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Legacy Accountants Presents: smartAR Fee Funding – A Cash Flow-Friendly Payment Option

Budget 2023 contained a few surprises, but the change to the tax trust rate wasn’t one of them.

New top tax rate for trusts – what does it mean for you?

New top tax rate for trusts – what does it mean for you?

Budget 2023 contained a few surprises, but the change to the tax trust rate wasn’t one of them.

Tricky tax questions at Christmas time

Here are some answers to common tax questions at this time of year.

Getting ready for the Christmas rush

The key to succession planning success

So you’ve created your company from nothing, put years of blood, sweat and tears into its success, and retirement is just around the corner. What do you do next?

Achieving better focus at work

Achieving better focus at work

It takes approximately 15 minutes of undisturbed focus for your brain to move into flow state.

Families package

Covid-19 – new targeted support & small business loan changes

A new COVID-19 Support Payment of a maximum of $24,000 will be made available for businesses struggling with a business downturn during the Omicron outbreak.

Covid19 work from home conference call

Is it time to power down?

Screens have become so omnipresent in our lives that internet addiction is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a mental health condition. Here are our top tips for switching off.

Getting ready for the Christmas rush

Getting ready for the Christmas rush?

Getting ready for the Christmas rush, it can be easy to miss something in your new staff members’ contracts.

Small business cashflow scheme

Delta Lockdown 2021: Making sense of the COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment

The purpose of this payment is to ensure businesses remain viable, keep people employed, and recognise the fixed costs associated with escalating alert levels.

employee benefits wage subsidy

Delta Lockdown 2021: Making sense of the wage subsidy

The wage subsidy is designed to support businesses that are faced with laying off staff or reducing hours due to the impact of COVID.

Whakatane Mall

Introducing the Whakatāne Virtual Mall

When you are given lemons, make lemonade! The Whakatane Virtual Mall has been launched as an innovative reaction to the COVID-19 crisis. Learn more here:

Small business cashflow scheme

COVID-19: Explaining the Government Small Business Cashflow Scheme

The latest New Zealand Government scheme to help small business has just been announced. Find out whether it is a good solution for you here.

employee benefits wage subsidy

COVID-19 Wage Subsidy: making sense of it with a simple breakdown

It’s a stressful time for everyone trying to make sense of the COVID-19 wage subsidy. In this post, we give a simple breakdown of the current information.

tax law changes 2020 flag

COVID-19 Business Support Package – what it means for your business

In this post, we have summarised in easy to understand language, how the current tax changes in the business support package affect your business.

Covid19 work from home conference call

Covid-19 Alert Level 3 – what does it mean for your business?

Our team give insights on what COVID-19 Alert Level 3 means for businesses and what business owners can do now to future proof their business.

AML/CFT Act

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009

The AML/CFT Act has come into effect for Accountants and as part of our commitment to the Act, we have adopted some new policies. Find out more here.

Families package

Three Changes to the Families Package you should know about

If you receive the Families Package, you’ll need to be aware of three changes that came into effect on 1 July. Read on to find out what these are.

minimum wage

Announcement on the minimum wage increase: 1 April 2018

As of April 2018, New Zealand’s minimum wage increased and more changes to employee wages are expected in the near future. Are you prepared?

price hikes

Price hike hacks: How to manage an increase without losing customers

Customers can understandably be unhappy about a raise in rates, but it’s possible to retain customers after implementing a price hike. Find out how.

Fringe Benefit Tax

FBT… So, what can you do?

There are many fine details to consider when it comes to FBT. Do you know what information the IRD needs? We do! And we can help you get it right.

good business content

Client Perspective – Heather Dawson – Storied

Poorly written content can negatively impact a business. Find out how Heather Dawson helps companies put their best foot forward through content.

Balancing fringe benefit tax

The Fringe Issue

Overlooking Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) can land you in hot water. We help you supply the IRD with the right information to avoid serious penalties.

customer relationship

Feel the love: How raving fans can rock your business

Loyal customers stick with you through thick and thin and encourage other customers to be loyal too. How do we reciprocate the love? Find out here.

Dan Lacey

Client Perspective – Dan Lacey Creative

Are you using social media effectively for your business? It’s one of those things that we know we should be doing, but are enough of us doing it well?

Family Trust

NZ Family Trust Law to be Overhauled

If you’ve had a trust quietly ticking away in the background for some years, these changes could mean a lot. Find out more here:

Business Culture

Business Culture & How it Affects Profits

While it’s easy to think of business culture as a bit soft compared with, say, achieving sales, in fact it’s anything but. Find out more here:

Minimum wage

Largest Increase to the Minimum Wage in a Decade

Employers need to be prepared for the minimum wage to increase by 75 cents to $16.50 an hour from 1 April 2018. Read more here:

Worried taxpayer

Several Ways Taxpayers can get Caught Out

There are some surprising ways taxpayers can end up in trouble with the IRD. Here are five common mistakes people make with their tax.

Give your business a medical

Give your Business a Medical

The end of December will mark the third quarter point for this financial year, making it a good time for a business health check. What to look out for here:

Slow payers

Slow Payers Cost you Real Money

You know you have to get your debtors to pay, but do you understand the true impact of slow payers? Find out some of the impacts here:

accounting income

The Accounting Income Method

The accounting income method is a simple but smart change. It allows you to use your accounting software to calculate and pay your provisional tax.

Employment gaps

Quick Guide to Filling Employment Gaps

When employing, think carefully about the kind of help you need and what kind of employment contract is best suited to the situation. Read this quick guide.

Purchase land or home

Buying Perspective: Risk and Reward – Purchasing Land or a Home

Now that the bright-line test is being applied to determine tax liability, an issue highlighted only recently might leave you exposed. Read more here:

hotel bedroom door

Client Perspective – 37 The Landing Motel

The Landing Motel is among six Whakatane hotels that have ranked in the top 30 accommodation spots in the Bay of Plenty. Find out more here.

cecelia raw food workshops

Client Perspective – Cecilia’s Raw Food Workshops

Cecelia Strachan, owner of Cecelia’s Raw Food Workshops, teaches groups how to prepare meals using only raw food. Learn about the workshops here.

customer complaints

Turn customer complaints into opportunities

It can be unnerving to receive customer complaints. But if you handle them correctly, you can turn complaints into opportunities. Here’s how.

Sustainability in the Workplace

The word ‘sustainable’ seems to be thrown around on a regular basis these days, not just in relation to the…

Scam-proof your business

Scams and scammers become more sophisticated every day. No surprises there. They rely on keeping a jump ahead of people….

Building your dream team

In order for your business to be a success, you need to be surrounded by like-minded people with good core…

Get to know your profit and loss statement

How often do you look at the Profit and Loss (P&L) statement for your business? Only once a year? It…

Stress – Beating it to the punch

Stress is a sneaky wee thing. It can creep up on you completely unaware, knocking you down when you least…

Leading the charge

There is a saying that your biggest market is the one you currently have – most of your sales are…

Targeting the cash economy

Inland Revenue’s crackdown on ‘cashies’ continues, with their focus on undeclared cash in the construction and hospitality sectors. Last year,…

KPIs – keys to success

When you look at your numbers, do you see how you’re doing? Do you see how close or how far…

How do you pay yourself from your business?

Do you take regular cash drawings from your business profits to meet personal living costs? You need to be aware…

Don’t be caught out on holiday pay!

Holiday pay has been in the news recently and we know the labour inspectors from the Ministry of Business, Innovation…

Are your records correct?

Inland Revenue have signalled they will be looking at businesses’ record keeping systems. Key targets will be that all jobs…

End of the tax year checklist

‘You must pay taxes. But there’s no law that says you gotta leave a tip.’   Morgan Stanley Make sure everything…

Top reasons why New Zealand payroll is complex

Did you know New Zealand has the 10th most complex payroll system in the world and ranked 5th for complexity…

Alert: Countdown to company director changes

As discussed previously from 28 October all New Zealand companies must have at least one director who lives in New…

Business Perspective – Selina ‘The Devastator’ Turner

Thriller in the Chiller is regarded as the must-do event of the year in Queenstown and is also considered one…

Shake it off

Practise these simple tricks if you catch yourself in a negative mind set: Reframe immediately as a positive statement. Is…

Exit: Stage Right!

We read a lot about the ageing population and its potential impact on the economy but what does it mean…

Closing the sale

You’ve put in all the hard work. You’ve marketed the product or service, established a relationship with your client and…

Learning the art of referral business

Much like cold calling, asking for referrals can seem daunting. However, unlike cold calling, referral business usually comes off the…

Systemise Your Business

If it works, write it down – chances are you’ll need to remember how you did that at a later…

Everyone Has 1440 Minutes a Day!

Time is one of those things that cannot be expanded, but it can be better managed. Every one of us…

Recognising burnout – before you get burnt

I see it time and time again – business owners dealing with burnout. What once made you joyously jump out…

Culture Is the Hidden Success For Businesses

To be successful a business needs a great organisational culture – the ‘icing on the cake’. Culture affects every aspect…

Websites that are useful for business

Can you remember life before the internet? I can’t – well, not my business life. Over the years I have…

Is your business profitable but broke?

Have you ever looked at your profit and loss statement and thought: ‘Wow, I made a good profit last year’…

Who is your boss?

Legacy had a planning day last week where part of the day was focused on the importance of continuing to…

New requirement for Companies

From 1 May 2015 new registration requirements come into force for applications to incorporate a New Zealand limited liability company….

Being organised saves you time and money!

It is hard to believe another financial year is almost upon us, but we find ourselves preparing for the financial…

Ever feel you’re the meat in a tax sandwich?

Are you worried about paying your terminal tax bill on 7 April? We understand how terminal tax can sometimes put…

Employment law changes

The government has made some major employment relations changes, effective from 6 March 2015. Changes target flexible working arrangements, rest…

Business Perspective: National Jazz Festival Tauranga

The 53rd National Jazz Festival is back in Tauranga over the easter weekend and we are proud to be sponsoring…

Business Perspective: Podium Podiatry and Footwear

Podium Podiatry and Footwear in the Bayfair Shopping Centre, Mount Maunganui has been operating for just under two years and…

Getting paid 101

Produce, sell, invoice, collect. What a simple process business trading can be. Many businesses have excellent systems in place for…

Business Structures – Options and Features

We often get asked by clients what sort of structure they should use… and with all things business it depends….

I can’t file my tax return, my goldfish died!

I read an interesting article last week. The UK version of Inland Revenue released a list of the top 10…

Help – I am a Trustee… What does that mean?

Often when a trust is set up the trustees who are chosen are close friends or family members, which is…

More Customers Please!

Maybe you have a successful business operating in a highly skilled or niche market, attracting plenty of customers and enjoying…

Business Perspective: Gourmet Night Market in Mount Maunganui

The Gourmet Night Market in Mt Maunganui is a community hotspot all summer long on Friday nights in idyllic Coronation…

Employee entitlements over the holiday season

The holiday season is often hectic enough without having to determine employee entitlements so we’ve put together some commonly asked…

Avoiding The Festive Season’s Tax Hangover

At this time of year we often sit back and look at the year that has been – where did…

Business New Year Resolutions

Generally, we want to indulge less, exercise more and be better people… But now’s the time to ponder some specific…

Are you cheating on your personal life and not disconnecting from work?

With Legacy turning two next month I thought it was time to sit down and have a look at the…

How To Stay Healthy And Still Have Fun

In a perfect world, we’d all have at least an hour a day to devote to our fitness. Unfortunately, in…

Business Perspective Client: Ben Calder and Wulf Solter

Wherewolf Limited Wherewolf was created to remove paperwork and streamline operations for businesses when a customer fills out a liability…

Bolster your bottom line

For new businesses in that critical early period, cash flow is a vital part of staying afloat to establish and…

Reduce the cost of paying late terminal, provisional tax

Anyone who has been hit hard by Inland Revenue (IRD) late payment penalties and use of money interest (UOMI) for…

Wills, enduring powers of attorney and memorandum of wishes – why bother?

I was watching the Television show Sunday a couple of weeks back. The edition focused on James Takamore, the father…

Leadership is more than tools and strategies…

It’s about who you ARE as a leader and how that translates into your everyday actions. To be successful leaders,…

‘Let’s eat Grandma!’ or ‘Let’s eat, Grandma!’

When I committed to writing regular blogs a few months ago my biggest fear was spelling and grammar. I knew…

WHO are YOU really working for?

I caught up with a mate of mine Phil Holland during the week. We had an interesting discussion about the question we…

The 7 Deadly Debtor Management Sins

Last week I had an interesting talk with Nick Kerr from EC Credit Control who told me that commercial defaults increased 43%…

Tax and the good news is…

ACC Workers and employers will pay $387 million less in ACC levies in 2014/15 (subject to the regulation being passed)….

Business Perspective Client: Matthew and Erin Fraser

The leading retail provider of podiatry and footwear solutions has only been open for just on a year and, while…

Efficiency gains – Time Management

When it comes to working efficiently, everyone has some idea of what works for them and what could work better….

Facebook for business – for your business?

The world of social media has come a long way in recent years and Facebook, in order to stay at…

Networking: what’s your elevator pitch?

Do you look forward to networking events or would you rather tidy your sock drawer? For some people networking is…

5 easy ways you can save money on accounting fees

If you would love to say goodbye to high accounting fees the great news is that saving money in this…