Small Business

28 Feb 2017

What exactly should I keep for my business records?

What exactly am I meant to keep as business records? And for how long? First, let’s review what Inland Revenue have set out for records you must keep. Apart from your business bank statements, and those Invoices or bills you have sent out- here’s the other records you need to keep. These will be important to keep, if you are claiming business expenses …

For items for $50 or less:

To claim them as business expenses you do not need a ‘Tax Invoice’ but you still need to retain some ‘evidence of payment’ – it may be a cash sale docket or till receipt. Like what you get from your local dairy or stationery stores for small items.

If your purchase is over $50:

The requirements are stricter. Inland Revenue requires your records should have the following evidence for your business expense claims:

The words ‘Tax Invoice’ must be clearly marked on the document (unless the seller is not registered for GST, in which case ‘Invoice’ is acceptable. If they are GST registered, their invoice must show their GST number).
The name and the address of the supplier.
Date of the sale, and a description of the goods and services supplied, including quantity or volume where applicable.
Total amount charged – and a clear indication of whether this amount is inclusive or exclusive of any GST charged when applicable e.g. Total $123.21 GST inclusive, or having separate lines: $100.00 + GST $15.00 = Total $115.00

If you are GST registered and processing GST returns, then the necessity for retaining evidence for accurate calculations to support your filed GST records is important.

There is a slight anomaly – Inland Revenue states:

“For GST you do not need to hold a tax invoice for items costing less than $50, but you do need to maintain a record of such payments. For Income Tax, you should have invoices for all expenses, whatever the amount.”

So, bottom line, let’s go with keeping all your receipts, as you will definitely be filing Income Tax returns.

For how long? Seven years. Yes, regardless of whether you cease trading or on sell the business, you need to retain your own business’s records for seven years.

“But I’m drowning, and struggling to keep everything tidy” …

“I just haven’t time to keep them filed”…. “Where am I going to keep them all?”

“I keep losing my bits of paper when I’m out and about on business…”

Good news. Inland Revenue now accept accounting records and supporting documentation in electronic format. In fact, not surprisingly, they encourage it! Here’s a statement from their website:

“We encourage you to record and store your data electronically (disk, tape or other electronic media) as this lets us carry out the more efficient computer-assisted audits.”

Here, we really recommend Xero and MYOB, the newer modern accounting software programs are very useful and practical for small/medium business owners. They offer easy features to enable uploading of your digital business transactions to store them as links, alongside relevant accounting transactions within the accounting records. It makes for a clear tidy system of tracking and detailing your business transactions over the year.

But how do we upload the data? Scanning and photo shots are acceptable. Make sure the images are clear and capture the required data the Inland Revenue requires – the full page. There are some new applications available for ease of capture of business transactions via electronic images to be incorporated into the newer accounting systems today – with Receiptbank for example, you take a photo of your receipt and it uploads the photo and enters the details of the transaction into Xero too once you’ve checked details are correct. (That’s pretty handy – how many of us leave our receipts in our purse, or in our car for days meaning to put them into the office records … but mislay them?).

Another plus of having your data records linked with the accounting transactions, is your business records are easily searchable. “We need to reassess our retail price, let’s recheck what courier costs were for those imported materials back in March from X supplier were?” A quick search online, and you can bring up the attached digital record of the invoice or receipt of goods from the supplier.

Remember two other conveniences with using newer Cloud based accounting software? As they store data off base on remote servers – there’s less worry of damage to your records through accidental or natural events eg fire or flooding. Secondly they feature the mobile accessibility of being able to access your financial records from different locations. (See our previous blog on The Cloud)

What you do need to do, is ensure both security and maintenance of your current and historical data is reviewed and completed over the required time frame of seven years to keep it accessible.

So are you ready to kill those paper piles? Get in touch and we can help work with you on improving your existing accounting processes … we may be able to recommend compatible applications or suggest better accounting software applications that make managing your business records easy.

Check out these links for further information:

15 Feb 2017

As business owners, we often sell gift vouchers to customers, as well as hold competitions where we giveaway products or services. I’m going to explain how you deal with giveaways and gift vouchers when it comes to your business accounts, so listen up…

Selling and Redeeming Gift Vouchers

Selling a gift voucher to a customer is selling a specific dollar value of products, but without having to give them the products at that time. Usually there is an expiry date of a set number of months in which it needs to be redeemed or it will no longer be valid. In effect you have a commitment to exchange the voucher for your goods or services at a point in the future. This very closely matches the definition of a liability. In your accounts you need to create a new liability account called gift vouchers sold. When a voucher is sold you allocate the transaction to this new account. When the voucher is redeemed or expires then this is when the sale takes place and you need to create a transaction to move the amount from the liability account to sales. This is the point at which GST is included in the transactions.

But I hear you say, “Why can’t I just put it in my accounts when the voucher is sold?” Because strange but true, sometimes the vouchers are never used and also you need to know the vouchers issued but not yet redeemed at the end of the year. You’ll also need to ear mark some of that money to pay the GST amount for that voucher when it is used. You can find out more about GST and gift vouchers on the IRD website.

How Do I Show Product Giveaways in My Accounts?

Giveaways are usually held as a way of marketing your business. Therefore, when you giveaway a product, simply deduct it from your stock inventory and add the cost to you of it to your marketing expenses by a journal. Alternatively, you could wait until your next stock take and the count will be lower (by the number of items given away) and this will show you have a lower gross profit.

For example, if over the financial year you sold 100 products for $10 each, you would have a gross income of $1000. If each product cost you $5 to sell, you would have expenditure of $500. Then if you gave 5 products away in a giveaway, it would cost you $25 worth of product. The cost of goods sold would be $525, even though you only physically sold $500, as the $25 giveaway product costs would be included in there. So instead of having a $500 gross profit, you’d have $475 instead.

You should keep a record of all gift certificates you sell, their value, date redeemed and expiration date. You can also record separately the details of your giveaway for your helpful accountants and bookkeepers too, such as me! As always, I’m more than happy to help answer your accounting and bookkeeping questions, so please get in touch.

1 Feb 2017

donating to charities We had one of our clients approach us on a query about making donations, from his business, and what the money implications would be.

Let’s begin with the basics. You can donate as much or little to anyone you like. But if you’d like to be able to get some tax credits from Inland Revenue for your donations, there are rules to follow:

The first – All donations, personal or business – must be a minimum of $5.00 dollars and be to a charity listed on the Inland Revenue’s approved Donee Organisation list.

Secondly – The donation must be a complete gift. The wording Inland Revenue has for donations is:

“A donation is an unconditional gift only if the giver receives nothing in return”.

This means you or your business must not get any ‘return’ on that gift. A charity giving you a regular advert in a charity newsletter in return of donated funds, is not a ‘donation’ amount since you are receiving ‘advertising’ in return. Attending a charity fundraiser event e.g. where you have paid for tickets is not a ‘donation’ to that organisation – as most likely you will be receiving a meal, drinks etc on the night, so you are getting ‘something’ in return regardless of ticket cost. (This could be more classified as a business expense at 50%, depending on details).

But should you or your company decide to make a spontaneous cash donation on the night, clearly separate from the cost of ticket that had meals or drinks, yes, that may be recorded as a donation. It’s a clear gift of money with no expectation of return on that cash giving. But, if you take part in bidding on any auction of donated prizes during the evening, then no, it’s not a ‘donation’ by Inland Revenue’s definition, as you receive ‘something’ for your bidding regardless what the item is, or how little or high the bid was. Per Inland Revenue rules, you must get nothing in return.

When the above criteria are followed, tax credits are awarded as follows:

For individuals/sole traders, you can claim on 33% of each dollar of the donated funds, to come off your tax liability owning at year end. Note, the total donations you claim can’t exceed your taxable income for the year. If they do, you can claim donations up to the amount of your taxable income which would allow you a maximum 33% tax credit off your tax liability bill.

For businesses – at financial year end, the donated amount comes off whatever net income your company made, and the balance is then presented to Inland Revenue as ‘taxable income’. So overall – you’ll reduce your company profit balance, but your company pays less tax. But the maximum donation you can claim on, however, is limited to being equal or less than the net income (profit) before the donation amount was deducted. (Make sure receipt shows your Company name, not your name). Click on here for: Approved Inland Revenue Charities

If you have any further questions – do contact me if you have any questions or need professional advice.

10 Jan 2017

Xero or MYOB – Which Accounting Software Should I Choose?

Competition is heating up between MYOB and Xero; two of the most popular paid accounting software options in New Zealand. Think of them as two types of ice blocks. They both do their job in cooling you down and giving you a refreshing treat, but depending on the flavour or how they were made, can taste and look completely different.

What do you mean MYOB is an ice block? Is Xero an ice cream then?

No. It’s simply that Xero and MYOB are two different competing accounting software programs. Each have their own pros or cons and you are going to find people who like one over the other. But in reality the choice is yours as to which one you use, regardless of who your accountant or bookkeeper is. Sure, they may try to suggest you use one over another and that’s okay. But it is still your decision to choose the one which works best for you.

MYOB vs Xero – Choosing the Right Accounting Software for Your Business

Let’s break down the differences between these two programs and what they offer…

Accessibility – Xero is fully online, everything is stored in the cloud and you can access it anywhere. MYOB requires you install the program on your Windows 7 or higher computer, so you have to use it there. However, MYOB’s new AccountRight Live, is an online cloud based program in direct competition with Xero.
How it looks – Xero is easier to look at for long periods of time and its appearance is more customisable than MYOB’s interface.
Using it – here it’s six of one, half a dozen of another. In general terms, Xero is easier to use if you are coding bank statements and sending invoices via email. Sorting out prepayments and overpayments is easier in MYOB than Xero though. MYOB is also easier to use when setting up coding rules and matching invoices.
Reports – both give you reports, but MYOB reports are more thorough, easier to use and transfer nicely into Excel spreadsheets. Xero reports at a basic level are fine, but it struggles to handle more in-depth ones.

Cutting to the chase, MYOB is seen as more old school than Xero. They both do pretty much the same job, with small variations. Price is one area where they do differ, with MYOB being slightly cheaper than Xero. But don’t let price be your main decision guide – give me a call and together we can work through identifying the best accounting system for you.

14 Dec 2016

With Christmas and the holiday season approaching fast we thought we’d revise some Business Entertainment Expenses claim rules. Some Fringe Benefit Tax rules can come into play too, it all depends on how your business presents its entertainment events or gifts. And remember events must be directly related to your business – so that’s either your staff or clients … not personal friends.

Let’s start with the annual Xmas lunches or dinners … here we’ve outlined sample festive scenarios and what can be claimable:

Sarah, who has a hairstyling Salon, wants to take her four staff out to a local restaurant to celebrate the end of year and as a thank-you to her staff. She can claim 50% of the meal and the drinks, as an entertainment expense. This claim also applies if she wants to take out some long-standing clients or Judy, her local agent for beauty products to the salon out, too. If she needed to book a private room at the restaurant, she can claim 50% of the that cost, too.

Dave has an engineering company and this year he opts to have a hangi at work before break up, behind the workshop rather than a dinner out – mainly as his boys got rather loud and rowdy after a few drinks last year at a restaurant. He contracts a local Maori group through his mate’s whanau who say they can do a genuine hangi, for some ‘koha’ donation to their Marae funds. Considering the IRD definition here: ‘a donation must be an unconditional gift and nothing must be received for it’. Here, IRD would view the staff are receiving a benefit of a hangi meal provided even if no agreed koha amount is discussed. Dave can still make some ‘koha’ donation to the group, but only 50% of the expense should be claimed – not 100% of whatever koha/donation he makes. It will be recorded as an 50% entertainment cost in the books. Other event hireage costs Dave’s business could claim would be 50% on hired table & chairs, musical band or DJ hire, etc.

Laura, an Interior Designer, planned to take the staff out for dinner, but now is really rushed timewise, decides this year she’ll put on a light morning tea at work instead in their office and gets a catering company to deliver Christmas treats, and hand out some gifts to them. Light morning or afternoon teas onsite are 100% deductible, so Laura can claim 100% of the cost of the catered morning tea. But remember the emphasis here is on ‘light’ refreshments, not a full meal. What she can claim on the expense of the staff gifts, depends on what she hands out. A review on what she can claim on gift purchases for staff is discussed below.

Fringe Benefit Limitations for Staff gifts

Generally, if the entertainment expense is only 50% deductible as in the above scenarios, then it’s not usually liable to Fringe benefit tax. But for one exception, per this scenario…

Judy & Russ are heading away extra early for their Christmas break, so they opt to hand out gift vouchers from a local fine dining restaurant to their staff & partners to enjoy at their leisure, and promise to do a company BBQ in the New Year instead. They can claim 50% of the cost of the vouchers they buy for the staff. And Inland Revenue has decided where staff have a ‘choice or flexibility’ in their use of gift vouchers given out – as above, then it is a ‘Fringe Benefit‘ offered to the staff, and may be liable for tax. Complicated much? There is a $300-dollar fringe benefit exemption, per quarter of the year, per staff member. So, if your business supplies other fringe benefits throughout the year (perks like access to company vehicle, paid gym memberships, staff discounts etc), remember to account for the value of any end of year gifts or vouchers you give your staff at the end of the year, too as your business may become liable to pay tax on these gifts where FBT limitation allowance are exceeded. We are happy to supply more information on how and what Fringe Benefits Tax your business may be liable on – please contact us.

Giving Staff or Clients Gifts – What to Claim:

If it’s not food or drink, you can claim 100% on the expense of the gift. Hence Calendars, movie tickets, bottle openers etc would be 100% claimable.

But alas, if you opt to pass out gift that are eatable or drinkable like Gift baskets of food treats, Xmas Hams or a nice wine as presents – then you can only claim 50% of these expenses! (Mmmm – Got to wonder if Inland Revenue have some alliance with the Weight Watchers Organisation?)

Again, remember Fringe Benefit tax may be payable on gifts if they’re for staff.

What about completing my GST returns for entertainment costs …what do I claim? You can claim the GST portion of the allowable business expense – where it has been shown to be included – where the supplier is GST registered. But note, on gift vouchers, you cannot claim GST as a purchaser, as GST should be claimed by the business redeeming the value of the voucher. Inland Revenue rules endorse that only the voucher seller and the business redeeming the value of the voucher, should claim the GST portion. Do check in with us too, as there can be variations on the type of vouchers bought.

Keep all Those Entertainment Receipts! Gather all receipts and invoices from entertainment events – get staff to return their receipts incurred in liaison with company entertainment expenses. Record the purpose of the Event, who guests were and reason for function – yes Inland Revenue can ask these questions. Take photo shots of those small receipts like taxi chits or drink dockets, as we know they go missing so easily. Inland Revenue does review entertainment expenses carefully, and may ask questions so it’s useful to have proper information and records to hand and it also makes it easy for you to present any claimable expenses at the end of the financial year.

The advice given in this blog is general advice only. Please contact Do The Sums and More if you have any questions or need professional advice.

6 Dec 2016

Get active on Social Media Keeping your social media posts fresh and interesting is pretty time consuming. Other things to do in your business, processing orders, ordering in goods, training staff, and bookwork call for attention. It’s all a balancing act of keeping your business name out there to generate work, and work on and within your business.

Losing enthusiasm on doing social media postings?

Do you see many tweens or teenagers reading print media today? Nope – the majority are using their mobiles or laptops – they’re looking down and scrolling away merrily. They are our future ‘spending’ clientele – the generation that has hardly referred to print media for information or promotions, as previous generations did. They’re not watching programmed TV shows with advert breaks, not with the wide variety of other streamed entertainment coming to them to choose from. And when they are considering buying products?? Think – where do they look to source their information today?

Social media use is growing fast, and even without accounting for the above mentioned future generations coming up – it is now today’s most engaging way of touting for, and creating business leads to our products and services. It’s even more important you work to maintain your businesses profile active on it, if you want to keep the competitive edge on your business. A New Zealand report by MYOB Women in Business (Oct 2013) indicated those having an active social media use created more benefits in 64% increase in interaction with customers, and 58% increase in customer enquiries and leads.

But it’s not a case of just hopping on and flashing a few products and making some comments from time to time. Be engaging with your audience. Show the human side of your business – talk to your clients and interested viewers, show them you have common interests, and illustrate that you care about the product or service you are selling. Keep it professional but friendly. Vary your posting topics – it doesn’t all have to be about your business, you can find other interesting links that may be useful to your clients. Keep your website ‘fresh’ too and make sure the shopping cart is easy to work through.

You also need to make regular postings

Since most social media feeds now work on an algorithm of ‘rewarding’ and pushing their high-end users further up in viewing profiles than those who just post occasionally. Frequent postings help keep your name and business rising in front of scrolling viewer’s eyes – to be there and easily accessible when they need to use your services. That posting you made two hours ago is already ‘old’ news – consider the 100’s of postings going across your screen each day.

So …yes, get into the Social Media world. If you’ve no time, make time. If you’re struggling to manage your business and spread your time across your tasks in your businesses – why not pass over your finances over to us, use the free time to grow your Social media profile to generate more leads? Turn those increased leads turn into sales – and we at Do The Sums Bookkeeping and More will work alongside you to grow your business finances in showing and helping you how to manage your expenses, smooth out your cashflow and ensure you met legal and tax obligations. Give us a call and we can discuss book keeping applications and packages to suit, with our support available.

15 Nov 2016

Want to Own Your Own Business? Or you want to step up your business more?

Have you begun thinking and planning to have your own business one day? Or have you been running your business for a while and thinking of stepping it up to the next level.

When we set up businesses we are using Capital. Capital refers to the funds/money you invested in the business to get it running – including the value of the buildings, tools or equipment, that is the Assets you brought in along with the fit-out expenses you incurred to start it all. The branding costs – business cards, stationery etc. That’s capital money you are using to start up a business. Alternatively, maybe you’ve been in business awhile and now considering stepping up your business but need some funds. Let’s review some options below for sourcing funds – the usual ones plus other options for sourcing funds.

Personal Funds – initially working part time in your spare time to build/sell your product. Many businesses start this way, and it can be a useful option to evaluate what demand there is seeing market reaction to your product or service. You can slowly build it up whilst retaining a secure income from a day job/other income, until you’re assured you can earn enough income from it.

Borrow from family/friends – using personal loans to purchase and start your business. You need to be very sure, and arrange for what repayments will be made whether the business succeeds or fails. Think carefully where personal relationships are involved – how they may be affected with those you borrowed from, if things don’t run smoothly and you struggle with repayments?

Get a Bank / Finance Loan – Take along a strong both financial and business plan to back up the amount you’re asking for, and be ready to ‘market’ your business to your Bank. Remember they’re not interested in your bad times when you’re up and running – they want their repayments coming in regularly, period. They may need security – what will you offer? If it’s equity over your own home – make sure you clearly understand any implications if the business does not work out. (It’s wise to account for reserve funds to cover three to six months ahead to cover the bank loan repayments, in case of any downturn or emergencies).

Crowdfunding. The new buzz on a form of raising funds for your business – in soliciting online pledges/contribution funds to your business from the public. Their cash pledges may add up to the capital funds you are seeking. You list your business online, detail the purpose for the fund raising, and must assure to investors that you or your team have the expertise to make it work. It’s not for the fainthearted – it takes a lot of planning, a strong social media presence and convincing interested investors of your/team’s ability to deliver. To read up on this concept, google online or click on the following here: FMA – Crowd Funding and this link following has listings of Crowd Funding sites to view: Crowd Funding NZ.

Networking Options If you are limited on your funding, investigate and network throughout your local and regional business organisations, as not all organisations widely advertise funding options available to qualifying businesses. You may find local business mentors willing to share professional advice on growing your business, too. Try your local Chamber of Commerce – find your local branch, and go along to meetings, they too offer courses and networking evenings. The following government department webpage is useful with lots of site links to other regional organisations – click on this link: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment or visit one of their nationwide offices nearest you.

Incubators and Accelerators are organisations who exist to support the growth and success of new start-ups or businesses needing a boost up with offerings of either private or government training courses and funding. Angel Funding is another term used for ventures willing to lend or help businesses grown. Click on this: The Icehouse or Callaghan Innovation, the latter a government agency involved in helping businesses start-ups and growth developments. Get linked to their Facebook pages where they’ll often discuss new business news, and put notices of upcoming business training courses.

We do NOT recommend using this organisation: The New Zealand Small Business Centre, www.nzfundinggrants.org per this advice from the Commerce Commission, click on following link: NZ Commerce Commission Warning.

Persistence: Believe in yourself. There will be naysayers around – remember it’s your ‘Dream’, not theirs. If you have confidence with a product to offer or a service to sell, persist. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers. It’s said Jay-Z couldn’t get any record publishers to sign him, so he produced and began selling his music himself. Success takes time and effort. Its possible failures may happen, but if you are persistent, learn from your lessons and move on.

At Do The Sums Book Keeping & More we’re working on growing and expanding our services, and we’re always happy to see our wonderful clients growing their businesses too. If you’re needing more time to work on your business or need help with your financial processing systems.

28 Sep 2016

Slip these October Tax Due Dates into your schedule

Avoid missing the deadline. Add these dates to your schedule now.

October can be quite a busy month – labour weekend and of course the weather can start to warm up. But it’s important not to forget any of your obligations with tax. To keep you on track add these October Tax Due Dates to your schedule now.

20th PAYE return and payment due
20th Quarterly FBT return and payment due
28th GST return and payment due August/September (2 monthly filing), September (monthly filing) and April-September (6 monthly filing)

Note: If a due date falls on the weekend the date is moved to the Monday following. Also be aware that both payment and returns must be received by the IRD on or before the due date.

If you are getting really busy in your business or with life in general it might be time to look at passing over some of these tasks to a professional. Please contact us today to see how we can help.

19 Sep 2016

balance-in-the-books-and-balance-in-your-life

A good hearty laugh relieves physical tension, leaves your muscle relaxed for up to 45 mins after, and even boosts the immune system? Do you remember the last time you enjoyed a good deep belly laugh with your family or friends?

One crucial thing many small business owners often overlook – is looking after themselves and balancing their lifestyles. It’s so very easy to find your business gradually swallowing up all your free hours. Doing everything in the business is demanding, you get stretched with needing to manage everything, especially if you’re a sole business owner – there isn’t anyone to share your load with. You can’t afford to get sick or ill. After all, who will run the business? Growing demands begins to wear you down. So what can we do to help create ‘balance’ in our lives, feel more in control, and make time to step away from our businesses to relax and have fun.

First – check your physical health and diet.

Being healthy does strengthen your mental ability to be able to manage stress. Even a 40 min daily walk around the block with the dog helps. It’s not about super long gym sessions to get a prime body – we’re talking about maintaining a good general fitness. Find some activity you enjoy doing – if it becomes boring – do it with a group or ask a friend to join in. Try blending doing physical activities with your partner or family to gain more social and physical time – backyard soccer game anyone?

(Think – what’s the point of investing this time and money into the business now if you aren’t going to strive to be healthy enough in future years to enjoy possible financial benefits derived from all this hard work you’re putting into your business today?)

Monitor your business hours.

Finished work? Done enough today? Close that laptop, and put down the cellphone and walk away. Go interact fully with the family and friends. In your time away, if it’s crucial to check in, then be strict – check in once the late afternoon. Avoid checking devices during late evenings – do you want to fall asleep with business on your mind? Create a friendly auto-answer messaging system on both your emails and business numbers to clients who call out of hours. Schedule your breaks, and take them. Sometimes it’s not possible to avoid after hour work because of the nature of your business, like a food business. But try scheduling two-three hour blocks of time in evenings for say two or three nights a week and then keep the other evenings free to give yourself a break away from work.

Work Smart on your business.

Review your goals on a regular basis. In working so hard, we can forget to step away and check we’re on track or not. How’s your income? Your current business systems – are there better way of doing this process now? Spend so much time looking for and sorting paper invoices and writing outgoing orders? Go paperless – move to an integrated accounting system and encourage suppliers and clients to order online. Social media marketing … do you need to be on all of them – why not get selective and focus on two. Streamline, and then review again later.

Outsource.

Eeeek – that means bringing in ‘outsiders’ into your business. But when it grows, sometimes it’s just not possible to keep our fingers on all the pulses of the business. Multi-tasking doesn’t work if it’s spreading your energy thin all over the place – accounts, marketing and processing sales – and you can’t focus properly. Contracting out some of your workloads, or hiring experts can reduce your time demands within the business. Experts with their knowledge base can suggest fresh ideas and processes to help enhance your business. Outsource what you aren’t good at or haven’t time to train on, and refocus your passion on what you do love doing best in your business! So we’ll ask now – how are your accounts? Do you understand where your money is coming from and where is it going?

Here at Do the Sums, we work hard to be updated on the best bookkeeping systems, keep abreast of tax compliance rules. We’re always the lookout for cool system add-ons that can help minimise business processes and save time. We can train you on bookkeeping systems, or you can hand it all over. Or just some. By the way, we Network often – so if it’s not accounting – but something else you’re needing help with, feel free to ask me as we deal with a wide range of business professionals and may be able to recommend the right person.

So, there it is. BALANCE. Work on your business – but make your lifestyle balanced too, and create some time off to go relax and laugh .. with family or friends.

GST Tax Returns Annual Tax Returns Tax Agents

Bookkeeping Online FBT Tax Returns Payroll Processing

Friendly Personal Service at Do The Sums Bookkeeping and More – can we help you?

Rebecca on 027 379 0992 or email rebecca@dothesums.co.nz

2 Sep 2016

How do you stay in control of data security on your device?

Managing Data Security is a major concern for many small businesses operating in this technological world…

In this post we cover a few basic steps and tools you can use to keep your data safe. Data security is a big concern but it doesn’t have to be a big cost or a big deal to reduce your risks.

Passwords:

Create strong unique passwords: long words with a mixture of numbers, letters, and symbols. Not passwords that in any way relate to your personal life e.g. names of Pets, partner’s names, schools attended. Professional hackers can suss out your address, your regular habits, family and friends.

Please don’t use the same password repeatedly to access all your applications. Create different passwords for different applications. If this a struggle then we suggest you use a Password Management Service, and you’ll only need to remember one password!

You can read more about them – here are some Password Management Sites that have been rated highly, to review:

Last Pass 1Password Dashlane

We personally use Last Pass as you can imagine we have a whole heap of passwords that we need to keep track of. And of course keeping our clients data secure is one of our top priorities.

A warning here: Your web browser e.g. Chrome, Firefox etc – may offer “password managers” features. However, they are not secure because often these browsers are just storing your passwords within your computer in an unencrypted form. Which means others can get into your computer may be able to view them. Unless you are able to encrypt the files on your hard drive, they are not recommended.

Screensavers are great:

Use your screensaver. If not active on your laptop or device or distracted on another job for a short period of time, say ten minutes, it closes down applications behind a security screen, then you need to re-enter your password to reopen it. It’s easy to use, pops up when you’re distracted elsewhere, especially when you forget to turn off your computer. Use it!

Family access to your own devices:

This is a hard one, for family, but try avoid sharing passwords for personal and financial applications on your device. Banks, for Online Banking and other applications like Microsoft Office offer multi-user access with different passwords, so make use of them, and encourage family to create their own passwords if they use your devices for accessing applications.

If you have kids using your computer and have programs that you don’t want them messing with, create control over your PC with an admin role. You can restrict them to using only certain programs – check your computer security settings for this feature.

Know your websites:

Be aware of the security settings of websites when you are surfing or reading or even buying goods online. URLs beginning with ‘https:’ are safer but there is still no guarantee – there are many imitators.

Look for Site Identity buttons when doing important work – when you are accessing a website, they show a green padlock icon in the beginning of their address. This verifies you are accessing a secure website address, and not an imitation site. This is very important when you are logging into banking/ Financial or your businesses’ Accounting software websites. Be vigilant.

Software Security Updates:

Software & Security developers like Microsoft, Google, spend millions of dollars working on security applications to keep their systems secured, and security updates are always being done to ensure your software is up to date against security threats. So make sure your computer is set to accept upgrades, to ensure your security software is up to date against new hacker or virus threats.

There are many more measures to protect unauthorised access data on your Devices, and we’ve covered the basic ones above. There are other options available to further secure against access into your computer’s files:

Disabling writing to USB Drives on certain files, or folders to prevent users copying your files.
Restrict Users from Using Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete
User Account Control to Protect Your PC (prevents unauthorised changes to your PC)
Putting data in an Encrypted File Vault (moves your files into a locked vault).

We hope that covers some of the basics of data security and gives you some steps to follow and tools to implement that can help you keep your data safe. Do you have any great tips you would like to share? Leave a comment below with your number one tip.