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Government COVID-19 Employer Assistance

From 17 March for the next 12 weeks, wage subsidies are available for employers affected by COVID-19 and struggling to retain employees. Employers may apply who suffer (or project they will suffer) a 30% or more decline in revenue for any month between January 2020 and June 2020 (compared to last year). Applications may also be based on forecast revenue loss within the period. The subsidy is: $585.80/week for a full time employee (20 hours or more); $350.00/week for a part time employee (less t...

Accounted4 COVID-19 Management Plan

Here at Accounted4 preparation is underway for possible disruption as the COVID-19 illness continues to spread. Health and SafetyFirst and foremost, we want to maintain a safe and healthy workplace for all team members, clients and visitors.We respectfully ask all clients not to enter our workplace if; they have any COVID-19 symptoms, they have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19 or they have travelled internationally in the previous 14 days. We are refraining from shaking hands ...

Leading the way in difficult times

Shared from Craig Hudson, Managing Director of Xero for NZ & Pacific Islands The past few months have seen devastating natural disasters in Aotearoa andAustralia, and now, the global outbreak of COVID-19. Governments, businesses,and communities all around the world are facing unprecedented challenges. Theimportance of maintaining stability, minimising disruption, and ensuring thatcash keeps flowing effectively through economies cannot be overlooked. New Zealand’s business support package ...

IR updates

The final webinar for employers and not-for-profit organisations will take place on 18 March 2020 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm. It's the last session in this series and focuses on helping you prepare for upcoming changes. The session will cover what's changing for employers, myIR, payments income equalisation, student loans,KiwiSaver. Details will also be shared around shut down dates and where you can get support. Register, or watch previous webinars on demand...

Accounted4 Payroll Team Vacancy

What’s the role We are looking for a person with sound payroll experience who can step confidently into this part-time position in our Payroll Team. You will be responsible for client payroll processing and payday filing as well as payroll advice, support and training. You will also provide support for our Tax Administrator for IR tax filing and management of client tax payments. For this position we are ideally looking for a person to work 5 hours per day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Wh...

Get your bills and receipts into Xero automatically with Hubdoc

From 18 March 2020, you can say goodbye to manual data entry and spend more time running your business because Hubdoc will be included in Xero Starter, Standard and Premium plans. Talk to us today if you are not sure what Xero plan you are on and find out if you will have access to this amazing new function.On 18 March, there will be a link to Hubdoc in your Xero organisation dropdown menu.Just sign in with your Xero login and follow the steps.What is Hubdoc? Hubdoc is a data capture solution th...

Client Services Team Vacancy

What’s the role Due to increased growth we are looking for a confident, well-presented person to join our Client Services Team. They will work Monday to Friday 8.15am to 4.45pm within our office reception area.  The person we are looking for will have well-rounded written and verbal communication skills and be technically confident and savvy. They will be required to handle a broad range of administrative tasks, including assisting our Receptionist with phone calls and client appointment...

Xero Education Month

For the whole of February, Xero is hosting free online webinars to help you learn how to run your business more efficiently. Make the most of this opportunity by registering for any of the webinars. They cover a variety of topics including:  tracking jobs and profitability with Xero Projectsmanaging payroll and business finances in one place with Xero Payrolltips for getting paid faster and improving your cash flowadvice on managing stress and wellbeinglearning helpful tips and tricks to s...

Pay your taxes by cheque?

Five new ways to do it.If you normally write a cheque to pay for your taxes, it’s time to decide how you will pay in the future. As of 1 March 2020, the IRD will no longer be accepting cheques. By the end of the last financial year (June 2019), only around 5% of payments received by IRD were by cheque, so they made the call to phase them out.Here are five faster, cheaper and safer ways to pay your taxes: Pay securely by direct debit using a debit card or credit card through myIR. Login and reg...

Minimum Wage Increase

The Government has today confirmed that the adult minimum wage will increase from $17.70 to $18.90 on 1 April 2020.Those on the starting-out and training wages will also see a boost in pay to $15.12 per hour. This rate remains at 80% of the adult minimum wage.The increase to $18.90 in 2020 offers a balanced approach toward reaching the government’s plan for a $20 minimum wage by 1 April 2021. The $18.90 rate was determined after consultation with stakeholders, including employer and employee r...

Team Vacancies

What’s the role We are seeking a confident, energetic and motivated person with at least 2-3 years of accounting experience in a CA office to join our accounting team. We are flexible with hours however our preference is for 35 - 37.5 hours per week.     This is a great opportunity for the right person who wants to grow their accountancy and business advisory career, while working closely with a variety of interesting clients and a supportive, professional and fun team. What you...

How to make your out of office email work harder

About to head off on holiday? Here’s why you should take some time to create your out-of-office message.There are a few essentials your out-of-office message needs to contain. Before you try anything fun with yours, make sure you have the essentials covered. Check that your auto-response has:A title that lets your recipient know this is an out-of-office message (some email services will do this automatically)The dates you’re out of the office, and the date you’ll be back in action.Whether ...

In the Community

As an alternative to client gifts this year we have made donations to the Salvation Army and the NZME Special Children's Christmas Party. Thank you to our wonderful clients who have allowed us to make this donation. Here at A4 we think this is a great way to spread some Christmas cheer to those less fortunate than ourselves....

Payroll Team Update

You can submit your January paydays in advance. Advanced filing is available from 11 December 2019. If you’re not filing early If you file electronically you’ll need to submit Employment Information for paydays between 25 December and 15 January inclusive, on or before 17 January 2020. Paper filers should submit Employment Information for paydays between 25 December and 15 January inclusive, on or before 29 January 2020. Payment due dates for PAYE and ESCT Monthly employersNovember payment...

In the Office

Congratulations to Tee Weenink on gaining her CA qualification. You have worked so hard and we are all so proud of you!...

Xero Tip

You can set up a custom report to see which invoices have not been seen by your customers and/or sent by you This is handy as it not only shows you which invoices you haven’t sent yet but also those that you have sent but your customers haven’t viewed yet. It might be you have a wrong email address or your invoice has ended up in their junk email! To set this up, go to Accounting -> Reports -> Aged Receivables detail, then; Set the date range to End of Last MonthClick on Report Settin...

Hubdoc and Xero - get ready for March 2020

Did you hear the news? Xero recently announced that in March 2020 they will be bundling Xero's data capture tool Hubdoc with Xero Starter, Standard and Premium plans. You’ll be able to say goodbye to chasing documents from clients and manual data entry. Instead, use that valuable time to unlock insights and opportunities which will Help you simplify your workflow and go paperless. Hubdoc allows you to easily capture and manage all your bills and receipts. You can upload your documents using yo...

Trade marks: Do you own your brand?

A great brand can set your business apart from the competition. But if you haven’t taken steps to protect your name, slogan or logo, they may not be yours. Why trade marks matter A trade mark protects your logo, name or brand. It could include words, logos, shapes, colours, sounds, smells or any combination of these.Registering a trade mark gives you and your business exclusive rights to use the brand in New Zealand. It also discourages others from using or copying it. Protection can last...

Big role for small firms in mental health

This article was originally posted by the NZ Herald - read the full article here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12286172Owners of small businesses and their employees have been put under the mental health microscope by cloud accounting firm Xero.A survey of 1001 small business owners it carried out with the Mental Health Foundation has found that many (39 per cent) are so busy running their business they don't have time to develop it.In addition, more t...

Declare all cash Jobs

Declare it all. Or risk everything. Tradies who do undeclared cash jobs can be hit with tax penalties, or criminal convictions that could lead to prison – costing them their business and their income.Doing jobs for cash or for your mates is okay - as long as you record them and declare the income when you're filing your annual tax return.Make sure that:you record every job, no matter how big or small. Find out more about keeping good business recordsif you're registered for GST you charge...

GST on imports rule

On 1 December 2019, the new “low-value goods” regime will begin imposing GST at 15% on goods acquired by New Zealand consumers from offshore suppliers. The new regime will apply to goods with individual values of NZ$1,000 or less. What does this mean for us Kiwis buying online from overseas?  It is expected that prices will increase by the amount of GST content, as overseas suppliers may have to return GST on their sales to NZ, so if you are planning on Christmas shopping online it...

Payroll Team Update

Have you worked out your team’s Leave Management Plan? If your business traditionally shuts down over the festive season you need to plan closing and opening days, check if anyone needs to work during the closedown, get your team sending in their leave requests, and start organising!  Check out People in Mind’s excellent article on ‘Planning Leave for the festive season’: https://www.peopleinmind.co.nz/planning-for-the-festive-season/...

Accounting 101: GST

In New Zealand, goods and services tax (GST) is added to the price of most products and services. If your business is GST registered, you collect GST from customers (by adding 15% to your sale price) and you pay this to the government, less any GST that your business has paid on goods or services purchased. Not sure whether to register your small business? If your turnover (sales) was more than $60,000 over the past 12 months, or if you expect your turnover in the next 12 months to be more than ...

Xero Assistance Programme

We all experience tough times in life but the good news is getting help is now easy. We’ve been invited by Xero to a free and 100% confidential support programme offering face-to-face, live chat, online and telephone counselling. Help is available for anything from work, financial or family challenges to depression, drug and alcohol or social problems. No issue is too big or small. If you have a Starter, Standard or Premium Xero subscription then contact xap@xero.com to find out more and how y...

Xero Tip

To easily access your most used reports and favourite settings in your Xero file, why not try marking these features as your favourite. That way you can access these from wherever you are within your Xero file. To do this select the star next to the feature or settings that you'd like to include in the drop down menu. If a star is next to an option then this can be included. Once the item is 'starred' you can access this item from the drop down menu that it sits under. This only needs to be done...