Australian Rocket With Vegemite Aboard Makes Short-Lived Debut
Space startup Gilmour Space Technologies ' first test flight of its Eris rocket left the launch pad at the company's Bowen Orbital Spaceport, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northwest of Brisbane, on Wednesday morning local time. It exploded after 14 seconds of flight, the company said on its Facebook page.
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Time Business News
4 hours ago
- Time Business News
Hospitality Cash Flow Experts Reveal Smart Ways to Keep Your Restaurant Profitable in Australia
Managing cash flow remains one of the most significant challenges facing Australian hospitality businesses today. Between rising ingredient prices, staff shortages, fluctuating customer demand, and seasonal shifts, restaurant owners must continuously monitor how money moves in and out of their business. Cash flow problems have been the downfall of many bustling restaurants, even those with strong customer turnout. When cash inflows slow down or expenses spike unexpectedly, even profitable operations can find themselves struggling to meet ongoing costs and turn a profit. This article distills valuable insights from hospitality cash flow experts, offering practical tips tailored specifically for Australian restaurants. You will also discover how debt collection services designed for the hospitality sector can assist in recovering unpaid invoices and reducing financial losses. Running a restaurant in Australia is no easy feat. The hospitality industry faces distinct pressures from the cyclical nature of business. Peak seasons like Christmas, Easter, and school holidays bring busy trading periods, whereas months such as February and July can be notoriously slow. Despite fluctuations in sales, rent, wages, and supplier bills must be paid promptly. One delayed payment can cause a domino effect, especially if multiple customers or clients postpone their payments. Even restaurants with steady foot traffic can experience cash flow crunches. Moreover, suppliers often enforce strict payment terms. Falling behind on payments can jeopardize supply reliability, potentially disrupting kitchen operations. Add in recurring expenses such as marketing campaigns, equipment maintenance, and utility bills, and cash flow management becomes a complex balancing act. The unpredictable interplay of revenue and expenses means business owners must maintain a careful watch over daily income and outgoings, anticipating upcoming costs and planning for unexpected setbacks. Cash flow experts bring structured financial planning and clarity to what can often feel like a whirlwind of transactions. These professionals analyse daily sales, spending habits, and fixed costs, providing restaurateurs with a clear picture of how money flows through their operations. Beyond just tracking income and expenses, cash flow experts prepare businesses for significant upcoming spending such as tax obligations, licence renewals, or major equipment repairs ensuring these costs are factored into financial plans well in advance. Their expertise enables early identification of profit leaks and cash flow pressure points. By implementing well-tested strategies and simple operational adjustments recommended by such experts, restaurants can dramatically improve their financial resilience. For example, cash flow consultants may suggest renegotiating supplier terms, tweaking menu prices, or implementing cash flow forecasting software. These insights are invaluable to restaurateurs aiming to sustain profitability through volatile periods. Improving cash flow is often about making small, strategic adjustments that cumulatively create significant positive effects. Here are several actionable tips hospitality cash flow experts recommend: Review Daily Earnings and Stock Levels: Monitor daily sales to adjust your stock purchases accurately. Avoid overstocking items with slower turnover to reduce waste and free up cash. Monitor daily sales to adjust your stock purchases accurately. Avoid overstocking items with slower turnover to reduce waste and free up cash. Focus on High-Margin Menu Items: Identify your best-selling and most profitable dishes, and consider promoting these more heavily. Updating your menu periodically ensures alignment with current customer preferences and profitability goals. Identify your best-selling and most profitable dishes, and consider promoting these more heavily. Updating your menu periodically ensures alignment with current customer preferences and profitability goals. Offer Incentives for Early or Prepaid Bookings: Encourage customers to pay upfront or early by offering small discounts or value-added incentives. This can improve cash flows and reduce the likelihood of no-shows. Encourage customers to pay upfront or early by offering small discounts or value-added incentives. This can improve cash flows and reduce the likelihood of no-shows. Implement Deposit Requirements for Large Groups: For functions or large bookings, require a deposit to secure the reservation. This helps cover upfront costs and reduces the risk of cancellations without notice. For functions or large bookings, require a deposit to secure the reservation. This helps cover upfront costs and reduces the risk of cancellations without notice. Schedule Staff According to Customer Traffic: Use historical sales data to predict busy and slow periods, aligning staff rosters accordingly to avoid overstaffing and minimise labour costs. Use historical sales data to predict busy and slow periods, aligning staff rosters accordingly to avoid overstaffing and minimise labour costs. Use Automated Financial Tracking Software: Invest in software solutions that automatically track income, expenses, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Real-time financial insights enable faster decision-making and accurate budgeting. Invest in software solutions that automatically track income, expenses, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Real-time financial insights enable faster decision-making and accurate budgeting. Maintain a Cash Reserve: Wherever possible, build a cash cushion through disciplined savings during profitable periods to buffer against slow months or unexpected costs. Taking a proactive, data-driven approach to daily operations helps maintain control over money movement and prevents budget overruns. These small improvements also build a culture of financial mindfulness among staff. Many restaurants operate with payment terms, especially when providing group functions, catering, or events where invoices are sent after the service. Unfortunately, delayed or unpaid client invoices are common, which can severely disrupt cash flow. The best debt collection services for restaurants designed specifically for Australian small businesses including restaurants offer expert support to recover overdue payments without harming customer relationships. These agencies understand the hospitality sector's nuances. They balance professional firmness with respectful communication to maintain goodwill and compliance with Australian consumer laws. Some collection agencies integrate directly with your point-of-sale systems, allowing you to send overdue accounts for recovery conveniently. Utilising a reputable debt collection service can reduce losses, improve cash inflows, and free up valuable time for managers to focus on operations rather than chasing payments. If an invoice remains unpaid for over 30 days despite multiple reminders and no response from the client, it may be time to consider professional debt collection. Acting early increases the likelihood of recovering debts and avoids the amount becoming more difficult to recoup later. However, choosing the right agency is crucial. Look for agencies experienced in hospitality, able to tailor their approach to your restaurant's specific needs and budget. Transparent communication and regular case updates are essential features of a reliable service. When selecting a cash flow consultant or financial advisor, hospitality experience is vital. The advisor should provide straightforward, actionable advice that fits your restaurant's size, location, and operational model. Furthermore, compatibility with your existing accountant or bookkeeper ensures seamless integration and avoids duplication or conflicting strategies. Ask for references or case studies demonstrating their success in helping Australian restaurants across major cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. An ideal advisor will not only crunch numbers but also understand the daily realities of running a restaurant business and offer solutions that are practical and achievable. Cash flow issues affect every restaurant at some stage, but they don't have to signal failure. With the right tools, forward planning, and expert support, your restaurant can maintain profitability . best debt collection services for restaurants withstand the inevitable ups and downs of business. Regularly monitoring your financial health, encouraging upfront deposits, fine-tuning operational efficiencies, and enlisting professional help for overdue payments make a tangible difference. Remember: profit isn't a lucky accident. It comes from disciplined planning, smart decision-making, and the willingness to seek outside help when needed. If you're struggling with cash flow or late payments, don't wait to speak to a debt collection agency or a hospitality cash flow expert today to set your business on stable financial footing and preserve its future success. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Astronomers witness a newborn planet emerging from the dust around a sun-like star: Space photo of the week
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS What it is: A potential planet around the star HD 135344B Where it is: 440 light-years away, in the constellation Lupus When it was shared: July 21, 2025 Deep within a swirling disk of gas and dust around the star HD 135344B, a young planet appears to be sculpting intricate spiral arms around its stellar host. It is the first time a planet has been found embedded inside a dust spiral around a star, actively shaping its environment. The discovery is further proof that the building blocks of planets emerge from protoplanetary disks — giant, doughnut-shaped disks of gas and dust that circle young stars, according to NASA. These dense, rotating clouds of material around young stars have been seen to feature rings and spirals suspected to be caused by the presence of baby planets, but this is the first direct evidence. In fact, the sculpted protoplanetary disk around the host star, HD 135344B, had been seen before by astronomers using the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. However, by using a new instrument called the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS), scientists finally discovered a planetary candidate. The planet is nestled at the base of one spiral arm — exactly where models predicted a planet would be needed to generate such a feature — and is thought to be twice the size of Jupiter. It's about as far from its host star as Neptune is from the sun, or about 30 times the distance from Earth to the sun. "What makes this detection potentially a turning point is that, unlike many previous observations, we are able to directly detect the signal of the protoplanet, which is still highly embedded in the disc," Francesco Maio, a doctoral researcher at the University of Florence and lead author of a study describing the discovery, said in a statement. Related: 32 alien planets that really exist The existence of many exoplanets — planets that orbit a star other than the sun — is inferred from other information, such as the dip in a star's brightness that is assumed to be caused by a planet. Observing the planet's own light — reflected light from its host star — gives the proto-planet's discoverers a much higher level of confidence in its existence. MORE SPACE PHOTOS —'Fighting dragons' light up little-known constellation in the Southern sky —James Webb and Hubble telescopes join forces to explore a cosmic nursery —James Webb telescope reveals dizzying galaxies in the Bullet Cluster "We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time," Maio said. ERIS had a similarly decisive role in another recent discovery. Using ERIS, astronomers found an object — possibly a brown dwarf, an object halfway between a giant planet and a small star — in the protoplanetary disk around the young star V960 Mon, located 5,000 light-years away, in the constellation Monoceros. For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
12 hours ago
- New York Post
Stick insect — as hefty as a golf ball — could be heaviest ever found in Australian rainforest
This Aussie bug is breaking records — and possibly a few branches. Scientists have discovered a hefty new species of stick insect in a remote Australian rainforest, and it could be the heaviest ever found in the country. The little bugger, of the new Acrophylla alta species, weighs 1.55 ounces – about the weight of a golf ball – and is 15.75 inches long. Experts are surprised by how unusually heavy the creature is, which was discovered in the town of Millaa Millaa in Queensland's Atherton Tablelands. 'There are longer stick insects out there [in the region], but they're fairly light bodied,' Angus Emmott of James Cook University, who helped identify the species, said in a release on the school's website. 'From what we know to date, this is Australia's heaviest insect.' The new species was named Acrophylla alta. fox8 Its heaviness could be a product of an evolutionary response. 'It's a cool, wet environment where they live,' Emmott explained. 'Their body mass likely helps them survive the colder conditions, and that's why they've developed into this large insect over millions of years.' The creatures' eggs also help to identify it as a new species, since no two species' eggs are the same. 'Every species of stick insect has their own distinct egg style. They've all got different surfaces and different textures and pitting, and they can be different shapes. Even the caps on them are all very unique,' he continued. The location of the insect's habitat could be the reason it eluded discovery. jcu The bugger's elevated habitat is out of reach of scientists, which could be the reason why it eluded being discovered for so long. 'It's restricted to a small area of high-altitude rainforest, and it lives high in the canopy. So, unless you get a cyclone or a bird bringing one down, very few people get to see them,' Emmott said. Two of the species have been sent to the Queensland Museum to aid in future research as well as conservation. 'To conserve any ecosystem, we actually need to know what's there and what makes it tick before we can think about the best ways to conserve it,' he said.
