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As Christmas draws closer, here’s a quick list of five things as an employer you should be aware of when it comes to minimum legal employment rights. 1. Is closing down a workplace at Christmas legal? Yes. An Employer may close down a workplace if the processed is managed lawfully. Employees must be given at least 14 days’ notice of the closedown. An employer may have a regular closedown once…  Read more

Parliament has been debating the merits of the Wage Theft Bill since April 2023. The Bill progressed to the final stages of the parliamentary review process recently and will now move to its third and final reading before receiving royal assent and being enacted into law. This bill clarifies that it is considered theft when an employer does not pay an employee their full legal entitlements, which may include unpaid…  Read more

Selecting the right accounting software is a crucial decision for your small business’s financial health and accuracy. With numerous options available, this process can seem daunting, but making an informed choice is essential to streamline operations and mitigate risks such as financial fraud and regulatory non-compliance. Introduction The challenge of choosing appropriate accounting software stems from the need to balance functionality, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. As cloud computing continues…  Read more

Setting the ESCT rate for the next tax year is a 1 April activity that Payroll are responsible for.  As part of your payroll checks and balances, you must check your payroll system is doing as expected. If you are processing payroll manually, you will need to set the ESCT yourself.  Understanding how ESCT is essential to getting this right for anyone involved in payroll. What is ESCT? ESCT (Employer…  Read more

When you run your small business, you have a lot on your plate. That makes it tempting to let some tasks slide, especially tasks that are related to finances, which can be challenging and is often outside your preferred skill set or experience. There are some tips you can follow that keep your finances healthy and enable you to thrive. Here are some financial best practices for managing your business,…  Read more

Remediation of your payroll system can seem extremely intimidating.  There is a lot involved in the process of checking payroll for Holidays Act 2003 compliance.  This information comes from the FAQ section of the Labour Inspectorate website so we thought we would share some of this here. How far back should re-calculations go? Once non-compliance with the Holidays Act 2003 is identified, the expectation of the Labour Inspectorate is that…  Read more

It’s almost the end of the Financial Year (again? I know we say this every year, but doesn’t time just fly by?) Here is a summary of the 1st April 2024 changes you need to know:   Minimum Wage Increase: The Adult minimum wage will increase from $22.70 per hour to $23.15 per hour The Starting Out/Training wage will increase from $18.16 per hour to $18.52 per hour   ACC…  Read more

For small businesses in today’s competitive market, outsourcing can offer a range of advantages. Not only does it reduce costs and free up valuable time for owners to focus on growing their business, but it also provides access to skills and expertise that may be unavailable in-house. By working with external professionals or firms who work in certain areas, small businesses have the opportunity to streamline operations, increase productivity and…  Read more

If you’re a business owner or taxpayer in New Zealand, you’ve likely encountered terms like ‘no GST’ and ‘zero-rated GST’ transactions. These terms refer to specific tax treatments under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system in New Zealand. In this blog post, we’ll break down these concepts in simple terms to help you understand the difference. No GST transactions No GST transactions are those where the goods or services…  Read more

Small business owners in New Zealand often make common mistakes when it comes to GST. These mistakes can lead to penalties and unnecessary stress. By understanding the common pitfalls and taking steps to avoid them, small business owners can ensure they are compliant with GST regulations and avoid costly mistakes.

Provisional tax is an important aspect of managing a business’s finances and tax obligations. It allows businesses to make progress payments on their upcoming income tax, based on their expected profits for the following year. This can help businesses manage their cash flow and avoid the pressure of paying a lump sum at the end of the year. For new businesses, the first-year provisional tax payment can be challenging. However,…  Read more

With the end of the financial year approaching, it’s a good time to make sure everything is in order and ready for balance date. Here’s a few things to consider and/or action for the end of year the financial year. Write off Bad Debts Do you have debtors that you’ve taken all reasonable steps to recover a debt, yet your customer still hasn’t paid you? You might be able to…  Read more

Depending on the nature of your business, you may have workers who are employees or contractors, or you may have both. Each has their merits, but it’s important to review which are which in order to meet your tax obligations. When you have an employee, you must withhold income tax as well as report on additional benefits. Contractors generally look after their own tax obligations. It’s against the law to…  Read more

The Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 (FPA Act) has been passed, and will come into effect quickly, on 1 December 2022. The new Act is the biggest change to employment law since the Employment Relations Act 2000. What is a fair pay agreement? A fair pay agreement is an agreement that applies to all workers across entire industries or occupations. It will provide minimum terms and conditions of employment for…  Read more

The government have decreed that Monday 26th September 2022 will be a public holiday to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.  But what does that mean for you as the employer? If your staff member normally works on a Monday, then this is an ‘otherwise working day’ for them and they will be entitled to be paid for that day off and paid at their relevant daily pay (RDP)…  Read more

Did you know there are over 27 Legislative Acts involved in payroll – insane right? So, isn’t it interesting to know that most small businesses have an untrained staff member processing payroll for their team? Payroll is not the back-office data entry job that a lot of people think it is.  In fact, when you start to understand the rules and regulations around payroll, you may be right in thinking…  Read more

The Inland Revenue have published the mileage rates for business use of a motor vehicle for the 2022 year. Helpful for those doing income tax returns for the 2022 year, not so helpful for those of us who reimburse employees for using their personal vehicles in the course of their employment on behalf of the business. For those reimbursing employees, you can use actual costs, IRD mileage rates, or rate…  Read more

In the last few days of March and the following weeks, there are some steps you can take to prepare for when you receive your Annual Accounts questionnaire from your accountant.   Bank Transactions Have you coded all your transactions? Make sure you code and account for all of your bank transactions for the year. This should be done on a regular basis anyway, but it’s a good opportunity to…  Read more

Inland Revenue have released an interpretation statement on this one recently. Next time you grab a coffee or a meal at your local café in between back-to-back client meetings and think about claiming this as an expense because you are self-employed and it’s just part of your work day, think again. New Zealand’s Inland Revenue has confirmed that these expenses are not deductible for self-employed taxpayers in all but very…  Read more

A lot of people this year are finding that once their income tax assessment has been calculated automatically, they end up having tax to pay – and suddenly it’s panic stations! (Don’t worry, this happened to me, and I did the same!). There may be a reason for it! In the Financial Year Ended 31 March 2021, there were 53 weekly pay periods, as opposed to 52 weekly pay periods.…  Read more