The beginning of a new calendar year is an excellent time to review the year just finished, reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and what changes you'd like to implement. By taking the time to plan, you can ensure that you are on track to achieving your financial goals and are well-prepared for any challenges that may arise. To help make sure you can take advantage of the financial new year, we’ve gathered some goal-setting tips to consider below that are both simple and effective. Your Yearly Business Review - Questions to consider What were the most significant impacts on your business in the last 12 months? How well did you meet the challenges? What worked well last year? What systems, technology, products or services were successful? What accomplishments can you celebrate? What situation, event or experience provided the biggest learning opportunity? What is the biggest challenge or frustration you face as you prepare for the year ahead? What did you most enjoy during the year? Do more of it. What did you least enjoy? Do less of it! Analyse your financial reports. Are you earning what you'd like to? Is the business sustainably profitable? Find your inspiration: It’s always a good idea to start with the bigger picture and ask yourself what it is that you want to achieve through your business. What is it about the business that makes you jump out of bed every morning? Start broad and identify the driving force behind what you do. Is it to create wealth, or to are you planning on building up the business to resell at some point to make a profit? Whatever the reason, knowing the ‘why’ will help you gain clarity on your goals and allow you to start working towards them. Pick something you can measure: Vague goals aren’t as helpful as those you can measure and monitor (SMART Goals). Think about what you already measure in your business and how you’d like to see those metrics change. For example: A 3% increase in net profit year-on-year A 2% reduction in expenses 1 new customer per month Reduce average payment time to under 50 days 4 weeks of holiday during which you don’t go into the office at all Break it down: Once you’re clear on your overarching goal or vision, then start breaking it down into smaller actionable steps. It’s a lot harder to achieve one large goal, and a lot easier making smaller incremental progress. For example, instead of setting yourself a lofty goal of tripling revenue over a number of years, plan out how that might eventuate by breaking it out into a series of smaller, actionable steps. For instance, the first of these steps might be to increase the range of products you sell if you run an ecommerce, or to increase revenue by 20% per quarter. We can help: While there are many metrics you could evaluate to track business performance, we’ve provided just a few ideas to inspire your business planning for a positive start to the year. Whether you're a startup, a growing business, or an established enterprise, our team of knowledgeable accountants and business advisors is here to support and guide you every step of the way. We can help you review your goals and set a plan to accomplish them, propelling your business forward in 2024. Ready to take your business to the next level? Let's make the next financial year your best one yet. If you’d like to chat about what you can do differently this year to enable your business to thrive, book a time with us today at 04 970 1182.

Are you on track to receiving the full annual Government Kiwisaver contribution? A reminder that you have until 30 June 2024 to make sure you have contributed at least $1042.86 into your KiwiSaver account to maximise the Government KiwiSaver Contribution top-up. Every dollar counts! Do you need to make a one-off payment to get yourself over the line? So how does it work? If you’re eligible, the Government will contribute 50 cents for every dollar you contribute to your KiwiSaver account, up to a maximum of $521.43 each year. All you need to do is contribute at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July to 30 June each year. For salary and wage earners, your employer will pay your Kiwisaver contributions on your behalf. However, if you are self-employed, you can set up an automatic payment to your Kiwisaver provider. To be eligible, you must: - be a Kiwisaver member - live in New Zealand - be 18 years old or younger than 65 - make one-off or regular contributions by 30 June each year. More information is available on the Inland Revenue website, which can be accessed by visiting the link below. https://www.ird.govt.nz/.../getting-the-kiwisaver...