The Good News Blog

Are you managing your job costing or time billing on server based stand alone software? If you are, you are wasting time and money. Check out WorkflowMax! WorkflowMax is an online workflow software that is fully integrated with Xero. No more double entering of data. Simply record your time or job costing in Workflow Max and when it comes to billing your invoicing data will be pulled through to Xero updating Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. Workflow max has heaps of other cool features that can make your accounting life easier. Try a 14 day demo here.

“Are happy days here again?” Garry Sheeran asks in the latest Sunday Star-Times, and by his estimation, the answer is at least a tentative Yes. “If indeed the recession is over, then by any account we have done remarkably well in negotiating our way through a minefield of woes,” he writes in an interest opinion piece. “Just think back to the start of the year, and the fears of a global economic meltdown.” Indeed. As he notes, the September quarter we are now living through is expected to show a small (may be 0.2 percent) growth in GDP, with growth as much as 0.5 percent looking possible for the December quarter. The piece isn’t entire in the good news vein (cue dire warnings about another possible oil shock in store) but there’s enough upbeat analysis in it to make for a positive start to the corporate week.

Online share portfolio management service Sharesight has partnered with listed online accounting provider Xero, allowing Sharesight users to automatically upload share investment data into Xero’s accounting system. Sharesight customers will now be able to link their Sharesight portfolio to a Xero account. The new partnership offers a seamless solution between portfolio management and portfolio accounting. Xero CEO Rod Drury has followed Sharesight’s development with interest. He says Sharesight is an excellent online portfolio management service that will extend and enhance the Xero service. “We’re delighted to have Sharesight as a Xero Partner.” Sharesight CEO, Tony Ryburn says that this is a very exciting development for Sharesight. He notes that there is an extensive network of accountancy and bookkeeping firms using Xero to maintain their clients’ accounting records and that a growing number are now using Sharesight to manage investments on behalf of their clients. Mr Ryburn says that a key benefit of using Sharesight is that it saves clients’ time and money by automatically producing all the data they need for taxation and accounting purposes. “The partnership with Xero takes this to the next level because clients can now have all this information automatically transferred into their Xero accounting system.” Mr Ryburn says that a growing number of Sharesight’s customers are family trusts and private companies that own shares. By linking their online Sharesight portfolios directly to Xero’s online accounting platform they get the best of both worlds. Stephen Nicholas, CEO of Accounting firm Openside says the partnership will help simplify accounting for share market investments. “Accounting for shares causes headaches for many investors. The addition of Sharesight to the Xero network will greatly simplify the process and provide a number of benefits to individuals and professionals alike.” Check out a video of how the the intergration of these two softwares on sharesight's blog.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! to G & T Ironing & Laundry Limited G & T Ironing & Laundry Limited are the winner of or $5,000 business assessment performance competition we had running at the recent Bizzone Expo.

One of Stephen’s voluntary roles is Treasurer of Unlimited Potential. He thought it may be of interest to you if you have any interest in the IT industry. The following is extracted from the UP information on the event. GADGETS, GAMES AND GEEKS 09 Wellington’s premier road show event for the IT industry is back, bigger and better! Location is everything and we have the best! GGG09 will be at the St James Theatre on Courtenay Place on the 24th of August. We are pulling together an exciting lineup of speakers, so be ready to be blown away! Call for Sponsors and Exhibitors To register your interest in sponsoring or exhibiting at GGG09, or further enquiries please contact Tom on ggg@up.org.nz or 021 779 298. Unlimited Potential is calling for companies that are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at GGG09. With our membership numbers currently in excess of 2500 people, we anticipate yet another full-house event with several hundred attendees. Sponsors: be part of this premier Wellington event, that showcases the latest, greatest and edgiest local technology. Get yourselves in front of the coolest & most curious IT professionals, and support the Wellington business community. Exhibitors: This is an opportunity to show off your latest & greatest gadget, game or geek-friendly technological innovation. We are calling all inventors, suppliers, manufacturers, and commercialisers involved in the IT space. If you want to get yourself in front of the IT community, THIS is the event for you. You must be ready willing & able to provide an opportunity for the attendees to view, experience or simply have a play with gadgets and gaming solutions.

There have been recent changes to two interest rates around use-of-money and FBT. Use-of-money interest rates Use-of-money interest rates on underpayments and overpayments of tax changed on 29 June 2009. The new rates are: underpayment rate 8.91% (down from 9.73%) overpayment rate 1.82% (down from 4.23%). FBT rates on low-interest loans The prescribed rate used to calculate fringe benefit tax on low-interest, employment-related loans dropped from 8.05% to 6.41% on 1 July 2009.

It can be an efficient method of doing business but setting up a franchise is not a decision taken lightly. You’ll need to: - Read as much as you can about franchising and talk to others who run franchising businesses - Eamine your reasons for becoming a franchisor – this is a long-term commitment and will require strong financial, managerial and marketing expertise - Determine whether it’s feasible for your business to operate as a franchise - Get expert advice from professionals Your current business (often called a pilot) should: - Be highly profitable – there needs to be enough money in it to be attractive to both parties - Offer a product or service that people really want, not only in one centre, but throughout the country - Operate on a successful, yet simple, business system that can easily be replicated elsewhere

Fancy your business brand appearing in Whangarei, Wellington or Wanaka? It’s quite a task to set up outlets the length of the country yourself, but franchising can make that job a whole lot more attractive. Franchising is an effective way of building your business by licencing others to use your proven business system for a fee. They do the work of setting up the business elsewhere and you benefit from rapid growth, brand development and penetration into new locations. Naturally, your business focus changes when you develop a franchise. Where before you had control of day-to-day operations, now your role is to support individual franchisees build their own businesses, which in turn helps to grow your business and your brand. It’s definitely a win-win situation – by working together and investing time, energy and capital, you both help to build, and benefit from, a successful business enterprise. Knowledge is extremely valuable Almost any successful business can be franchised as long as the business process is bulletproof, there is a demand for your product or service, and enough revenue can be generated from the business to satisfy both yourself and the franchisee. The key to franchising is the business process. What you sell is important – people have to want it. But the real value is in the intellectual property – the knowledge you have accumulated into creating an operating system that can be replicated over and over again and continue to produce the same successful result. This is what the McDonalds restaurant chain did so well and where modern-day business format franchising has its roots. The restaurant developed an extremely efficient operating system, which licensed operators were able to replicate, for a sizable sum, in restaurants all over the world. The success of the restaurants helped to build the hugely recognisable McDonalds brand, which continues to grow with each new outlet that opens. Today a wide range of businesses use the business format franchise method, including sports outlets, garden maintenance firms, clothing stores and financial services companies. For many people, it’s proving an excellent way to do business, but franchising can have its drawbacks. In particular, you are reliant on the enthusiasm and motivation of the franchisee to help build your business. While franchisees do need to work within the terms of the franchise agreement, unlike employees, you cannot tell them what to do on a day-to-day basis. Plan, plan, plan… and get advice Research and planning are critical before plunging into any business venture and franchising is no different. If you feel your business is a prime contender for franchise development you need to do some careful strategic planning. In the very first instance, start reading. For example, the New Zealand Franchisor’s Guide[1], published by the Franchise Association of New Zealand Inc (FANZ), covers the critical points you need to work through in order to set up a successful franchise. This includes: determining whether you are even the right person to run a franchise; strategic planning; preparing the franchise agreement; recruiting franchisees; and maintaining the franchise. The guide stresses the importance of also engaging qualified professionals to help you set up your franchise operation – lawyers, bankers and accountants who are experienced franchise practitioners. These people know the best path to take when setting up franchises and, just as importantly, they know the pitfalls. Make sure you use them. For more information look online at franchise association. This website will point you in the direction of other useful sites if you want to franchise your own business or buy into a franchise.