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How's your work-life balance?

It’s great to be the boss – you can work any hours you like, right?Unfortunately, for many business owners, that means long hours, plenty of stress, and very few breaks and holidays.A survey done by Statistics NZ found that:21% of employers work 60 hours per week or moreOnly 45% employers said they were satisfied with their work-life balance, compared with 76% overall.After lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID-19, you might find yourself thinking about your priorities – at least, thatâ€...

Get to know: Kate

Kate joined the Accounted4 Team in May 2020. Born and bred on a dairy farm in Cambridge and after several years on her OE in the UK, Kate returned to work at LIC in Payroll and studied HR at University. From here she and her husband Tony started a family and she worked part time for a local specialised HR & Payroll Bureau. Excited by the opportunity to learn something new, she joined Accounted4 in the Payroll & Tax Team. Outside of work Kate enjoys a rural lifestyle rearing calves and cultivatin...

In the Office

On the 22nd of November we welcomed Renee into the A4 family. Renee is part of our Accounting Team and is working in Martyn and Geoff's Teams. Renee has a Bachelor of Management Studies in accounting and is currently working towards her Chartered Accounting qualification. Prior to being a part of the A4 team, Renee worked in various roles, including spending a year working at Walt Disneyworld in Orlando as a Character Performer. In her spare time you might find Renee on the netball court, s...

Featured Partner: HPSNZ

High Performance Sport New Zealand leads the high performance sport system in New Zealand. HPSNZ works in partnership with national sport organisation's, coaches and athletes so that more New Zealanders can win on the world stage at Olympic and Paralympic Games and World Championships. With over 160 athletes based here, including World Champions and Olympic Medalists, Cambridge is a major hub for HPSNZ. The HPSNZ National Performance Centre is based in the Avantidrome and includes conditioning, ...

Banks introduce new mortgage lending restrictions

In June this year, the Reserve Bank received approval for a new tool to rein in house prices and control debt levels: debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. Now, some of the banks have decided to move first. BNZ has introduced a DTI for all its borrowers, and ASB has confirmed that it, too, is now applying DTI restrictions. How does it work?Debt-to-income ratio limits set out a maximum loan amount based on your income level. BNZ has applied a DTI limit of six, meaning that you can borrow a total of six ti...

Get to know: Ann-Marie

Ann-Marie began her role at A4 as Kim Antonio's Senior Accounting Manager back in November 2019. She has over 10 years’ experience in Accounting, holds a BMS (major in Accounting & Marketing) and is a Chartered Accountant. Growing up on a family farm and now 50/50 sharemilking in Ohaupo with Husband Kayne she is extremely grateful for the farming lifestyle. Ann-Marie enjoys helping on the farm over calving, has been involved with numerous community groups, and is currently treasurer of the loc...

Xero Support & Learning

Needing help with Xero but unable to meet with your accountant face to face? Xero might be able to help you! In your Xero file on your My Xero page at the top there is a tab called "Learning & Tools". This tab will take you to Xero Central where you have access to Support from Xero experts, articles, courses, videos and more! You can also access Xero Help by navigating to the top right hand side and clicking on the little question mark from any screen within your Xero login. This will drop ...

Accounting 101: Mixed Use Business Vehicles

Company Vehicles available for Private Use by Shareholders – Logbook or FBT? Shareholders of companies often use their personal vehicles for business and private purposes. To deal with that private use aspect - a Close Company (a company with 5 or fewer natural persons with voting or market interests in the company of more than 50%) has the option of using either a Logbook (actual use) basis or a Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) basis. For a company to be able to use the logbook method it must only h...

Payroll Update

Business Shutdown – Leave Management Plan: 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...

Dairy Women's Network Event

MAKE TIME FOR YOUR PEOPLE TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FARM BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY Following a successful first round, Dairy Women’s Network are bringing back their highly-rated 'Make Time For Your People' workshops, funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries.  With the current COVID-19 status and uncertainty of levels Dairy Women's Network are moving these events to online webinar. There will be four webinars across four days, REGISTER NOW: Part 1 - Monday 22 November 12.30pm, presented by Lee ...

5 Ideas for Spring Self-Care

As the year starts to slip away from us and stress levels begin to rise, it is a great time to think about our mental health and what we could do to prioritise self-care. Keep reading to find out about 5 ideas for spring self-care that we think could be beneficial to our everyday lives: 1. Mindfulness - a simple but effective way to relax. It is about being in the present moment, about being aware of how you are feeling and figuring out how to unwind. Mindful meditation is a fast and easy way to...

In the Office

During Maori Language Week we learnt, listened, spoke, played and read Te Reo. Upskilling and supporting our indigenous culture and language is important in our office. We are proud to be apart of Aotearoa....

In the Community

During September we held a Blue Bake-off fundraiser in the office in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ. It is safe to say we have some outstanding bakers in the office as well as some very generous people who wouldn't say no to supporting a great cause! Side note - the champions of the bake off were Katie with her delicious Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake and Jamie for his famous Cheese scones! ...

Featured Client

Hi I'm Elly, the owner and face of Mostly Vegan. After going vegan in 2017 I quickly realised it was too tricky to find things here in the Waikato! Mostly Vegan has quickly become so much more than I could have hoped for. It’s your one stop shop for all things vegan and eco-friendly! Located in Hamilton East and delivering New Zealand wide. We offer alternatives for everything from cheese to toothpaste. Covering vegan, gluten free, keto and more! Click here to check out Mostly Vegan or shop on...

Featured Client

Hi I'm Elly, the owner and face of Mostly Vegan. After going vegan in 2017 I quickly realised it was too tricky to find things here in the Waikato! Mostly Vegan has quickly become so much more than I could have hoped for. It’s your one stop shop for all things vegan and eco-friendly! Located in Hamilton East and delivering New Zealand wide. We offer alternatives for everything from cheese to toothpaste. Covering vegan, gluten free, keto and more! Click here to check out Mostly Vegan or shop on...

Cyber Up with CERT NZ

This week is Cyber Smart Week and at A4 "it's not just about the numbers", we take our clients and our own safety seriously. Follow these important steps by CERT NZ to UP your defenses: Upsize your passwords - create passwords that are long and strong!Upgrade to multi factor authentication - the more layers of security the safer you are.Uphold your privacy - make sure the request to share personal information is legitimate. The information you share could enable hackers to impersonate you online...

Remote work is on the rise - support your virtual team

Remote working has become more and more common as lockdowns have changed our working life and developments in technology have allowed us to communicate and collaborate no matter where we are. Remote work is on the rise, and offering flexibility to your staff can be an essential tool to both attract new talent and retain your existing team. When you’re recruiting, the ability to offer an entirely remote position can mean that you’re suddenly able to consider candidates from across the country...

Join Our Team!

What’s the role We are seeking a confident, productive and motivated person with at least 1-3 years accounting experience in a CA office to join our accounting team. We are flexible with work hours and options to work from home.  This is a great 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 you need At least 1-3 years accounting experience i...

Could a 4-day week be a good fit for your team?

The pandemic has acted as an impetus for reflection, with many workers and business people reassessing the hours they work and the priority that work has in their lives.A survey from Slack showed that 72% of respondents would prefer a hybrid approach to work – i.e. a mix of remote and office work. But there’s also a growing belief that we should be working fewer hours too and aiming for a ‘4-day week’. This would mean less time in the workplace and more time with our friends and families...

Are you making time for mindfulness?

As business owners, we all know the pressure of being the driving force behind a business. It can be a stressful experience, and this can have an impact on your wellbeing. Running a business takes up so much of your time, and can consume your waking thoughts. But a tired, stressed and anxious owner is not an effective owner – so there's an increasing need to focus on mental health and to bring elements of mindfulness, meditation and contemplation into your routine. And, investing in employee w...

Rules for NZ businesses at different alert levels

Although we have been here before, it can be hard to remember the rules on operating businesses at the different Alert levels.  The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s website has a useful guidance table for businesses at Alert level 2, 3 and 4. Familiarise yourself with the rules now, so that you can be ready with a plan for each change in Alert Level. Visit the MBIE site here. While Alert evel 4 lockdown has prevented most businesses from operating, at Alert level 3 m...

Your GST return is due on the 28th

Your GST return is due soon. You need to file your GST return at the end of every taxable period (this may be monthly, 2 monthly or 6 monthly depending on the frequency you have chosen for your business - you can check this with us).We can help you file your return and pay by the due date to avoid late penalties. Have you got your paperwork in order? - You’ll need to calculate the following to work out your return: Total sales and income for the taxable periodTotal purchases and expe...

COVID-19 - Finding help for your business

We know we are all back in a situation we didn’t want to be in and we certainly have our fingers crossed this lockdown can be as short as possible.  For us at Accounted4 we feel very fortunate to be able to continue working during lockdown. All our systems are cloud based, and it is easy for our whole team to continue working from home.  It is a great feeling to know we are here to help our clients in these trying times. For many businesses we know this lockdown creates further stres...

Payroll Update: Employment Agreement Reviews

With recent legislation changes employers are required to review and update your employment agreements for the increased Sick leave, and the Bereavement leave extension to include miscarriages and stillbirths.If you need HR assistance, please call the Accounted4 payroll team for a referral. Sick Leave entitlement increased on 24 July 2021 to 10 day The minimum sick leave entitlements increased from 5 to 10 days per year from 24 July 2021. Employees get the extra five days per year when they...

Featured Client: Liora Pine / Flourish

Originally from the US, Liora Pine is one of many intelligent and business savvy women in our Cambridge community using her personal experiences to develop and grow not one but two businesses. After University where she gained a double degree in Graphic Design and Communication and became diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Liora decided to change something in her life so she started exercising. It wasn't until her exercise routine got pushed to the side that she realised she needed he...