Mark’s musing – How does Your Business Profit Measure Up

How does Your Business Profit Measure Up?  Are you happy with the Profit you are currently making in your business?  If not, what can you do about it? You first need to understand what Profit is and how it is derived.  What is Profit? The formula for Profit is: Sales – Expenses = Profit Profit is what’s left over, after you’ve paid all your expenses How to Increase Profit Profit…  Read more

5 Tips to Improve the Conversion Rate on Your Site

If you want to increase sales on your e-commerce site, you should not only focus on traffic but also on your conversion rate. The higher your conversion rate, the more money you can make with the same number of visitors. Here are five tactics to help you increase your conversion rate. Test Testing is an important part of improving your conversion rate. Split testing can help you determine what aspects…  Read more

Business Systems – Why, What, How?

What systems do I need and how do I get the most out of them. At last count in our accounting firm we had 16 different systems that we use on a daily basis that all cover off a different part of our business functions.  The amount of systems that businesses run has changed significantly over the last few years as it has become a lot less expensive to develop…  Read more

Social Media Etiquette: 12 Quick Tips for Professionals

With social media, you can connect with business associates quickly and creatively. But this communication mode is not without risk. A thoughtless post can offend customers and other business partners and damage relationships rather than build them. By following a few ground rules you can be confident your comments and posts will be appropriate ones. Abstain From Posting or Tweeting Certain Information If you aren’t sure it’s acceptable to post…  Read more

Mark’s musings – If you think you can or you think you can’t

If you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you are right. I was speaking at a Mike Pero Real Estate conference in Rotorua several years ago and one of my favourite quotes that I shared with the conference attendees was Henry Fords “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, either way you’re right”. I told them, that it is a little known secret,…  Read more

Is that time of year again – time to set some goals for the new financial year

With the new financial year upon us it is a great time to establish some financial targets and import them into Xero so you can compare your actual results versus your targets (or budget). What we find, is that the understanding of the financial make-up of a business is enhanced significantly when you set targets and then report against those targets and get curious about the variances.  Some good tips for…  Read more

Xero now includes Payroll

Xero have released the long awaited Payroll functionality for the NZ version ready for use from 1 April 2015. Xero’s payroll functionality includes the standard features of payroll software in terms of calculating pays, managing leave etc but it also includes the ability for staff to login and view their leave balances, pay history and submit leave requests.  As you would expect from Xero the User Interface looks nice and…  Read more

Support for Families

Parental Tax Credit For babies born on or after 1 April 2015, the Government will increase the parental tax credit from $150 a week to $220 a week, and extend the payment period from eight weeks to ten weeks. How much you receive also depends on: your total family income before tax the number of dependent children in your care and how old they are the number of newborn children…  Read more

New requirements for Companies

New requirement for Companies From 1 May 2015 new registration requirements come into force for applications to incorporate a New Zealand Limited Liability company. All New Zealand incorporated companies must have at least one director who lives in New Zealand or who lives in Australia and is a director of an Australian incorporated company. Existing companies on the companies register will have 180 days to comply with these New Zealand…  Read more

Risk and Reward – Employment Law Changes

Employment Law Changes The government has made some major employment relations changes, effective from 6 March 2015. Changes target flexible working arrangements, rest and meal breaks, continuity of employment for vulnerable employees upon restructuring, the good faith provisions, collective bargaining, and how the Employment Relations Authority gives its determinations. Flexible working arrangements Up till now flexible working arrangements have only been available to caregivers who have been employed at their…  Read more

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