The blue print for your business? That depends on whether you use them or if they are just a “once done, filed away, never to be seen again” document. The key points to a business plan are: a mission statement (describes the business, its goals and objectives) marketing strategy (understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the business) people plan ( understanding the people needed in the business, their skill sets and leadership styles) financial budget (a forecast of where the business will be financially in a year’s time) Don’t worry we are all guilty of the “once off never to be seen document” but the success of having a business plan comes from the action points/plan - a detailed list of tasks or work to be done, over a specific time frame, to achieve the goals of the business plan. There are lots of business plan templates, so if you would like to write a business plan, call us to discuss using one of the templates and other tools we may have.

Lets celebrate the success of the long weekend's no fatal crashes on our roads! Well Done! All businesses should have a safe driving policy - Why? Because it shows they are serious about their business, their people and it enhances their reputation. I originally put the safe driving policy into the "two hard" basket, or the "I'll get to it when I can". Thanks to a basic policy that just needs a quick tweak from NZTA, I have now done a safe driving policy for Devine Accounting . The document is easy to edit to suit your business needs. Most of the items the employers promises/promotes should be or already are being done (good car, regular maintenance, oil & tyre pressure maintained). For the basic five page word document policy from NZTA, go to http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/your-safe-driving-policy/1.html It really is easy. Give it a go - too many lives are lost on our road as it is. Lets do something positive to address that.

Yesterday the NZ government announced this years budget. But what is a budget and why do we have them? You don’t build a house without first having a plan, so why build a business without a plan? A budget is specifically a financial or money plan. In essence, a budget predicts where your business will be at a certain point in time - usually one year. It takes into account the timing of sales/income as well as purchasing for goods, including any assets or capital items. There is no value in a budget unless you monitor and report your actual results to the budget plan. The picture this tells is a valuable tool in giving an idea of the trends and seasonal fluctuations of sales and expenses and shows the financial success in the short and medium term. So drive your car looking forward rather than through the review mirror! Visit us at http://www.devineaccounting.co.nz/