We recommend that you discuss this service with your Beany accountant before purchasing

Helping you set business goals & developing and implementing strategies to achieve them

Preparing budgets and input into Xero so you can track how you're going

6 meetings annually to help reach your goals

Financial benchmarking with your competitors

Success pack

We will provide you with guidance and support on what you'll need to do to establish and commence running your new business

We can provide advice on the best business structure for your needs and take care of establishment and registrations

Set up your Xero file so it's optimised for you and give you initial training so you start off in the right way

Preparation of a budget tailored to your business and input into Xero so you can track how you're going

Starter pack

We set you up with the right Xero subscription and manage your payments.

Xero monthly subscription

We set up your Xero file so it is optimised for you and your business.

Xero setup

We prepare your GST returns ready for you to review and pay. We also remind you of when and how much to pay, and even send an alert if you forget! Requires Xero.

Prepare GST

If you would rather be doing something else, let us do your bookkeeping for you. We love coding and checking and you can relax knowing it's all done right, and on time. Requires Xero.

Bank reconciliation

An hour of training on how to use Xero to it's full potential.

Xero training

We'll set up your Xero file from scratch, then give you the training you need to use it to its full potential.

Xero setup & training

We talk to Miel, CEO of Meyer Cheese, as he outlines his family’s legacy, commitment to quality and strategies for growth.

CUSTOMER STORY  •  4 SEPTEMBER 2023  •  6 MIN READ

Meyer Cheese - Award-winning cheesemaker chases cream of the crop with Beany

As you drive through the changing landscape of New Zealand, there’s a recurring theme - a seemingly never-ending pasture of cows and sheep. A telltale sign of the nation’s status as the world’s largest dairy exporter, owned and managed by Kiwis passionate about producing fresh, quality products. For Miel Meyer, CEO of Meyer Cheese, it’s all about raising the standard - with a touch of family tradition.

Residing in the heartlands of Waikato since 1984, Meyer Cheese produces a variety of gouda from both sheep and goat milk. However, it didn’t start there - their origins lie back in Holland, with Miel’s father and grandfather working together to establish the company in 1976. Taking over in 2007, Miel has continued the family’s art of cheese making.

“When I took over from my parents in November 2007, I knew nothing about running a business. I knew how to make cheese - because we did it as children - but on my very first day running the business, I had to ask my colleague what an invoice was!” Miel laughs. Meyer Cheese has since come a long way, with Miel and his brother Geert being named NZ’s Cheese Maker of the Year twice apiece, along with countless Gold awards.

“We've won the New Zealand overall Champion of Champions, I think, five times since 2008. That's quite an achievement, but I have to remind you that the success is for the team, it's not for myself. It's the team that makes these things work, and the effort everyone puts in.”

When asked about his biggest pain point, Miel’s answer was simple: Not having enough time.”My biggest challenge is just getting everything done. Time management. I've got a billion ideas, and it’s key to just dilute that down to focus on a few things. There are so many opportunities in the marketplace and in the cheese industry.”

“Although I really enjoy making cheese, I need to free myself up time. Time to be able to focus on the growth of the business, as well as supporting the team and handling administration - along with Beany.”

Paralysis by analysis is a problem most of us have faced at one time or another, and having too many options can be stifling. The answer to this, Miel suggests, is to focus simply on what best fulfils your business needs. “It's really focusing on your core business values and needs, and then seeing what you can do with your time. So finding the right solutions for problems can be another challenge as well.”

As a family-owned business, Meyer Cheese focuses on two key values: its people and making high-quality cheese. “That's what gets me gets me up in the morning - the passion for running the family business. My dad set it up, and there’s a legacy there. I've got three young sons who also work in the factory, and an excellent group of team members.”

“The awards are a benchmark. We can't produce en masse like Fonterra, so we need to find a point of difference for ourselves. Part of our legacy is in our story, but quality is number one for us. Doing well at the cheese awards is, to me, the standard that we need to achieve and maintain.”

Awards provide a solid groundwork to measure quality in the industry - and for Miel, it’s all about consistency. “The big awards are fantastic, but for me, it’s those gold medals that are consistently coming through year-on-year - and international awards as well. That just reminds me to give kudos to the team, and that we're maintaining our core value of maintaining a high-quality cheese in the marketplace.”

Everything Miel knows about accounting he has learned during his time with Meyer Cheese. “As I said before, when I first started I didn't even know what an invoice was. Now, I am much more well-rehearsed in all facets of the administration side of the business, from exporting and managing compliance.”

“It shouldn't be me to necessarily know the ins and outs of accounting, and that's why we've looked at Beany for support to say, ‘Hey Beany, how can you help us with your specialisation, and enable us to grow in the areas that we'll see opportunity?’”

Beany has been able to help Miel manage the financials of his business, leaving him free to focus on perfecting his craft. “It's been really exciting. I'm really looking forward to the support Beany can provide, freeing up my time to work on actually growing the business, rather than running it day-to-day.”

As Miel shifts his focus from daily operations to long-term growth, Beany will also be able to support his team. “That's one of the best things Beany will be able to provide. My team members don't necessarily need to come to me for an answer to a question - they can call Beany for support. That enables the day-to-day running of the business to move on its own.”

Miel has come a long way from his first days at Meyer Cheese. As an experienced CEO, team member, and manager, he was eager to provide advice to other business owners.

Letting team members run their own space. Obviously, I need to train and provide support to my staff. But once they train enough, I can leave them to their own devices, to make decisions for themselves, to problem-solve for themselves. That frees me up time. So, with the right people in place, you can be a little hands-off and let people figure stuff out. Trust your team - they'll do the right thing.

The same tip my father told me, when I first took over - whatever you do, focus on doing that one thing really, really well. When I first told my dad, ‘I don't know what I'm doing’, he replied, ‘Just focus on making the cheese to the best quality you can, and all the rest will take care of itself.’ And he was right - the accounting takes care of itself because I can ring Beany. All my suppliers are there if I have an issue. Marketing experts can help with advertising. So other businesses, my recommendation is to identify what you really do. What is your core business? Focus on that, get it 100%. You can always import all the other necessities of running a business.

Looking forward, Miel’s current focus is to strategise towards business growth. “For us, it's about making sure we do what we do better. Whether it’s supporting supermarket sales, the retail domestic market - Foodstuffs and Countdown, supporting food service in terms of the domestic market, and then better supporting our current customers as a whole.”

Expansion is also on the cards for Meyer Cheese, as the company also sells its cheese across the ditch. “Conjoint with our local support, we are growing in the export market into Australia. We entered the market in 2012. That did so well that I had to stop, and I want to pick that up again.” As always, Meyer Cheese’s level-headed, quality approach remains the same, both locally and abroad. “I need to do that by making sure the foundation of the business is solid, and then growing from there.”

Beany is delighted to be a part of Meyer Cheese’s long-term growth. “We're actually connected with Beany and Xero to restructure our business as we set it up for growth. This has been a big wish of mine, and we're just at the very beginning of that.”

Sounds like there are exciting times ahead, Miel. Thanks for your time, and for sharing your story - here’s to many more Gold awards!

We’re an online accounting firm that is always right here for you, your accounting pain relief. The most advanced technology lets us work way more closely with you than a normal accountant world. ​

We have a dedicated team of certified accountants and a support team to take care of your business no matter where you are, so you can focus on growing your business. We take out the ‘fluff’, break down the barriers and get things done. Looking out for you is what we are all about. Get started for free today.

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Customer story

A budget is a financial plan that helps you manage your business’s money and financial goals. In this blog, you’ll learn what a budget is, how to create one, and how to make the most of it.

FINANCIAL LITERACY  •  29 AUGUST 2023  •  9 MIN READ

What is a budget

Setting a budget can seem daunting, and everybody does it a little differently. With some guidance from us, you can add a really useful tool to your business to help drive performance and achieve your goals.  This guide will cover what you need to know about budgets:

Optimising and reporting against your budget 

A budget is a detailed financial plan for the year ahead.

It is not the same as a forecast; a forecast predicts the financial results you expect to achieve. A budget is different because it's created before the year starts. It sets guidelines and expectations for both your spending and revenue.

And it’s not really goal setting, although this is a crucial part. The goal could be achieving $250,000 in sales. This informs the budget, and should happen first. You should have a ‘big idea’ of what you want the business to achieve (sometimes called a top-down expectation). The budget then is built up (sometimes called a bottom-up budget) with things you know and see if they add up to the top-down expectation. This will include all the costs of the business and any planned changes you expect to make in the year to achieve your goals. You might find that your budget doesn’t match the goals - you might need to hire another person, or move to a bigger premises to hit your target, and by looking at the gaps you can help plan your year, think about what’s realistic and then update your budget and/or goals until they meet.

Once built, the budget is then your reference point for financial performance throughout the year. If you are spending more money than you budgeted for software costs, why is that? If you are spending less money on employees than you budgeted, why is that? It may be that you’re spending money on an app that you don’t really need to achieve your goal. Or it may be that you weren’t able to employ the person you needed to make more products, and that is why you can’t reach your sales target.

It can be a good idea to have an “anchor” for your budget and build it around that. This could be the goal you have set for the business. Typically that would be the revenue you want to achieve. So, you want to make $250,000 of sales? - you can then think about all the things you will need to spend money on to achieve that.

Or it may be that you know your costs really well, and can work out what your sales will be. For example, you rent an office, which fits 3 people, who can each sell $5k a month, so you should make sales of $180,000 per annum.

The approach will vary from business to business, so pick an approach which makes sense for you. A  good budget should be aspirational (to set expectations and drive productive behaviours) but realistic so people don’t ignore it or give up because it’s impossible.

Are you starting out in business for the first time?

Then you’re unlikely to have past costs or sales to use as a baseline. You’ll need to do some research and figure out what your costs are likely to be, as well as likely sales figures. If you’re in this boat, it’s important not to give yourself arbitrary, hard-to-reach targets. You’ll likely feel disappointed if you don’t reach them.​

Is the year ahead likely to be “business-as-usual”?

If so, you may be able to safely assume your income and expenses will mirror last year. You can use them to make estimations, while slightly increasing your costs to reflect inflation.​

If you’re planning to introduce a new product line or shift your premises to a new location, your costs are certainly going to change, and maybe your income will, too. Factor in these new costs or income adjustments.​

Usually, income in a business is based on quantity. For example, income for a fruit and vege shop might be the quantity of produce sold. Revenue for a design agency might be the quantity of hours billed. When budgeting your revenue think about what is driving that figure. It is a good idea to break your revenue predictions down into their building blocks of number of items sold, because that gives you a clearer target to measure, rather than just total dollars per month. Remember to think about things like seasonality (when you will sell more or less in the year), holidays, annual closedowns and such. If you’re going to budget for an increase in revenue you’ll also need to think about what effect that will have on your costs. Will you need to pay staff more hours to get more sales? Or will you need to purchase more stock to sell, to increase your sales?​

Think about any grants or subsidies you might be able to apply for. You’ll also want to include in this section any interest income if you have cash on deposit, or other income streams such as subletting office space or honorariums.​

Direct costs are those which are directly linked to each item (or hour of time) you sell. These costs are either fixed, such as the cost of freight to import a container of product, and those that are variable, such as the cost to purchase each individual item you sell. ​

If you’ve looked at an increase in your sales, then you need to consider the increase that will make to your variable costs. Fixed costs usually are fixed at a level (so until you fill that container completely with product) and then jump up (to having to pay the cost of importing 2 containers).​

Overheads are those costs that don’t directly relate to each unit of sales, such as the electricity cost of running your premises, rent for your building, or subscription costs for industry memberships. Generally, most if not all of a business’ overheads are fixed. That’s because they don’t usually change much depending on how many units you sell. ​

In a company, tax is charged at 28% of your net profit. When preparing a budget it is good practice to include this in each month as a final expense. Perhaps some months in your budget show a loss – then you could budget your tax that month as a positive figure. Because this isn’t reflective of actual cashflow you can also just include it as a total of the year in the final month of your budget if that is clearer for you. It is important though that tax is included as part of your budget as it is a cost to your business.​

Accountants are the best at actively working to make sure you’re not paying any more tax than you need to. So, often what you would budget in tax would be different to what you would end up paying once our team has completed their work.

Other items – buying assets and paying back loans

​It is important to remember that a budget is only looking at the income and expenses of your business. Items such as asset purchases and loan repayments don’t get included.

The below examples will help to clarify this:

Any intentions to buy assets, like vehicles, in the coming year don’t make it into your budget

Your GST payments don’t go in your budget

Repaying the principle on your loan doesn’t go in, but any interest repayments do

Remember, cashflow is the most important thing, particularly for a small business. If you want to get a clear picture of your total business cashflow then you’ll need to prepare a cashflow forecast.​​

Take a step back and look at this as a full picture. Does it make sense and look like how your business operates? Is there anything that looks glaringly wrong? This is the time to assess if your picture on paper actually reflects reality.​

If you need another set of eyes, or just want someone to work through setting a budget with you, get in touch!

How to optimise your budget, to optimise your business

A budget is your business’s Swiss Army Knife.

It’s your financial planner – estimating your income and expenditure over a set period of time

It’s your financial early warning system – identifying when your expenses are climbing or revenue is falling

It’s your diagnostics tool – spotting opportunities for optimisation

For these reasons a budget is a really important tool for your business, but don’t do it for the sake of doing it. Make it useful and relevant to you and your business. You can make it more, or less complex: If you know your annual costs, you can divide each line by the number of month’s you’ve set it for to get average monthly figures. Or, if you know the pattern of income or expenses you can put this in (for example if your income follows a seasonal trend). You can also add in one-off annual expenses (such as insurance), if you know them, to the month in which you expect to pay. Don’t forget, budgets are GST exclusive so any figures you enter need to be without GST. The closer it is to reality, the more useful it is likely to be.

To really get the most out of your budget, you then need to use it during the year. Compare your results to your budget, whether you do this every month or once a year, look for the variance and try to understand why there are differences to the budget (i.e. your original expectations).

It may be that you just got a part of the budget wrong, in which case learn from that for next year. But if there is a reason why your expenses are more (or less!) than your budget, try to understand why. This can help identify where you might be spending too much money, or places you aren’t spending enough!

How is it linked to other parts of the business? If your advertising spend is lower than your budget, have your sales suffered?

Are there decisions you now need to consider? Sales are soaring, is now the right time to invest in another employee, or new machinery? The financials can tell the story of what is going on in your business

Again, think of your cash. Will you now have more or less money than you expected, and what does that mean for you and your business? Will you need to save more, or less, cash than you expected for your tax payments?

 After building your budget, It’s helpful to enter your budget into a tool, like Xero. You can then easily track each month’s figures against your forecast.​ The more often you compare your numbers to the budget, the quicker you can identify any risks or opportunities and make changes.

In addition, you can use the Goals section of my.Beany to see how your sales or net profit are tracking against your budget.

We’re an online accounting firm that is always right here for you, your accounting pain relief. The most advanced technology lets us work way more closely with you than a normal accountant would.

Financial literacy

From the 29th August 2023, Inland Revenue are increasing the Use of Money interest rates.

INDUSTRY NEWS  •  28 AUGUST 2023  •  1 MIN READ

Use of money interest rates increase from 29th August 2023

From the 29th of August 2023, Inland Revenue are increasing the Use of Money interest rates (UOMI).

UOMI applies to most underpayments and overpayments to the IRD over $100 (some exclusions apply). 

On underpayments, the IRD will charge interest at a rate of 10.91% (an increase of 0.52% from May 2023) in addition to any penalties. On overpayments, the IRD may pay you back with interest of 4.67% (an increase of 1.14% from May 2023).

Read here for more detailed information on when use of money interest applies.

Industry news

Gain a greater understanding of terms your accountant may use with our A-Z guide of accounting terminology.

FINANCIAL LITERACY  •  26 AUGUST 2023  •  16 MIN READ

What's Your Accountant Talking About?

Like most business owners, we love when clients understand what we do, and are keen to know more about our world.​

Our aim is to help business owners interpret the information we provide. We realise certain words and phrases may seem intimidating – as they are in any new topic or activity. However, you’ll quickly find yourself asking more in-depth questions about the financial side of your business, and understand the impact of key decisions you make. It’s a continuous learning process.​

To use some of these words in context, a potential conversation with your accountant is outlined in orange. We’ve also included links to relevant blogs for more information.​

Where transactions of a similar nature are recorded. When all Accounts are collected together they form the Trial Balance.​

A number or abbreviated word for an Account.​

“If you want to see the transactions for the year, go into Accounting / Reports / Account Transactions (if you're using Xero), and enter the date range and the account code.​”

Where the Account is shown in the financial statements – Sales, Other Income, Cost of Goods Sold, Expenses, Current Asset, Non-current Liability, Current Liability, Fixed Asset, Equity​

“When you create a new account code in Xero, make sure the account type is Current Liability and not Equity.”​

These show how your business performed in the past year (Profit and Loss Account), along with the assets owned and liabilities owed at the end of the year (Balance Sheet).​

Also called Financial Statements, Annual Report or Annual Accounts.​

“We’ll prepare your tax returns after we complete your accounts. After you review your accounts on Beany, don't forget to approve them!”

Amounts you owe suppliers for goods and services you’ve purchased.​

The Adjustable Value is the purchase price of a Fixed Asset less all of its Depreciation claimed to date.​

“Keep in mind - the adjustable value in your depreciation schedule doesn’t mean that you’ll get that amount when you sell.​”

Amounts customers or clients owe you for goods and services you’ve sold.​

Read more:
What exactly is a Profit and Loss Account
What is a Balance Sheet

These are physical items you own and include motor vehicles, Accounts Receivable, Cash, and Fixed Assets.​

We normally divide assets into two parts:​

Current assets – those that are expected to be used or converted to cash within 12 months

Non-current assets (including Fixed Assets) – held for longer than 12 months and used to generate revenue for the business

If you’ve recorded the sale as income but later find out you’re unlikely to receive the (full) payment, the debtor should be written off as a Bad Debt expense in the Profit and Loss Account. We don’t want you paying tax on income you’ll never receive!

“Do you have any bad debts and if so, which debtors?”
“When you create the credit note, code the line to bad debts.​”

The last day of the period covered in your financial statements. For most businesses in Australia, this is the 30th of June.

“If you bought the printer and phone before the balance date we can include them in the current year’s financial statements.​”

This forms part of your accounts. It’s a snapshot in time where we list everything your business owns and everything that your business owes to others. The balance sheet tells you the financial value of your business on the last day of the year, all on one page. ​

Also known as Statement of Financial Position.​

“Your bank will want to see the balance sheet, as well as the profit and loss account. They need to see the business assets and liabilities.​”

Read more:
What is a balance sheet?
What’s included in a balance sheet?

If you sell a Fixed Asset for more (or less) than its Adjustable Value, the business needs to consider whether this is an adjusting event and/or a capital gain.​

“For instance, if you sell a sanding machine and receive more than its adjustable value, you’ll pay tax on the profit.​”

Your expectation of (only) income and expenses over a specific period – usually a month or year. This is normally set out in the same format as a Profit and Loss Account.​

Your budget differs from a Cash Flow Forecast, which looks at all cash transactions and not just those in the Profit and Loss Account. It includes payments for fixed assets and repaying loans.​

“We can prepare a budget with you, and look at the differences between actual figures and the budget.​”

Read more:
How a budget can optimise your business
How to set a budget

An expense that can be deducted from your taxable income, therefore reducing the tax to pay.​

“Although a parking fine was issued during working hours, it’s still not a business expense. You can’t claim fines or penalties for tax purposes.​”

Read more:
What expenses can I claim for my business?​

The net balance of business assets that belongs to the owner(s). In other words, the amount that would be left over once all business assets have been sold and liabilities paid.​

Also known as Equity and Owners’ Equity.​

Money spent on something that will last longer than one year - such as a company vehicle, a computer or the development of a website. ​

For tax purposes, we can claim 100% of the cost as an instant asset write-off for most small and medium-sized businesses. It otherwise becomes a Fixed Asset and we use Depreciation to write off its cost over a number of years.​

“If you buy rims and mags to make a car’s value higher than what you paid for it, we’ll need to capitalise these assets.”

The purchase price of a Fixed Asset less all of its Depreciation claimed to date.​

“If you’ve sold a car for more than its carrying value, there’s depreciation recovered and you’ll need to pay tax on it.​”

An estimation of your cash transactions during the year. This will include not only income and expenses but also planned asset purchases, repayments of loans, and Drawings.​

This differs from a Budget which only focuses on items in the Profit and Loss Account.​

Read more:
Why you should prepare a cash flow forecast
Starting a cash flow forecast

A report showing all cash transactions during the year, separated into categories – operating, financing (for example, loans), and investing activities (for example, Fixed Asset transactions).​

A list of all Accounts and their Account Codes within the accounting system you use to record your transactions.​

“You can add your own account and code to the chart of accounts - or we can do it for you.​”

Direct expenses related to making a sale of your product or providing services. These are usually purchases of goods to resell, materials used in construction, subcontractors, and wages for staff in the sale process.​

Also known as Direct Costs or Direct Expenses.​

“You can include freight in the cost of sales but can move it down to the normal operating expenses if you prefer.​”

Depreciation is a non-cash expense and applies to Fixed Assets. There are two ways to think of this:​

Accounting for the normal wear-and-tear of the Fixed Asset as a Business Expense each year, which reduces the value (and future selling price).

Claiming the cost of the Fixed Asset over a number of years (Minor Assets can be fully claimed in the year it’s purchased).

The ATO provides accountants with the maximum Depreciation Rates claimable for tax purposes.​

This spreads the cost of a Fixed Asset Purchase over its useful life and is an expense in the P&L, which means your tax bill is reduced.

“If you’ve bought a new fridge, it can be added to your depreciation schedule and depreciated.”​

Read more:
What is depreciation, and what’s it for?

The rate at which the cost of a Fixed Asset can be spread over the expected useful life of the asset.​

Should assets not be eligible for the Instant Tax Write-off, depreciation can be calculated using your myGov account. ​

Prime Cost (the same amount each year); and

Diminishing Value (a percentage applied to the Adjustable Value of the Fixed Asset)

The direct expenses related to making a sale of your product or providing services. They are usually purchases of goods to resell, materials used in construction, subcontractors, and wages for those in the sale process.​

Also known as Cost of Sales or Cost of Goods Sold.​

One way to pay company profits to its shareholders.​

“To fix the overdrawn shareholder current account, we can distribute a dividend.​”

Money or assets you physically take out of the business for personal expenses.

“As doctor fees are a personal expense, they can be put in drawings.”

The net balance of business assets that belong to the owner(s). In other words, equity is the amount that would be left over once all business assets have been sold and liabilities have been paid.​

All business costs incurred during the year, with the exception of:​

Capital Expenditure such as motor vehicles, equipment, and office furniture

Read more:
What expenses can I claim for my business?
What motor vehicle expenses can I claim for my business?

This is a snapshot in time where we list everything your business owns as well as what it owes, and forms part of your accounts. It shows you the financial value of your business on the last day of the year, all summed up on one page. ​

A twelve-month period - usually from the 1st of July to the 30th of June.​

Assets that are not eligible for the instant asset write-off. Examples include property, plant, equipment, motor vehicles, office furniture, and other ‘physical’ assets.​

Small and medium-sized businesses can claim most assets as a deduction in the year of purchase by way of the Instant Asset Write-off. This expense is recorded in the Profit and Loss Account.​

Also known as Annual Report or (Annual) Accounts.​

“If you upload all your year-end information to your Beany page, we can start on your financial statements.”

A tax credit that a company receives for income tax that has been already paid to ATO. Franking credits are passed on to shareholders when a dividend is declared.​

The shareholder’s dividend income is still taxable. However, the franking credit reduces the tax bill. The net effect here is the shareholder doesn’t pay tax on the dividend income (as the company has already paid the tax to ATO).​

“You’ve only got enough franking credits to pay a dividend of $45,000.​”

A tax on benefits that employees receive as a result of their employment, such as a company car. The employer pays Fringe benefit tax, rather than the employee.

For example: Mary is provided with a company car, which is available for private use as part of her salary package. The private use component of the car would be subject to FBT, which the employer pays.

Read more:
What is fringe benefit tax?​

Money or assets you put into your business to start or support it.​

"Yes, we can bring your personal tools into the business by funds introduced.​"

GIC is the interest charged by the ATO if you fail to pay the required amount of tax by its due date(s).​

Read more:
When does ATO charge penalties and interest?​

A list of all transactions that took place during the financial period, typically showing the date, description, and amount of each transaction. The summarised form of a General Ledger is a Trial Balance.​

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