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Trust Law Reform

A new trusts bill has been drafted to replace the Trustees Act 1956. The new Trustee Act will update and improve the general law governing trusts – being the first material change in trust legislation for 60 years. The legislation has not yet been passed and is working its way through Parliament. The new Act will not require any changes to be made to existing Trust Deeds, but will instead enhance the current law. The repealed 1956 Act is complex, difficult to understand and does not reflect tr...

Get to know....

Sharon was bought up on a dairy farm in Stratford, Taranaki and her family moved here to farm at Roto-o-rangi in 1979.  She  started work  at Shannon & Wrigley & Co as a school leaver in 1983, in the building where Tarbutt Optometrists  are now and before our existing building was even constructed.   She left the firm to travel overseas.  On returning to NZ she studied at Wintec and has a NZ Diploma in Business.  She worked for a private company in Ha...

In the Office

Farewell Chris KnoppAfter 14 years with A4 our wonderful wiz of a team member Chris Knopp retired in December. We will miss her zooming around the office and her wonderful sense of humor. Chris was looking forward to spending some more time with her grandchildren and getting stuck into the garden. New Team Member - Shelley BuddenShelley joins us as our new part-time Trust Administrator. Shelley, originally from Auckland, moved to Cambridge five years ago and we are excited to see ...

In the Community

Life Skills Golf Tournament On March 28th Accounted4 is a proud sponsor of a hole at the Cambridge Life Skills Fundraising Golf Tournament. Cambridge Lifeskills offers free counselling to all Cambridge school-age children and their families to help them with issues that they are trying to deal with....

Featured Client - Hammond Electrical

Hammond Electrical is a recently established electrical company located in Cambridge and servicing the Waikato region. Hammond Electrical offers a full range of electrical services including industrial, domestic and commercial work. We have years of experience in industrial and domestic services and our endeavor is to ensure customer satisfaction with every client. Owned and operated by Ash Hammond, we have recently been joined by electrician Taylor Hammond who brings a wide range...

Featured Partner - Xero

Xero is proudly a New Zealand Company that was created to change the game for small businesses globally. Our beautiful cloud-based accounting software connects people with the right numbers anytime, anywhere, on any device. Xero helps small business keep on top of cash flow & get paid faster. If you want to experience the power and beauty of Xero please contact us at Accounted4 and we will be able to help.  Here is some more information about Xero. https://www.xero.com/nz/about/...

Payroll Team Update

Minimum Wage IncreaseOn the 1st April 2018 the minimum wage will increase by 75c to $16.50 per hour. This rate applies to all employees 16 years and over. The starting-out and training hourly minimum wage rates will increase to $13.20 per hour, remaining at 80% of the adult minimum wage. Refer: https://www.employment.govt.nz/about/news-and-updates/minimum-wage-to-increase/ ACC Earner Levy April 2018 – no rate changeThe ACC Earner Premium will remain at 1.39% per $100 liable earnings for the ye...

End of Year Checklist

As usual, when the end of the financial year is approaching it’s a good idea to make sure everything's in order. Take a look at: Review how much stock you are carrying at the end of the year. Dispose of any obsolete lines or write the stock down to its net realisable valueReview planned dividend payments and the company’s imputation credit account balance. We will be reviewing these in March. Be aware that some DWT may be payable in April for this!Debtors: If you have taken reasonable steps ...

Work in a Business Operation without payment of wages

It is important for business operators that they correctly classify the legal status of their workers.Following guidance, established by the courts*, some indicators that a worker should not be classified as a volunteer, and is potentially an employee include:• the worker is being paid for their work – including rewards such as free accommodation or food• the worker expected to be rewarded for their work• there is an economic gain made to the business from the work performed by the worke...

Buying or Selling a business - there are humans in this equation too

The peopleYou’ve decided to sell your business and there’s a seemingly endless list of things to think about… finances, assets, systems, risks and legal considerations. These are the nuts and bolts of the sale and purchase. But it’s important to also think about the “people” side of the process. What will it mean for your staff? I have seen business acquisitions handled well, but I have also seen them handled badly. It’s the HR considerations that, if handled well, will make ...

Accounting Income Method (AIM) introduced by Inland revenue

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.This signals a shift in focus for accountants, freeing them up to help clients make good decisions about their finances and future direction.What: Inland Revenue is introducing the Accounting Income Method (AIM) so your business can pay tax as you earn profit. Your accounting software will calculate how much tax to pay for...

Who is an employee?

Permanent employees (full or part-time) These are the most common type of employee. Permanent employees have the full set of employment rights and responsibilities. Employees have to meet certain criteria to qualify for some employment entitlements, such as parental leave, parental leave payments, annual holidays, sick leave and bereavement leave. There may be small differences between full-time or part-time employees because of their work patterns. Fixed-term employees (full or part-time) ...

What are the new Government's tax priorities?

One of the first questions business owners ask when a new government enters power is what changes, if any, are coming in the area of tax. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash provided a good steer on that when he addressed  Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand last November. The biggest question, he said, is whether our current system is fit for purpose. A week later, the government demonstrated its commitment to finding an answer by announcing the tax working group, to be headed by Sir ...

We are hiring!!

Are you looking to put your Dynamic Administrative and Customer Service Skills to good use in a Forward-Thinking, Professional yet Fun Team Environment? Well look no further!! Due to a retirement we are now looking for a confident and well presented person to provide Client Services Assistance to our clients and accounting team. This position is full time, Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 5pm. A formal qualification is not essential, but you need to have;  Excellent Microsoft Offic...

Merry Christmas and Thank You for a great year from the A4 Team!

Here at Accounted4 we are looking forward to the summer holidays and a well deserved break for our team who have worked hard over this past year. Recently we held a Strategic Planning day out at Karapiro where we discussed as a team our goals for the next financial year and we also looked forward to the future, 5 and even 10 years down the track. It is important to include the whole team in these days so that we are all on the same page and are working towards a common goal together – after al...

Gifts and Deductions

The rule of thumb with gifts is that if they consist of food or drink, you can only claim 50% of the expense as a tax deduction. If you are giving out gift baskets or hampers and some of the contents are food or drink, but not all, the food or drink items are 50% deductible but the other gift items are 100% deductible. When you come to claim the tax deduction, you will need to apportion the expense between the 100% deductible items and the 50% deductible items. If you are giving gifts at Christm...

2018 A4 Seminars

Another year of informative and interactive seminars is done and dusted so we now look to 2018 and prepare for the next round of seminars. We are yet to confirm some of the dates but the seminars we are looking to hold in the first half of next year are as follows:Xero for Beginners SA5 - in association with the Chamber of Commerce 27th February 2018Xero for Advanced SA5 - in association with the Chamber of Commerce 26th June 2018HR for FarmersFigured for FarmersBBQ, Beers and Books for TradiesC...

In the Office

Staff working towards their Chartered AccountancyWe are proud to let you know that we currently have 4 staff members working towards gaining their Chartered Accountancy. Katie Jones, Tee Weenink, Ben Calvert and Genevra Scott. We wish them all the best with their studies. MO’vemberThis year our men at work participated in Mo’vember. Mo’vember raises awareness and attempts to stop our men dying young from causes like prostate cancer. Our Men committed to the cause and grew their facial hair...

In the Community

Salvation Army DonationAccounted4 once again made a generous donation to the Salvation Army in lieu of client gifts. We appreciate everything they do in our community....

Featured Client

Hinuera Natural Stone is a manufacturer of unique  and natural  cladding, landscaping and feature stone which provides distinctive good looks, timeless elegance and durability to your home, commercial building or landscaping project. The operation is based in the Hinuera Valley between Cambridge and Matamata and was established in 1955. The original product made was what we call today splitstone (which has a rough finish). With our precision cutting saws we are able to produce a smooth...

Featured Partner

Jon is a Business Advisor with Strategy+ Ltd offering business assistance particularly strategic and business planning, mentoring and coaching and a range of other services that aid owners with leading their businesses. Jon is also a member of the team at Better Business Academy and a Brigadier in the NZ Army. Jon has significant leadership experience both in business and military situations including 12 years as a Strategic Business Advisor and Coach and a 35-year military career...

IRD AIMs to please - Next Year

A key principle of the tax system is taxpayers should pay tax as income is earned. That doesn’t work well for businesses with seasonal or volatile incomes, and this is why the Government announced, early this year, a new method for paying provisional tax. The Accounting Income Method (AIM) More and more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have digital accounting systems for better business decisions. Integration between accounting software and IRD’s systems and processes is happening. SMEs u...

Payroll Team Update

Business Shutdown – Leave Management PlanHave 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/ Wages...

In the Industry

- Lesley Ann from People in MindWhile away on holiday I was sitting in a café one day and noticed something which has stuck with me. A very young person was delivering meals to a table. The scenario stuck in my mind as he just didn’t appear to fit that particular role. I don’t mean from a team fit perspective, but from a customer’s perspective. I noticed that customers interacted with him differently. They didn’t seem to know how to engage with him, or help him in the normal unspoken wa...

Laws that changed in 2017

From contractors’ tax to Easter trading, hazardous substances to ACC levy changes and more, it’s been a big year for business-related law changes. Here’s a summary — check it out to make sure you are across any new rules that apply to you. Minimum wage rates riseWhen: 1 April 2017What: The adult minimum wage rate went up 50c to $15.75 an hour. The starting-out and training rates rose by 40c to $12.60.What you need to do: If you pay your workers minimum w...