, and they like receiving a Depreciation Schedule that does not require them to do any additional work (at their client's expense).

Here's what one accountant has to say about us:

'My firm has used Depreciator for several years. We have always found them to be professional and the reports they produce have always been easy to follow when we use them for tax return preparation. I even use them for my own properties. I've referred numerous clients to them. Why? Because they are easy to deal with, they take good care of my clients, they know the rules inside out, and their Depreciation Schedules are easy to use - as an accountant I have seen some terrible Schedules in the past. They have always been helpful. If a client has lost a schedule they will promptly provide a soft copy at no charge. I believe they are amongst a select few that are reputable in the industry.'

Nick Moustacas

Strategic Wealth Management Pty Ltd

http://www.strategicwealthmanagement.com.au/