Wurrumay Collective started with one goal: to bring First Nations art and culture into Australian homes.
That began in founder Tash Kaiser’s garage, and grew into a shop that’s more of a community hub. Behind the scenes, manual processes were holding her back — non-compliance, no visibility over her numbers, and a hobbyist way of working were putting off corporate customers.
MYOB Business Pro changed all that — and gave Tash back her time. Automated invoicing replaced hours of admin, payroll took minutes instead of days, and BAS became something she actually enjoyed. Now, with 20 extra hours a week and full visibility over her finances, Tash has more time for her customers, her community and her children. Most importantly, she has the confidence to take her business even further.
Putting First Nations art into more Australian homes
‘You can’t be what you can’t see’ — that’s the mantra Tash Kaiser and her business live by. Wurrumay Collective is 100% Aboriginal-owned and operated, dedicated to supporting and promoting First Nations art and artists.
In its physical space on Lonsdale Street in Canberra, Wurrumay Collective serves as both a community hub and retail space, stocked with the creations of First Nations artists, makers and authors. Tash’s model is aimed at bringing this work to everyday people — many products are kept affordable to make them more accessible to a wider audience. The space also runs workshops and cultural education sessions, like bush food talks and self-care events.
That dream started with Tash making and selling self-care products like candles, body care and fragrances from her home, each featuring or incorporating First Nations art.
“Having First Nations representation around this country is so important. I didn’t grow up seeing this down the main street of my small town. I wanted to make sure that everyone could showcase Aboriginal art in their house,” she says.
Squaring the numbers behind the art
Like many new business owners, Tash dove in headfirst, without a clear understanding of what or how she needed to operate. Running the business from her home, she didn’t establish a formal structure, start tracking expenses or income, or even open a separate bank account.
“I had no idea about the accounting side of things. I think I had an ABN, and that was about it.”
— Tash Kaiser, founder, Wurrumay Collective
What she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in passion and drive.
“I’m definitely one of those people who wants to run before I walk. I just wanted to start my business, and I wanted to do it yesterday.”
She knew what she wanted to create, but was quickly becoming overwhelmed.
Financial management holding back growth
While Tash wanted her business to grow, her financial processes — or lack thereof — were holding her back. The store pays artists for their work upfront, to get money into their pockets and out into the community faster. That made managing cash flow essential, but with little idea of where her money was going or coming from Tash found it almost impossible.
“I wasn’t keeping spreadsheets with purchases or anything like that. There was just money coming in and out of a personal account, with no real accountability and no real projected growth.”
She also suspected she was losing opportunities to work with larger clients because she didn’t seem legitimate.
“My business didn’t look as professional as it does now. Engaging with government contracts and bigger corporate clients, you need to have more than just a transfer into your bank account.”
And then there was the time it took to create each invoice on a Word document or manage her single spreadsheet, when she wanted to be investing energy into her children, customers or creations. At the back of her mind, there was also the looming threat of non-compliance.
“I was spending so many hours working out invoicing and my transactions, and different things.”
Then a conversation with an accountant friend changed everything. He recommended she look into MYOB.
A single solution for a complex business
Tash chose MYOB Business Pro over other software because it was easy to use while also delivering all the functionality she needed. The business is small, but it’s fairly complex: manufacturing, retailing and events all requiring different oversight and management.
Beyond the basics of excellent invoicing and payments reconciliation, Tash needed a way to track materials for her own handmade goods, and also keep an eye on store stock levels and costs.
She and her new baby took care of the shop in the early days, but she quickly brought on a team of five First Nations people, making payroll a must, too.
MYOB Business Pro’s rich feature set lets Tash do all that and more in a single, streamlined platform, freeing her to focus where it matters: on community, culture and connection.
“I can do everything in the one place. I love that when I’ve got a moment in my shop, I can do payroll, I can do invoicing, and I can balance all my transactions.”
With everything in MYOB Business Pro, Tash now knows the ins and outs of her financials, so she can make decisions based on data, not guesswork.
“MYOB is really important with scaling this business. I love that I can track what I’ve earned in the last day, the last three months, the last six, the last financial year.
“Now, being able to track all of my spending and what’s coming in and out on that system has been incredible for me.”
Invoice automation, not perspiration
Tash’s invoicing is a far cry from her days of using Word documents. In just a few minutes, she can send out accurate, professional-looking invoices, broken down by products and services and with prices easily populated from an existing list.
“It’s as simple as just searching for them, and they come straight in [to the invoice]. That saves me so much time.”
Where before she would need to search through spreadsheets and documents, now it’s all there on a single platform.
“I can sit down, open up my application and do it all there,” explains Tash.
“Super simple, super easy” payroll
With a team of five all on different pay rates, payroll could easily have created a headache for Tash. MYOB Business Pro’s built-in payroll makes it ‘super simple’.
Designed for Australian businesses, MYOB Business Pro Payroll automatically calculates and transfers pay, including different rates for weekends, trainees or age brackets. With a few clicks, Tash can be sure of correctly calculated tax, super and leave entitlements, and lodge it with the ATO.
“I have multiple employees, and a trainee who is on a different pay rate from the others. Still, it only takes me five to 10 minutes every Monday to process payroll.”
Streamlined inventory management
Even on a small scale, manufacturing is complex, and a viable business takes pin-sharp management of inventory levels, costs and more. Again, MYOB Business Pro has made this a game-changer for Tash.
“I have to buy ingredients and my vessels and my labels, and everything else that goes with making a physical product. So being able to manage that on my inventory has been a huge benefit.”
Loving BAS and GST
MYOB Business Pro prefills her BAS and GST calculations automatically every three months, making tax compliance so easy, Tash says she’s started to love it.
“It just makes my process so much quicker, so keeping on top of my accounting is something I’m very passionate about and I love to do.”
Reclaiming 20 hours a week
When you’re a mother and a business owner, the one thing you always need more of is time — and that’s what MYOB Business Pro has given Tash.
“What MYOB has done for me and my family has given me back my time – 10-20 hours a week, I would say.”
That’s time she can use for making products, engaging with customers, or spending time with her family.
“I’m at every assembly, footy event – anything the kids do at school, I’m always there. And that’s really special for me because it’s something I wasn’t able to do before.”
Growing reach, professionalism and scale
Corporate and government customers have been key to the success of Wurramay Collective, and Tash can now easily work with all her different customers.
“With these systems, I can work with a variety of clients and customers; MYOB has really opened up the doors for me. If you want to move from that small business to the bigger business, MYOB Business Pro is absolutely the platform to do so.”
With the right tools now to hand, Tash is building something bigger than a business — she’s building a future where others can see what’s possible.
