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Get your bills and receipts into Xero automatically with Hubdoc

From 18 March 2020, you can say goodbye to manual data entry and spend more time running your business because Hubdoc will be included in Xero Starter, Standard and Premium plans. Talk to us today if you are not sure what Xero plan you are on and find out if you will have access to this amazing new function.On 18 March, there will be a link to Hubdoc in your Xero organisation dropdown menu.Just sign in with your Xero login and follow the steps.What is Hubdoc? Hubdoc is a data capture solution th...

Client Services Team Vacancy

What’s the role Due to increased growth we are looking for a confident, well-presented person to join our Client Services Team. They will work Monday to Friday 8.15am to 4.45pm within our office reception area.  The person we are looking for will have well-rounded written and verbal communication skills and be technically confident and savvy. They will be required to handle a broad range of administrative tasks, including assisting our Receptionist with phone calls and client appointment...

Xero Education Month

For the whole of February, Xero is hosting free online webinars to help you learn how to run your business more efficiently. Make the most of this opportunity by registering for any of the webinars. They cover a variety of topics including:  tracking jobs and profitability with Xero Projectsmanaging payroll and business finances in one place with Xero Payrolltips for getting paid faster and improving your cash flowadvice on managing stress and wellbeinglearning helpful tips and tricks to s...

Pay your taxes by cheque?

Five new ways to do it.If you normally write a cheque to pay for your taxes, it’s time to decide how you will pay in the future. As of 1 March 2020, the IRD will no longer be accepting cheques. By the end of the last financial year (June 2019), only around 5% of payments received by IRD were by cheque, so they made the call to phase them out.Here are five faster, cheaper and safer ways to pay your taxes: Pay securely by direct debit using a debit card or credit card through myIR. Login and reg...

Minimum Wage Increase

The Government has today confirmed that the adult minimum wage will increase from $17.70 to $18.90 on 1 April 2020.Those on the starting-out and training wages will also see a boost in pay to $15.12 per hour. This rate remains at 80% of the adult minimum wage.The increase to $18.90 in 2020 offers a balanced approach toward reaching the government’s plan for a $20 minimum wage by 1 April 2021. The $18.90 rate was determined after consultation with stakeholders, including employer and employee r...

Team Vacancies

What’s the role We are seeking a confident, energetic and motivated person with at least 2-3 years of accounting experience in a CA office to join our accounting team. We are flexible with hours however our preference is for 35 - 37.5 hours per week.     This is a great opportunity for the right person who wants to grow their accountancy and business advisory career, while working closely with a variety of interesting clients and a supportive, professional and fun team. What you...

How to make your out of office email work harder

About to head off on holiday? Here’s why you should take some time to create your out-of-office message.There are a few essentials your out-of-office message needs to contain. Before you try anything fun with yours, make sure you have the essentials covered. Check that your auto-response has:A title that lets your recipient know this is an out-of-office message (some email services will do this automatically)The dates you’re out of the office, and the date you’ll be back in action.Whether ...

In the Community

As an alternative to client gifts this year we have made donations to the Salvation Army and the NZME Special Children's Christmas Party. Thank you to our wonderful clients who have allowed us to make this donation. Here at A4 we think this is a great way to spread some Christmas cheer to those less fortunate than ourselves....

Payroll Team Update

You can submit your January paydays in advance. Advanced filing is available from 11 December 2019. If you’re not filing early If you file electronically you’ll need to submit Employment Information for paydays between 25 December and 15 January inclusive, on or before 17 January 2020. Paper filers should submit Employment Information for paydays between 25 December and 15 January inclusive, on or before 29 January 2020. Payment due dates for PAYE and ESCT Monthly employersNovember payment...

In the Office

Congratulations to Tee Weenink on gaining her CA qualification. You have worked so hard and we are all so proud of you!...

Xero Tip

You can set up a custom report to see which invoices have not been seen by your customers and/or sent by you This is handy as it not only shows you which invoices you haven’t sent yet but also those that you have sent but your customers haven’t viewed yet. It might be you have a wrong email address or your invoice has ended up in their junk email! To set this up, go to Accounting -> Reports -> Aged Receivables detail, then; Set the date range to End of Last MonthClick on Report Settin...

Hubdoc and Xero - get ready for March 2020

Did you hear the news? Xero recently announced that in March 2020 they will be bundling Xero's data capture tool Hubdoc with Xero Starter, Standard and Premium plans. You’ll be able to say goodbye to chasing documents from clients and manual data entry. Instead, use that valuable time to unlock insights and opportunities which will Help you simplify your workflow and go paperless. Hubdoc allows you to easily capture and manage all your bills and receipts. You can upload your documents using yo...

Trade marks: Do you own your brand?

A great brand can set your business apart from the competition. But if you haven’t taken steps to protect your name, slogan or logo, they may not be yours. Why trade marks matter A trade mark protects your logo, name or brand. It could include words, logos, shapes, colours, sounds, smells or any combination of these.Registering a trade mark gives you and your business exclusive rights to use the brand in New Zealand. It also discourages others from using or copying it. Protection can last...

Big role for small firms in mental health

This article was originally posted by the NZ Herald - read the full article here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12286172Owners of small businesses and their employees have been put under the mental health microscope by cloud accounting firm Xero.A survey of 1001 small business owners it carried out with the Mental Health Foundation has found that many (39 per cent) are so busy running their business they don't have time to develop it.In addition, more t...

Declare all cash Jobs

Declare it all. Or risk everything. Tradies who do undeclared cash jobs can be hit with tax penalties, or criminal convictions that could lead to prison – costing them their business and their income.Doing jobs for cash or for your mates is okay - as long as you record them and declare the income when you're filing your annual tax return.Make sure that:you record every job, no matter how big or small. Find out more about keeping good business recordsif you're registered for GST you charge...

GST on imports rule

On 1 December 2019, the new “low-value goods” regime will begin imposing GST at 15% on goods acquired by New Zealand consumers from offshore suppliers. The new regime will apply to goods with individual values of NZ$1,000 or less. What does this mean for us Kiwis buying online from overseas?  It is expected that prices will increase by the amount of GST content, as overseas suppliers may have to return GST on their sales to NZ, so if you are planning on Christmas shopping online it...

Payroll Team Update

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/...

Accounting 101: GST

In New Zealand, goods and services tax (GST) is added to the price of most products and services. If your business is GST registered, you collect GST from customers (by adding 15% to your sale price) and you pay this to the government, less any GST that your business has paid on goods or services purchased. Not sure whether to register your small business? If your turnover (sales) was more than $60,000 over the past 12 months, or if you expect your turnover in the next 12 months to be more than ...

Xero Assistance Programme

We all experience tough times in life but the good news is getting help is now easy. We’ve been invited by Xero to a free and 100% confidential support programme offering face-to-face, live chat, online and telephone counselling. Help is available for anything from work, financial or family challenges to depression, drug and alcohol or social problems. No issue is too big or small. If you have a Starter, Standard or Premium Xero subscription then contact xap@xero.com to find out more and how y...

Xero Tip

To easily access your most used reports and favourite settings in your Xero file, why not try marking these features as your favourite. That way you can access these from wherever you are within your Xero file. To do this select the star next to the feature or settings that you'd like to include in the drop down menu. If a star is next to an option then this can be included. Once the item is 'starred' you can access this item from the drop down menu that it sits under. This only needs to be done...

Get to Know: Samantha Ratcliffe

Sam joined Accounted4 in September 2019 working in Grant Calvert’s team as an Intermediate Accountant. Originally from a small town in Devon, South West UK, she made the move to New Zealand in 2017 with her husband, Steve. Prior to living in New Zealand she studied and worked in a small Chartered Accountancy firm for 4 years. She moved to the other side of the world for the lifestyle New Zealand provides and the warmer climate.  In her spare time she loves spending time with family and fr...

In the Office

Welcome to the A4 Team Samantha. Sam joined A4 team in September and is working as an intermediate accountant in Grant Calverts Team. Check out our 'Get to know' section in the November Newsletter to get to know Sam better....

Featured Partner

Green Mouse Computing – The Clever Computing Experts Green Mouse started as Cambridge Computer Services in 1972. We have been providing home and business computing services to Cambridge and the surrounding areas for nearly 50 years. It has been under its current ownership since 2001. Computing has changed quite a bit during this time, but our client-based focus has not. We pride ourselves on tailoring solutions to the specific and complete needs of our clients. We believe we are unique in bein...

Featured Client

The Body Performance Clinic is a sports, musculoskeletal physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic.  Specialising in client focused, evidence based, quality treatment and rehabilitation.  We treat a varied patient demographic including elite athletes, recreational sports enthusiasts , people new to exercise and non - exercisers.  We offer a tailored approach to your recovery and well-being and aim for you to feel body positive.  We know healthy looks different on every bod...

Xero Roadshow

On the 22nd October the A4 team headed to the Claudelands Events Centre. The Xero Roadshow is a great way to mix and mingle with other firms in our area and to see and hear about all things Xero. By spending a day out of the office learning about industry leaders, it helps us to be able to be leaders for all our clients. Everyone gets something out of the Roadshow and it is great seeing the team that did attend thinking about what they learnt and implementing it within the firm....