They regularly dole out superannuation contributions to their staff, but a new survey has found over a third of small business owners are not putting money aside for their own retirement nest eggs.
Even more surprising, the survey by business software provider MYOB found small and medium sized enterprise owners believe they will need around $1 million to retire comfortably, yet over half will not have saved enough when the time comes.
"It’s surprising to see that superannuation is not top of mind for all small business operators," MYOB boss Tim Reed says.
He said there is a huge gap between what business operators know they should be doing and what they are actually doing.
One factor for this lack of financial prudence could be the result of cash flow problems with 54 per cent of owners waiting over six months to be paid by a customer and more than seven in 10 writing off money owed to them.
"This lack of cash can then impact the owner’s ability to pay their own super, as well as other pressing payments such as wages and rent," Mr Reed said.
As such, Mr Reed is urging the federal government to implement a "national prompt payment protocol" to ensure small businesses are not being delayed payments by big businesses.
He said says big business should lead here by ensuring all SMEs are paid on time.
"Unfortunately, some look to use their power to implement unreasonable business practices, such as 90-day payment terms," he said..
