Paul Martin Chartered Accountant Ltd :: Accounting, Taxation and Business Advisory :: Auckland, New Zealand
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Paying down debt

Paul Martin • May 14, 2018

Debt can be a crippling problem for small businesses wanting to grow or just break-even during difficult times. By reducing debt you'll improve the value of your business, its financial situation, and its ability to continue operating into the future.

Assess your debt situation

Take a detailed look at all of your debts – both current and long term. Evaluate which ones are more urgent and which can be parked until some progress is made.

Also list your debts from smallest to largest. Maybe some of those smaller debts can be paid off quickly without much hassle to enable you to focus on the larger ones. Consider consolidating all your loans into one payment if possible.

Cut costs and free up cash

Try to cut any unnecessary costs and free up some cash in the process. Think about how much you spend on each of your daily expenses – is there room to cut some of those costs?

For example, building firm may shout takeaway coffees for its workers a few times a week. Maybe a cheaper way can be found to continue providing coffee, such as instant coffee on site with hot water from a thermos, rather than expensive takeaways.

Early payment discounts could work well but make it clear on each customer's invoice. Alternatively, tighten up invoice periods so there are less days for your debtors to pay before penalties. Make sure you let them know about any changes and the reasons for those changes.

Reassess funding

Have a look at how you're using funds to pay off your business's debt. Do you have funds available that could be better used to reduce debt further? Perhaps you have money in a current account that isn't being used optimally – lowering debt and hence future payable interest could be a wiser choice.

Sell your assets

Another option for freeing up funds to reduce your business's debt might be to sell some assets. What do you have money tied up in, but don't use often enough to justify?

Make sure you've calculated depreciation correctly

For example, a company vehicle will need to be accurately depreciated in relation to its usage over time. We can help you calculate depreciation correctly and also check whether you're entitled to any tax rebates.

We can help your business develop and implement a debt reduction plan. Contact us today to make an appointment to get started.

How the new Government and coalition agreements might affect owners of residential rental properties

By Paul Martin • 04 Dec, 2023
There were some key takeouts of interest to many of our clients from the recently signed coalition agreements between National, ACT and New Zealand First and the formation of the new Government. In particular there are a number of policies which will likely benefit landlord clients who own residential rentals. I have summarised some of these below. 1. Return of Interest deductibility for residential rental properties Interest deductibility for residential rental property owners will return. It will be phased back in over three tax years: • 2023/24 tax year: 60% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2024/25 tax year: 80% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2025/26 tax year: 100% of interest cost will be deductible. 2. Reduction in bright-line period National signalled in their pre-election campaign that the bright-line period for residential rental property sales would reduce from 10-years to 2-years. While the exact implementation of this policy is not yet known, it is good news on the horizon for residential property investors. 3. Reinstatement of 90-day no-cause termination notices The new government will reinstate 90-day no-cause tenancy termination notices. This will avoid many unnecessary disputes in the Tenancy Tribunal and gives landlords more confidence in letting to possibly “marginal tenants". Many landlords have avoided what they considered to be risky tenants because eviction for anti-social behaviour was so difficult. With this reinstatement, landlords might be more inclined to give a marginal tenant a chance because they know that if the tenant misbehaves, they won’t be stuck with them. If you would like more information on how these changes might affect your personal circumstances, please feel free to contact us to discuss further.

How does provisional tax work, especially in an economic downturn?

By Paul Martin • 18 Jul, 2023
If you had to pay tax of more than $5,000 in your last income tax return, you may have to pay provisional tax for the following year. Provisional tax is like making progress payments on next year's income tax.

How to handle inflation as a sole trader

By Paul Martin • 18 Jul, 2023
Sole traders have had an especially difficult few years as inflation surges. We have got three tips to help lighten the load for your sole trader business. 
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