There are only two months left in this decade, it’s almost 2020. Sounds futuristic doesn’t it, but it’s here and now.

At Giles & Liew we are a future-focused firm, using digital innovation to transform both your business and our own. That’s why we want to receive your business records and source documents in an electronic format, rather than printed or paper-based records. It’s no longer necessary for us to receive paper copies of your records, and the IRD also accepts electronic records.

Working with electronic records can save you time and money. You won’t need to store printed records or deliver them to us. It also assists in ensuring we have the correct records in a timely manner so we are less likely to ask for additional information. Of course, it can also help to save a few trees, and reduce printing costs if you are printing records unnecessarily.

The best way to prepare your electronic records is to save any documents that might be required throughout the year in a specific location on your computer. In most cases, the information we require will have already been provided to you by email or can be downloaded from various websites (e.g. your bank). If it is a printed receipt you can take a photo of it and save it. Ensure that you save the documents with a helpful name and a date so you can easily find them later. As you must keep these source documents for seven years it is important to keep a backup copy of these documents in more than one location. We would recommend having a backup copy in the cloud.

When it’s time to provide us with your end of year records you can simply email them to us directly. Alternatively, we can set you up with a secure portal to upload the documents to send to us, if you would like to do this please discuss this option with your Client Manager.

If your bank transactions are not processed through an accounting software package, we will require your bank statements in a QIF format. To get this you will need to login to your internet banking, select the current year’s transactions and export the transactions to a QIF file to be emailed through to us. Each bank is slightly different, so if you require some assistance with doing this please let us know. If your bank transactions are processed through an accounting software package such as MYOB, Xero, or BankLink or if we prepare your GST this won’t be required.

The best way to ensure we receive the information that is required to begin your work is to complete an End of Year Checklist, these are available here. The End of Year Checklist can be opened from our website in an editable PDF format, this allows you to type directly onto the form to save and email through to us. The checklist also includes a comprehensive list of the records we need you to provide to us, this includes links to excel spreadsheets that need to be completed where additional information is required (e.g. home office use).

If you have any questions or concerns about saving your records electronically please get in touch with us, we’re here to help. We’d recommend getting started today! Don’t wait until it’s the end of the financial year, you can start today by saving any relevant documents to your computer to provide to us at a later date.

Let’s make paperwork a thing of the past, the future is definitely digital.