WINTER NEWSLETTER

Hugh's Views
Business Plan - Have you got one?
Create a culture of knowledge sharing
Investors
Employers Alert
The Smart way to pay your professional fees
What clients really want from their Accountant
October 2008 - Tax Changes
Welcome to:
Late Filing Penalties - PAYE & GST
Donations & Childcare Rebates
Disclaimer

HUGH'S VIEWS
Once again we are half way through the year and it really seems as though it has only started. Perhaps it’s because we have just started to get into our annual flow of compliance work.

Cashflow
At this time of the year we, along with many other business owners, find that the cashflow seems to slow up as clients start to find it harder to collect their money from debtors. We experience the same difficulties and we have introduced a new way of paying which is called feeSmart. There is information set out elsewhere in this newsletter which explains how this works. We are also able to assist with people who wish to put in place a collection system. Sandra Waitoa is our expert on this, sandra@mcintyreassociates.co.nz  and between her and Paul Checketts they will be able to help you if you require it. The best way to collect your money is to have a strict collection process and stick to it.

REAP
Towards the end of July, Brent Wilson and myself are doing a presentation through REAP entitled “Personal Investment for Dummies”. This covers a wide range of subjects including mortgages, insurance, investment principles and how to select investment advisors. Given the shambles that has developed over the last 12 months with respect to people investing in the wrong places for the wrong reasons, it may well be worth enrolling. It will be held on Monday nights (21st July, 28th July & 4th August) for approximately 1 ¹ / ₂ hours. I am sure some will find it worthwhile, if you are interested phone REAP 0800 267 327.

ACC
A client has recently given me a timely reminder that many people detest paying ACC and some who are paying more than they really want to, can elect to pay less through the CoverPlus option. Conditions apply to this, but if you do consider you are paying a higher amount than you wish to, usually because your income is at a higher level, then talk to Mark Tait and he can take you through the CoverPlus process.  mark@mcintyreassociates.co.nz

Employment
We have been involved recently in a number of recruitment advertisements and the resulting employee selection process. We do have some skills in this area and if you require assistance feel free to contact Paul Checketts paul@mcintyreassociates.co.nz  or Sandra Waitoa. Also a timely reminder that there are still many of our clients who do not have Employment Agreements which are compulsory and you can be fined for not having them. The newspaper continues to provide articles on a regular basis of employers who have been fined or who have had to pay significant amounts of compensation to ex employees, largely through their failure to have an Employment Agreement in place.

Xero
We have added another software package to the suite that we support. Xero is a new on-line based accounting package aimed at the mid-sized business, although they are continuing developing their add-ons. This is a step up from BankLink and will not suit all, but if you are interested in having a look, or would like to find out more information, then the first step is www.xero.com or talk to myself or Paul Checketts. For other software advice George Flannery is your man.

Around the Office
Within the office all is rolling along well, work seems to be flowing through reasonably well, but we still have occasions when we need to go back to clients to get additional information that should really have come in at the start. A gentle reminder that we send you your questionnaires for a purpose. So if you haven’t brought your information in yet please go through the questionnaire first.

With winter having finally arrived it is time to lower the shutters, put our heads down and get the work done. We’ll be in touch further in the Spring when the sun is shining and the buds blossoming.

Hugh

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BUSINESS PLAN - HAVE YOU GOT ONE?

How Long Since It Was Reviewed?
If you do not have a business plan, or if yours is out of date, it may be time to consider drafting a new business plan.

Benefits of Business Planning

• The process focuses the team on looking at future developments
• The process focuses the team on enhancing services to customers, which often results in profit improvement
• Staff involvement results in more effective implementation as they ‘own the ideas’ and are therefore more willing to implement the plan. Morale often lifts due to this teamwork
• The process enables clear communication of business development direction and focus
• The process makes you stop and review the whole business (the ‘big picture’ in its entirety), rather than a 'piece-meal' approach of decision making forced by crisis
• A plan based on who will do what and by when creates an action orientation in the business

Some Practical Suggestions regarding the preparation of a Business Plan:

• Go through the process annually
• Involve staff
• Treat yourself to somewhere special and do it away from work (the 'retreat' concept)
• Have staff and management put their thoughts down on paper before the meeting so that people are prepared
• Use a business plan questionnaire as a guide
• Consider using an external person to facilitate on the day, so that you can be fully involved in the planning process with your staff.

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CREATE A CULTURE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Despite not being accounted for on the balance sheet, your team is hugely important to your business because they hold a wealth of knowledge. Aim to create an environment in which people feel both motivated to work, and motivated to share ideas:

• Create forums for open discussion – small groups, the whole team, with management
• Tell the team what is happening with the business, listen to what they have to say
• Seek their ideas and suggestions for development and change, take all ideas seriously
• Commit time for group problem solving, brainstorming, creative thinking – sometimes the most off-the-wall ideas are the winners
• Build team skills and your own through further training and/or mentoring with more experienced team members.
• Establish other methods of communication e.g. in-house newsletter, weekly team update emails etc
• Keep communicating, keep listening

INVESTORS
With the new investment tax rules now in operation it is important that investors review their investment structures to ensure they are tax efficient under the new PIE and FIF rules.

An investment structure which has served you well under the old rules may not be tax efficient under the new rules.

We urge investors to contact us to discuss their existing structures and any changes that may be necessary, remember that structural changes cannot be made retrospectively.

EMPLOYERS ALERT
New legislation covering flexible working arrangements came into effect from Tuesday the 1st of July.

This legislation gives employees the legal right to request flexible work arrangements from their employer.

If you receive a request from an employee we strongly suggest you contact your employment advisor or seek assistance from the Department of Labour.

As with all employment law matters there are set procedures to follow for both the employee and employer and getting it wrong could lead to a personal grievance which is usually a costly exercise for the employer.

For more information visit the Department of Labour’s website www.dol.govt.nz

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THE SMART WAY TO PAY YOUR PROFESSIONAL FEES
Astute cashflow management is essential for operating a successful business. In today’s competitive environment many businesses prefer to spread their professional fees over the year rather than paying as a single lump sum just like rent or insurance premiums.

feeSmart is a monthly payment options available to our clients who prefer to fund their professional fees over a six or twelve month period. A feeSmart loan is

• · Sensible - existing cash or credit lines (e.g. Bank overdraft) are retained for other business needs.
• · Simple - a feeSmart agreement and Direct Debit authority are all that is needed
• · Stress Free - avoid becoming an overdue debtor with your professional advisors
• · Smart - the small credit charge is also a deductible expense to your business

We know that clients using feeSmart are generally quite capable of paying their professional fee as a lump sum BUT they simply prefer to manage their cash more effectively.

If you wish to explore this option either contact us today.

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WHAT CLIENTS REALLY WANT FROM THEIR ACCOUNTANT
A recent article by Rob Nixon, who some of you may remember from some time ago when he ran a Seminar in Cromwell. Over the past years he has interviewed in excess of 1,000 business people on behalf of 129 accounting firms and has come up with five additional services (above compliance work) that clients want from an accounting firm.

Growth
Help me grow my business or my asset base

Profit
Help me improve my profitability

Cashflow
Help me improve my cashflow

Protection
Help me protect my assets

Succession
Help me find a successor for my business.

Rob goes on to say that in a live seminar he was involved in recently, he asked the people present “If you could find an accounting firm that offered those five key service areas who would be prepared to change accounting firms?” He said “every hand in the room went up”.

McIntyre & Associates do provide help in all those five areas, we are keen to assist clients to improve their businesses, but sometimes we don’t always ask the right questions to find out that you do want help. Please let us know if we can assist. We have a relatively simple Business Needs Analysis questionnaire that you can complete which will help you find out what the crucial issues are in your business. This free service includes a review of your completed Business Needs Assessment, and a report to you highlighting the issues arising.

Contact Hugh if you would like to complete this exercise. It usually takes about half an hour to an hour to complete the questions and can be done electronically. hugh@mcintyreassociates.co.nz

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OCTOBER 2008 TAX CHANGES
As announced in the budgets recently tax thresholds and rates will change from 1 October.

As the new rates are being introduced, partway through the 2008/09 income tax year the composite tax rate which will apply overall to the April 08 - March 09 tax year are as follows:

0-9500	13.75%
9,501-14,000	16.75%
14,001 - 38,000	21.00%
38,001 - 40,000	27.00%
40,001 - 60,000	33.00%
60,001 - 70,000	36.00%
70,001 & higher	39.00%

Further tax threshold and rate changes will take effect from 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.

WELCOME TO:
We have a few new faces around the office since our last newsletter, welcome.

Sandra Jarvie joined the team in May as Business Administrator for Spicers.

Daniel Sanson comes to us after school each day. Daniel is in Year 13 at Dunstan High School and looks after our filing room, mail etc.

Philip Anderson spends his Friday mornings with us, and is helping us to keep our database current.

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LATE FILING PENALTIES - PAYE & GST
Some of our clients may not be in a position to pay PAYE and/or GST when it falls due. You need to be aware that a late filing penalty of $250 is automatically charged when these returns are not filed on time.

We would suggest that you file the return on the due date. Your payment can always follow when you can manage it, although there will be some late payment penalties and interest.

DONATIONS & CHILDCARE REBATES
A little reminder to those of you who still have these to file.

Your bank accounts are really handy to have at the time of filing your rebate. Having this means we can have the IRD pay your refund straight into your bank account, rather than the IRD paying into our Trust Account, to then be forwarded on to yourself.

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DISCLAIMER
We don’t claim to know it all, so with that in mind here’s what we’re obliged to say; this newsletter has had input from a variety of sources, people and publications. For all input we are grateful. Grateful and careful. Whenever we can, we do our very best to ensure all the information contained in this newsletter is accurate and timely. If there’s something here you plan to place some considerable reliance on and we haven’t made the implications totally clear to you, get in touch and we’ll clarify it for you.