Your EOFY IT Checklist: Smart Tech Investments to Make Before 30 June

The end of the financial year has a way of focusing the mind. Between now and 30 June, a lot of Australian businesses will make tech decisions they've been putting off for months — partly to start the new year on a clean footing, and partly because the right purchase made before the deadline may be claimable on this year's return.

The trap is treating EOFY as a reason to spend rather than a reason to fix. A rushed purchase you don't need is still wasted money, tax deduction or not. So before you buy anything, it's worth running through what's actually slowing your business down — and which of those problems a June investment can genuinely solve.

The best EOFY tech spend isn't the biggest one. It's the one that removes a problem you've been working around all year.

First, understand the tax angle (then talk to your accountant)

For eligible small businesses, the instant asset write-off can let you immediately deduct the cost of an asset — like a laptop, server or networking hardware — provided it's first used or installed ready for use by 30 June and falls under the relevant threshold. The thresholds and eligibility rules change from year to year and depend on your turnover, so the golden rule is simple: confirm the current figures with your accountant or the ATO before you commit. Don't buy hardware purely for a deduction — buy what the business needs, and let the timing work in your favour.

It's also worth remembering that not every IT investment is a capital purchase. Subscriptions, managed services and cloud platforms are usually operating expenses, which has its own implications worth a quick conversation with your bookkeeper.

The EOFY IT checklist

Here's where the money tends to be well spent — the areas we see deliver the most value when a business invests before the deadline.

1. Replace the hardware that's costing you in lost time

That five-year-old laptop taking three minutes to boot, or the workstation that can't keep up with your software, is quietly costing you every single day. EOFY is the natural moment to refresh ageing devices. If you're running on-premises servers, it's also the time to ask whether a hardware refresh or a move to the cloud makes more sense — our server & infrastructure team can model both, and Azure cloud migration is often a smarter long-term play than buying another box that depreciates from day one.

2. Close the security gaps before they become incidents

Cyber security is the easiest spend to justify and the easiest to defer — right up until something goes wrong. If you haven't reviewed your defences this year, start with a free Microsoft 365 Security Assessment to see exactly where you stand, then close the gaps with managed cyber security, round-the-clock managed detection & response, and security awareness training so your team becomes the first line of defence rather than the weakest link. With Australian businesses targeted constantly — the Australian Cyber Security Centre reports a cybercrime every six minutes — this is rarely money you'll regret.

3. Make sure your backups would actually save you

Most businesses have "a backup". Far fewer have a backup they've tested, that's immutable, and that they could actually restore from in an emergency. EOFY is a good prompt to verify yours with proper managed backup — because the day you discover your backup doesn't work is always the worst possible day.

4. Sort out the foundations: Microsoft 365, internet and phones

The unglamorous infrastructure is often where the quickest wins live. Tidying up your Microsoft 365 licensing can cut waste and unlock features you're already paying for. A flaky connection is a productivity tax every day — business-grade internet with a proper SLA pays for itself. And if you're still on an ageing phone system, a move to cloud PBX / VoIP usually lowers your monthly cost while adding features your old handsets never had.

5. Buy the plan, not just the products

The single best EOFY investment isn't a product at all — it's a clear picture of where your technology is heading. A short engagement with a virtual CIO or an independent IT audit turns next year's spending from a series of reactive purchases into a deliberate roadmap. Pair that with predictable, fixed-cost managed IT support and you start FY27 knowing exactly what your IT will cost and what it will deliver.

A word of caution on the 30 June rush

Suppliers know EOFY is coming, and "deadline deals" can push you toward kit you don't need or licences you'll never fully use. Two quick filters before you sign anything: Does this solve a problem we actually have? and Will we still be glad we bought it in October? If the answer to either is shaky, it can wait. A good IT partner will happily talk you out of a purchase that isn't right — that's how you know the advice is worth having.

Local IT and cyber security support across NSW

Chewing IT delivers IT support, cyber security and strategic IT advice for businesses across the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Hornsby and the wider Sydney North Shore. Most work is delivered remotely with same-day turnaround, and on-site support is dispatched from our Wyong office on the Central Coast and our Hornsby office in Sydney.

Want to make every EOFY dollar count? Get in touch for a straight conversation about where your technology should go next — before the 30 June deadline.