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Meeting your goals during a global slowdown

Optimism among business owners was high coming into 2022. But a number of factors are now making things a lot more challenging: Global events are pushing up energy prices to astronomical levels.Ongoing supply-chain issues are making it difficult to source raw materials.A scarcity of talent is causing problems when it comes to staffing and hiring.Covid is still around and making trading more complex and difficult. Faced with these hurdles, you might feel that your goals are no longer attainable. ...

GST invoicing changes are coming!

New rules modernising GST invoicing and record-keeping requirements will apply from 1 April 2023. The key change is removing the requirement to issue and hold a “tax invoice” document (which meets certain prescribed requirements on details required), and instead having GST requirements met provided specific GST information is held through various business records, for example commercial invoices or agreements. Tax invoices will be replaced by taxable supply information (TSI). This is a set l...

Attracting and retaining top talent in your business

It's challenging times for employers, with record-high levels of employee turnover, shortages of skilled staff in a tight labour market, low unemployment, and wages rising to keep pace with surging inflation.Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may find it harder to compete with the deep pockets of large corporations, but there are plenty of advantages SMEs have in being able to attract and retain talent by tailoring creative, meaningful remuneration packages for each employee.Here are some...

Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement

Your profit and loss statement (P&L) helps you understand your business performance and profitability over time. It’s sometimes called an Income statement and its main purpose is to list income and expenditure.Whereas a balance sheet is a snapshot in time, the P&L shows transactions over a specific period of time. This can be a month, quarter, financial year or any other period, and it can be a stand-alone report or a comparative period report.Together with the balance sheet, these two reports...

5 online tools to help you save money

With the cost of living on the rise, this is the perfect time to review your spending and see if you can make a few cuts. Here are five online tools that can help you manage and reduce your spending:...

Don’t burn out this winter!

It’s tough going for business owners this winter. Illness is rampaging through the community – it’s hitting staff, suppliers, clients and schools, creating disruption throughout the economy.With the labour market tight, businesses are already understaffed. Add high rates of absenteeism, and remaining workers and business owners are under incredible pressure. When you love your job and always want to do the best for your clients, it’s easy to start overworking yourself and run the risk of...

Weighing up a big investment in your business

Are you considering investing in a new way to make your business more productive or streamlined? With a tight labour market, everyone’s time is at a premium – so finding ways to maximise productivity has never been more important.But it can take considerable funds to pay for a new website, ecommerce platform, software system or automations. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re weighing up the costs and potential benefits of a significant investment....

How will it impact you if house prices drop by 15%?

New Zealand’s housing market decline has started to show in the numbers, with average values down across most of the country for three months in a row.Westpac economists have predicted house prices will fall 10% in 2022, and another 5% in 2023, for a 15% drop in total. This sounds concerning, but should you really worry?...

Does New Zealand really have no capital gains tax?

Some people say that New Zealand should have a capital gains tax. Other people say that we already tax capital gains, so it wouldn’t make any difference. So do we have a CGT or not?No, but…We don’t have a single, comprehensive capital gains tax, and although the Tax Working Group recommended one, the Prime Minister ruled it out in 2019.However, we do tax some types of capital gains, particularly those from the sale of investment properties. The bright line test is a tax on capital gai...

Business tips: Budgeting and managing cashflow

If you want to stabilise your finances and grow the business, working to strict budgets becomes a necessity. Managing the cashflow twists and turns of a project can be hard work. But it’s easier to do when you have an agreed budget and can track your spending and performance.So, what’s the best way to stay in control of the budgets you’ve set? And how can you manage your cashflow position to make sure there’s always enough cash to fund the project?...

Reminder: Terminal Tax is due on 7th April

The end of the tax year is around the corner, so this is a quick reminder that your terminal tax payment is due on 7 April.If cashflow is a problem and you’re not confident in your ability to make your payment, please get in touch. We understand that the past 12 months have been extremely tough for many businesses and clients, so you’re not alone....

Bad debts and tax

When you’re tidying up your documentation for end of tax year, don’t forget to review your debtors. If you are able to write off bad debts, you may be able to claim a tax deduction.It’s important to do this the right way. It saves time checking later if Inland Revenue asks for more information. And it reduces the likelihood of Inland Revenue rejecting the claim because of insufficient proof....

High inflation: What does it mean for your business?

High inflation is hitting businesses and households hard in 2022. Across the world, inflation is running high, thanks to factors like pandemic disruptions, monetary stimulus and supply-chain issues.You’ll see the effects of inflation at the supermarket and the fuel pump – and in your business....

New financial support for businesses affected by Omicron

The Government has announced new financial support for businesses and organisations affected by the Omicron outbreak.New targeted COVID-19 Support Payment for the most affected businesses. Applications for the first payment open on 28 February.Top-up loan available under the Small Business Cashflow Scheme. This will be available by the end of March. Flexibility on tax payment terms extended by Inland Revenue....

Time is money

Are you familiar with the ancient Japanese philosophy of ‘Kaizen’?Kaizen is the principle of continuous improvement that can make a huge difference to the efficiency of any company and is saving some of the world’s most powerful companies millions of dollars a year. Sound good? Here are ways you can embrace Kaizen to improve your business.What’s your waste?This isn’t just about what’s ending up in the rubbish, it’s also unnecessary movement, overproduction of stock, waste due to mi...

Six Financial Myths Busted

Those long-held beliefs holding you back from financial freedom need to be dispelled. Take a closer look at budgeting and money management....

IRD Focus - Resurgence Support Payments

From the last week in January 2022 Inland Revenue will begin undertaking post payment eligibility reviews of customers who received a Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) from August 2021. They are referring to these as Post Payment Verifications (PPVs) and will be asking customers to supply the supporting information (such as bank statements) used to support their revenue drop calculation when making their RSP claim, and/or the application of the RSP to business expenses.If we applied for...

Happy New Year!

It’s probably been a while since you made New Year’s resolutions. For many businesses, the challenges of the last couple of years have been enough to keep us busy, so we are not in a hurry to add more objectives to the list.But the new year is a new beginning and we hope it brings you health, wealth, and happiness.Making those positive changes in our personal lives, often helps us with our business life too. While you set your personal goals this year, it’s worth setting some goals for the...

Fresh ways to find summer staff

Having trouble hiring extra staff for the summer? If you’ve tried Seek, Careers, and Trademe with no luck, maybe it’s time to think creatively. And remember, while our unemployment rate is low, there are always going to be part-time workers looking for more hours or full-timers looking for a change. Here are six fresh ways to find new staff: Ask friends and whanau. Advertise to your tribe first — whether it’s via social media, email, or newsletter. Your friends, family, and customer ...

Have you got a strategy for a financially stress-free holiday period?

Christmas holiday breaks are a chance to recharge for the year ahead especially after the year we have had. We look forward to warmer weather and finally setting up an out-of-office email for the break. However, for business owners, this time is a stressful without careful cash-flow planning.Even if you do continue to operate through the holiday shutdown season, your customers' financial behaviour may not remain the same.The strategies and tips shared below are generalised, however, we are here ...

Giving gifts to clients (think about the tax)

The season of giving is on us. While the fun part is thinking about parties and presents, take a moment to remind yourself about the tax rules.If your Christmas giving includes gifts to clients, remember that some gifts will be fully deductible while others will be only 50% deductible.The rule of thumb with gifts is that if they consist of food or drink, you can only claim 50% of the expense as a tax deduction. If you are giving out gift baskets or hampers and some of the contents are food or dr...

Working from home expenses, reimbursements, and tax

Employees increasingly work from home, whether part- or full-time, or during lockdowns. It’s raised questions about how to reimburse employees for associated costs and whether businesses can claim deductions for reimbursements. Inland Revenue guidance on the tax treatment bundles in increased household costs, employees’ work use of telecommunications devices and plans, and where employees have purchased furniture or equipment to enable them to work from home effectively. You can reimbur...

How’s your work-life balance?

It’s great to be the boss – you can work any hours you like, right?Unfortunately, for many business owners, that means long hours, plenty of stress, and very few breaks and holidays.A survey done by Statistics NZ found that:21% of employers work 60 hours per week or moreOnly 45% employers said they were satisfied with their work-life balance, compared with 76% overall.After lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID-19, you might find yourself thinking about your priorities – at least, that�...

Finders keepers: attract the best team and keep them keen

The unemployment rate is down to 4% and for some industries like hospitality and horticulture, the labour shortage is crippling. For others, like the construction sector, COVID-19 has drawn a double-edged sword: endless work but a lack of skilled labour. Whether you’re looking to expand and hire, recruit to replace, or keep your hotshots in-house, here are our top tips for getting and keeping a skilled workforce. ...

Rental Tax Changes: Details Announced

The Government has now released the draft legislation around the removal of tax deductions on loan interest for rental properties. Previously, interest payments could be claimed as a business expense and taxed accordingly, giving property investment a tax advantage.Now, properties bought from April 2021 onwards will not be able to claim any tax deductions for the interest paid on the mortgages. For all existing rental properties, including holiday home rentals, the tax deductibility is being pha...