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Payroll Update: Employment Agreements

When did you last review your Employment Agreements?Do your employment agreements reflect the changes in the last couple of years?Matariki Public Holiday – will shift each year to align with the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) and will always be on a Friday.Sick Leave entitlement increased on 24 July 2021 to 10 daysREMEMBER – there is no pro-rata of sick leave – all eligible employees get 10 days on their anniversary.https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/sick-leave/sick-leav...

5 quick wins for a greener business

Consumers are driving the trend towards sustainable business practices, voting with their dollars to support greener companies. The Global Sustainability Study 2021 found that: 63% of consumers have shifted their spending toward being more sustainable in the past five years, particularly younger consumers.Half of consumers rank sustainability as a top 5 value driver.34% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability, with a higher share of Millennials and Gen Z prepared to pay...

Featured Partner: The Little Acre

Here at The Little Acre creative studio, our branding, print and web designs are all driven by storytelling. It’s what makes us unique. To us, branding and design is all about connecting with others through a story, whether that’s with a logo, a website, or packaging. The Little Acre story began as (literally) a little acre down in Cambridge, New Zealand. Now, that little piece of land has been transformed into a full-service creative studio, servicing clients across New Zealand, Austr...

Join Our Accounted4 Team!

What’s the role We are seeking a confident, productive and motivated person with accounting experience in a CA office. We are flexible with work hours and options to work some hours from home.  This is a rewarding opportunity for the right person who wants to fast-forward their accountancy career, while working closely with a variety of interesting clients and a supportive, professional, social, fun team! What you need Accounting experience in a CA officeExperience in financial statement ...

IRD says ‘No more Mr Nice Guy’

Inland Revenue was taking a much more relaxed approach to outstanding tax debt during 2020 and 2021 – but now it’s ready to crack down. Since the start of July, it has stepped up its efforts to pursue outstanding amounts from local businesses. PAYE and KiwiSaver payments will be the first priority The amount of outstanding PAYE and employee KiwiSaver payments have doubled, and overdue GST has tripled, over the past five years. This is obviously a major problem, particularly the KiwiSaver pay...

Weighing up a big investment in your business

Are you considering investing in a new way to make your business more productive or streamlined? With a tight labour market, everyone’s time is at a premium – so finding ways to maximise productivity has never been more important. But it can take considerable funds to pay for a new website, ecommerce platform, software system or automations. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re weighing up the costs and potential benefits of a significant investment.What are the upfront cos...

Looking for a new and exciting challenge?

Who are we Accounted4 (A4) is a successful, progressive, CA Firm nestled in the heart of Cambridge. At A4, our 30 strong high performing team are 100% focused on our clients and our people. Our vibrant culture is reflected in our Team Values: Authenticity, Excellence, Innovation, Energy and Solidarity. We are 100% cloud technology based with Xero being our preferred software. We are a Xero Platinum Partner and Figured Gold Partner. We are conscious about protecting the environment and were the w...

Fulltime Administrator - Fixed Term

Who are we Accounted4 (A4) is a successful, forward-thinking Chartered Accountancy Firm nestled in the picturesque Cambridge CBD. We have a vibrant team of 30, including a 6-strong Client Services Team. At A4 we are very much about our customers and our people. Our strong culture is reflected in our Team Values; Authenticity, Excellence, Innovation, Energy and Solidarity. What’s the role We are looking for a person with exceptional administration, organisational and IT skills who can step effo...

Business Tips: Nurturing your customer relationships

The stability of your business isn’t just based on sound finances. Forming rock-solid foundations comes from having a solid customer base and building long-lasting relationships with your end users. To achieve this, you need to work hard on nurturing these relationships. But how do you keep your customers happy and satisfied? And what are the best ways to build and maintain a trusted and beneficial relationship with everyone in your sales book?Here are a few fundamentals for keeping those rela...

Event: Intro to Xero Workshop

Accounted4 is excited to present a workshop on Coding bank transactions and preparing GST returns in Xero If you want to learn the basics of coding bank transactions and preparing a GST return in Xero then this is the workshop for you! When: 5.30pm - 7pm, Tuesday 2 June 2022Where: Cambridge High School Staff RoomCost: Complimentary This workshop is particularly relevant for anyone who has recently moved from MYOB Banklink to Xero. No prior knowledge of Xero necessary. Registration...

Get to know: Eve

Eve grew up on a dairy farm in Taranaki and studied at Victoria University in Wellington gaining a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History. From there she spent a year living in Austin, Texas and travelling around the USA with her husband Dan. Eve joined the Accounted4 team as a Chartered Accountant after relocating to Cambridge in January this year. Outside of work you’ll find Eve hiking trails, playing netball, and exploring all the great places the Waikato has to off...

In the Community

In our office we are grateful for the St Johns organisation and the people involved who continue to save lives and help those in need which is why we decided to cash in our casual day funds and donate $500 to St Johns "Heart of Gold" Annual Appeal. We know that every little bit of help counts!...

What does Budget 2022 mean for you?

With the cost of living soaring, interest rates rising and house prices falling, Budget 2022 aimed to deliver a little something to help the average household. So what’s in it for you?Support for rising household pricesYou get to enjoy at least some of the benefits of the latest Wellbeing Budget, particularly the extended fuel excise and road user charge reductions. Those last for another two months, as do the half-price public transport fares.For those earning under $70,000 a year, there is a...

In the Office

In April we welcomed our newest team member Samara. Samara is part of our accounting team and is working in Martyn's team. Samara graduated from Cambridge High School in 2019 and entered the school leaver program at KPMG Hamilton. She joined Accounted4 as a graduate accountant in April 2022 and is currently studying at Wintec towards a Bachelor of Applied Management majoring in Accounting. Her long term goal is to become a Chartered Accountant. Outside of work Samara enjoys swimming, biking and ...

Control the Quad roll: Protect what matters most

The annual quad bike fatalities in New Zealand are mums, dads, grandparents, and loved ones that had every intention of returning home.Quad bike rollovers occur on all gradients of land and with the most experienced of riders. Crush protection devices (CPDs) can reduce the risk of a quad bike crushing the rider as it rolls by creating a gap between the bike and the ground when it is upside down.Safer Farms have launched a new campaign ‘Control the Roll’ with ACC encouraging farmers to put th...

May Payroll Update

Matariki Public HolidayThe first public holiday to celebrate Matariki will be on Friday 24 June 2022.Refer here. ATTENTION: Farming Employers Are my Employment Agreements up to date for all employees?Refer here and here. Are my New Employee forms current?- Tax Deduction (IR330Refer here.- KiwisaverRefer here. Am I meeting the Minimum Wage Requirements? Are you paying your employees for every hour worked in a pay period?  Refer here. All employees...

Featured Client: Dick & Faye Post and their record breaking Jersey Cow

Congratulations to our wonderful clients Dick and Faye on their outstanding success with their caramel jersey "once in a lifetime" cow.  The following article is written by Stuff One of Waikato farmer Dick Post’s caramel jersey cows has turned out to be more of a golden calf.The Tauwhare breeder lives for agriculture and more than anything else - dairy farming. But the retiring breeder along with his wife Faye, never anticipated that one of their Jersey cows would be a record breaker...

Featured Partner: Green Mouse

Green Mouse Computing Limited. Thank you to Accounted4 for nominating us as this month’s featured partner. Green Mouse Computing is a local team which specialises in providing computer hardware and software, and support services to small businesses and home PC users in Cambridge and the surrounding area. We started out in 2001 as Cambridge Computer Services – PC Care, and over more than twenty years have stayed true to our driving principles of providing the best computing support and offeri...

Join our Awesome Team!

Who are we Accounted4 (A4) is a successful, forward-thinking, CA Firm nestled in the heart of picturesque Cambridge. At A4, our 30 strong team are 100% focused on our clients and our people. Our vibrant culture is reflected in our team values; Authenticity, Excellence, Innovation, Energy and Solidarity. Xero is our preferred accounting software and to endorse this we are a Xero Platinum Partner. We are conscious about protecting the environment and were the winner of the 2021 Waipa Business Awar...

Keeping up with Fringe Benefit Tax

As an employer, if you provide fringe benefits to employees, or others associated with your business, you must generally pay fringe benefit tax (FBT) on the value of these benefits.So, when are you liable for FBT? Any time you provide non-cash benefits to your staff. The list is potentially endless but in practice, most non-cash benefits fall into one of these categories:motor vehiclessubsidised transportstaff vouchers/giftsoffsite carparksinsurance premiumsOf these, most FBT revolves around com...

In the Community

At the end of May we went to Suburban Kitchen for breaky in our pinkest attire in support of Breast Cancer Awareness NZ. Thank you to our social club for making a donation to the cause on behalf of everyone in the A4 office....

In the Office

We welcomed Elayne into our office on the 15th August and we couldn't be more excited to have her on the team! Elayne is part of our accounting team, working under Martyn and Katie. Born and raised on her parent’s dairy farm in the Waikato, Elayne completed a Bachelor of Agriculture Commerce with Professional Accounting at Lincoln University. She is currently studying towards her CA qualification. Elayne is a farm girl at heart but along with helping on the farm she enjoys living a healthy and...

Could your business survive without you?

Would your business still thrive, or would it suffer a catastrophic failure if you suddenly stepped away?It’s tough to remove yourself from the day-to-day operations when you’re passionate and busy. However sudden accidents, illnesses, or family emergencies can – and will – happen and you need to be able to step back knowing your systems are robust enough to cope.For your business to work for you, you need to make yourself replaceable. Large corporations have plans in place to mitigate w...

Cash versus accrual accounting explained

The difference between cash basis and accrual basis accounting comes down to timing. When do you record revenue or expenses? If you do it when you pay or receive money, it’s cash basis accounting. If you do it when you get a bill or raise an invoice, it’s accrual basis accounting.Businesses that use cash basis accounting recognise income and expenses only when money changes hands. But because this doesn’t take upcoming expenses into account, it could leave you with the idea that you have a...

Don’t get caught by an Inland Revenue scam

It’s tax season – which also means it’s tax scam season.Unfortunately, savvy scammers know that Kiwis expect to receive correspondence from Inland Revenue over the next few months. So the scammers create emails or texts that appear to have come from Inland Revenue (IR) to con people out of money. These emails (or calls) can be highly convincing, so it’s important to stop and think before you share your details. Recently a BNZ customer received an email purportedly from Inland Revenue tel...