EOFY = Exciting Opportunities For You!

The end of the Australian financial year can feel stressful for business owners but it can also be a great time to reflect on your progress, consider embracing additional opportunities and plan for a successful remainder of 2026 (and beyond).

In this article we’re going to focus on three main goals – increasing your revenue by running an EOFY sale, assessing your current financial management situation to see if there’s room for improvement and understanding how your current revenue affects your tax obligations and requirements.

So let’s get started with the most obvious move – having an EOFY sale!

Australian yoga studio owners already tend to offer discounts during December and January but that’s when you’ll already see a natural influx of newer students so we think attracting additional customers mid-year (when studios typically see a drop-off in class numbers due to the colder weather and shorter days) can also make a lot of sense. 

Plus your local community is already excited for EOFY sales and ready to save some money!

Our top tips for a successful EOFY promotion:

• Decide who you’re going to target with your discounts – are you trying to attract new students, share some extra love with your regulars or re-engage students who haven’t been to the studio in a while? Or all of the above? You might need different offers for each of those different groups so this is worth spending some time pondering your target audience before you jump into the next steps!
• Create some compelling discount offers that are only available for a limited time and then limit the pass duration too (you don’t want those discounted passes hanging around forever)
• Consider configuring your sale passes so they can only be purchased by new students or once per student (easy to do in Punchpass), so customers can’t stock up and use the passes through your busier months
• Be clear (and firm!) about the terms and conditions on any discounted passes – especially the expiration date! Winter can already be a tricky time for students to stay consistent with their practice (and you don’t want people coming to class with a cold just so they don’t waste their pass) so make sure you set clear boundaries and have a plan for when, and if, you’re going to be willing to make exceptions
• Explore other pricing options like sliding-scale passes (where your customers pay what they can afford within a price range you configure) or discount codes to temporarily reduce the cost of your regular passes and memberships instead of creating completely new offers

But before you decide on those brand new offerings, make sure that you…

Consider your overall pricing strategy 

If you do need to raise your pass and membership prices in general, consider doing it now – it really makes the most sense at this point of the year. Scheduling your price increase during the same period as your EOFY promotion (or just afterwards) gives people a chance to buy a pass or two at your discounted rate, and then you can roll out the scheduled price rise after the promotion ends.

A good first step is to analyse your 2025-26 sales and revenue data (everything you need is available in your Punchpass account) and use it to rethink your pass options – maybe it’s time to add some recurring memberships (which provide excellent “set it and forget it” income), or sliding-scale passes to meet people where they are, or intro passes to get new folks through the door. Also make sure to pay attention to the fees you’re absorbing for online payments through Stripe or other providers – they can really add up and need to be taken into account when you work out if your current pricing is going to ensure the ongoing viability of your studio.

Want to add more value to your existing passes and memberships to help justify any price increases? Adding an online streaming option for your classes and/or recorded videos that students can watch whenever it suits them is great for your bottom line (and also a fantastic way for sick students to stay connected to their practice (and your teachings) over winter!).

Punchpass can be linked to Zoom to make teaching online classes super simple and our in-house video content library means that you have full control over sharing recording classes to select groups of students (or everybody!). 

These options could easily be included in your memberships or higher-tier passes to add additional value, without requiring a lot of extra work from you.

If you decide that you don’t want to run an EOFY sale this year then just adding some extra inclusions to your standard passes could be a great way to attract more buyers and energise your studio.

And if you do decide that you need to raise your prices this year? Maybe that price rise is something you should commit to assessing and implementing at a fixed increase at the end of every financial year. When your price rises are predictable, customers will appreciate the consistency and transparency, and you’ll be happier not putting it off for too long while you worry about how the change is going to be received.

But let’s have a look at the tax side of things…

First things first – take a good look at what’s working for you this year, give yourself credit for the work that you’re doing and make plans to improve next year

When I ran my yoga studio I knew lots of other people in the same business and when tax time rolled around I could see their stress levels rise as they gathered scattered financial information from the past 12 months and tried to organise it all as the tax deadline loomed. I don’t cope well with that kind of chaos so my approach has always been setting up systems so that my tax obligations are taken care of over the course of the year. Then at tax time my only work is exporting the reports that I need and taking everything to my accountant for a review and lodgement of my tax return.

We’re not going to tell you exactly what you can and can’t claim on tax (I recommend looking at the ATO website and checking in with your accountant), but here are some general tips to help you this year (and get you set up for success next year!).

Engage a good accountant who understands small business deductions (you may be entitled to more than you think!)

Doing your own tax return might seem like a great way to save some money (and it was when you were 17 and working at Maccas!), but in almost all cases when you’re running your own business, getting proper advice from a tax professional will result in bigger returns (or less debts, if that’s how things pan out). There’s also a sense of confidence that comes with knowing your tax and financial situation have been reviewed by a professional every 12 months so you can be sure you’re on the right track and not heading for any nasty surprises.

It’s great to DIY a lot of things for your small business, but we think that this is one of the times where engaging a professional is really going to pay off!

Consider using a financial tool to keep on top of things

If you feel overwhelmed by keeping track of your income and expenses throughout the year (before you even get to worrying about the tax side of things) then we highly recommend signing up for accounting software like MYOB, Xero or Hnry. Much like studio booking software, each platform has its own pros and cons so jump into some free trials and ask some friends or colleagues for their recommendations – you should be able to find a great fit for your needs.

Expect a bit of a learning curve while you get everything set up on your chosen platform, but once your new system is up and running you’ll be surprised at how many mundane, stressful and/or repetitive tasks are taken off of your plate.

And when EOFY rolls around? You’ll just make sure everything is up to date and then export the relevant reports and provide them to your accountant (or they may be able to just login to the system and find what they need – even better!)

Get clear on what you can claim as a tax deduction

We’re not tax professionals so please take this as general advice, but here are a few things you might be able to claim:

• Membership fees for organisations related to your business – like Yoga Australia!
• Subscription costs for your booking software – like Punchpass!
• Professional Development – courses and workshops you attend through the year that are directly related to your yoga teaching 
• Accounting – software costs and your accountant’s fees
• Marketing expenses – your website hosting, printing flyers, advertising costs etc
• Teaching equipment – items you purchase that are used when you teach (mats/bolsters/props etc)
• Home Office costs (including a percentage of your rent/mortgage and bills) – if you manage your business from a dedicated space at home
• Insurance 

Make sure you keep detailed records of these expenses – one of the easiest ways is to create a dedicated email folder and just drop all of your receipts and booking confirmations etc in there over the course of the year so you have them to refer back to if needed (and hopefully you also have all of the financial details updated in your chosen accounting software too).

You might also consider making big purchases (replacement mats and props for your studio etc) towards the EOFY deadline (hopefully taking advantage of other EOFY sales!) so you can use them as a deduction in this financial year.

Keep an eye on your total revenue so you can be prepared to register for GST

In general as soon as your business reaches gross annual revenue of $75,000 or above, you’ll need to register for GST.

We recommend that you keep an eye on your total revenue throughout the year (our reporting makes it simple) and register as soon as it seems likely you’ll pass the GST threshold during the current financial year. Your accountant is another great resource for making sure you’re aware of your tax obligations, and once you’re ready to start collecting GST your Punchpass account can easily be configured to calculate the new tax on all of your sales.

In conclusion – it’s going to be OK!

Tax time can feel stressful but is also an opportunity to reflect on what you’re already doing well, identify room for improvement and overall be kinder to yourself by establishing systems and getting help to stay on top of things throughout the year. Do your best this year, and then hopefully some of the changes you implement will result in a more relaxed EOFY next year.

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