Client Gift Deduction Rules

By tasman. Posted in Company News, Small Business, Tax Advice.

While we encourage giving your valued clients gifts to say thank you, congratulate them on an achievement, or whatever the reason for celebration may be, there are certain rules in regards to deducting these gifts as a business expense that we want you to be aware of.

The rules around deducting client gifts can have a few grey areas, so remember that only certain client gifts can be fully deducted. The tricky part is when you are gifting food or drink – if you provide or consume the gift away from your business premise, the gift is only 50% deductible. However if you provide or consume the food or drink at or from your business premise, the gift is 100% deductible.

Any gifts outside food and drink, e.g homewares, are 100% deductible whether you provide them on or off your business premise. The IRD have given a real world example to help understand the rules around this, which we’ll put below to help you understand the rules a little more. If you have any questions or concerns about gifting, get in touch with your Sidekick Accountant and they’ll happily help you out.

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IRD EXAMPLE

Bob is a real estate agent. Each time he arranges the sale of a house, Bob delivers a bottle of champagne to the owner. He also sends a gift basket by courier to the purchaser. The gift basket contains a bottle of wine, some cheese and various household items such as tea towels and soaps.

Bob will only be able to deduct 50% of the cost of the bottle of champagne. This is because he is providing entertainment in the form of drink and doing so off his business premises.

For the gift basket, Bob can deduct the full cost of the tea towels and soap, because an appropriate apportionment should be made for items that are not food and drink. However, he can only deduct 50% of the cost of the wine and cheese (or, if the cost is not separately identifiable, an amount appropriately apportioned as the cost of the wine and cheese).

CrunchBoards – the Xero add-on we’re loving right now

By tasman. Posted in Business Growth, Clients, Cloud Software, Small Business, Solutions.

We sat down with Cameron Robertson, our Senior Manager at Sidekick Christchurch to learn more about a Xero add-on that his clients are loving at the moment called CrunchBoards.

CrunchBoards is an all-in-one forecasting and reporting engine with all the time-saving tools you need to grow your business. Features include business planning, budgeting, forecasting and real-time business intelligence.

So Cam, what are your favourite features of CrunchBoards?
“It’s a great forecasting/budgeting tool which incorporates directly into management reporting. The customisable management reports allow our clients to focus on particular areas of their business.”

What do your clients like best about using CrunchBoards?
“The way the information is displayed is the real upside of the software. CrunchBoards turns the numbers behind your business into easy to read graphs, that tell the true story.”

How much does it cost?
“It’s free in our Sidekick+ package, otherwise it’s only $25 per month plus a setup fee with our other Sidekick packages.”

Who is the perfect person to be utilising CrunchBoards?
“Anyone with particular points of focus. For example someone in hospitality may want to focus on % of food & beverages against sales, or wages against sales. This can all be displayed on one easy to ready graph.They also need to have good administration processes because CrunchBoards pulls data directly from Xero.”

How does it work in with Xero?
“It syncs daily with Xero. If your Xero is up to date, so is your CrunchBoards. It can be accessed using the browser on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer.”

Any final words?
“To me it’s a must-have tool for any business looking to grow and keep their business in check.”

Client spotlight: Kaikoura Cheese

By tasman. Posted in Clients, Small Business, Startups.

If you’re a lover of good cheese, then like us, you’re going to want to find out more about our clients Kaikoura Cheese. We got to know them a little better with the few questions below, you can also check out the video to see them in action.



Where can people find Kaikoura Cheese?
Our base is 45 West End, Kaikoura, it’s in the middle of town.

How did you get into the industry?
I tried to get work within the industry around 2010 but no one would give me a job. I had no experience in farming or cheese making. So my wife and I decided just to startup our own thing. We registered Kaikoura cheese Ltd as a business, bought 3 goats, a few books about cheese and farming. When people see you giving it a go the information and knowledge turns up pretty fast.

Are there any lessons learnt from business struggles or challenges that you’ve overcome, that you can share with other business owners?
Don’t let perfection become an enemy of the good.

What accounting system (if any) were you using before moving to Xero? How did that compare to Xero?
Pretty much went straight to Xero. Our first year we used a 12 column cash book and wrote everything in with a pencil. The business was quite small.

Why did you choose our Sidekick service for your business?
Quite progressive in your service with communication and simplicity. The networking aspect is interesting as well. I could feel the same drive within Sidekick as with my business.

We’re sure the choices are endless, but what is your favourite cheese, or one that you recommend people to try, that they might not have tried before?
I would have to say that our very own Tenara is my number one go to. Although it can be visually challenging it’s quite delicate in flavour and very creamy.

Do you have any new products announcements that you’d like to share?
We have just released a Tomme style cheese which is semi hard. Sometimes we wash it in beer or brine. Sometimes we wash it in wine or no wash at all. The cheese can have a mix of goats and cows milk or sometimes it’s a single milk cheese.

You fan find Kaikoura Cheese anywhere online here: Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

20 Free Business Software for Small Businesses and Start-Ups

By . Posted in Small Business, Startups.

Budget planning is essential to start-up and small business success. Making the most of the available free resources is a great way of keeping your costs under control – check out our top 20 free software! (more…)

Xero Add-on Focus: Deputy

By . Posted in Cloud Software, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.

This online business software is putting an end to staff roster issues and endless hours of administration. We recently caught up with Kristin from the Deputy team to tell us more about their cool system.

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Free Business Event in conjunction with Club Workspaces

By . Posted in Cloud Software, Contractors, Events, Sales and Marketing, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.

Free Business Event in conjunction with Club Workspaces djca SIDEKICK – Friday, April 25, 2014

In conjunction with the wonderful Club Workspaces Clerkenwell, we’re excited to announce our next London event. If you’re in need of some business advice and a relaxing beer, make sure you grab a complimentary ticket. (more…)

How to Keep Investors on Your Side

By . Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Contractors, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.

This is a featured Blog from our friends at SeederBoard.


Raising funds for any business is notoriously difficult. Any number of factors can slow things down or get in the way, preventing you from taking your business to the next level.

Once you have completed endless elevator pitches, a frantic search for due diligence paperwork, then working out a fair term sheet, you might finally close the fundraising round. (more…)

Good News for Small Business Owners

By . Posted in Business Growth, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.

Good News, Everyone!

According to this leading Business Index report, the small business output in Q1 of this year reached it’s highest point since 2008. They state “Small and medium-sized businesses in the UK enjoyed the strongest level of activity, year-on-year, for six years.” Essentially this means small businesses are performing better than they have in years.

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End of Financial Year – What you Need to Know as a Business Owner

By . Posted in Business Growth, Company News, Contractors, Small Business, Solutions, Startups, Tax Advice.

For most of us, the 31st of March will be the end of our 2014 financial year. We hope it’s been a successful, happy and profitable one for you and your business! Here are some tax tips and helpful information to ensure a smooth end of year process for you.

Need help getting your tax in order? Flick us a message, and we’ll be by your side in no time.

End of Tax Year Obligations – What do I need to do?

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Budget 2014 Key points for Small Business Owners

By . Posted in Business Growth, Small Business, Solutions, Startups, Tax Advice.

Last Wednesday, Mr Osborne unveiled the Budget for 2014. In case you missed it, here is a summary of the key information and important upcoming changes for small business owners.

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