ElevateCA Blog Page

 
Would a “fat tax” be a step too far?  Could the tax system perhaps encourage Kiwis to be healthier? 
It already does.  Imagine how many more Kiwis would die prematurely from smoking related conditions if not for the fact that cigarettes are artificially expensive with around 70% of their price made up of tax?
Who would seriously argue the excise duty on cigarettes [...]

 
What a difference one word makes:   From 1 April this year, the Employment Relations Act was amended to change the test of whether a particular action by an employer was justified – for example a dismissal.  Before 1 April, the key question was what “would” a fair and reasonable employer have done in the circumstances – [...]

 
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.  Friedrich Nietzsche famously said that in 1886.  And Kelly Clarkson said it again this year, so it must be true.  
The last few years have been tough, but almost without exception our clients have emerged at the end of 2011 stronger and more confident about the future than they were  this time [...]

 
This is a story of a bank and a careless email.
Since Alan Bollard reduced the OCR in response to the Christchurch earthquake, three year fixed interest rates on residential mortgages have been somewhere just under 7%pa.  With floating rates down around 5.75%pa, there hasn’t been a lot of incentive or urgency for Kiwis to fix their rates.
But in the past fortnight we [...]

 
Quickbooks are encouraging users with older versions to upgrade by offering a carrot. 
We’re not in the business of necessarily pushing Quickbooks in preference to other packages like Xero, MYOB, Cash Manager, Bank Link or the many others.   But if you are a Quickbooks user and you haven’t yet upgraded to the 2010 / 11 version, this seems like a no-brainer: 
The QuickBooks [...]

 
Employers have until 1 July 2011 to bring personnel files up to date for each employee. 
The majority of employers already maintain personnel files for each employee – but many do not meet the new standard under the recent amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000.  Many personnel files that I have seen contain little more [...]

 
As usual on budget day, it’s all ears on the live stream at Elevate CA. Here are our first impressions and some initial comment as Bill English reads Budget 2011 …
 
2:05pm
Bill English is explaining the theme of Budget 2011. This will be all about building savings and investment because as a country we need to [...]

 
Many people have asked how Hayley is getting on – and whether her baby has arrived safely.  Well now we can answer that question.  Maia Lucy Lenihan was born on 7 April weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds 15 ounces.  Mother and baby are happy and well.
Most accountants have the date 7 April etched into their memory [...]

Business owners will be aware that from 1 April, the 90 day trial provisions have been extended to cover all workplaces.  Previously this provision was available only in workplaces with fewer than 20 employees.
But many business owners may not be aware of this potential snag:
If you wish to include a 90 day trial period in your employment agreement, [...]

 
For most of our clients, 31 March is the end of the financial year – and time to start organising your records for the year.  Here is the process for getting your financial statements compiled this year: 
Traditionally, accountants send annual questionnaires around this time as a guide to help their clients compile complete financial records.  Last year we trialled on-line electronic [...]

We’ll be completing our review of all QC and LAQC clients over the next few weeks.  From the start of the next financial year, LAQCs will no longer be able to attribute their losses to shareholders.
The Government’s strategy behind these changes is to prevent ‘arbitrage’ – the ability for an LAQC to pass losses out to shareholders where [...]

 
Elevate CA are growing, and we’re looking for just the right accountant to join our team.     
 
Who are Elevate CA? 
We are new, we are different and we are growing fast.   We are small enough to be nimble – and we are willing to take a risk to try innovative ways to deliver better value and service to our clients.   We are a [...]

 
If you’re a commercial or residential property investor the stakes are about to get higher in the distinction between repairs and maintenance and capital expenditure.  Repairs and maintenance costs are typically tax deductible.  But from the start of the next tax year, no tax deduction will be possible for depreciating most capital expenditure on most buildings.
The line [...]

 
We now know that LAQCs will no longer be able to attribute their losses to shareholders from 1 April 2011. 
Now that the draft legislation has been released, we have a much clearer view of how the new rules announced in the budget will look.  On the face of it, this seems a rather radical departure from [...]

 
The phrase “new normal” has been circulating for a while now to describe the current state of affairs featuring a tougher banking environment and retrenchment of debt laden businesses and households.  The new normal envisages a future where the economy is powered by exports and business investment rather than by consumption, easy credit and rising asset prices.
Consumers are [...]

 
A big thank you to the 40 or so business owners and managers in the construction trades who attended the “Building a Better Business in the Construction Trades” conference hosted by Webb Ross >>> on the past two Thursdays.  David Grindle – partner at Webb Ross – put this conference together, and his plan is to make [...]

 
The upcoming increase in GST rate means some action for most businesses on the software front.  Typically if you’re using the latest version of your software, any upgrade to manage the change in GST will be reasonably painless.  But where you’re using an older version, you may find yourself needing to upgrade to the latest version before [...]

 
“Advisory boards – What are they and do you need one?”  That was the question posed to the panel at yesterday’s Business Owners Forum – and here are some of the points emerging from yesterday’s event:

An advisory board is a forum to challenge, stretch, support and test your ideas with people you trust.  These could be [...]

   
Foursquare is a mobile application that allows users to connect with friends and update their location.  Users can post 140 character twitter-style tips or comments about the locations or venues they check into.  Users can choose to have their check-ins posted on their accounts on Twitter, Facebook or both.  
 
I would liken FourSquare to a location [...]

The rate of GST goes up to 15% on 1 October.  Are you ready?  Here is a quick summary of what you need to know.
The IRD will send you the relevant GST 101 form and calculation sheet for your business.  For most businesses, this return is likely to take longer to complete than usual so [...]

 
There has been welcome clarification of the rules regarding the depreciation of commercial building fit-out this week.  The Revenue Minister released a joint Treasury and IRD discussion paper on Wednesday that said a commercial building includes only structural items such as foundations, framing, walls and the roof, rather than the fit-out.
This has become an area of [...]

 
Hoax emails have been doing the rounds claiming that the recipient is due a tax refund.  Some of these claim to be from a company calling themselves “NZ Tax Refunds” and others claim to be from the IRD.
These emails contain links to a false internet banking login site.
The most recent hoax email claims to be from [...]

 
Not so long ago, before the digital era, the printed word was expensive to create.  Back in the day, it may have taken 1,000 journalists, editors, typesetters, printers and the like to publish a daily newspaper.  A dedicated army of newspapermen with life-long careers and ink in their veins.
Every column inch cost big money, so [...]

The 2010 budget signalled an overhaul of the QC regime – and although these changes have not yet been confirmed, they will likely take effect from 1 April 2011. While we have yet to see the proposed legislation, there have been clear signals of what we can expect to see.
By way of background, the QC [...]

Only a few days until WordCamp New Zealand on the 7th and 8th of August.  WordCamp is two day conference focusing on anything and everything on and around the WordPress platform.
This is a global event that has been held 66 times since the beginning of 2009 everywhere from California to Istanbul, Lima – and another [...]

Here’s a story that demonstrates how easy it is to get communications wrong – and to produce an unintended and counterproductive emotional reaction.
There’s a social venture called BrightMind LABS I’m involved with, which released its first product 12 months or so back.  The primary target market is the half million or so parents of children aged 4 to 10 [...]

This is about sustained creativity and innovation. 
But first let me contextualise.  A big thank you to the almost 40 business owners who braved the mid winter chill to come along to Thursday’s Business Owners Forum.  As always, there was plenty of quality content – and some healthy dissention amongst the panel.
The topic was close to the hearts of [...]

There will be significant system and accounting issues facing every business with the GST changes taking effect on 1 October.  Maybe it’s time to shift to an online system like Xero? 
Xero is an online accounting system that gives you – and us – easy access to your transactions and reports from your PC, Mac, i-phone [...]

Are your kids bored in school or failing their exams?  Far from being a cause for alarm, these may be early indicators of entrepreneurial traits.  Cameron Herold makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish and to see entrepreneurship as a career they could aspire to – in the same way they [...]

Considering a bonus structure for your team?
Employee bonus structures can be fraught with problems – but for the right person (ie a hungry and motivated high achiever) they can sometimes be an effective way to drive performance.  The problems I have seem with bonus structures fall into four main categories:

1.  Expectations are unrealistic.  Bonus structures should of [...]