Property tax rules changed on the 1st of October 2015 so if you’re buying or selling residential property this information is important to you, especially if you are a property investor. A new ‘bright-line rule’, which states you’ll pay tax when you buy and sell a residential property within two years, is now in place. What is a bright-line rule? A bright-line rule is a clearly defined rule that leaves… Read more
So you’re setting up a new business or thinking about changing the way your existing business is structured… do you go for the added protection that a limited liability company provides, or do you keep things simple and operate as a sole trader or partnership with fewer tax compliance obligations? Tax expert John Shewan, formerly of Price Waterhouse Cooper, gives advice on structuring your business to minimise tax and meet… Read more
While working at home as a freelancer sounds like the ultimate dream for anyone tired of the rat race and daily commute, freelancers still have more than a few financial issues to worry about. Perhaps the most important trait that you should have as a freelancer is the ability to be fully responsible and accountable to yourself, and saving money is something that you should think about on a daily basis! So let’s walk through… Read more
For those of you that sell physical products, keeping track of inventory has historically been a weak point of the Xero software. Xero have spent some time and energy (and money!) to create an inventory module that will work for most small businesses and organisations. Read more about it and watch the Xero video here. Of course, you may have special requirements that Xero does not cater for. For those situations… Read more
Xero has introduced payroll functionality into its “standard” and “large” plans. This means that you can now calculate staff pays, PAYE etc and prepare your PAYE returns from within Xero. Find more information on Xero Payroll here. We still like the increased levels of automation from Smartpayroll. We can help with the implementation of either of these options – or else manage your payroll for you. Contact us to discuss… Read more
We believe that storing a copy of your receipts and invoices electronically in Xero is the best and most efficient way to do the business filing for most organisations. There are many benefits to this – not just that you can do something else with the space where the filing cabinet went! Read more about document storage using Xero Files here. For those organisations who have a lot of invoices or… Read more
There have been some articles in the media recently dedicated to the rise of “teleworking”. To me the term already seems out of date as it seems to refer to the use of a telephone (invented around 1876) when today it is much more likely that internet technology will be used. According to Wikipedia, the term telework was coined in 1973, which will explain its old fashioned sound. However the… Read more
Entrepreneurs want to have their hands on every aspect of their start-up. This is understandable, as many entrepreneurs come into their respective industries from a place of passion. Their passion will drive them to spend long nights at the office, working hard every hour of every day. Unknown to them, this kind of attitude can actually lead to some destructive outcomes. You must avoid these habits, despite the allure of… Read more
Don’t be left up in the air by traditional IT solutions. Check out the top 9 advantages for small businesses switching to cloud computing. Cloud computing is fast becoming the norm because storing information and using software hosted on the Internet has many advantages. 1. Save money Traditionally, a small business spends money licensing software or buying packages to install or download onto individual computers. Cloud computing, on the other… Read more