What we do
Accounting, GST, Tax & Compliance
The annual cycle, done properly and on time - so the compliance side of the business is simply handled and you can get on with running it.
- Annual financial statements and tax returns
- GST returns
- Tax planning and management
- Monthly or quarterly management accounts
- General business and tax advice
Business Planning & Coaching
A plan you actually wrote down, and someone in the room every month or quarter asking whether it is happening.
- Goal setting and establishing a business plan
- Monthly or quarterly coaching
- Monthly or quarterly management accounts
- Ad-hoc business advice
Setting Up Your Business
Getting the structure, the software and the systems right at the start, which is far cheaper than unpicking them in year three.
- Business structures and set up
- Software set up including training and support (Xero, payroll and the rest)
- Systems and process advice
- IRD training
- Payroll
Forecasting & Financing
Knowing what next quarter looks like before it arrives - and having the numbers a bank will lend against.
- Budgeting
- Cashflow and three-way forecasting
- Assistance with funding applications to banks and financiers
Buying & Selling Advice
Buying in, or getting out. Due diligence, valuation and the succession planning that should start years before the sale.
- Assisting with business purchases, due diligence and the rest
- Succession planning and exit strategies
- Business sales
- Business value
Governance Advice & Services
The administrative and governance layer a growing business needs and rarely has time to build for itself.
- Business administration
- Company secretarial
- Governance advice
- General business advice
You are not choosing from a menu
In practice these are not six separate products. A business that is growing needs its compliance done and management accounts every quarter and a forecast the bank will look at - and those are the same conversation, not three engagements.
So the way it works is: we look at where the business actually is, agree what it needs this year, and that becomes one monthly subscription. When the business changes, we change the scope - and we agree it before the work starts, not after.
“Each client’s needs vary depending on the stage of their business, and at Propeller we are acutely aware of this.”
Jon Gordon, Propeller AccountingWe work with a business through its whole life, not just its financial year
Every client needs something different depending on where the business has got to. From setting out and not knowing where to start, through to selling up and moving on - the work changes, and so does what you need from an accountant.
Starting
Structure, software and systems set up once, properly. The first GST return filed and the first set of numbers you can actually read.
Growing
Management accounts every month or quarter, a plan with dates on it, forecasts a bank will lend against, and someone to talk it through with.
Running
Compliance handled on time, tax planned rather than discovered, and governance and administration that keeps up with the size you have got to.
Exiting
Valuation, due diligence and succession planning - the work that should start years before the business goes on the market, not weeks.
About the work itself
How often will I actually hear from you?
That is part of what we agree upfront. Some clients want a monthly management pack and a coaching session; others want quarterly. What does not vary is that phone calls and ad-hoc questions about your accounting, GST and tax are included in the subscription, so there is never a reason not to ring.
Can you take over the payroll?
Yes. Payroll sits under business setup along with software set up, training and support - and it is one of the jobs most owner-operators are happiest to hand over, because the cost of getting it wrong is out of proportion to the time it takes.
What is three-way forecasting, and do I need it?
It is a forecast that links your profit and loss, your balance sheet and your cashflow so they move together, rather than a spreadsheet of guesses about revenue. You need one if you are going to a bank or a financier, if you are planning something that will consume cash before it produces any, or if you have ever been profitable on paper and short of money in the account.
We might sell in a few years. When should we start?
Now, or close to it. Succession planning and exit strategy work is worth most when there is time to act on it - to tidy the structure, clean up the numbers a buyer will look at, and make the business less dependent on the owner. Starting the year you list it limits what can be done to presentation.
Can you help with a purchase and the due diligence?
Yes - business purchases, due diligence and business valuation are all part of the buying and selling side. Having someone who has sat on the corporate side of a transaction look at the numbers before you commit is usually the cheapest part of the whole exercise.
Let’s get your business moving
A no-obligation conversation about where the business is at and what it actually needs. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.