Back to Blog

Election 2014 - let the battle begin! by Craig Savage CA

So, Election Year is upon us, and the parties are starting to draw the battle lines and are showing us the fibre of their fabric – or starting the lolly scramble if you prefer. In reverse order (purely because I want to discuss National’s announcement more) we had Labour announce their ‘Best Start; programme with $60 per week for families with new-borns. To make the policy palatable for the middle class they have said this will be available for families earning up to $150k. After the fi...

Rockstar Economy

What Does the ‘Rockstar’ Economy mean?!?!?!? There has been talk in the media recently about New Zealand having a ‘Rock Star’ economy over the coming year, but what does this mean, and how certain is it? The comment came from an economist at HSBC who was looking at projections the NZ economy might grow at 3.4% in 2014, and is expected to have grown 3% in 2013. This is well above other developed nations – Australia’s economy is expected to have grown about 2.3% in 2013 and forec...

A light hearted take on Christmas!

Finally Christmas is in sight, we are all madly shopping, wrapping and organising family. Those of us with kids are reminding them that Santa only comes to kids who are good, and everyone has houses full of tinsel, trees and decorations. So, we thought this was the perfect time for a detailed analysis of some tricky tax issues! Not Really. This weeks blog post is a bit light-hearted and will hopefully give you a chuckle. ‘Best’ Christmas Cracker Jokes What does Miley Cyrus have ...

NZBN and RealMe – What’s that all about?!?

Some people may have heard that the government has allocated every company in New Zealand (even those which have been struck off) an NZBN. The NZBN, or New Zealand Business Number is a unique number specific to each company. The government is working out how to allocate a NZBN to sole traders, partnerships, trusts and the like. The point of all this is to make it easier to deal with government agencies, although the benefits of this will be some time in the future. The plan is that one day...

Business Advisory team update

We recently ran a seminar for our clients about Cashflow and Profit. Many businesses fall into the trap of not understanding the differences between these, and of not monitoring both. So, what are the main differences between the two? PROFIT is a measure of the income less expenses. It includes things like depreciation (as a recognition that the assets you use in the businesses wear out and need replacing over time). It also includes adjustments for debtors and creditors at year end. It sp...

For your diary

Tax Calendar November 28 2013 1st instalment of 2014 Provisional tax (June balance date) January 15 2014 2nd instalment of 2014 Provisional Tax (March Balance date except for those who pay provisional tax twice a year) Pay GST for period ended 30 November 2013 April 7 2014 Terminal Tax for 2013 (March April, May and June Balance dates) Christmas Office Hours Heads Up Our office will close at 5pm on Friday 20th December and reopen 8.30am on Monday 13th January 2014....

Young Professionals Group

Along with our Keystone Sponsorship of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, we are also very pleased to sponsor the Chamber’s newest venture “The Chamber First XV”. The aim of this new group is to provide networking opportunities for young professionals in Cambridge to meet and share ideas on a regular basis. Members will benefit by developing both personally and professionally. Young people are the future of Cambridge and its business community and we wish to encourage them to gro...

Relay for Life

We will once again be participating in next year’s Cancer Society Relay for Life. Scheduled for the weekend of March 1st and 2nd this is an opportunity to celebrate cancer survivors; remember lost loved ones to cancer and fight back by raising awareness and funds to support the work of the Cancer Society. Please donate to our Accounted4 fundraiser next year and help us raise money for this worthwhile cause....

In the office

We recently fare-welled both Kirsty Johnson and Rachel Shannon who left the firm to pursue their accounting careers in other areas. We wish them all the very best for the future. ...

For your office

'Otherwise working day’ calculator The MBIE – Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (old Department of Labour) have developed a handy online calculator which can be used to help decide whether a day would ‘otherwise be a working day’ for an employee if it wasn’t a public holiday. This will have an impact on an employee’s entitlements to public holidays, sick or bereavement leave. You can use this calculator where the employees’ working patterns are not clear or t...

Featured Partner

You may have heard about Banklink, which was founded in 1986 in NZ by Malcolm MacDonald , Derek Jones and Steve Agnew. Their aim was to provide a time-saving service to accountants and their small business clients by transferring data directly into the accountants computerised systems. BankLink automates and streamlines the accounting process for over 4,500 accounting practices and over quarter of a million small business clients across New Zealand and Australia. BankLink provides account...

In the industry

Utilise bank rules to speed the reconciliation process as well as to accurately code recurring items. See the following link for more details: https://help.xero.com/nz/#BankAccounts_Details_BankRules Utilise recurring invoices to automatically generate and send out repetitive invoices to clients. Auto set the due date of invoices by typing +7 or +14 into the due date box rather than working out the date using the calendar. Use the quantity section in ‘add details’ to bank reco...

In the community

Have you thought about what you would do if your sensitive data was compromised or you were victim to malicious software or scams? With scams becoming more sophisticated, it is important for businesses to understand how to safeguard against common cyber-attacks and security threats. Ensure you seek expert advice to avoid a potential disaster!...

2013.....nearly done & dusted...

Goodness me…. this year seems to have flown by and what a big one it has been for the team at Accounted4 with the rebrand of the Shannon Wrigley & Co Ltd name back in April. The rebrand has been very successful and we would like to sincerely thank all of our loyal clients who have accepted our new look without any hesitation. We would also like to welcome the new clients we have welcomed into the practice this year. We welcome feedback from any of our clients at any time as we kee...

Featured Client

Rouge is a family business owned by Alana & Phil Mackay, along with Alana’s dad David McCathie. Opened in 2009 in the Empire Street courtyard, the cafe prides itself on fresh food, great coffee and friendly, efficient service. Our offerings include cabinet food, all-day breakfast and seasonal lunch specials, as well as wine, beer, coffee and cold drinks. A Waipa Networks Business Award for Customer Service this year was a welcome recognition of the excellent service offered by our fanta...

Featured Client

Final Touch is a nationwide franchise business based right here in Cambridge. They operate multiple vehicle Valet, Touch up and Alloy repair centres through out New Zealand. The business is centred around its revolutionary Final Touch Stone Chip Paint Repair Technology-developed by current Master Franchise holder Jason Lowe and his father Gary Lowe. The Kiwi Stone Chip Repair Technology is able to perfectly match paint colour to any vehicle, so repairs are optically undetectable. This techno...

Featured Partner

You may have heard about Xero. Xero is the emerging leader in online accounting software, providing business owners with real-time visibility of their financial position in a way that’s simple, smart and secure. Xero has a full accrual accounting system - invoicing, debtors, creditors, GST and reporting. Because it’s online, Xero lets you work anywhere. You can login anytime with your PC, Mac, iPhone or Android. Your bank transactions are automatically imported into Xero on a daily basis w...

For your office

Save Yourself Time & Money; Good record keeping is the single most important thing you can do to help us prepare your accounts. You might be surprised at the amount of time and money you can save by having good records. Here are a few tips to make your record-keeping more efficient. Set up a good accounting software system such as BankLink or Xero; The use of electronic technology to process your accounts will dramatically decrease the time you (and we) spend doing your accounts. Accounti...

In the community

We would like to congratulate two of our clients, Rouge Café and Cambridge Resthaven for their outstanding achievements at the 2013 Waipa Networks Business Awards. Well Done! We are proud and thrilled for you....

In the office

We were proud and thrilled when our Business Manager, Christine Stevenson was named Emerging Business Leader 2013 at the recent Waipa Networks Business Awards. Chris started with us in the new role of Business Manager just over 3 years ago and has really helped to move the business forward. Congratulations Chris!...

In the industry

The focus of the Budget 2013 continues to support the Government’s initiative to return to a surplus position by 2014/2015. Here are a few key facts from Budget 2013: Changes to ACC will see a reduction in ACC costs of around 40% over the next two years. ACC currently adds another 1.7% to personal tax rates and are a substantial portion of annual motor vehicle registrations. The Government is cracking down on student loan borrowers. Overseas based borrowers will face fixed repayment obligat...

Keystone Sponsor – Cambridge Chamber Commerce

We are proud to announce that as from 10th April 2013, accounted4 became the KeyStone Sponsor of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. This was formally announced at a Chamber luncheon at the Don Rowlands Centre with Prime Minister John Key on 26th April 2013....

Rebrand/Launch

Hard to believe that it has only been only four months since we launched the rebrand of Shannon Wrigley to accounted4. Thank you if you attended our Launch in the Town Hall on 23rd April. The team thoroughly enjoyed hosting over 250 clients and stakeholders. We have had huge amounts of positive feedback on the new name and website, which is fantastic. We are currently working on more marketing material including a Company Profile and Brochures on our Client Service Plans biz4wd and farm4wd s...