Kiwitax delivers on everything you’d expect from a professional accounting team, and they specialise in the areas of small business and property investment. Essentially, they will ensure you are 100% compliant with the Inland Revenue, whilst also ensuring that you don’t pay a cent more tax than you need to. Because they specialise in small business and property investment accounting, you can be sure they really know their stuff in these areas, and more importantly, no matter how small your business, this is their niche, so you won’t get passed over for bigger business clients.

Kiwitax’s best feature in my opinion is their fee structure. Their rates are capped, based on the size and turnover of your business. These are listed on their website and can be confirmed before you commit to working with them, so you know what your costs will be upfront and ahead of time – no nasty surprises! And, talking with them is always free. So you can phone or email them anytime with questions, and you don’t get charged extra for this.

The world has become flat. The Kiwitax team is actually based in Hawke’s Bay. I have been using their services for my businesses for 6 years now, and I’ve never actually met them in person. However, they are always readily available by email or on the end of the phone, and, of course, they are always happy to see you, if you do happen to be local!

Accountants are not always known for their innovation, but the Kiwitax team likes to stay up with the play. As well as keeping abreast of legislative changes in the tax realm, they are also very much in the 21st Century in their application of available technology and software. They have a great website, with loads of useful information, and even Tweet, if you are that way inclined. They are certified Xero advisors and also use Banklink software and other, more traditional, accounting packages.

In a nutshell, the team at Kiwitax know their stuff, but that’s to be expected. The added benefits of working with Kiwitax are:

•  They’re friendly and accessible and don’t charge extra to answer your questions.

•  Their fees are set up front so you know exactly what their services are going to cost you – no nasty surprises!

•  They specialise in small business and property investors, so no matter how small your business is, you’re their important client.

For more information contact Kiwitax directly:

www.kiwitax.co.nz

Free phone: 0508 KIWITAX (549-4829)

The woman behind showing me that successfully creating a website IS actually possible is the fantastic Belinda Duffy of Duffy Design.  Belinda was recommended to me by a friend who had endured three years of my website woes over numerous coffees.  And bless her, Belinda took it upon herself to personally guarantee that I would have a positive website experience, resulting in a fantastic website.  And she certainly delivered.

I have had many web companies tell me over the years that I couldn’t have cool design AND functionality, that I would have to choose which was my strongest priority.  I could never understand why I couldn’t have both and Belinda confirmed my gut instinct, that this is utter hogwash.  If your web design company is telling you this – RUN!  Yes, you can have a website that looks good, and also works.  No, it is not an unrealistic expectation!  If your company is telling you this, then it may be that they have staff that specialise in one or the other.

In Belinda’s case, she is primarily a designer.  She did all the design work for my brand and website www.jacquithomas.com from the overall layout down to individual little buttons and design features.  Belinda also works closely with a web development company that she uses to create the back end / functionality of the website, ie the code.  This can be where it all falls apart if the design team clashes with the development team.  As well as designing my site, Belinda project managed the complete website development and ensured that all aspects of functionality were covered off, as well as making sure that the design was fully implemented as she had intended.  

Belinda’s attention to detail and photographic memory is amazing.  No matter how stressful the project gets (and given my website history, it didn’t take much to push my buttons!) she manages to remain calm and good humoured.  I’d go so far as to say, she’s quite unflappable.  She really went the extra mile for me and for this I am extremely grateful.

As an aside she also is the parent of a small child and can be found working at strange hours of the night.  If you have weird  nocturnal habits like me, these crazy extra working hours can be an added bonus.  I am delighted to be able to recommend Belinda Duffy – Duffy Design to my clients, colleagues and friends.  If you would like to know more about her business and what she can do for you, check out her website or contact her directly at:

www.duffy.co.nz

Written by Jacqui Thomas, 2010 © All rights reserved.

I have used many professional photographers over the years and Fiona Tomlinson is by far the best of them, hands down, in terms of both her photography and her personal and professional approach.

I first met Fiona through the Woman’s Day when she photographed me for my new magazine column. She has since done five shoots for me: a mix of magazine shots, professional branding photos and portraits of me and my daughter, Samantha.

If I had to sum up Fiona’s talent in one sentence, it would be her unique ability to get the best out of people. Fiona is very friendly and down to earth, which makes you feel relaxed and at ease, because let’s face it, most people don’t like having their photo taken! From that very first photo shoot, I quickly learned that I could place ultimate trust in Fiona to ensure that I looked my absolute best. She knew all the tricks to maximise my best features and to hide or minimise the fat rolls and extra chins!

Fiona does a range of photography work covering magazines, commercial, babies, weddings and pets. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand but happy to travel with her work.

Fiona took the photos used in my branding above. If your business is about you, and/or “you” are integral to the products or services you offer, I thoroughly recommend having a professional photograph of yourself incorporated into your branding. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words…. a potential client can tell a lot about you by seeing what you look like.

You can check out more about Fiona and her photography at

www.fionatomlinson.co.nz