Latest News

Paid Parental Leave Changes from 1 July 2020 Parents with children due on or after 1 July 2020 will now receive 26 weeks paid parental leave (previously 22 weeks), and the maximum weekly rate for eligible parents will increase from $585.80 to $606.40 gross. The minimum payment rate for self-employed parents increases from $177.00 to … Read more

Apprenticeship Boost for BusinessesWe now have more specific detail on the $380.6 million initiative to help keep apprentices employed, and to ensure apprentices continue to start training throughout the recovery of COVID-19. Here are a few of the main details:• The Apprenticeship Boost will support up to 36,000 apprentices per year (including new apprentices), by … Read more

Before we get into what’s been going on this week. We’d really like to acknowledge all of our lovely clients for their stick-ability and adaptability to making a change in their business. You all need a holiday after the strain you and your businesses have been through. Make sure you are taking care of yourself … Read more

Small Business Cash flow Loan Scheme ExtensionThe Small Business Cash flow loan scheme applications were due to close today, but this has now been extended until 24 July 2020. If you missed our previous newsletters, you can find out more about this here. KiwiSaver Government Contribution ReminderJust a reminder that if you are wanting the … Read more

Wage Subsidy Extension threshold now 40% revenue drop In our previous blog we talked about your business needing to have a 50% drop in revenue to apply for the wage subsidy extension, but today the government announced this has changed to a 40% drop in revenue for a 30 day period, in the 40 days … Read more

Here are a few COVID-19 Updates and reminder’s you may find useful: RedundanciesThe Government announced a $570million scheme called the COVID Income Relief Payment. This is aimed at people who have lost their job due to the impact of COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, to help people adjust and find new … Read more

Yesterday, the Government announced a $50 Billion Rebuilding Together 2020 Well-being budget. This response and recovery fund is the biggest NZ Government spend in history. Below is what I think is most relevant for business: The Wage Subsidy Extension I will start by saying do not apply for this straight away without understanding the 50% … Read more

More details have been released today about the SBCS Loan (Small Business Cashflow Scheme). In case you missed our previous blogs, here is a quick overview and some updates: The reason why you should speak to us or your accountant first is because if you are short on equity, applying for this loan could affect … Read more

The Government is announcing when we will be moving to Alert Level 2 next Monday (11/05). As we move into Alert Level 2, some restrictions will ease, but here is some more information about what life will look like for businesses: • Most businesses can reopen as long as they can do so safely. This … Read more

Here are some things we think you might find interesting for the first week of Level 3 for your business:   Important Business Government Updates A big announcement today – Interest Free LoansThe Government will provide interest-free loans of up to $100,000 to small businesses grappling with the impacts of COVID-19, after banks failed to … Read more

New Zealand will be moving to Alert Level 3 on Tuesday 28th of April but what does this mean for you and your business? Here’s a summary: This week is a great week to prepare your Business and COVID-19 Alert Level 3 Plan for reopening. Here is some useful information and templates to help you … Read more

On Tuesday I was at a really interesting talk put on by the ExportNZ through the Chamber of Commerce, and as you would guess, the hot topic was “how is Coronavirus affecting New Zealand’s exports, business and economy? This is my basic interpretation of the two very intelligent speakers, Westpac Senior Economist Satish Ranchhod and … Read more

How well are your staff performing? Do they love their job? Performance reviews, an open two-way conversation held once or twice a year, are a great way to find out. While you’re not legally bound to do appraisals, they’re a great tool to keep your business running smoothly.

Find a better balance with these helpful hacks Working harder is not always smarter. Burnout is common among business owners and staff who are pushed to the limits. Ultimately, it’s not good for business or your personal life to be burning the candle at both ends. But how on earth are you expected to fit … Read more

If you’re protecting your family property in a trust, there may be changes you need to make before the new Trusts Act comes into force in January 2021. The changes to the Trusts Act (the first in more than 60 years!) aim to make trust law more efficient and accessible, lower admin costs, simplify core … Read more

Did you know that you still have to pay tax on your debtors, even if you haven’t yet collected them? This is because you pay tax on your sales figures, whether you’ve collected the cash or not. So, how do you collect your debtors faster? Reducing the average time frame on payments for your business … Read more

Are you selling the wrong thing to the wrong person, not defining the value, or selling inadequately? Here are the top 4 reasons why you may be struggling to sell goods or services to your customers: 1. Selling the wrong thing One of the biggest challenges when selling is accurately understanding customer needs. It’s all … Read more

This handy feature in Xero allows you to assign any purchases you have made with a supplier and on charge these to a customer you need to invoice.  It’s a great way to check all your expenses and disbursements you want to recover from your customer are being captured. For more information on how this … Read more

Every year legislators make small changes and tweaks to existing compliance and tax laws, that can leave businesses scratching their heads, and with a myriad of financial decisions encompassing everything from cash flow management to minimising tax liability. Accounting firms make it their mission to keep on top of new tax laws, and many offer … Read more

According to where all the statistics are pointing, our economy over the next 2 years will provide a great opportunity for business, not just in Christchurch but nationwide. If you take a look at the above graph the predicted Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) is expected to rise another 1% over the next 2 years. So … Read more

Have you checked your KiwiSaver contributions for the year to make sure you will get your government contribution? Just a reminder that if you are wanting the full government contributions to your KiwiSaver which is $521.43, you’ll need to have contributed a total of $1,042.86 between 1 July 2018 to 30 of June 2019. This … Read more

Every business can be broken down into 10 core departments with unique functions – two are strategic and the rest are operational. It’s essential to understand the 10 departments, the function of each, and the key responsibilities of each person in each department. The 10 departments and their functions are: 1. Shareholder: Funds the business.2. … Read more

It’s great to hear the government has broken the budget into a Wellbeing and Economic budget. With mental health now affecting business productivity, it’s about time that this was addressed. While there were no new tax announcements and very little in the budget to help transform the economy, there were aspects of the budget that … Read more

The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate (OCR) this month by 0.25% to a record low of 1.5% to put this in perspective in 2008 the OCR was as high as 8.25%. The immediate benefits have been, a falling NZ dollar against the U.S. Dollar which is really good for exporters.  The OCR … Read more

I’m sure you are all aware of the recent changes to the myIR page. The IRD has now officially switched off their old system and completely transitioned onto the new system. The new system is meant to be a significant upgrade to the old, however we have come across a number of issues and some … Read more

Hundreds of Kiwi business owners are enjoying the benefits of payday filing – are you? If not, you’ll need to be by 1 April when payday filing becomes compulsory. Now’s the time to work out how you’re going to integrate it into your payroll processes and save time on your tax obligations. Here’s what payday … Read more