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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...

6 secrets to getting prompt payment

If you’re struggling with late payments, and about half of small businesses are, here are some simple tips to try.Invoice without delayYour customer can’t pay until you've invoiced them, so make sure you send your bill promptly. Customers are also more open to paying when they've just received the goods or services that you delivered. Cash in on the goodwill, there's no reason to delay. Include all the informationMake sure your invoice has all the right information, including a description o...

Featured Client: Forage Juice

Forage Juice located in the heart of Cambridge specialises in cold-pressed juices, tonics and is the home of the famous 3-day Juice Cleanse.  You can also choose from a range of delicious smoothies, salads, and raw slices in store.Forage offers a select retail range, focused on goods that are organic, sustainable, and local.  Bring in your empty containers and refill them from the extensive range of Ecostore products and organic whole foods.  The retail range includes over 30 loos...

Geoff Hurst to be appointed Director on April 1st

Article written by Viv Posselt from Cambridge NewsGeoff Hurst’s core values of integrity, flexibility and innovation align perfectly with those at the heart of Cambridge’s award-winning firm, Accounted4, which makes his appointment as their fourth director one of both personal and professional validation.Geoff steps into the role officially on April 1, some eight years after he joined the firm, and three since he became an associate.   “The next few years will be about establishi...

PROPOSED CHANGES TO INTEREST DEDUCTIBILITY ON RENTAL PROPERTIES

The government is currently considering new interest limitation rules. These will reduce the ability of residential investment property owners to claim interest as a deductible expense.They are expected to be passed into law mid to late March 2022 and will be backdated to apply from 1 October 2021 for: Residential property acquired on or after 27 March 2021, interest cannot be claimed as an expense from 1 October 2021, unless an exclusion or exemption applies. Property acquired before 27 Ma...

Xero Tip - cash coding

A helpful tip from our accounting team member Larissa - Cash Coding in Xero- On the cash coding screen in your Xero file there is a section called "Account" where you add your codes for various transactions.- If you have multiple transactions in a row that have the same account code, put in the first code e.g. 531 - drawings.- If the next transaction below is the same, instead of typing in the code you can push '+' and it will copy the account code from above. (If you hold down '+' it will ...

IMPORTANT EMPLOYER TIPS FOR THE 1ST APRIL CHANGES

Minimum Wage Increase of 6%On the 1 April 2022 the minimum wage will increase to $21.20 per hour. This rate applies to all employees 16 years and over. The starting-out and training hourly minimum wage rates will increase to $16.96 per hour, remaining at 80% of the adult minimum wage. Refer hereSalaried employees – check for Minimum Wage requirementsIf you have salaried employees, you need to make sure that their total remuneration meets minimum wage requirements for each individual ...

Employment New Zealand - Labour Inspectorate responds to sharp rise of complaints in dairy sector

This is a great reminder for anyone meeting dairy industry clients over the coming months to make sure that they are compliant with their minimum standards of employment and tenancy.Labour Inspectorate & Tenancy Compliance Investigations team are currently visiting farms around NZ.Our Accounted4 Payroll team still hear of clients who are not compliant in a few key areas:You must charge market rent for on-farm accommodation (there are a couple of exceptions on this)Ensuring employee’s have empl...

In the Office

Eve joined our Accounted4 team in February 2022. She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History, and completed her Chartered Accountancy qualification in 2021.Eve has a keen interest in working with clients from various farming backgrounds as well as clients from all walks of life. Eve describes herself as organised and committed to going the extra mile for the team (on and off the netball court!). She loves the problem-solving aspect...

Five Minute Functions with Figured

Want to get the most out of your Figured Software?Figured have developed a new series of helpful bite-sized how to videos called "5 Minute Functions".Check out the playlist on Youtube to watch them and start your learning today!Watch HereWe have a team of Figured superstars here at Accounted4, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch with our Cambridge based branch today....

5 tips for chasing invoices without annoying your clients

When you’re a small business owner, sole trader or freelancer, asking for payment on overdue invoices can be a delicate matter. Without an accounts person or department, sometimes you’re trying to secure new work and chase invoices from the same person. That can be an awkward tightrope to walk.Here are five tips for chasing payments while maintaining customer loyalty:Automate reminders - Set friendly payment reminders that go out automatically – they tell clients they’re missed a pa...

The pros and cons of helping your child to buy a house

The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is one of New Zealand’s largest lenders, with between half and 70% of all first-time buyers estimated to be getting assistance from their parents. Can you afford to help, what kind of help could you provide, and how should you protect yourself?Can you afford to become a bank?Parents like to help their kids to buy a house because it gives the kids stability and it can set them up for a brighter financial future.But it’s important that you don’t overstretch your...

The COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment

The Short-Term Absence payment is for businesses (including self-employed) to help pay for workers who can't work from home or attend work while they wait for the results of a Covid-19 test. To be eligible, workers need to be unable to work from home and need to miss work while waiting for their test results.There’s a one-off payment of $359 for each eligible worker. Employers or the self-employed can apply for any worker once in any 30-day period, unless a health official or doctor tells the ...

Start your year off in the performance zone

Getting back into work after a break can be hard.You might be struggling to get back into your routine and engage your brain in work. Or, perhaps you spent time setting your goals and planning your year and you’re full speed raring to go. There is, however, an optimum approach somewhere between these two scenarios - we call this hitting ‘The Performance Zone’.The ‘Performance Zone’ sits between the ‘Comfort Zone’ and the ‘Danger Zone’.It’s easy to hang out in your Comfort Zon...

Join our Awesome Team!

What’s the role We are seeking a confident, productive and motivated person, ideally with accounting experience in a CA office, however for the right person this is not essential as we will provide training. We are flexible with work hours and options to work from home.  This is an exciting 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 and fun team. What...

Featured Client: Cornege Photography

I'm Christine Dawkins (née Cornegé), a photographer living in the beautiful town of Cambridge in the Waikato region of New Zealand.  I have over 15 year's experience as a photographer. I started my career in the news industry where I was a newspaper photo journalist for nearly 10 years, employed by New Zealand's biggest media conglomerates. During this time was able to develop a great grounding in all things photography covering everything from sport to breaking news.  Throughout my ...

Christmas gifts for your customers and team

Christmas is nearly here, and it’s a great time to let your customers and team members know how much you appreciate them. But this has been a tough year – it’s not easy to know how much to spend or whether it’s appropriate to throw a party.Gifts, cards and donationsThe traditional professional Christmas gift tends to be food-related: hams; hampers; bottles of wine or spirits. Those can be ordered online and sent out, although it’s best to avoid anything that will spoil considering curr...

Festive Season Payroll Action List

The Awesome team at People in Mind have shared their Festive Season Payroll Action List with us - check it out!Closing over the festive season? If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to start talking to your staff about leave plans for the festive closedown, if your business traditionally shuts down over the festive season. Under employment law: An employer can only have one annual closedown a year; andDuring this closedown period, an employer can direct the employee to take l...

Xero - new look bank reconciliation

You can choose between an enlarged, zoomed-in view, or a compact view that displays more transactions on screen. Simply move the toggle to choose the view that best suits your needs.This is all part of the evolution of bank reconciliation at Xero, and brings the design in line with other Xero features, like Single Touch Payroll in Australia and others. Creating a consistent look and feel across the platform not only makes it a seamless experience for you, but also helps newer customers lear...

In the Community

On the 24th November the A4 Social club got their bake on and created a quiz for the team to spread awareness and show support to Movember. Our resident Mo Bro Ben Calvert raised a generous amount for the charity and ran/walked 60km throughout November for the 60 men we lose each hour of everyday. Well done Ben, we are proud of you!...