A practical EOFY checklist for NZ small business owners — what to gather, check, and send your accountant before the 31 March deadline. Best published December–January.
End of Financial Year (EOFY) Checklist for NZ Small Businesses
Most New Zealand businesses run on a 1 April–31 March financial year, which means the countdown to EOFY starts earlier than most owners realise. Here's what to have sorted before 31 March.
Know your key dates
Your standard balance date is 31 March, provisional tax instalments typically fall in August, January and May, and your GST return for the March period is due 7 May. If you use a tax agent, your income tax return deadline is usually extended well past the standard date, check with your accountant what applies to you.
Reconcile everything
Make sure every bank account, credit card, and loan account is reconciled up to 31 March, with no unexplained transactions sitting in your accounting software.
Chase outstanding invoices
Follow up unpaid invoices before year-end, and flag any that are genuinely uncollectable so your accountant can consider writing them off as bad debts.
Count your stock
If you hold inventory, do a stocktake as close to 31 March as possible and value it accurately, this directly affects your reported profit.
Review your fixed assets
List anything bought, sold, or scrapped during the year (vehicles, equipment, tools) so your accountant can update depreciation and asset records.
Separate business and personal use
If you use a vehicle, phone, or home office for both business and personal purposes, note the split so the right portion can be claimed.
Gather your paperwork
Pull together bank statements, loan statements, invoices, receipts for anything unusual (repairs, one-off purchases), and your shareholder salary or drawings for the year.
Send it all to your accountant early
The earlier your accountant has everything, the more time there is to plan — not just report — your tax position before it's locked in.
Download the checklist
Use the list below as the downloadable PDF/checklist offered in exchange for an email address — same mechanism as the existing eBook opt-ins.
EOFY Checklist
- Confirm your balance date and key deadlines
- Reconcile all bank, credit card, and loan accounts
- Follow up outstanding invoices; flag bad debts
- Complete a stocktake and value inventory
- List fixed asset purchases, sales, and disposals
- Record business-use percentage for shared assets
- Gather receipts for unusual or one-off expenses
- Confirm shareholder salary or owner drawings
- Check provisional tax payments made to date
- Send everything to your accountant
Want us to run this list for you? Talk to our team about getting EOFY-ready without the last-minute scramble.