Founder and Managing Director of Business Answers & Support, Liz Potter, brings a wealth of experience from many years' work supporting a range of businesses in commercial, not-for-profit, and government sectors, including:


Recommendations

 

Matthew Gibson, Principal Adviser, Discover Financial Partners

"I recommend Liz hands down to be the go to for your business virtual CFO function. Liz came to Discover and in a short time had remapped our accounts to provide a more efficient reporting structure for business performance analysis. We feel more organised now and governance enhanced through simple but effective process initiatives that make everything work just a bit better. Has great insights from the pattern recognition of the broad range of client cases she has dealt with. And an added bonus, Liz is an absolute quality personality to be around."

 

John Altmann, Platform Legal

“Liz is utterly trustworthy and reliable, unflappable, courteous and able to do a wide range of business administrative tasks for you. She will set up and maintain your bookkeeping, employment and compliance obligations and that will free you up to focus on business development. Trust me, you’ll be able to focus on what only you can do for your business and you’ll sleep better at night if you engage Liz’s help. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.”

 

Now and Not Yet Inc
(incorporating Now and Not Yet, Shared Cup and Social Brew social enterprise cafés)

“Liz is the consummate professional providing excellent bookkeeping services to our complex not for profit organisation. Our team always commented on how efficient, helpful and professional Liz was when responding to any queries our team had. Highly recommend Liz and her services”

– Derek Bradshaw, Founder and Executive Director, Now and Not Yet Inc


"It has been my absolute pleasure to work with Liz for the last 3 years. Her communications have always been very prompt, clear and concise, she is hugely professional, has an eye for detail and is unendingly patient! .....all with the most delightful manner. We are a social-enterprise cafe in a growth area, part of a larger diverse organisation and Liz has helped navigate and organise all the challenges that come with non-profit, hospitality, staff, suppliers and customers! Liz was responsible for all our bookkeeping and BAS services, liaising between the manager and suppliers, accounts payable & receivable, bank payments, cash flow management, bank reconciliations, payroll and invoicing. I have no hesitation in recommending Liz to anyone who needs help with their bookkeeping."

– Caroline McDonald, Shared Cup café manager

 

The Association of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies

"I have had the great pleasure of working alongside Liz Potter for the past 4 years and most closely in the past two years as President of AGECS. During this time Liz has taken on increasing responsibility within our organisation. Liz now supports AGECS in the role of Program Manager and Company Secretary, as well as providing council and executive support. As a volunteer organisation we have utilised Liz's business acumen, valued her ability to pre-empt the needs of the association and have relied heavily on her attention to detail and high levels of organisation. Liz has developed and updated our policies and procedures, and maintained close monitoring of our finances. Liz does all of this with gentle guidance, kindness of heart and a laugh.  At all times, I have felt confident in Liz’s ability and been truly grateful for her support of the organisation.  I have enjoyed the opportunity to work so closely with her."

– Sarah O'Donnell, President 2022/2023


"As President of The AGECS I have had to oversee significant changes to the business structure of the organisation. This required a reliable, dedicated, administrative expert with attention to detail, strong organisational skills and time management. Liz Potter has more than fulfilled these requirements with communication skills that adapt to working with different volunteers who have diverse means of approaching tasks, with kindness and understanding while keeping the council focussed. I feel extremely fortunate that Liz has been the one we can rely on at such a crucial time for our organisation. I can highly recommend Liz for any role that requires the above skills and characteristics along with a confident, positive and can-do approach." 

– Alannah Dore, President 2020/2021

 

"What an asset you have been to AGECS during this very unusual year. Your expertise on all the programs in this tech savvy world have been invaluable to the administration of AGECS and will enable it to move straightforwardly with its projects into the future. Your positive attitude to problems have made working with you a pleasure." 

– Avril McHugh, Honorary Treasurer 

 

"It has been a pleasure working alongside you and getting things done, it is always a positive, as you have a strong work ethic and integrity." 

– Maree Wiggins, Past President 

 

Medical Mission Aid

"We have been blessed for the last 4 years to have Liz Potter manage our accounts. Through her diligent and efficient efforts, our accounts were reorganised, BAS statements are submitted in a timely manner, and clear management reports are available for regular and easy review by the Board. Additionally, all documents' supporting account transactions are organised and available in one place such that for the last 3 years our annual external audit has passed with flying colours. We look forward to Liz’s continued valuable support contribution to Medical Mission Aid."

– Barry Kelly, President 


"Liz has been amazing as our organisation transitions into new accounting software and financial systems. She has been incredibly diligent, with an eye for detail and great initiative to ensure the best possible outcome for us. She is an excellent communicator and always provides timely and accurate reports. It has been such a blessing to not have to worry about the financial side of my job, having complete trust in Liz’s skills and proficiency. Thank you Liz!"

– Shanta Parker, Executive Director 

 

Matt White, Pineapple Brothers Pty Ltd

"I highly recommend Business Answers & Support Pty Ltd. We grew quickly and the bookkeeping became unmanageable for us, Liz helped us sort out the mess and now our books are in order. Liz communicates very clearly and the work is carried out in a very timely and professional manner. Liz has become an integral and vital part of our business and we look forward to having her be part of our business for years to come."

 

WellSpring Centre

"Liz has been working with WellSpring for some time now assisting with our financial processes. Working remotely from the WellSpring Centre in Ashburton has not been a barrier for us to develop professional relationships of trust, reliability and quality work. More recently Liz has taken on the interim role of financial administration. Her ability to adapt seamlessly to our processes has enabled us to confidently move through what could have been a challenging time. It is a delight to work with Liz.

Thank you so much for the competent, prompt, trustworthy and friendly way you have worked with WellSpring for the last couple of years." 

– Ann Lock, Director

"I wish to thank you for your professionalism and active approach in providing services to WellSpring, this has been very much appreciated."

– Benjie Norman, Treasurer


Monique Christensen, Director, Living Hope Resources

"I have engaged the services of Liz Potter of Business Answers & Support to complete my quarterly BAS for many years. In 2020, she provided additional services dealing with the ATO in relation to JobKeeper payments. She has provided valuable ongoing bookkeeping advice and support for over ten years.

Liz’s professionalism and attention to detail are first-rate. She is thorough, reliable and utterly trustworthy. Where a question is beyond the immediate scope of her expertise she is well-resourced to find the correct answer and she always follows through reliably and helpfully. I am grateful for her assistance and will continue to draw on her professional services for many years to come."

 

Catherine Gillespie, Director, Workplace Conflict Resolution

"Business Answers and Support has provided outstanding administration and reporting systems support to Workplace Conflict Resolution Pty Ltd.

The level of client service and the quality of work produced is excellent.

I highly recommend Liz and her team – their work directly translates into business growth and improved efficiencies."


Tiffany Healy, Healy Consultants

"Liz Potter’s ability to read and pre-empt her clients’ needs is exceptional, as she will have already thought through her client’s challenges, generating options and alternative solutions. In every facet of her work, Liz strives to achieve win - win outcomes, which materialise as real, long lasting solutions and successes for businesses. Due to her breadth of experience and depth of intellect and insight, Liz is suited to work with both smaller and larger organisations. She is capable of delivering basic support services, as well as collaborating with clients to support business growth through creative and tailored systems. She is a team player, whose motivated and inclusive approach to projects is contagious. Liz takes ownership of challenges within the business and generates inspired solutions.

Liz has time and again demonstrated discretion in often sensitive and delicate contexts. Her ability to initiate, develop and build strong and long lasting business relationships is testament to the way she conducts herself in business.

Liz’s reliability, in my opinion, is the cornerstone of her success. She not only follows through with her own tasks, preparing and delivering various documents before or by the expected deadlines, but ensures other personnel are also meeting their deadlines. Liz is a professional whose direct and pragmatic style of working is tempered with a respectful and courteous manner. She is a driven, organised, thorough and efficient operator who consistently adopts a client focussed approach.

Needless to say, that once Liz is engaged, her service and skill sets are challenging to part with - you will not know how you managed before without her expertise.”


Jackson Taylor, Partner, Hammond Taylor (Migration Law)

"In my work with Liz Potter I have found her to be consistently efficient, polite, organised, and to always deliver results. I have been impressed with her professionalism, and her ability to take initiative and deal with challenging situations on behalf of the business. I highly recommend Liz to anyone seeking administration services to support their business."


Jeannette Kruk, Jet HR Consulting

"In my professional dealings with Liz Potter I have always found her to be highly capable and responsive, trustworthy and courteous. I would recommend her without reservation to any business seeking competent and reliable administration support services."


David Reid, Director, Collier and Reid Pty Ltd Architects

"Liz Potter has been solely responsible for all book-keeping activities for our Architectural practice for the past ten years, including preparation of company tax invoices, payment of all accounts, payroll, superannuation, and the administration of all insurances, as well as preparation of BAS and IAS. Liz has an engaging and thoughtful presence both with our clients and with the members of our staff which has been greatly appreciated. She has at all times demonstrated a high level of integrity and honesty and understands the importance of confidentiality. Liz is independent, capable and highly self-motivated. Liz has demonstrated great flexibility whenever the circumstance arose. She has been a great asset to our practice. I have no hesitation in recommending Liz as an independent, capable, and highly self-motivated person."


Trish Brown, Brown’s Mensland

"When I met Liz, I was in complete overwhelm. I really needed someone who could help me organise my work space, files and general office processes. Within weeks I felt organised and was functioning much better. I would recommend her highly to anyone looking for some reason for extra bookkeeping and office management support."


Peter Roberts, Proprietor: Roberts Music and Threshold Music Services,
CEO, The Institute of Music in Medicine (IMIM)

"I have recently moved a very busy, home-based office space of nineteen years into a new, off-site shop front office. Just the thought of the complexities involved in doing so while I maintained the flow of business had caused me to avoid dealing with the long overdue task.

Thanks to Liz Potter's professionalism and organisational skills I can report that the transition to the new space has been completed successfully.

Liz assessed my situation and immediate needs, broke what I felt was an overwhelming task down into manageable components, rolled up her sleeves and made it happen. Along the way she also streamlined my filing systems and helped to sort through stored paperwork. I remain grateful for her services and recommend them highly."


Susan Henderson, PDH Estimating

"Liz is a diligent, reliable and efficient person who shows incredible attention to detail. She is a great negotiator, getting the best for both parties. A fantastic listener, Liz get the best from her team, making people feel good about what they’re doing. She doesn’t give herself enough praise!"


Vanessa Mitter

"Liz displays judgment and the ability to make sound decisions without supervision. She anticipates and recognises problems and refers to the right person for resolution. Liz uses logic, reasoning and stats to work out strengths and weaknesses of solutions to problems. Liz establishes and maintains the working relationship with all staff at all levels as well as clients.

Liz is highly organised, managing time and workspace, keeping the company’s calendar, tracking meetings/activities and scheduling travel. When the Managing Director has conflicting priorities she balances those tasks to make sure key priorities meet deadlines. Liz is like an air traffic controller, anticipating needs and is willing to push back to avoid over commitment.

Liz has stellar communication skills. As she speaks and writes so well, it helps shape a positive image of the business. Liz writes emails, memos, letters, make calls and has a perfect grasp of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Her choice of words and tone of voice are always on point, always polished and poised. She speaks with co-workers at all levels of the business and with members of the public in clear and concise sentences. Liz gives complete attention to what people say and asks high quality questions, using her critical thinking skills to understand their concerns.

Liz is an inspiring role model and any business that engages her services is beyond fortunate."


Mark McLean, CPA, Inside Running

"I have had dealings with Liz Potter since May 2008 while she has been working as the Business Manager for one of our client's companies. During that time, she has been my main point of contact at that company in relation to book-keeping. Her role includes the preparation and lodgement of quarterly BAS and monthly IAS. She has competently performed these tasks and I feel that her level of skill and expertise is of a very high level."


Garry Spry, Member for Bellarine

"Liz's duties have been extraordinarily wide-ranging. These have included preparing research and briefing papers on both legislation, and state-wide and local issues; media work; managing constituent issues, which involves dealing with local, state, and federal departments and agencies; publication production; and office management and administration, including management of my diary. She has also deputised for me on a number of occasions. Her research capacity has been of excellent quality. Her loyalty to me and her dedication to the job have been outstanding. Discretion is one of the major attributes required in a job which deals with the public and she has displayed this to a high degree. In her interaction with bureaucracy and the Parliament, she has consistently attained positive outcomes for me and my constituents. Liz is cheerful and contributes to the harmony of a very smooth functioning office. She is an exemplary performer in a discipline notable for its extraordinarily diverse demands in a range of skills."

"You have been a joy to work with and give me enormous confidence. In addition you serve the electorate with great distinction..."


Mikki Young, Director Organisation Development and Communications, City of Port Phillip

"Liz, many thanks for your creative ideas and your ability to deliver a quality product often within very tight timeframes. The City of Port Phillip is certainly developing a much more professional approach to its community and gaining a special style in how and what it communicates."


Neil Lucas, Chief Executive, City of Berwick

"Liz is a very valued member of staff who can be relied upon to produce excellent results with a very limited amount of supervision. She has the ability to create excellent relationships with external organisations. The number of documents Liz has produced for Council and the quality of these productions is something that has been widely commended."

"Your significant contribution in putting together the proposals is very much appreciated. The fact that we have won this award is of great credit to you. Once again, well done – a great result..."

"I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to you for the excellent manner in which you have arranged various activities for our visitors from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Your ability "to get the job done" resulted in a very smooth programme. I am grateful for the way in which you ensured that the visit was so successful..."


Ann McGill, Secretary, Sister City Group Committee

"May I take this opportunity of thanking you very sincerely for your help at yesterday's Riding the Bounds. A special thank you for all the preparation and coordination you successfully put together beforehand, which was the main reason for the success of the day."