Here’s our Plain English guide to profit and loss and what this report reveals about your finances. What is profit and loss? Your profit and loss statement (P&L), also known as the income statement or statement of earnings, is like your financial compass. It points you toward profit paradise! Here’s the breakdown: Revenue (The Inflow): This is where the action happens. Sales, income – all the good stuff that brings… Read more
Financial models are invaluable tools designed to help you understand and project the financial health of your business. By simulating different scenarios and examining potential outcomes based on various inputs like sales growth, margins, and cash flow, these models provide a comprehensive picture that aids in informed decision-making. Practical steps for leveraging financial models: 1. Planning and forecasting Start by creating a base financial model incorporating your current financial data.… Read more
What you believe about money and how you relate and interact with it affects every aspect of your life and business. A belief is simply a story that you have told yourself so many times that you think it’s the truth. So, for us all to live a vital, vibrant, and thriving life, the story we’re telling ourselves and choosing to believe about money needs to be uncovered, understood, and… Read more
Have you ever found yourself struggling to achieve your goals because you just don’t have enough time to commit to them? Chances are, you’re doing things back to front. Rocks, Pebbles and Sand is a simple, yet crucial, planning concept depicting that we’ll achieve more if we set our annual goals (or ‘rocks’) first, then our 90-day goals (‘pebbles’) and actions (‘sand’). If we had a jar and first put… Read more
We believe our clients all deserve the three freedoms: Financial Freedom; Time Freedom; and Mind Freedom. In other words, more money and time to spend on important things outside of their business, along with less stress. Is your business stifling your freedom? Being in business is tough. At times, you might be worried about whether you’ll have enough cash in the bank to pay your team and suppliers. Perhaps you’re… Read more
Ever felt like the term “current ratio” sounds like something straight out of a high school mathematics class that you’d rather forget? You’re not alone. But here’s the thing – understanding the current ratio can be a game-changer for managing your business’s financial health. Here’s a simple breakdown. What is the Current Ratio? In the simplest terms, the current ratio measures your business’s ability to pay off its short-term obligations… Read more
Most businesses understand that customer satisfaction is crucial to their success. Happy customers are more likely to remain loyal, refer others, and leave positive reviews. This trend has only been amplified by social media and online review sites, where negative feedback can spread quickly and damage a company’s reputation. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, having an effective customer service system is no longer enough: you need to be able to… Read more
The importance of good governance is not disputed, what is less clear is how to achieve good governance. In the charity sector the requirement of Trusts to have independent trustees is to lesson the risk of a charity failing to deliver on their strategic purpose. A governance review can identify areas for improvement to help an organisation meet it’s compliance and reporting requirements while also driving… Read more
The Achiever Matrix is made up of four quadrants and helps you prioritise tasks based on their importance; allowing you to manage your time better and achieve more. Quadrant 1 is The Quadrant of Urgency: This quadrant represents tasks which are both urgent and important. These tasks might be handling an unhappy customer, meeting a deadline, dealing with a crisis, or undertaking urgent re-work. While we must all spend… Read more
As a business owner, you want to make the best possible decisions for your business. The choices you make regarding strategy, spending, revenue generation and cashflow management can all have a major impact on the long-term future of the company. So, how do you give yourself that competitive edge when it comes to decision-making? The answer is to make the most of your financial data and to use the outputs… Read more
If you’re a contractor, it can be challenging to manage a hectic schedule and complex projects, all while ensuring your paperwork, documents, and contracts are in order. It’s important to keep a paper trail of your work and practice due diligence. Keeping all your working documents in order shows that you treat your business, customers, and subcontractors responsibly. This is not only a mark of professionalism but can also help… Read more
There are three key changes to the bright-line rules which are the rules that tax gains on the sale of residential property. From 1 July 2024, the bright-line period returns to its original form of 2-years. This means, if you sign an agreement on or after 1 July 2024 to sell a residential property, and the sale does not occur within 2 years from when you acquired the property, then… Read more
If you offer accommodation or ride share services in New Zealand via an electronic marketplace (e.g., Airbnb or Uber), new GST rules apply to you from 1 April 2024. Previously, if your turnover did not exceed the $60,000 GST registration threshold, your services were not subject to GST. Now, however, the electronic marketplace is required to charge GST to the customer on the provision of your services, regardless or the… Read more
The depreciation rate for commercial and industrial buildings will revert back to 0% from the 2024-25 income year. Commercial and industrial buildings are buildings with an estimated useful life of 50 years or more, based on their whole-of-life basis rather than end-of-life basis. These buildings will remain ‘depreciable property’ which means historical depreciation deductions remain recoverable when the building is sold. Commercial and industrial building fit-out will remain depreciable, but… Read more
In the world of small businesses, positive cash flow is king. It’s the driving force that keeps your business engine running smoothly, covering all your liabilities. But what happens when outflow exceeds inflow? Cash flow problems ensue, threatening the survival and growth of your business. These cash flow problems can originate from a variety of sources including macroeconomic issues like recessions, natural disasters, and wars, as well as microeconomic issues… Read more
The power of a well-crafted email signature is often underestimated by professionals and businesses alike. Your email signature is essentially your calling card: it’s where you can share information about yourself and your company, like your website and social media profile links. It can also include the company logo and highlight current promotions or links to products you want to boost sales of. Here are 4 tips for creating your… Read more
If you’re like many business owners, you may find yourself struggling to understand what your finances mean or how you can use your financial information to make decisions for your business. Often we get into business because we love a product or service we want to provide. It’s not as common that we love managing the financial aspects of our business. As a business owner, you have your best chances… Read more
An ever-changing business landscape can present unforeseen challenges for any business at any time. Identifying risks and opportunities in your business model and creating a Business Plan will help you prepare for difficulties or adversities and provide clarity in the event of a crisis in the future. Now is an ideal time to document a clear Business Plan: Defining what you, as business owners, want from the business; this includes… Read more
Remember to provide all the relevant documents we will need to put together your financial statements for the year. Have you got yours ready? Here is our checklist for information we need – most of which is automatically available for us if you use Xero. Income: Sales Commission received Interest received (if the investment is under the business name) Professional fees Rent received (business) Expenses: ACC Accounting fees Advertising Cellphone… Read more
As a brand, you want to be seen as professional, trustworthy and capable. But there’s also a strong argument for letting down the professional facade occasionally to use a little humour in your marketing, your communications and the company’s brand personality. Are we joking? Making gags in professional marketing? We’re totally sincere about this. In fact, humour is actually what your customers want, according to the latest consumer research. So,… Read more