Keep up-to-date with us and what's happening in the business world |
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- Business Tips: Budgeting and Managing Cashflow - Important Notices - Xero Tip of the Month: New Invoicing Keyboard Shortcuts - Reminder: Xero Pricing Increase - 1 September 2025
- Track Your Carbon Footprint FREE for 12 Months with Sumday + Xero - Welcome to the Team: Swapnil Naik
- Tax Question of the Month: Is the Payment of a Private Medical Bill for a Shareholder Employee Deductible? - IRD Upcoming Tax Payment Dates |
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If you want to stabilise your finances and grow the business, working to strict budgets becomes a necessity. Managing the cashflow twists and turns of a project can be hard work. But it’s easier to do when you have an agreed budget and can track your spending and performance.
So, what’s the best way to stay in control of the budgets you’ve set? And how can you manage your cashflow position to make sure there’s always enough cash to fund the project? Understand the costs of each project Starting a project without fully understanding how much it will cost is a no-no. To keep on top of costs, overheads, staff expenses and general spending, you need at least a ballpark figure for this expenditure. In an ideal world, you’ll want to be as precise as possible with these costs.
Run through the project from start to finish and highlight every point where there will be costs to incur. It might be the cost of your raw materials. It may be the cost of buying new equipment. It could be the payroll costs for the people actively working on the project. Break everything down and come up with a total expense for the project. This is your starting point. Set your budget and track it over time
Once you know your baseline cost for the project, you and your team should decide on the amount of funds to allocate to the budget. Your baseline cost is a starting point, but don’t forget to include extra for specific contingencies. What if the project overruns? What if your raw material costs go sky high? What if you need more people to get the job over the line?
Agree on a clear budget and set up your finance system to track spending against this budget. With a cloud accounting system at the heart of the business, it’s very easy to create a budget and then record and track your spending over time. Keep a close eye on budgets and project cashflow
One of the big things to remember is that a budget is not a static thing. You’ll obviously aim to stick to your initial costs, but prices and availability will affect the total spend over time. Because of this, it’s vital to not just write the budget and then forget about it.
Keep a close eye on your budget performance and the cashflow for each project. Being able to review this performance, in real time, should help you avoid overspending, or running out of cash for the project. And when the cash in the kitty is getting low, you can get proactive and look at ways to top up the budget, or rein in spending in other areas of the project.
Take action to maintain your positive cashflow position
Balancing the cashflow scales on a project isn’t easy. But when you spot that there’s a potential hole in the budget, the important thing is to do something about it, pronto!
Running any project with your fingers crossed that ‘it will all work out in the end’ is a recipe for disaster. And with such detailed budget reports and cashflow forecasts available with today’s finance apps, there’s really no need to be disorganised about your spending.
Think about: - Setting up key metrics for each project, to measure spending, cashflow and progress
- Run worst-case and best-case cashflow scenarios, so you’re prepared for anything
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Regularly reviewing your spending and looking for areas to make savings
- Taking on finance facilities to plug any cashflow holes as they appear.
If you’re thinking about scaling up your established startup, get in touch with our team today at 04 970 1182. We’ll help you build solid, workable budgets that can be easily tracked through your accounting system. |
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Have Your Contact Details Changed?
If you've recently updated your phone number, postal address, or would prefer to use a different email for communication, please let us know. Keeping your contact details current helps us stay connected and ensures you receive important updates without delay.
To update your information, simply email us at admin@aafl.nz or call us on 04 970 1182. |
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XERO TIP OF THE MONTH: NEW INVOICING KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS |
Speed Up Your Xero Invoicing with New Shortcuts!
Xero has just launched a helpful guide featuring all the keyboard shortcuts for the new invoicing system. These shortcuts will help you navigate tasks more quickly and efficiently, giving you more time to focus on what matters most.
Click the button below to download the guide. Saving it to your desktop will provide easy access to these time-saving shortcuts whenever you need them!
Please note: some shortcuts are only available when an invoice is in a particular status, such as draft or approved. |
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REMINDER: XERO PRICING INCREASE - 1 SEPTEMBER 2025 |
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We would like to inform you of upcoming changes to Xero’s subscription pricing, which will take effect from 1 September 2025. Xero has announced an increase to its pricing structure, and as a result, your September invoice may reflect a higher amount than usual. New Xero Pricing (Effective 1 September 2025): - Xero Ignite plans remains the same at $35 per month
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Xero Grow plans increases by $8, bringing the new price to $83 + GST per month
- Xero Comprehensive plans increases by $11, bringing the new price to $110 + GST per month
However, as you know, we pass on our Xero Platinum Partner discount to all of our clients. With this discount, the new prices for your Xero subscriptions through All Accounted For, effective Monday, 1 September 2025, are as follows: -
Xero Ignite plans remains the same at $29 + GST per month
- Xero Grow plans increases from $56 to $59 + GST per month
- Xero Comprehensive plans increases from $73 to $78 + GST per month
For more information on the Xero pricing increase, click the button below. |
TRACK YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT FREE FOR 12 MONTHS WITH SUMDAY + XERO |
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Looking to reduce your carbon footprint but not sure where to begin?
We’ve got good news. Thanks to Xero’s new partnership with Sumday, you can now access powerful carbon accounting tools - completely free for 12 months!
Whether you're just beginning your sustainability journey or looking to enhance your current efforts, this is a great place to start. Sumday is a customisable carbon accounting platform that integrates with Xero, making it easy to track and report your emissions. |
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With sustainability becoming an increasing priority for businesses, suppliers, and customers alike, this is a fantastic opportunity to kick-start your journey to net zero - without the stress or extra cost. All you need is an active Xero subscription. Simply connect to Sumday via the Xero App Store, and you’re good to go.
This offer is available from 2 April 2025 to 1 April 2026.
To learn more about this offer and to get started, click the button below. |
WELCOME TO THE TEAM: SWAPNIL NAIK |
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Meet Swapnil, our new Business Services Accountant!
Originally from India, Swapnil moved to New Zealand in 2019 to pursue new opportunities in accounting and finance-related roles.
After completing a Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the Auckland Institute of Studies and a Master’s in Professional Accounting from the University of Waikato, he gained hands-on experience in roles across audit, finance, and taxation - building a strong foundation in both technical accounting and business advisory. |
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Passionate about numbers, Swapnil enjoys working closely with clients, providing a more comprehensive, jargon-free, and tailored service to address the financial challenges your business may face.
Outside of work, Swapnil plays the Indian classical instrument tabla, enjoys learning new languages - including German and Spanish -and stays active through cricket, rugby, and basketball. |
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TAX QUESTION OF THE MONTH: |
CASE STUDY:
A painting and decorating company paid for laser eye surgery for Mr H, who is both a shareholder and an employee of the business.
The company is not a look-through company, and it carries out detailed painting work for well-known franchise builders.
Mr H’s eyesight had worsened to the point where standard glasses no longer worked well enough for the detailed work required. This was affecting the quality of the company’s work.
The company paid for laser surgery to fix Mr H’s vision. QUESTION:
Can the company claim the cost of the laser eye surgery as a tax deduction? ANSWER: When a company pays for a medical procedure for someone who is both a shareholder and an employee, the company needs to figure out why it made the payment - was it because the person is an employee, or because they are a shareholder? That answer affects how the payment is treated for tax purposes. Here are the key points:
1. If the invoice is in Mr H’s name (not the company’s): -
The payment is treated as employment income (like extra wages).
- Mr H would need to pay income tax on it.
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The company can claim a tax deduction for the payment as it’s considered a staff expense.
2. If the invoice is in the company’s name: The payment is seen as either: -
A fringe benefit (a non-cash perk given to an employee), or
- A dividend (a payment made because Mr H is a shareholder).
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If it's a dividend, the company cannot claim a tax deduction.
- If it's a fringe benefit, the company can claim a tax deduction, but must pay Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) on the value of the surgery.
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The company gets to choose whether to treat the payment as a fringe benefit or a dividend, but only if an election is made. If the company doesn’t actively choose, it’s treated as a fringe benefit by default.
Summary: - If the company treats the payment as a fringe benefit or employment income, it can
claim a deduction - because it's seen as a business expense. -
If it's treated as a dividend, no deduction is allowed.
So, yes, the company can deduct the cost of the laser eye surgery - but only if it’s treated correctly for tax as a fringe benefit or salary, and not as a dividend. The right tax must also be paid (PAYE or FBT, depending on the treatment). References
Income Tax Act 2007, ss CD 3, CD 20, CE 1(1)(b), CX 17, DA 1, DA 2.
IS 21/05, “Non-cash dividends”, July 2021. |
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IRD UPCOMING TAX PAYMENT DATES |
Provisional Tax - Due 28 August 2025 Are you due to pay provisional tax on 28 August?
For many businesses, this will be the first instalment for the 2026 tax year. Meeting this deadline is crucial to avoid steep interest and late payment penalties from Inland Revenue (IR). Therefore, it's important to prepare ahead and ensure you have enough funds to cover this upcoming payment. Check out these tips below to ensure you're prepared for this date:
1. Assess your cashflow: Check to see who owes you money, chase up those payments, and even see if you can get payments sooner or delay payments to suppliers.
2. Consider using tax pooling: Tax pooling can be a big help, allowing you to pay 28 August provisional tax at a time that suits, without incurring late penalties. If you're interested in setting up tax pooling for your business, get in touch with our team today to talk you through the options in more detail on managing your tax better.
3. If in doubt, contact us: As always, we are here to help, so if you are unsure or have any concerns about your provisional tax instalment, please contact the team (admin@aafl.nz or 04-970-1182), we are more than happy to discuss your situation. July GST - Due 28 August 2025 A reminder that GST for periods ending 31 July 2025 is also due for payment on 28 August 2025 |
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