Are you protected?

Don’t skip this over! Protection, whether physical or virtual, is a reality of 21st century life. The chainsaw operator who works without earmuffs risks damage to their hearing. The computer user who works without virus protection risks damaging their computer, losing data, personal information and peace of mind.

There are several, actually it seems like gazillions of anti virus, anti spyware, and anti adware programs out there. For the occasional web surfer and emailer who is not downloading the latest YouTube video every 30 seconds some of the “free” virus protections may suit. You do get what you pay for so if you feel you are likely to be put at risk (any teenagers out there?) consider buying a package. For a freebie, the top three are AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic (http://www.free-av.com/), AVAST 4 Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/), and AVG Free Edition (http://www.grisoft.com).

Safe surfing!

Buyer Beware!

Thinking about buying a new computer? Wanting to replace your old clunker with a sleeker laptop or desktop? Currently on dial up for internet and email connection? Watch out. Computers no long come standard with internal dial up modems. Now they are geared up for Broadband. Don’t despair, you can still get an internal modem or an external one that will dial up to your internet connection. Just be sure to ask for a dial up modem and be prepared to pay extra for it!

Employer News

As an employer you know there are several changes coming into effect April 1st. Some will be pleased to know that the PAYE monthly filing and payment threshold will be raised from $100,000 to $500,000, allowing more employers to file PAYE returns and pay once a month instead of twice. Other changes of note are:

KiwiSaver.

• The minimum employee contribution rate will reduce to 2% of a member's gross pay.
  
• The compulsory employer contribution (CEC) will increase to 2% and won't increase further in future years.

  The changes to personal income tax rates and thresholds, and the introduction of the independent earner tax credit (IETC) will affect all employers.

Some other changes to look for are:

• 2009/10 Payroll and tax changes
• ACC levy increase
  
• New laws on Employee Probation period
  
• Changes to student loan repayment threshold
  
• Important changes to KiwiSaver legislation
  
• Employer Tax Credit rule change
  
• Changes to Employer Super Tax Contribution threshold

The IRD website provides detailed information on these and other tax issues and I encourage you to plan ahead for these changes. www.ird.govt.nz

MYOB Payroll – Are you ready for April 1st?

Tax rates, kiwi saver, thresholds and compulsory contributions all change April 1st. If you are currently using MYOB payroll, and have MYOB Support that is current, you should be receiving notification of your upgrade, via disk or download. The new version is due out mid-March. If you do not have Support but still need the upgrade, talk to me. Finding your current manual payroll system too time consuming and want to go computerised? Talk to me. I continue to give 10% off MYOB products to my valued customers!

Get around MYOB Payroll Faster

Here are shortcut keys that you can use within MYOB Payroll.
F1 Online Help
F2 Leave Due Screen *
F3 Tax Override (in tax line/rate column) *
F4 Add Record
F5 Message *
F6 Insert Current Date *
F7 Delete after Cursor
F8 Delete Record
F9 Lookup
Ctrl+O Open a new payroll
Ctrl+N Create a new payroll
Ctrl+P Print
*Within the Enter Pays screen

Getting ready for year end no April Fools!

If your year end is March 31st you are preparing your records and accounts for your accountant. I can help. If you are using MYOB products please do contact me for your quick guide to rolling over your year OR to arrange an appointment. Year end is a critical part of the accounting cycle and needs to be done carefully!

Happy Autumn Everyone!