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It pays to get those employment contracts right and ensure minimum contractual requirements are meet when hiring staff. From the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment 5 April 2018 A Christchurch business owner has been banned from hiring staff for three years after he was found to have intentionally and persistently breached employment law. The former owner of Christchurch bar and eatery, Watershed Bar and Restaurant, and restaurant, Sequoia 88, and the…  Read more

The payroll landscape is constantly changing, and not just for businesses and staff, but those of us who have responsibility of ensuring employees pay is correct.  The Payday Reporting legislation is currently before parliament and proposes to change the way payroll information is reported to the IR. Currently reporting is done on a monthly basis by way of filing our PAYE returns (EMS and EDF schedules along with Kiwisaver forms).…  Read more

Pay-as-you-earn tax (AIM) – what does that mean for you? From April 2018, small businesses, sole traders and contractors can choose a new pay-as-you-earn option, rather than paying provisional tax in instalments several times a year. The IR are introducing the Accounting Income Method (AIM) so you can pay tax based on the profit in your business during the year.  This aligns with the GST monthly or two monthly periods…  Read more

Do you travel for work?  There are expenses you can claim against your income and there are those you cant.  Here business.govt.nz gives us the low down. What can you claim? In general, when you’re away from home you can claim for: flights taxis, or mileage if you use your own car for business travel accommodation meals and snacks. Accommodation If you’re attending a work-related meeting, conference or training course…  Read more

Entertainment – these rules create a huge amount of confusion don’t they?  In this blog we will try and clarify this for you. You may be able to claim as business expenses events such as Christmas functions or giving gifts to employees. However, you may not be able to claim all of the costs, and they may also be subject to fringe benefit tax (FBT). FBT is a tax paid…  Read more

Payroll is one of the most important tasks of running a business and can be pretty intimidating with the screeds of legislation to trawl through. For many NZ employers, organising it all can be a bit of a struggle – especially when trying to juggle complex government requirements, tricky leave calculations and Kiwisaver and paperwork. We have compiled a list of the top 6 payroll mistakes employers make when employing staff:…  Read more

Payroll is one of the most important tasks of running a business and can be pretty intimidating with the screeds of legislation to trawl through. For many NZ employers, organising it all can be a bit of a struggle – especially when trying to juggle complex government requirements, tricky leave calculations and Kiwisaver. Regardless of the size or complexity of your business, Ontrack Payroll has you sorted work hard to make your payroll easy as possible for…  Read more

Contractor tax changes (Information courtesy of Business.govt) All contractors can have tax deducted from their pay at a rate of their choosing, and some MUST now do this. If you get it wrong, you might find your pay packet is 45% lighter than you expect. If their payer agrees, all contractors can now have tax deducted from their pay at a flat rate of their choosing.  All Contractors hired by…  Read more

I know, its a confusing topic right? There are so many questions! How does the average New Zealander figure it out? Well, hopefully we can help unravel the mystery of the Contractor versus Employee confusion. In a nutshell, an employee is said to have a “contract of service” with an employer, while a contractor is said to have a “contract for service”. Why the difference is important An employee is engaged…  Read more