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Cash is King - The Importance of Cash Flow

Cash Flow is the Lifeblood of Your BusinessWhen it comes to running a successful business, cash flow plays a starring role behind the scenes. While many business owners focus on profitability, the reality is that a lack of cash flow can bring even the most profitable businesses to their knees. Whether you’re a small business just starting out or if your business is looking to grow, understanding and managing cash flow is key to long-term success.What is Cash Flow?In simple terms, cash flow ref...

Why do I need a bookkeeper,when I already have an accountant?

Both accounting and bookkeeping are essential to a successful business. What does an accountant do? Your accountant focuses on the big picture of your business's finances. They provide strategic advice, tax planning, take care of tax filing and ensure your business is compliant with legislation. They prepare end of year financials, a yearly record of your company's financial position. They calculate your tax liability and may act on your behalf to file returns with the IRD.&n...

5 Top Bookkeeping Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Top 5 Common Bookkeeping Mistakes Small Businesses Make (and How to Avoid Them)Running a small business can feel like juggling a hundred different tasks at once. Between keeping up with day to day tasks, keeping customers happy, and generating sales, it’s easy for bookkeeping to take a backseat. However, neglecting your business’s financial health can lead to costly errors, stress, and even tax issues down the line.As a certified bookkeeper with over 10 years of experience, I’ve seen first...

Accounts payable, the who, the what and the why!

Some of our clients never delve into the accounts payable feature in Xero.Accounts payable as a bill that your business has received or incurred but hasn't paid yet. Why should you use the accounts payable feature in Xero? If you load suppliers invoices as a bill to pay in Xero as you receive them:You gain a clear picture of who you have to pay, and when.Knowing what bills are due for payment, and what funds you are expecting in, helps you stay on top of your business's cash flow. ...

When is it time to step away from the spreadsheet?

It was a cost effective way of recording accounting transactions while the business was in the start up phase and transactions were low in volume.Income and expenses, were neatly recorded and I logged in to the bank account separately to check on transactions and record them.I had an excel based template for invoicing my clients which I copied and modified each time I needed to send a new one.And it all worked well until the business started to grow. How do you know it's time to step away f...

Is DIY Bookkeeping the right choice for your business?

With tools like Xero and MYOB, handling your own bookkeeping is easier than ever—but is it always the best approach?The Appeal of DIY BookkeepingSaving Money: Not only does "do it yourself" save money, it puts you intimately in touch with your numbers. You know who to invoice, who has or hasn't paid, and who you need to pay.Monitor your own business: If you're really savvy you can run reports and see how all those numbers line up each month, look for discrepancies and make coding adjustments t...

What shall I do with all this paper?

Many of our clients still collect those paper receipts from retailers or invoices issued by suppliers, all tucked up safely in a box for their bookkeeper or accountant. Are they still relevant and is there a better way of storing your proof of purchases?Yes, and yes! The IRD require that you keep cash and electronic sales and purchases. Examples of records including:taxable supply informationsupply correction informationbank statementsinvoices and receiptscredit card records – includ...

When your accounts need a clean up

Everyone gets busy and, lets face it, not everyone is in their happy place when reconciling or coding their own accounts. If you haven't kept your financials up to date and your accountant has been asking for them, it's  time to consider "phoning a friend"!We are great at one off clean ups, if your financials are in a bit of a mess,  we can check coding, make sure every that needs to, is balancing, delve into any inconsistencies and sort them out. We make recommendations:&nbs...

Should I outsource or hire?

Maybe a better question is what don't I pay for when I outsource my bookkeeping?At first glance Office Outworkz's hourly rate can appear more than you'd pay a full time employee, but what is not included?Forget about "office jenga" trying to squeeze in an extra desk and chair, we have both of those. No dipping into the capital expenditure budget to buy laptops or a desktop computer either, we have those as well, and a couple of snazzy monitors and some other techy stuff that we need to do o...