Do you know your responsibilities when becoming an employer?

If you’re just starting a new business, or are taking your first steps towards hiring your first team members, being confident about your role as a new employer is essential. As your new business grows, you’ll inevitably need to expand your team – and this means taking on staff and becoming an employer. But are you ready for the tasks and responsibilities you have towards your new employees once you…  Read more

View from the dashboard: Do you have the whole picture?

Days and nights punctuated with the ping of notifications? Just because your dashboard’s right in front of you, are you sure you have the full picture? Say your income figures are running at an all-time high. Well done! Before you break out the bubbly, run some queries to make sure business is as good as it looks. Expenses: If your income has gone up, have expenses increased too? What about when…  Read more

Wellbeing toolkit at your fingertips

Heard of The Five Ways to Wellbeing? They are simple and proven actions you can introduce in your workplace to help staff find balance, build resilience, and boost their mental health and wellbeing: Connect: feeling close to and valued by others boosts wellbeing. Take a moment every day to connect with colleagues. Be Active: being physically active improves physical health and can improve mood and wellbeing, decreasing stress, depression, and…  Read more

How to say no if you’re a yes person!

Are you a yes person? Even when you’re snowed under with work, family, and life admin, do you find yourself saying yes to things you don’t really have time or headspace for? The downside of being a yes person: You can enable others to develop a dependency on you You may be susceptible to people taking advantage Stress and burnout can zap you and your energy levels Your time can…  Read more

Cut your energy usage while also cutting operating costs

One of the inescapable realities of running a small business is your impact on the environment. The carbon footprint of your delivery vans, the effect of your packaging on the natural world, or the amount of energy you consume as a company all add up over time. The good news is that the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) is making it easier for your small business to navigate energy…  Read more

The ABCs of bookkeeping

In today’s digital times, you’re probably used to having unrivalled access to your financial numbers, key performance indicators (KPIs) and cashflow metrics. Without good bookkeeping, the speed and quality of your reporting can quickly fall down. So, why is fast and accurate bookkeeping so important? And what are the main bookkeeping tasks that your business should be getting right? The financial importance of good bookkeeping Bookkeeping is a fundamental part…  Read more

5 ways to reduce your stress as a business owner

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 97% of all businesses in New Zealand. As the owner of an SME, you’re doing your bit to provide employment, aid the economy and put Aotearoa on the map in an increasingly globalised world. But running your own business can be incredibly stressful! New research from RFI Global research, commissioned by Prospa, shows that seven in ten New Zealand SMEs are feeling stressed…  Read more

Courses to better your business

Leadership development and lifesaving skills? Consider both for your business. One of New Zealand’s top business training providers, the Icehouse’s Leadership Development Programme aims at professionals wanting to become more effective leaders with: Techniques to improve leadership, communication and management skills. A better understanding of challenges for owner-managers. How to think strategically to grow your business. A better understanding of business functions including marketing, finance, and operations. How to execute…  Read more

NZ Business confidence soars: how to ride the wave

Business confidence soared in August, rising 23 points to +51, the highest level in a decade! Against the backdrop of dire economic outlooks and the ’Survive to ’25’ mantra that’s been so prevalent in business circles, this jump in New Zealand business confidence is a genuine boost for small business owners and the economy in general. But with tough times potentially still ahead, what can your business do to ride…  Read more

Making data meaningful in your business

Three steps to ensuring data is meaningful for your business Raw data describes the facts and figures that a business processes every day. Over time, every business hoards a certain amount of data and it only becomes meaningful to a business after it has been processed to add context, relevance and purpose. For example, in a restaurant, every order will be recorded. However, a restaurant won’t learn much by looking…  Read more

Three questions for business success. Part 3 Pricing

In this series, we’ve been looking at how three questions for business success are approached and provide some practical tools and techniques for the SME owner to answer them. Since businesses have been in existence, these questions have perplexed most of their owners. Before AI, before the internet and even before electricity. Who is my ideal customer? What makes my product or service attractive? How should I be pricing my…  Read more

Keeping your tax and expenses in check when you are self-employed

  Contracting or freelancing requires you to wear a lot of hats. Relationship-building, keeping track of your time, marketing your skills and actually doing the work. But one of your priorities should also be establishing how you handle your money and setting the groundwork for good habits. Understand your deductions Before you start, it’s essential to understand what expenses you can and can’t claim. This means you’ll keep the right…  Read more

Healthy Homes Standards

About the standards. The healthy homes standards, which became law on 1 July 2019, introduced minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties. Landlords are responsible for ensuring their properties meet the standards and continue to do so over time. When you need to meet the standards. All rental properties will need to comply with the healthy homes standards by 1 July…  Read more

Three questions for business success. Part 2 Purpose Statement

What makes my product or service attractive – my Purpose Statement? What makes your product or service attractive and how do you communicate that to your customers? A great purpose statement should: Be easy to understand for your target audience, something that resonates with them. Communicate specific results that the target customer will get. Explain how you’re different from an alternative they might be considering. A good purpose statement has…  Read more

Human capital and risk management

In a business, human capital is all the intangibles that people bring to the business, without which the business would be so much poorer. It’s the knowledge, skills, experience, attitudes, creativity, training and judgement that help a business grow and succeed. Human capital is the total capacity of the people in the business. It is another form of wealth directed to accomplish the business’ goals. Assess what risks might arise…  Read more

New NZ Tax Thresholds

The Government is making changes to personal income tax thresholds from 31 July, 2024. These changes may affect your business if you employ people. If you use payroll software. If you use payroll software and the provider makes the updates by 31 July, then you shouldn’t have to do a thing. Your software provider will let you know if you do. If you are unsure if the changes have been…  Read more

5 Tips for Provisional Tax

Are you due to pay provisional tax in August? For many businesses, this will be their first instalment of provisional tax for the 2025 tax year. It’s important to stump up what you owe on this date. Inland Revenue (IR) won’t hesitate to charge steep interest and late payment penalties if you don’t.   If you’re a business owner or operator, here are five useful tips to ensure you’re ready…  Read more

Three questions for business success. Part 1 Ideal Customer.

In this series, we will see how three questions for business success are approached and provide some practical tools and techniques for the SME owner to answer them. Since businesses have been in existence, these questions have perplexed most of their owners. Before AI, before the internet and even before electricity. Who is my ideal customer? What makes my product or service attractive? How should I be pricing my product…  Read more

Reimbursing employees for work use of phones, tablets or laptops

If you provide employees with mobile phones, laptops, or devices for work, which are used solely for work, you can claim the devices and usage plans as business expenses. Where employees who do not work from home use their own phones or devices for both work and private use, you may choose to reimburse them or provide reimbursing allowances for the business use portion of the devices and usage plans.…  Read more

Work vehicles? Stay on top of tax with logbooks

Logbooks are useful records of business expenses relating to work vehicles and this is important when calculating what tax deductions you can claim. Depending on your business entity type, different tax rules apply when you use motor vehicles to earn income, and you might use a logbook to track expenses in different ways. Sole traders and partnerships can claim income tax deductions for motor vehicle expenses if the vehicle is…  Read more

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