Your GST money isn't your money (and other good news)

Kia ora, and welcome to Issue #0. This is a sample, written to show you the format before we launch properly. Everything below is evergreen and checked against official sources, but there's no breaking news in here yet. That starts with Issue #1.

Grab a cuppa. You'll be done before it's cold.

The Big One

Your GST money isn't your money. It's the most common cash-flow wobble we see: a good month, a healthy bank balance, and then a GST return that eats the lot. The fix is boring and brilliant. Open a second account, and every time a sale lands, move the GST portion across (that's 3/23 of any GST-inclusive amount). When the return's due, you pay it from there and never think about it again.

Why it matters: GST is collected on IRD's behalf. Treating it like revenue is how good businesses end up with bad tax debt.

Read more: Do I need to register for GST?, the 60-second explainer and the full story

Money Moves

• Know your dates. IRD publishes due dates for GST, PAYE and provisional tax. Pop them in your calendar once and stop finding out the hard way. (ird.govt.nz)
• Pricing check. If you haven't reviewed prices in 12 months, your costs almost certainly have. A small, explained increase usually lands better than a big surprise one.
• Cash is a feeling. Profit on paper and money in the bank are different things. A simple 13-week cash-flow forecast in a spreadsheet will tell you more than your P&L.

Tool of the Week

Employment Agreement Builder (free, from Employment New Zealand). Answer the questions and it builds a compliant employment agreement you can tweak and download. If you're hiring your first person, start here. (employment.govt.nz)

Price: free. Time to value: about 20 minutes.

Kiwi Win

This is where your business goes. Every issue we'll spotlight a real Kiwi small business doing something smart (a clever process, a bold price change, a great comeback) and pull out the lesson you can pinch. No made-up case studies, ever. Know someone who deserves it? Hit reply.

Quick Hits

• Emailing customers? New Zealand's anti-spam law has three simple rules: consent, identify yourself, easy unsubscribe. Our guide
• Hiring soon? Our first employee checklist covers agreements, KiwiSaver and holiday basics.
• Matariki moves. The Matariki public holiday falls on a different date each year. Check the upcoming dates on employment.govt.nz when you plan rosters.
• business.govt.nz has free templates and checklists that most owners never find. Worth a browse with your coffee.
• One for the road: the word "smoko" is older than most of our grandparents' businesses. Take one today.

That's it. See you at 6am on the next brief day: Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

MySMB is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. For decisions about your business, talk to a qualified adviser.