Sneak Peek at Xero Payroll

As usual the smart cookies at Xero have been head down working hard on rolling out their next project- namely Xero Payroll, brilliant! Here's what Xero has to say...

Xero Payroll is shaping up well and is due for release early next year.

Wages and salaries are the largest expense for many businesses, so sending detailed cost information from a pay run straight into the accounting ledger gives business owners a much better understanding of where the money is flowing. They can then prepare for the deduction of large expenses and the likes of superannuation payments.

This video previews how Xero Payroll will work:



Xero Payroll is ideal for small businesses that still run their payroll manually. With Xero Payroll you create your template payslips to use each week and easily copy previous pay runs for faster processing where the amounts don’t vary much. We’ve introduced a ‘payroll admin’ user, so only people with this access can see the detail of a pay run anywhere in Xero, and there’s also a new employee contact for pay transactions.

Xero Payroll complements our existing payroll partners who take the payroll process a few steps further to include automated tax calculations, leave accrual and other payroll specific functions. Over time we envisage these partners will continue to build out on Xero’s core payroll features and provide other valuable services such as self-managed employee kiosks.

See a full list of our payroll solution providers here.

Xero Payroll is included free in our business editions, and users of the Xero Small plan will be delighted to know that invoices created by our payroll function, to post amounts into the ledger, won’t affect invoice limits each month.

Managing payroll is a big chore so we want as many people as possible to get off manual systems.

Stay tuned for this release in 2011.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very safe and fun Christmas from the Findlay and Co team. Take care on the roads and make sure you eat, drink and be merry!

Egg Nog

Now we know that Egg Nog isn't really a Kiwi thing but give this a whirl it is delicious!! And if it's a no go, maybe just crack a Speights.

Ingredients

6 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk or vanilla soya milk

3/4 cup egg whites + 1 whole egg, beaten

2 Tablespoons of agave nectar or Sucanat1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons rum extractPinch of sea salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Directions:In a medium saucepan heat the almond milk, eggs andagave/ Sucanat(cane sugar). Bring to a boil and allowto simmer continually stiring and allow to thicken forabout 5 minutes.Stir in the vanilla, rum, sea salt and spices.Remove from heat. Refrigerate and serve in a lovelyglass and sprinkle with an extra pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Enjoy!

Thanks to livethemsartway.com for the recipe!

Festival of Colour Volunteers

The Festival of Colour will be gracing our shores again in Twenty Eleven from 12-17 April. The team in charge are look for 50 special volunteers to help out over the festival. Drop them a line at info@festivalofcolour.co.nz

The line up is under wraps until February 11th and tickets go on sale on the 21st of February. Put this date in your diary to be part of the fun and we can look forward to all sorts of fun mid April...exciting!

Get Your Good Deed Done Early 2011

Have you signed up to be one of the Locations Volunteer Crew for Challenge Wanaka early January? You could get all your good deeds out the way early in the year!

The 2011 Challenge is on January 15th and you can sign up to be part of the day here.

With race entries now closed, it' going to be a record year for Challenge Wanaka with 1,200 set to take on the world's most scenic iron distance triathlon. With athletes hailing from all corners of the globe and including some of the sports most respected names, race day promises to be memorable!

So get on board, sign up to help today!

Sorted

Have you checked out Sorted yet?

Sorted is New Zealand's free independent money guide, run by the Retirement Commission. It is full of calculators and information to help you manage your finances throughout your life.

The site offers advice suited to the stage of life you are in and has specific plans to help you map and achieve your goals. There are calculators for savings, paying off debt, plan for retirement, mortgage repayments and more. It is a handy little tool with a cute little mouse for a guide!

These basics will see you setting some goals, make a budget and start saving, all good New Years resolutions!

We would like to propose a toast!

There is always something to smile about!

1. According to the new Global Peace Index (GPI), New Zealand tops the list of countries that are the safest in the world.
2. According to the just released Human Development Report released by the UN, New Zealand is the third best country to live in the world, climbing 17 places in this year’s index.
3. According to the IFC and World Bank, among 183 economies, New Zealand is in the top 3 for ease of doing business for local firms.
4. Australia and New Zealand shared first place, in a first-of-its-kind survey ranking 153 nations on the willingness of their citizens to donate time and money to charity. China ranked near the bottom, barely higher than last-place Madagascar.
5. And if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, the world recession has created an oversupply of bubbly from France. Retailers are waging a ’champagne war’, with prices for Moët slumping by almost 30%!

Cheers to that!

BNZ Money Map-Santas Little Helper

We love tools that help things to run smoothly!! Have you seen the BNZ Money Map?? This sharp little tool is designed to help you to manage your money - savings and spending!

Ahem, does it look a little familiar...yeah our Xero friends have teamed up with our BNZ friends to roll out this little number.

Got questions? Click here to read some things that are commonly asked. All in all great minds think alike and any inexpensive little helper is perfect for watching your pennies over Christmas. Cool!

Bye Bye Gift Duty

On 1 November the Government announced that it will abolish gift duty with effect from 1 October next year. This decision seems quite a sensible one. Gift duty raises a paltry $2.2M each year for Government, when in fact it collectively costs trusts around $70M per annum to file gift duty statements, most of which result in no gift duty needing to be paid. At last, some simplification!

It’s natural to be concerned that the removal of gift duty creates an ‘open slather’ environment, encouraging people to hide assets in trusts to avoid creditors. Not so, says the Government, who suggest that there is plenty of protection in the Insolvency Act to safeguard creditors. The abolition of gift duty will be included in legislation to be introduced in November 2010 and will be effective from 1 October 2011.

Mark Magill Mortgage Man!

The Findlay and Co Queenstown crew have settled nicely onto their office in Terrace Junction. We have found ourselves amongst like-minded business owners who are also looking to help their customers succeed. Mark Magill from Mike Pero Mortgages is a prime example!

Mark originally hails from Canada. He has been lucky enough to marry a Kiwi lass and lives in Wanaka with his young family. Mark balances his career as a top ranking Ski Instructor with full time Mortgage Broking action. The business is built on giving holistic advice that is current and tailored to each client...that goes for both skiing and finance!

We are in a climate where seeking good advice is key, especially around finance. Mark is able to offer independent advice that is objective and straight up. So if you just need to chat over your existing mortgage or are considering a new one (in this buyers market) give Mark a call and chat through your plans.

A little bit of independent advice goes along way!

Christmas Drinks and Closed Dates

On 16th December from 4.30 we are shouting Christmas drinks to say thank you to our valued clients. Please join us to toast to summer and a New Year approaching.

Our closed dates over the festive season will be from 5pm 23rd December and we are back on deck January 17th 2011.

We look forward to seeing you for a drink mid December.

So much to do!

Summer in the Southern Lakes is awesome! It doesn't matter what you are into, you can find it happening here. But the key is to keep a beady eye out so that you don't miss out!

One to mark in the 'Fun Diary' is Waitangi Weekend, Shotover Sunshine Festival. Lots of great bands, Fat Freddys Drop, Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter, Ladi 6, Opensouls and more. Check it out here.

To keep your finger on the pulse check www.summerdaze.co.nz and go get amongst it!