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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

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

  It seems to be a time to celebrate in our world this month…  International Women’s Day, 18 years in business, Danie achieving her NZPPA Payroll Certifications Level 2 & Pay Hero Certification, and our founder Di Crawford-Errington being named in the Top 50 Women in Accounting 2020 (the only NZer!) We took advantage of Ismae being in the office for the week and on Monday 8th March the celebrations…  Read more

Running a business isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It is definitely hard work, but a rewarding journey at the same time and you can probably attest to this yourself. Sometimes, things also don’t go as planned and you may find your business under financial distress. Suddenly you find yourself falling behind on due dates, suppliers are chasing for payments, and your stress levels are skyrocketing. Regardless of the…  Read more

IRD are no longer accepting payment via cheque, however, there is still a way that you can pay in person at Westpac Banks. You can make Cash or EFTPOS payments to the IRD by visiting a Westpac branch or Westpac Smart ATM. To do this you must either: Bring your return or statement that shows a barcode Create a barcode before your visit How to create a barcode for your…  Read more

For most small and medium business owners, you go into business to do what you love doing – whatever that might be. We know better than anyone that you didn’t necessarily go into business to be number savvy (unless that’s your thing!) so how can you make life easier when it comes to managing your business and understanding how it is performing? How do you know what areas are improving,…  Read more

Wow!  What happened to this year?  Am I the only one who lost June to November?  It seems every year goes by faster and faster and we are busier with life in general than ever before.  Not such a good place to be mentally, with life rushing by we don’t get to stop and smell the roses along the way, unless we consciously make an effort to.   The last few…  Read more

Cyber security and ensuring you have the appropriate measures in place to keep your information safe online is becoming more imperative as time goes on and the world gets even more tech savvy. Unfortunately, not everyone out there is simply minding their own business – they might be trying to hack in to yours. You need to protect your data, your network, your customer information and your reputation online. So,…  Read more

Recently, new legislation has been passed to add more levels of consumer protection around the credit industry. One of those changes removes the ability to pay for credit with credit. This means that finance companies, such as Fee Funders which Ontrack Bookkeeping Ltd uses to offer customers an alternative solution to paying off amounts, can no longer take payment by Credit Card. Does this affect you or the business you’re…  Read more

From 1 December 2019, overseas businesses selling low-value goods to consumers in NZ may need to register for, collect and return Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 15%. Low-value goods are those valued at NZ$1,000 or less (exclusive of GST). Examples include books, clothing, cosmetics, shoes, sporting equipment and electronic items. NZ Customs will continue to tax goods sold for more than NZ$1,000 at the border as they come into…  Read more

About 300,000 business customers were charged incorrect ACC levies since 2002. Here’s how you can find out if you’re one of them. If you’re unsure, give our office a call on 09 435 5595 and we can investigate for you also. Are you owed a refund? If you were in your first year of self-employment between 2002 and 2017, or paid provisional ACC levies after ceasing trading, ACC may owe…  Read more

It seems the speaking circuit is calling lately with invitations to speak at a few different events coming forward. I feel very honored to be asked and extremely nervous at the same time. Hearing stories of peoples business journey is always really interesting and hopefully I can inspire a few people along the way.  I wrote a post on our journey in March. I have been invited to speak at…  Read more

Bookkeepers and business owners have been on pin cushions this last weekend with the IR being closed for the latest on the business transformation project.  On 17 April, improved myIR online services went live, “making tax simpler for you”.  The latest improvements are designed to make it easier to do business the Inland Revenue.    But change can be hard right? The Inland Revenue have created some quick tour videos of the…  Read more

Our journey started just over 15 years ago.  I was a solo mum with 2 wee girls aged 8 and 5, one of who had some pretty big health challenges.  I was working 20 hours a week for MFISH and doing the bookwork for a plumber as a second job.  What started as an idea to be able to work from home and be present for my kids morphed into…  Read more

If you’re a small business with simple job costing needs, projects is likely the perfect solution for you. It’s important to know which jobs that you do deliver the best return on investment, and which ones need to be reined in.  Xero have released their latest feature to help with this, Xero Projects.  This is a simple way to capture, track and report on the time and money spent on…  Read more

The last couple of months have seen me on a plane (or a bus….) more often than not, so it has been lovely to spend the last two weeks at home with my family. Sometimes work seems to take over and the ever elusive ‘work/life balance’ goes out the window. Are you ensuring you are looking after yourself and have balance in your life? September saw me attend Xerocon in…  Read more

Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business and is so critical to its growth.  Its all to do with timing and delays. Here are Di’s 10 tips below for cashflow made easy: Keep your eye on the cash – do a cashflow forecast and compare it to actuals regularly to ensure you are tracking in the right direction. Always have separate business bank accounts for each of your businesses.  Separating…  Read more

It’s that time of the year when every second ad on TV, the radio or the net is advertising tax refunds. Woohoo… show me the money, My tax refund… money on the mind… and many more.  The question always is “Which company do I go for to get my money back?”, then it’s “wait…what?? they’re charging how much??”. When these companies are charging upwards of 20%-30%, (or ‘ONLY $39″ with…  Read more

Xero wrote a little story about the Ontrack journey.. You can read about it here  Read more

Generally speaking if you are charging others for goods and/or services with a view to making a profit (your aim does not need to be the result) you are usually operating a business and liable to file a tax return and pay tax on any profit (or claim the loss against any other income if you made a loss). When you have a business you have a range of responsibilities…  Read more