Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


martyyn

1971 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

#261446 28-Nov-2019 09:08
Send private message

My wife and I both have our own businesses. We both use Xero and use an accountant we've known for years.

But this year's cost is $5000 for us both and I'm wondering how that compares given all invoicing and expenses are done by us in Xero.

Anyone care to add what they are paying, or if they do it themselves through Xero ?

Thanks.

Create new topic
muppet
2566 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2362028 28-Nov-2019 09:11
Send private message

My wife is a contractor, she uses hnry and by all accounts (haha terrible pun, sorry) she loves it.

 

I'm a salaried pleb, so I can't vouch for it, but it certainly seems to be working for her, no more visits to a semi-usless accountant, having to worry she hasn't put enough tax aside and all that sort of stuff that makes you want to stab out your eyes.




timmmay
20574 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2362070 28-Nov-2019 09:25
Send private message

I was using Markhams - they change their name every year or so but it's all variants of the same thing. I did most of the work in Xero, they just did tax returns PAYE / GST - not full financial statements. When it hit about $2K for a simple business I took over doing the tax returns myself. With Xero and the information on the IRD website it's quite easy.

 

The only reason I had them originally was Xero wasn't around at the time, and I had depreciation and overseas income making things difficult. Xero does that now, so accountant no longer required for basic tax returns.


BlinkyBill
1443 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


  #2362122 28-Nov-2019 10:04
Send private message

What sort of businesses?

 

I have a good friend who is a programme director. She bills per hour, one or maybe two clients at a time. She uses a spreadsheet for timesheets (free), a spreadsheet template for monthly invoicing (free), the IRD cashbook for annual accounts (free), Dropbox for receipts (free), and does her own GST returns and annual tax returns and provisional tax.

 

i have another friend who sells goods, it’s a small one person business involving purchase of raw materials, sales of finished goods, and some operating expenses with some depreciable equipment. She uses Xero (can’t tell you how much this costs) and an accountant once per year to prepare eoy accounts and returns.

 

So the type of business is useful to understand.




itxtme
2102 posts

Uber Geek


  #2362123 28-Nov-2019 10:04
Send private message

Does the 5k include your subs on Xero?  Seems expensive if you genuinely do the work.  Are you on a monthly plan with them or do you just pay an invoice?


Shindig
1585 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2362126 28-Nov-2019 10:09
Send private message

John Norton accounting.

 

6month GST and yearly tax return

 

 





The little things make the biggest difference.


martyyn

1971 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Subscriber

  #2362131 28-Nov-2019 10:15
Send private message

Looking at hnry is interesting.

 

My income is relatively stable and I already split tax and gst amounts on a per invoice basis with my own spreadsheet. My expenses are reasonably stable as well as I've been doing this for years. I do however buy a fair number of items which incur depreciation which I'd need to learn about.

 

At the end of the year though the costs aren't all that much cheaper than my accountant and they have my tax money in their account for the year rather than it set against our mortgage.

 

My wife's income fluctuates greatly over the year so it will be much harder to give hnry an initial estimate. If you guess too high cash flow at the start can be tight, too low and you will definitely be playing catch up at the end.

 

@blinkbill

 

We're both billing at an hourly rate. I used to do everything myself for invoicing and spreadsheets. I have a lot of repeating invoices and having Xero auto generate them does save me time.

 

My wife requires a trust account and I think the peice of mind for her is more valuable that saving a grand a year.

 

@itxtme

 

I should have been more clear about that. It includes Xero monthly fees and GST. We pay Xero monthly.

 

 

 

The more I think about it, the more I think we're not actually getting a bad deal.


timmmay
20574 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2362176 28-Nov-2019 10:40
Send private message

With Xero you pay your $30 to $60 a month, it does expenses, asset depreciation, prepares and submits GST returns for you, and provides the information to submit other tax returns. No need for spreadsheets at all. For standard stuff you don't need an accountant. I even managed to work out how to claim for home office expenses based on floor area, by looking how the accountant did it.


 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
filboz
27 posts

Geek

ID Verified

  #2362262 28-Nov-2019 11:49
Send private message

I use Fox Office, they change me $150 per month for Xero including payroll, and end of year returns, another contractor put me on to them, way back!

 

I do the GST and PAYE through Xero and irFile myself...

 

 

 

Their pricing is here: https://www.foxoffice.co.nz/pricing


guyl
120 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

  #2362276 28-Nov-2019 12:21
Send private message

I use Beany.com. They are a virtual company, and everything is done online. Great to deal with, and you pay a fixed monthly fee (So no big bills after tax time).

 

 

 

A breath of fresh air from my old accountants. They were slow, difficult to deal with, and I had to go in a couple of times of year to see them. And the bills were horrendous..

 

 


MikeB4
18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #2362280 28-Nov-2019 12:27
Send private message

I draw on my accounting learning and do my own books. I have a friend who is an accounted who gives them a look over gratis in return for my providing gratis tech support. The arrangement saves a handful of readies and is mutually advantageous. Personally I feel if one is a contracting sole trader an investment in an accounting course is well worth it.

 

edit; I will add for disclosure that I am currently not doing any work until my health issues are resolved and as it has been a while I will need to catch up on latest requirements for IRD etc


ANglEAUT
2320 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2362396 28-Nov-2019 18:43
Send private message

I use a local accountant.

 

Beside my one man company, I have shares & P2P lending investments making things to complicated for hnry.





Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.


mugs2000
66 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user


  #2363852 1-Dec-2019 10:06
Send private message

The accounting software that I have been using for the last 20 years  is 'cashbook complete' by acclaim.co.nz. They charge a one-off fee to purchase, and issue free updates.

 

It does everything (including GST) except for purchase orders & depreciation which need to be done manually. When the accountants bumped up the accounting fees, I decided to do it all myself last year  and saved me a small bundle. 

 

Disclaimer: the scale of the business is small; sufficient to complement my superannuation.


RickW
298 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #2363854 1-Dec-2019 10:22
Send private message

I’m in Christchurch and have a package deal, for Xero and accountant with unlimited phone support we pay $2100 a year excluding. We do our own invoicing too. We are pretty happy with that.

Ford
330 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user


  #2372135 10-Dec-2019 22:52
Send private message

I work as a a bookkeeper in the chartered accounting industry (in amongst PC repair).

 

I do all the Xero work for my client chartered accoutant's customers. I prepare draft end of year financials and tax returns.

 

I also use MYOB essentials.

 

I also prepare my own company's and personal tax returns on Accountants Office.

 

My bookkeeping data processing hourly rate is $30.00 per hour plus GST (cost of software on top of that) because I am not a reseller or partner of Xero or any other software company.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.