Accountants | On London

With the end of the financial year fast approaching, it is the time when we get a lot of questions regarding what records are needed now, what records need to be stored, and what records can be sent off to that castle in the sky.

Here are a few crucial ‘need to know’s for business owners regarding record keeping:

General Record Keeping

Every person undertaking business in New Zealand must:

• keep records in New Zealand in the English language.
• demonstrate assessable income and allowable deductions.
• keep records for seven years after the end of the tax year they relate to.
• record all day-to-day entries of all incoming and outgoing sums of money.
• record the assets and liabilities of the person relative to that business.
• keep electronic records in a format that allows us to readily work out the amount of tax payable.

Additional help and information is provided in Standard Practice Statement GNL 430 "Retention of Business Records by Electronic Means"

In addition to your business records you must also keep the following records for computer-assisted audits:

• Accounting or transaction level records, including the general ledger and other journals and subsidiary account books, in electronic format.
• Charts and codes of accounts, accounting instruction manuals, and system and program documentation that describe your accounting system.
• Record layouts you hold of all retained files. When systems have been modified, keep both the old and new record layouts.

 For 31 March 2011 year – please keep records from 1 April 2004

For more about what to keep, please see below:

(click on the image to download the printable pdf)

The Gala Champagne Award Ceremony is one of the largest art awards in New Zealand with the major prize being $20,000.00, and in the opening event for the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival.

We have a limited number of free tickets available which will be allocated on a 'first in' basis, so be quick to secure your place to this prestigious event by contacting Jenny Cross (telephone 07 838 0119 or emailing jenny@aol.org.nz).

We look forward to seeing you there!

Xero fits in well with our philosophy of using the latest computerised systems to turn data into solutions and opportunities that will help you.

By using this latest web-based Cloud Technology Xero Accounting you can spend less time working in your business, and have more time to work on your business (as well as the things you enjoy!) We have qualified consultants who can help set up your Xero account for you, and support you with telephone, email and face to face support. 

Dashboard
Instantly see all your bank balances, recent sales and upcoming bills.

Multi-currency
Reconcile foreign currency accounts. Gains & losses are calculated for you.

Payroll
Do small pay runs and track wage expenses or connect with your payroll system.

Fixed asset depreciation
Easily update fixed assets & depreciation schedules for accurate reporting.

Free online support
Unlimited, around the clock email support and detailed online help centre.

Financial reporting
Instant, up-to-date reporting with quick links to all the original transactions.

Pay bills
Manage your spending and make bill payments in bulk to creditors.

Expense claims
Handle personal expenses - just review and approve receipts.

Mobile
Do invoicing, expenses and track cashflow on the go.

Inventory
Track stock movements & make invoicing even easier with inventory items.

Retail
Run a simple yet sophisicated retail system with any laptop.

Contacts
See your most important customers & suppliers to follow up right away.

Find out more about how Xero might fit into your business.
Give us a call today on: 07 838 0119 we offer a complimentary first consultation!

Working remotely can be an attractive proposition for both employers and employees. 

The virtual worker is rewarded with job flexibility - providing their services from home, separate or even multiple office locations. 

The Employer can streamline their business, and minimise overheads. The fundamental reason for this increasingly popular workforce is the growing access to technology.  Technology such as the smart phone and tablet are becoming mainstream amongst professionals.  We can now perform tasks very effectively from almost any location.  Quite simply, technology is driving efficiency and communication.

Remote workers can wear whatever they want, avoid traffic and related travel costs, potentially dictate their working hours, all while avoiding the bulk of office distractions and internal politics.  In some industries, it’s highly likely that this style of working and managing will be prevalent in the future.

As the world heads towards the ‘post PC phase’, now is the time to test the ‘remote office’ with your staff.  If you remain inflexible you may miss the boat and run the risk of losing touch with your employees and customers.  If your competitors are cutting operating costs by managing a virtual workplace, this will be reflected in their prices and their share of the market place.

There are possible downsides.  Workers might feel out of touch, find it harder to communicate with their seniors, losing sight of tasks and predetermined outcomes.  Achieving the ultimate remote work balance will be important and perhaps heavily dependent on management.

Not everyone is suited to this style of working - or managing.  The virtual workplace suits self-motivated employees, capable of working around distractions, and comfortable working in solitude.  If your employee doesn’t tick these boxes then perhaps they’re better off in the office.

 With online shopping on the rise, so is credit card fraud.  Fraudsters can sometimes illegally access customer card data through computers used to process transactions and unsecured data.
Credit card fraud is a serious risk to your business and your customers.  Be aware of the risks to avoid damaging your business’ reputation and bottom line.  

Some helpful tips to avoid credit card fraud:    

• Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date.      
• Make sure you have effective passwords.  Use passwords with letters and numbers and both upper and lower cases - passwords that cannot be easily guessed.  And change them on a regular basis.     
• Dispose of customer card information.  If you have permission to retain this then make sure information is password protected.  Hard copies of information should be locked up.  Shred any such information when no longer required.      
•     
• Limit staff access to this area of your business.  It is important that your computer, associated equipment (e.g. servers) and website passwords are protected from unauthorised users.
• Make sure your website online payment system is secure.  Use secure online payment gateways such as DPS and payment express.  This takes much of the hassle out of online payments and is safest for your customers.
• When it comes to online shopping, your customers will appreciate the extra mile you go to provide a trustworthy and secure website.  Advertise the systems you have implemented to shelter them from credit card fraud.
• Most banks are very proactive when it comes to credit card fraud, if you have concerns about your credit card systems then have a look online at your bank’s safety recommendations.

This lunchtime workshop is presented by Gillian Lynn from FeeSmart.

Take control of your debtor management & learn how to manage it yourself or outsource it. Register online at http://www.aol.org.nz today.

Where: Accountants on London - 3 London St.
When: Thursday 1st Dec at 12pm - 12:45pm
Cost: Workshop cost $30 (includes Free Lunch)

There are only 13 bookings left so be in quick to reserve your spot.

Did you can now search for companies, directors and shareholders through the Companies Office Facebook page? The New Zealand Companies Office is the first in the world to offer this service via Facebook – now you have a legitimate reason to be on Facebook while at work!

The Companies Register Search through Facebook works in exactly the same way as the search facility on the Companies Office website. I know this is not exactly "breaking story" stuff as they did this earlier in the year but we still thought it was worth a blog.

But what does this mean for you? While to some it may seem a little "why would I log on to Facebook to do a companies search instead of just going to their website?" It is, however, another step in how companies and organisations are using social media and online environments to integrate better into the daily channels we use online.

While you probably wouldn't log in to Facebook to do a company search the same might now be said if you had your Facebook business page open why would you log in to the Companies office website when you could just search from Facebook.

This level of cloud integration is an ever increasing phenomenon where we are seeing examples like the above one as well as CRM integrated with our accounting package, calendars integrated with project management, social media aggregation and management tools and so on.

At Accountants on London we do the same to a lesser extent by putting "Key Tax and Compliance" dates on Facebook, and uploading posts to our blog as well.

How do you use Facebook in your business marketing to make information more accessible to your customers?

In 2009, Simon Sinek released the book "Start With Why" -- a synopsis of the theory he has begun using to teach others how to become effective leaders and inspire change.

Trawling through Ted Talks the other day Alistair found a talk by Simon Sinek who has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers ...

"How do you explain when things don't go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions? For example: Why is Apple so innovative? Year after year, after year, after year, they're more innovative than all their competition. And yet, they're just a computer company. They're just like everyone else. They have the same access to the same talent, the same agencies, the same consultants, the same media. Then why is it that they seem to have something different?"

After an outstanding game on Sunday night where the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 20 - 6 confidence seems to be growing (at elast around the office) that the boys in black can actually take the World Cup. While for most of New Zealand it's business as usual until Sunday night there will definitely be a whole lot of focus on the upcoming match with the French.

So can the Ab's do it? All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen said there was no chance of his men failing to recognise the danger that France pose next Sunday. ''Of all the teams that we know we should never underestimate we've had history with them, so that won't be a problem,'' said Hansen.

On another note from the French camp, French manager Jo Maso has already said that no matter what happens at the coin-toss for ''home'' rights, the French will allow the All Blacks to wear their black jerseys in the final. Henry appreciated the gesture.

''We're playing at home, playing at Eden Park, we're the All Blacks and we wear black, so I think that's a good gesture by Jo. It's an obvious gesture too but good on them.''

Inspired by an abalone shell, Angela Belcher programs viruses to make elegant nanoscale structures that humans can use. Selecting for high-performing genes through directed evolution, she's produced viruses that can construct powerful new batteries, clean hydrogen fuels and record-breaking solar cells. At TEDxCaltech, she shows us how it's done.