homeBee.png

Our experts have answered the questions below. Click on the topic to see the relevant questions they have already answered. For legal reasons, experts are unable to provide specific advice for a user's individual situation but can often give pointers or guidelines which can be very helpful in addressing an issue or challenge.

Startup (1)
How do I get my first clients?

I am a newbie to this site, but would appreciate any advice that people could offer on how I can start to build my home-based bookkeeping business.

I have been in the accounting clerical and accounting technician field for over thirty years but as with many others am experiencing reduced hours in my employment and I want to start building a more secure environment for my family.

I am fully conversant with the software and technical side of bookkeeping and accounting, having been employed as the senior in the accounting department of several large businesses, reporting to external accountants and auditors.

I am at a loss to know how I can market the fact that I am available to the people who would be interested in using my services, without having the luxury of a large budget to spend on doing so.

If anyone has any advice at all I would be very appreciative to hear from you. If you know of a marketing firm I could consult which could assist me in such a venture at a reasonable fee then again please let me know their details.

Many thanks.

That's a bit of a broad question - but a good one as it can be quite intimidating starting up from scratch, and once you have clients on board they can refer more business, etc.

The best strategy is to "fish where the fish are". In other words, your most effective use of time and money is to direct your efforts where you will find concentrations of your ideal potential clients.

You will probably need to leverage your network of friends and associates, attend business networking functions, and advertise your services through fliers, letterbox drops and/or your local newspaper or a targeted publication or web site your ideal clients are likely to read or visit. Alliances with other service providers (e.g. accountants tired of handling clients' messy books), can be very effective.

Your first task will be to work out who your potential clients are - businesses, associations, individuals? What size of organisation? Where will they be located? What functions do they attend? Who is already talking to them?

Direct mail and even the dreaded cold calling may also have their place in your strategy. There are plenty of articles on this site which will give you more detail about both of these techniques. Done well, they can be very effective - but a lot of people spend a lot of time without getting results because they are not following the process properly.

When you start building up a client list, leverage it. Ask for referrals, there is no better salesperson for you than a happy existing client.

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team
Finance (0)
Tax (2)
What is the best way to handle the GST transition?

Are there diffent ways for different business types?

This question has so many aspects to it - and many variations on specific issues - so the first thing I'd say is to look at IRD's website. They know people won't get everything 100% right - so talk to advisors and IRD about this - and record the fact. In my opinion IRD is more likely to let minor errors slide if you've made the effort to get it right. Of course the fact is that this is so big there's a good chance IRD won't even find a fraction of the lesser errors.

The other point to note about the IRD website is you may not find the exact answer to your precise question. If in doubt, check with your own advisor - and hope they have adequate standards so their answers are reliable.

The first aspect that comes is the GST basis and periods. If you're on an invoice basis then there are relatively few hassles. If you are on a payments basis, you will see the adjustment required for the September return. After this you will have effectively billed / been billed GST at the new rate on all debtors / creditors - so after that one-off adjustment you treat all transactions as being at the new rate.

There is a transition period - I think from memory of 10 - 11 days - to get September transactions invoiced at the old rate - but try and have as much as possible done as early as possible..

There are many other issues - e.g. laybys - but the main issue is how you're going to handle the changes - especially if you use a commercial package. It's impossible to cover so many alternatives - hopefully your provider is in touch - or it's obvious how it will handle the exercise. If you're not sure then don't wait until October to start looking into it. If the worst happened and you had to buy a new package, you really want it installed and the bugs ironed out before October.

So there in a nutshell is my take on the coming change. There's a lot of details unique to each situation - so don't leave it. Act now and reduce the load in October.

Answered by: Phil Astley
What accounts do you use when a limited liability company has to pay tax to the IRD?

Obviously the cheque account is used but what is the other account that is used when the company must pay taxes on the end of year profit?

I'm assuming you're meaning accounts in a general ledger sense - not as in bank accounts with IRD etc. I'm also assuming "tax" means income tax - there are all sorts of taxes collected by the IRD - so I just have to clarify that.

Unfortunately there's no golden rule. Really it probably depends on what program you're using - and how you're accountant (assuming you use a CA) will treat it. So I'll suggest a fairly full way of doing it - but often it is done simpler, and left the the accountant to check it. This would
include, for example, making sure the payment coded to tax doesn't have any interest or penalties in it.

First off, there are two main types of tax payments - provisional and terminal. The provisional might be say 10,000 per instalment, giving 30,000 total. Each if these could be coded to a code just for provisional tax.

Terminal is the difference between provisional and total. Now this is where things get a bit tricky. Unless the total is less than 2,500, then companies pay or receive UOMI (interest) of the shortfall / surplus, based on each instalment of provisional tax, and when the final tax is paid / refunded. So the tax part of any payment might go to terminal tax.

Thus you might have a group of accounts called tax, with sub-accounts called provisional and terminal. At year end, when you have worked out your company tax, that goes into the P&L for the year as an expense, and the other side goes into the B/S as a liability for Tax. (Provision for tax - different from provisional tax - confusing eh?)

You should have paid provisional tax - and the difference should be terminal tax. Of course that's only for tax - interest goes straight to the expense (or income) account as appropriate. It's made a bit more complex these days because the third provisional tax payment probably
won't have been paid until after year end - so things are just a bit trickier to reconcile. And of course this also causes chaos in the ICA (Imputation Credit Account) but that's a whole other story.

I don't know if this has fully answered your question - tax is a big area with lots of permutations, etc. That's why the IRD is so big. I've tried to cover the main points which should at least get you someway there.

Best wishes
Phil Astley (and posted by the Bizbuzz Team)

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team
Marketing (3)
Marketing - Where do we start?

Hi there, we have had our website for a while, but can't seem to get any traffic there, we would also like to market ourselves to the wider NZ, perhaps by using flyers or the newspaper, but costwise we are finding it pretty hard, we can either do one or the other, but not all of them, any suggestions? Our web www.izziyoartglass.co.nz

It can take time to get good traffic to any web site, especially if the domain is new, as Google won't index brand new sites for a while - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make a start. When you do get into Google's index, you'll have a head start - and besides, much traffic can come from elsewhere.

The first thing to cover off in getting traffic to your site is good design (see the search engine optimisation articles and discussion on this site). We'll assume you already have this.

Then it's a case of doing lots of small things regularly, rather than one big thing. Getting other sites to link to you is very valuable, especially if they are relevant and have a good Google ranking. Leaving a question, such as the one you have here, and including your URL, is a great starting point. Perhaps you already knew that and it's why you did it. Commenting on articles, posting in forums, contributing articles, creating blogs and profiles, etc., all of which include links to your site, are very useful too - not only on Bizbuzz but other relevant sites. Also approach others in your industry and see if they will agree to reciprocal links - not competitors, so much as suppliers or related service providers, or outlets through which you market your products.

Don't forget basic things either, like including your web address on your business cards, letterhead, email signature and any promotional material.

Google ads can be reasonably priced too, though it does depend on your industry and whether you can find relevant keywords for which there is not too much demand.

With regard to your offline marketing, your money will be best spent if you can target your prospects rather than take a shot-gun approach. Is there a magazine which they are likely to read? This is likely to prove better than a newspaper with broad, but not very specific, appeal. You might even find a web site or email newsletter which is small, but targetted, which can get good bang for your buck. Unfortunately it's a case of trial and error - test with a small budget, track results to work out what gets the best returns, and spend your money where you know you get results.

If you are really strapped for cash, go through some of the marketing articles on this site. You may be able to team up with another business to market to each other's databases (include their fliers to yours and vice versa), and word of mouth marketing can be excellent if you know how to leverage your networks to get referrals without being the person everyone avoids at events! You might like to talk to your local chapter of BNI (www.bni.co.nz).

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team
How do you get in front of people re insurance??

The most difficult part of my work is getting in front of enough people that are target market. Any ideas on how to do this successfuly??

One way people offering services such as yourself reach a number of prospects at the same time is to offer seminars or workshops on a relevant topic. This needs to be high value for attendees, giving them an insight into what can be achieved through, in your case, a good assessment of their insurance needs and finding suitable cover. Pitch the seminar to the kind of audience you want, for instance, assessing and mitigating business risks if you are targeting business owners. Prompt attendees to bring a friend, and ask them to refer friends to your next one.

Another way would be a letter-box drop with a quick and effective checklist which a home owner might go through, with a call to action at the end.

These are just a couple of suggestions but hopefully they will get you thinking along the right track.

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team
I am wanting to set up accounts support for small businesses what is the best way to market myself

Either working from my office or theirs, keeping rates reasonalbe but getting their books ready for the accountant to sign off.

Hi there. Usually the best way to market a service business such as yours would not just be one way. Word of mouth is usually cost-effective and referrals can bring in the best quality business leads - so get out there and network!

That alone is usually not enough for a startup, so add to it strategies which target your market rather than adopting a shotgun approach. Fliers dropped to local businesses, dropping and and talking to business owners in a specific area, and even getting some accountants on-side (who after all know which clients need your help and you will be making their job easier and cheaper for the client) could all be good.

Don't get disheartened. It takes time to build a client base but they can become your own best advocates. Let them know you appreciate referrals and make it easy for them to pass on your details.

Wishing you well with your business!

Answered by: Heather Douglas
Administration (1)
What is your opinion regarding whether it is OK to show a street address as a business mailing address?

As I work from home, I have my private street address on my website. Someone commented that this compromises my security as well as gives an unprofessional impression. However I am reluctant to get a PO Box as I get so little by mail these days (most is sent on line) and it will just be a time waster having to go to the PO to check the box. What do you think?

We actually agree with your friend that the best solution is not to advertise your home address. Apart from security, which can definitely be a concern, have you thought about the possibility of customers turning up on your doorstep uninvited, and possibly outside business hours?

While we believe home-based businesses have gained in credibility over the past decade or so, there is still some way to go and, depending on the industry you are working in, it may be a drawback.

If you feel the cost of a PO box is not warranted (and for the sake of your branding, it may actually be worthwhile), there are other services offering mail solutions or perhaps you can share with another home-based business?

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team
Technology (0)
Internet (1)
How can I link my blog to the blogs on Homebizbuzz?

That's a great question - one which strictly speaking isn't an expert question but we'll answer it here as it's likely to be of interest to a lot of other users.

There's good news, and bad. The bad news is you can't do it - yet. The good news is that it is actively on our development list and should be available in the next release of the site. We'd love to do everything at once but reality is, we can't :-) In the meantime, you can either copy and paste the contents of your own blog into your Bizbuzz user blog, or link to it from your profile, signature, directory listing, etc. We realise that's not perfect but it will get you links and exposure while you're waiting for the "toys".

Answered by: Bizbuzz Team