Typical examples include:

1 Your ACC category can be changed. For example, accounting
practice might suddenly appear as administration.

         2 If your personal wages plus
        your company salary come to
        more than about $110,000 a year,
        you could break through the
        maximum levy threshold. Inland
        Revenue supplies ACC with your
        company salary figure. There
        appears to be no system for
        matching this with any other
        wages you have received. The
        sum of the two incomes could
        exceed the maximum ACC
        income threshold. For example,
        you might have earned consulting
        fees of $70,000 and have
        shareholder remuneration from
        your company of $80,000. Both
        amounts are likely to be levied by
        ACC, even though the total is well
        over $110,000.00.

3  If you are ceasing business you are likely to get a provisional assessment for the next year. You need to get this cancelled.

You can split your ACC bill into different classifications only if you are actually running two or more distinct businesses through the one entity. You should check the rules on the ACC website if you think you qualify.

For example, if you employ office staff and you are a builder, ACC levies on office staff wages have to levied at the rate for builders.

Strangely, if you are in partnership and one partner does the office work while the other is working in a higher risk occupation, the office worker is allowed to use the office worker classification.

Note, we have said partnership. This dispensation does not apply to companies.

HERE'S a story from one of our clients.

"I was selling my house and invited four real estate agents, from different firms, to tell me how they would go about getting me a buyer.  Two were quickly eliminated but it was hard to choose between the last ones.  I chose A and sent a dear John letter to B.

"The next day I received a long email from B.  He thanked me for my time; then he discussed a couple of issues which had been worrying me, and wished me well.  My reaction?  If I meet anyone looking for a real estate agent his name will come to the top."

If you are unsuccessful, don't show resentment.  It is not nice to have to tell someone they are not going to get a contract worth a lot of money to them.  Be gracious in defeat and make the most out of it. If the arrangement the customer has made falls over, you could get the job after all. Whatever happens, you might so impress the customer that she turns into an advocate for you, as happened in this case.

When you die, you don't need to leave your wealth directly to your spouse or children. You may leave it in a trust set up for their benefit.

What if that dear charming marriage partner your off-spring has chosen, turns out to be a louse? He/she will usually get half of what you left to that child. If you've put everything in a trust, it's not your child's asset, so the partner will have difficulty making a claim on it.  Also, if your youngster does own the asset, look at the embarrassment for them of having to tell a potential partner: "I'm worth a little fortune. I love you and trust you but, just in case, I want a pre-nuptial agreement, which means  I don't really trust you."

How much nicer to smile and say: "Yes I do," and if the relationship turns to custard, no worries. The trust owns everything and the separating partner gets none of your estate.
You don't have to wait until you are dead. Commonly people move their assets into a trust years before they pass on.  You should, of course, explain to your children that when you're gone, it would be a good idea to keep the trust going. Instead of taking money out to buy a house, they should borrow it from the trust so the trustees can demand repayment if the relationship falls through.  

KiwiSaver account

A recent letter from a client says: "I have just reviewed my KiwiSaver account at [XYZ] and note that I have not been given credit for Employer Contributions made in November 2011. I know they were paid as my company is the employer. I could have easily missed this if I had not quickly reviewed their statement." Do you check your KiwiSaver account? You should. Mistakes do occur and could be big. Don't forget to check the closing balance on your last statement matches the opening balance on the new one.

Tax refunds

The IRD has issued a reminder that any tax refunds paid in error must be sent back to it. The department expects the money back within 15 days (that does not mean working days, it means two weeks) and threaten penalties and interest charges if you hang on to the money for any longer. IRD often sends out refunds and we have asked it to apply the refund to some other tax. Pause before you bank that IRD cheque. If you allow IRD to credit refunds to your bank account, be extra vigilant. 

WHY give away branded pens? Does this work as a promotional tool and if so, how?

The BNZ certainly thinks so. How many BNZ pens do you have, and how often do you see other people with them or use them yourself?

Give-aways remind the recipient, regularly, of your existence.  The more difficult it is to remember you, the more useful the give-away.

You might be a specialist in your field. Once you've delivered your service you're likely to be forgotten unless you can provide a reminder, like a pen. If you're an irregular or seasonal supplier, such as delivering firewood, your give-away will help you to be remembered next time.

The longer your give-away lasts, the longer you'll be remembered. Fridge magnets are a favourite give-away for this reason. Give-aways work because people are loath to throw out something of value.


A couple of clever examples include a nail file for someone providing products for women, and a plastic device with a small blade for cutting articles out of newspapers. Be imaginative and you might come up with an excellent give-away. 

IF YOU have a friend starting in business, don't let them spend hours thinking about what their business cards and letterhead will look like. We call this letterhead syndrome.

People suffering from this complaint are putting too much emphasis on image and not enough on how to get customers. They should be focused on what they are going to sell and who their customers are going to be.

Where do you find these prospective customers and then how do you make contact with them?

We know of a man who runs a garden maintenance business, cutting lawns etc. He belongs to a contract bridge club. He advertises in its magazine and gets work from it. Have a look at who plays bridge. Many of them have gray hair. They are a great target for his type of business.

It used to take time for the bad news to spread.  Now it's instant and there sure are more than 15 people who can find out about the bad experience once it gets published on the web.

Never has it been more important to watch the quality of your service.

Play safe if you get a complaint. Bend over backwards to send customers away happy, even if they seem unreasonable.  Just make sure you are too full to accept another booking from them.

Poor business practice is going to be harder to hide. Watch your reputation or risk it being exposed in the social media.

How to win a quote and get a good price

A PAINTING contractor has a novel way of explaining his quotes to prospective clients.

As part of the quote, he insists on the right to discuss with the owner, the merits of all prices when they are in.  His prices are relatively higher and yet he gets most of the jobs.

He is able to explain to the owner why his price should be accepted, which could be for any number of reasons.  He is selling the quality of the job. The lowest price is not necessarily going to be the cheapest and he gets the opportunity to explain why.