Transtition to

Retirement

Security in our future is something that we all want, and for business owners there is the added desire of wanting to ensure your business is going to be looked after.

Too often people want until there is a ‘trigger moment’ to start making plans, and this can lead to feeling rushed in the decision.

Benefit

Set your retirement plan on your terms

Customised solution unique to you

Security on your succession planning Partner

Improved client experience and additional profits

Know your staff will be looked after

Money is off the table with no day-to-day changes

Set your retirement

plan on your terms

Succession doesn’t mean leaving today, you might be one, five or 10 years away from it. What’s important is taking the opportunity to lay out a plan early so you have power over your decision. We offer the ability to sell a partial share of your business now and complete the transaction when you’re ready.

Customised

solution unique to you

We’ll work with you to understand your personal goals, and your goals for your firm, then workshop a plan together on how to achieve them. Our flexibility in this aspect makes us unique and allows us to truly work together.

Security on your

succession planning Partner

You might have your successor in the pipeline, had been working with someone who you’ve now lost, or don’t have a successor at all. Regardless of which you resonate with, you’ll gain security over your successor and the plan for their development.

Improved client

experience and additional profits

Carbon’s in-house range of business services will an option for your clients to tap into and can help you generate a better client experience. For you, this will create an opportunity to generate additional revenue through cross-referrals to these services.

Know your

staff will be looked after

Maintaining your current staff is important to us. A key focus of ours in this process is ensuring a smooth and seamless transition for clients, and your staff and their client relationships is pivotal to this. Your team will benefit from our systems, learning and development opportunities and company culture.

Money is off

the table with no day-to-day changes

You might not want to sell your entire firm just yet but would like to take a portion of the equity off the table without impact to the day-to-day operations. We can help you achieve this with an approach that is tailored to you.

Who is this for?

We understand you might not be ready to retire just yet, and that you might have someone in mind for your successor. You might have a business partner and together have a different timeline for succession. We’ll take this into account as well.

Why not start exploring your options early, enabling you to truly focus on the aspects you love and enjoy your working years.

How do we work

The main benefit of starting this conversation early is you’re giving yourself the gift of time. We’ll get to know you, your personal goals, your business and your business goals. From there, we’ll present a customised solution for you and your business.

We don’t do fixed solutions as they don’t consider your unique situation. We’ll be in business together so needs to be a solution that makes commercial sense for us both.

Is This Right

For you?

The Carbon Advantage

Community

Becoming a Partner at Carbon Group allows you to align yourself and your business with our network of industry experts. Tap into our extensive knowledge base by brainstorming ideas with other Partners, invite our industry experts to your meetings to enhance your client experience and attend internal training sessions.

Referral Opportunities

We offer the five core services that all business owners need to succeed and help our Partners to develop offerings in these industries. This allows our Partners to create valuable solutions for their clients, as well as ongoing income and equity value for your business. For example, if you’re a planner or a mortgage/insurance broker we can match you with our Accounting & Tax, Bookkeeping & CFO Services Partners to increase deal flow and your earning potential.

Coaching & mentors

You’ll benefit from scheduled shareholder meetings with us that are tailored to your journey. As shareholders in your business, we take the time to understand your goals for yourself and your business, and help you to map out the executional strategy you need to make it happen. Along the way, we’ll keep you accountable to your vision, helping you get to where you want to be.

Brand Awareness

Operate under the licence of the Carbon brand, an award-winning brand cultivated over more than seven years with industry recognition across Australia. Our marketing team works tirelessly to maintain and grow the Carbon brand, and the achievements of the greater Carbon network will see your business’ reputation grow.

Share Office Space

If you don’t have your own office space just yet, we offer the option to rent a desk or space from one of our shared hubs. This creates referral opportunities as you’ll be working alongside Carbon’s other divisions and industries, plus you’ll wow your clients with our fantastic space.

HR & Culture

Curating People & Culture processes and experiences is complex. Tap into our established systems to reduce your HR headaches and gain insights into your team’s engagement. Your team will love Carbon’s culture, from supportive teams, awards to recognise their amazing work and fun events.

Recruitment

Leverage the Carbon brand to help you identify, attract and recruit the best people for your team. Securing talent can be difficult for smaller businesses, but with the Carbon brand behind you, the options will increase. The advertising phase itself will be much smoother as well, with access to our streamlined processes and system.

Leadership pipeline

We’re committed to developing and training our Carbonites to help enhance their skill set and drive their careers. This gives your team confidence in their professional development, as well as help you to make a meaningful difference in their journey.

Overflow Contractors

Have too much work and not enough hands to do it? That’s a common complaint we here. At Carbon, you’ll be able to get help from other Partners who have surplus capacity to complete some work for you on commercial terms, allowing you to get the work out the door and keep your clients happy.

IT & Technology

Our IT specialists keep on top of the everchanging IT and technology space, rolling out changes that will benefit you. We’ve spent years refining our systems to make often complicated and clunky processes smoother, saving you from having to go through this process yourself.

Marketing acquisition

Gain access to Carbon’s marketing team track the latest trends and create strategies unique to your division. They take care of important things such as SEO, social media and Carbon’s website, all avenues which will help spread awareness about your business. You’ll also benefit from targeted marketing campaigns for your clients in line with your tailored growth strategy.

Procurement

TheBy partnering with Carbon, you’ll have combined buying power for when you’re looking for your own acquisitions, as well as economies of scale. You’ll save money with access to cheaper insurance and access to subscriptions and systems, as well as benefiting from waived implementations.

Social impact strategy

At our core, we’re local businesses, so our communities are very important to us and we look to give back in any way we can. We have a national framework for community support which will help you to create your own strategy based on your community’s needs.

Customer experience

Keep your finger on the pulse with your client’s experience through our thorough process. We have numerous feedback points to ensure you know exactly how your client is going as we all know happy clients is the key goal.

Accounting & structure

Once you’ve joined Carbon, you’ll be introduced to our accounting team that is dedicated to helping you and your business. This includes payroll, accounts payable, taxation and compliance and our financial controller.

Cash flow forecasting

Legal help

Ready-to-go legal templates, on-call legal support and the experience of a mature business who has been through many seasons ensures there's help if and when you need it.

By now, you’re probably pretty excited and ready to get started.
Excellent, we’re ready too. Reach out and let’s have a chat.

Testimonials

Our Partners at Carbon have their own stories about their journey to becoming a Partner. Hear what they have to say about launching their own practices with Carbon.

FAQ

What if I already own a business and want to join the model?

Don’t worry, this can happen. We simply acquire a 50% interest in your existing practice and then concentrate on growing the business together.

Can I work from the Carbon office?

Yes, we encourage people to work out of our local hubs so they get the full experience of what Carbon Group has to offer.

Do I own the business?

The business is owned 50/50 between Carbon Group and yourself. This means you share in the capital growth of the business, as opposed to growing that value for someone else, like with many bigger firms.

Who will have control of my business?

You will be the ultimate decision maker for your business. Carbon Group will provide you with parameters for values and culture, but the day to day work, how you run the business and what hours you maintain are up to you.

Can I become a partner at a hub?

Yes, once you have grown your own client base in excess of $500,000 in fees you can apply to become a partner of a local hub. Your individual client base will roll into the local hub and you will gain an equity share equal to contribution. You may also become eligible to acquire further equity in the future based on performance.

What if I have technical questions or want to bounce ideas off someone?

You will be part of the Carbon Group community which gives you the expertise of our partners and your fellow Carbonites. All you have to do is ask.

What training will be provided?

We offer as much mentoring and training as you need. If you have questions or need us to sit in client meetings, we’re available. We are in this 50/50 so the quicker we can accelerate your growth the better. Formal training runs in the accounting team on a monthly basis.

How do referrals work between divisions?

You will be paid a referral fee of up to 20% of the first year’s fees for any referral given to another division. This is payable when the division is paid by either the client or the institution (on behalf of the client)

Why would I refer to other divisions?

By being part of Carbon Group, your client is always your client and you can guarantee that the division you refer to will service them to the highest level. This level of quality control is hard to achieve when referring to external parties.

How do i generate income when I have no clients?

We can add to your approved contractor list and have you perform compliance work for the rest of Carbon Group. Contractor fees start at 35% of the job value and the “client owner” can increase this if they need the work completed faster. This additional income is not guaranteed year round, but is highly likely between July and December.

What does the branding fee cover?

To continue to market Carbon Group throughout all areas of media. It will benefit your business by cultivating credible relationships with your target market, growing brand awareness and creating loyalty with clients. Carbon Group’s branding activities will make it easier to win new opportunities.

Who makes marketing decisions?

We have an internal marketing department that controls the Carbon Group brand. Outside of this, as long as you operate within our brand guidelines you’re free to advertise yourself. Just ensure you include your direct phone number and web-links so leads contact you directly.

There is an option for you to use our internal resources to run Google AdWords or Facebook campaigns. This would be charged at a cost basis.

Do my advertising/marketing decisions need approval?

Our marketing department is here to help and would love to be included in your planning and strategy, however as long as you operate within our guidelines you are free to do what you like. When organising collective campaigns for divisions, costs will be split.

What happens if I want to exit?

You have the right to buy us out of the business at a pre-agreed value. If you want to sell the business, you can put it on the market within our existing Carbon Group network. Selling to someone in our network makes for a seamless transition resulting in the best outcome for the client. Failing this, you can sell the entire business to a third party.

What if I get sick, injured or die?

We have a shareholders agreement in place to deal with these events. If sick or injured you may decide to continue trading by employing contractors. In death or serious illness, you can exit as per the options above.

Tax agent registration

For contracting work you won’t need a tax agent license. You would lodge under ours and we’d charge a nominal lodgment fee.

Do new clients need approval of the Carbon partners?

No approval is necessary. If you’re happy, we’re happy. We do recommend a pricing structure, but ultimately this too is your decision. You may choose to charge more/less or offer discounts.

What admin support is provided?

If you are based in one of our hubs, our administrative support will be there to greet your customers and answer your customer’s phone calls free of charge. If you would like additional administrative support then an additional cost will be determined bason on the level of support required.

When other partners are on-boarded, how will contract work be divided?

Each partner is allocated work equitably. When jobs are completed, additional work can be allocated.

What resources will I need at home?

Little to none as everything is typically online. Many of our bookkeeping team work from home and operate with two screens, a laptop and a soft-phone that plugs into their laptop.

How do finished documents get to clients and who collates them?

It’s your business, so these tasks would be your responsibility. If you’d like this as an added service we can determine an additional cost for you. These costs are determined on a case by case basis.

Would jobs undertaken by me be subject to a review process?

In the early stages, yes. Longer term we only require random annual checks on some client files. If you would prefer a consistent review process we can definitely incorporate this service with the reviews undertaken by Carbon Group staff. Please note, you would be expected to reciprocate the service when required.