Version: December 2010

Welcome…..

Debbie Tynan

Debbie Tynan has joined the team at Strategic Software to fulfill the role of Business Manager. Debbie came to New Zealand from her native Ireland back in 2003. She has spent the last 18 years primarily in banking management roles in New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

Debbie is looking forward to working for our customers and is passionate about customer service. She aims to ensure that our business runs effectively and that your queries are dealt with efficiently and to your satisfaction. She will be in contact with you over the coming months to get your feedback, but please feel free to contact her directly on 03 211 2594 if you have any questions.

Christmas Office Hours

Christmas is almost upon us once more…where has the last year gone!

We will be closed from 5 p.m. Thursday 23 December 2010 and re-open at 9.00a.m. Monday 10 January 2011.

Employees paid by automatic payment will continue to be paid as per normal. However if you wish to make alterations to your automatic payments or pay casual staff please advise us no later than 22 December to ensure these can be processed in time.

A couple of reminders for over the Xmas break

Staff Working on Public Holidays

Where Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day or the day after New Year, fall on a weekend, the holiday is normally observed on the following Monday or Tuesday. If an employee is on a roster to work 25th or 26th December, 1st or 2nd January, then the payment rules differ. Please advise us if you have employees rostered to work these days so we can ensure they are processed correctly.

Discretionary versus Performance Bonuses

A discretionary bonus is a payment that the employer is not bound to make, as there is no provision for such a bonus in the employment agreement. A performance or incentive based payment is one that is detailed in an employment agreement and is generally paid if personal or company targets are achieved. The amount paid out as a performance bonus should be included in the calculation of holiday pay whereas discretionary bonus payments are not included in holiday pay entitlements.

Save your $$$$$

If you advise us of the net bonus a staff member is to be paid, we need to manually calculate the PAYE and Kiwisaver to gain the gross amount. This can take a considerable amount of time, which we will normally invoice you for. To avoid this extra charge, please provide us with the gross bonus payment and then we can let our software do the work.

Employee Agreements

The law requires that every employee must have a written employment agreement. There are some provisions that must be included in employment agreement by law, and there are also a number of minimum conditions that must be met regardless of whether they are included in agreements.

Minimum Wage – The minimum wage is $12.75 per hour plus holiday pay of 8%.

House Allowances – A house allowance can be used to gross up the annual income of an employee.

If you do not have employment agreements in place, please contact us for assistance.

CAE (Casual Agricultural Employee) Tax Rate

From 1 October 2010 the rate for CAE workers became 19.54 cents in the dollar.

WRITING OFF BAD DEBTS IN ADVANCED BUSINESS MANAGER (ABM)

Often we use journals to write off a bad debt, but that does not adjust the GST amount correctly. Instead we suggest creating a credit note to the bad debt general ledger (accounts) code.

Step by Step (the screen shot below shows a sample of a credit prior to processing):

1. In ABM, go to customers.
2. Find the customer with the debt you want to write off.
3. Click credit (from top menu).
4. Go to Ledger Item and select the bad debt general ledger expense code.
5. Enter the amount excluding GST (remember to use 12.5% GST rate if writing off an invoice pre 1 October).
6. Pick the correct GST rate (use 12.5% if the invoice was dated prior to 1 October 2010), otherwise use 15%.
   1. Offset the credit against the original invoice by creating a zero value receipt.

On behalf of all the Strategic Software team, we would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and an enjoyable and relaxing New Year.

Jill Debbie Lyn Eric Ron Vicky