Are you prepared for the end of financial year in New Zealand?

Accountants help make sense of your finances and prepare your accounts and tax returns at the end of the financial year. You’ll want to ensure you are paying the right amount of tax, have an idea of the size of your bill and when you need to pay it, as early as possible.​

If you’re concerned about fees for accounting services, here are two tips:​

Do not underestimate the difference to your overall tax position that an accountant can deliver!​

Go through your debtors (people who owe you money) before end of financial year. If you’re sure they are a bad debt and will never pay you, write them off now. You don’t want to pay tax on income you’re unlikely to receive.​

Go through your list of assets (fixed asset register) and make sure that you have, and are using, every asset listed. Pay particular attention to electronic devices which you may have since upgraded.​​

You’ll probably find items that are no longer used, have been thrown away, stolen, or sold, or traded in for an upgrade.​​

Write them off now and take the tax deduction. Read more on 7 top tips business owners should know to to reduce your tax bills.​

Is your vehicle logbook up to date – recording all business and personal kilometres for at least 90 days? Without a logbook determining your business/private use, you are restricted to 25% claim for expenses, which can make a big difference at year end.​​

The information from the logbook can be used for up to three years provided there are no significant changes in the vehicle’s use. Read more on how much you can claim for your motor vehicles. ​

Make sure that you are carefully recording all your creditors (people the business owes money to).​ Recording all liabilities accurately can reduce your tax bill.​

Think seriously about using a bookkeeper in the new financial year. If you’re not confident about what goes where, or are as time-poor as most business people, then a bookkeeper can help input information into your system correctly. You may be surprised how little it can cost – what takes you four hours may take a bookkeeper only two. It will certainly free up your time to do something more enjoyable. Do some research online or ask your colleagues/mates – there is no shortage of good people out there.​

Beany offers bookkeeping services (including bank reconciliation and preparing for GST returns) so you can focus on running and growing your business.​

Using an accounting software package that does what you need is vital to businesses. If you haven’t updated for a while, or are new to business, you’ll be astonished at what’s available these days. The start of a new financial year is the perfect time to switch to Xero (or other accounting software). Almost all of our clients use Xero. Select a Xero pricing plan that works best for you (you can easily upgrade or downgrade later if needed).​

The Xero Cashbook or Xero Ledger (available only through accountants) may be perfect if you don’t need all the bells and whistles.​

Do you need all those entities and tax structures? Maybe you need two companies and three trusts – maybe you don’t.​

Are you aware of recent changes in Trust legislation from January 2021? There are increased obligations for trustees, additional disclosure of information to beneficiaries, and cost implications. We suggest you have a chat with your professional advisors.​

Although there are short–term costs to close these down, it is well worth it to stop ongoing compliance costs.​

Read more: Business structures - what is best for you​

New or upgraded business software seems to be available every day – is there anything you can automate to save time and money? Can your apps be integrated into your accounting system, or with each other?​

Colleagues and friends may provide useful nuggets of information.​

Business can get complicated and when it does, accounting records and systems often follow suit.​

If you’re adding complexity – which will, inevitably, add cost – then make sure you’re getting a good return. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not.​

Digitise all important paper documents and save them, along with your relevant electronic documents, in an orderly way. Key documents to save include:​

Ideally, you’d save them to your accounting system, but there are alternative solutions, such as Google Drive. Whatever you choose, aim for a product that is easy to use and secure, yet shareable.​

It’s also helpful if you add detailed descriptions on the transactions – your accountant will appreciate it!​

We’re an online accounting firm that is always right here for you, your accounting pain relief. The most advanced technology lets us work way more closely with you than a normal accountant would. ​​

We have a dedicated team of certified accountants and a support team to take care of your business no matter where you are, so you can focus on growing your business. We take out the ‘fluff’, break down the barriers and get things done. Looking out for you is what we are all about. Get started for free today.​