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Google Analytics is changing from a Universal Property to a Google Analytics 4 Property, what does this mean?

Google Analytics is changing from a Universal Property to a Google Analytics 4 Property, how does this change your website? Most of our clients would be like my what is doing what?? As soon as you mention Google Analytics, ears stop listening, minds switch off and we get it - Google IS a beast! BUT LISTEN we are here to tell you this is important stuff, so I have simplified the info below and we can work through this together. Recently I attended a seminar with the knowledgeable Google gurus at ...

Help Kids in Need Waikato keep moving!

We had the pleasure of helping Kids in Need Waikato for our 2022 Community Day!On this day we got to help Kids in Need Waikato change over from their winter stock to summer stock, help stock the tog & towel section ready for the sunny days, develop some assets for their social media campaign and of course, create some specialised bags filled with beautiful clothing and items for Kids in need.We sat down with the amazing owner and founder of Kids in Need Waikato, Linda Roil and discussed how ...

Cross your fingers, we are nominated for THREE NZVA Awards!

Our amazing Varntige Owner & Founder Chantelle Good is nominated for the VA Leadership Award!This award recognises our Virtual Assistant Agency Owners or Team Managers, who support their people to deliver exceptional services to their clients and who have shown exemplary leadership....

Loving Arms website, giving back to our Community

Varntige is on the second year of our Lift Up: Free Community Website initiative.This is where Non-profit Organisations can register to receive our FREE Lift Up Community Website. In addition to our FREE website design and help, Rocketspark provides FREE website hosting for the entirety of that website's lifetime, learn more about this here. This year we chose to help the amazing team at Loving Arms. If you are not aware of the incredible work they do for our community, please check them out!htt...

Do I need accounting software?

Technically – no. You can manually keep record of all your bank transactions, invoices, receipts, drawings, assets…….over it already? Thought so, read below why we recommend using Xero Cloud-Based Software to keep track of your records....

Processing payrolls – are you sure that you are getting it right?

Is payroll just one more thing on your list of things to do?  Well then, I might be throwing a spanner in the works for you, by letting you know of the potential that you may have been doing it wrong all this time…  Yes, your employee might be getting his money paid into his bank account every week, fortnight or month dependent on his contract.  But how sure are you, and the employee, that what he is being paid is in fact what is legally owed to him?  With payroll bein...

Tetley-Jones Agriculture Case Study

As a business grows and the work intensifies, finding the right help is imperative to a business’s continued success. Ross Tetley-Jones knew it was time to find the right kind of help for his agricultural business nearly five years ago and says he hasn’t looked back since....

Dudfields Case Study

Sarah and Mark Dudfield have time back on their hands to deal with the big stuff of business – working out the future growth for Dudfields Electricians without the stress and worry of the day to day running and logistics required by their busy team. “We needed to do something – Mark was taking all the phone calls coming in each day, scheduling call outs and work, while being on the tools too. Something had to give. We talked to the team at Varntige and got them to handle our phone service,...

Varntige turned 7! 🎉

If you are looking for a New Zealand Virtual Assistant firm with years of experience and expertise in the services: Bookkeeping, Administration, Graphic Design and Websites... Varntige is here for you! We are a team of 8 made up of Xero certified advisors, payroll experts, qualified graphic designers with a combined experience of over 80 years - so rest assured, you are in GREAT hands. When Chantelle opened the doors 7 years ago, it was with the simplest of missions:...

8 Reasons why Farmers Need a Bookkeeper!

Farmers are one of the main bloodlines of the New Zealand economy, and by supporting the agriculture industry to do their best, we are supporting all New Zealand businesses to thrive. #1 – I am looking to save time If there’s one things NZ farmer’s do not have an abundance of – it’s time. We understand the jobs on the farm are never done and by utilising a bookkeeper, this free’s you up to work on what you do best. Reclaim your evenings and weekends by outsourcing your bookkeeping an...

I learnt a valuable lesson this week…

I’ve been blessed in life to learn that time is not an infinite resource. But this week I learnt that I hadn’t been valuing all of my time as I should. I value parts of it – health is big. You’ll find it’s rare as hens teeth for me to miss any of my planned workout sessions. Because I’m valuing that time. I hadn’t been putting the value on my work and personal time that it deserves. A reminder came when some of my time was wasted, and I was left thinking why this person wasted my t...

Remember ALL your passwords without having to remember ALL your passwords

We have had several clients lately talk about how many passwords they have and can't remember or that they have indeed forgotten them! We get it, having all different passwords for important logins is enough to drive anyone insane (wait until you add a couple of hundred clients into the mix!). So what is our solution? LASTPASS. Has anyone actually heard of Last Pass? Does anyone use it? We have been using it for years now, and what we can say is we LOVE it! Last Pass is a secure account with one...

Your small business Social Media questions answered!

We get asked all the time about Social Media. When should you post? What should you post? How many times a week? What platform? It's unfortunately not a clear answer. What is right for our industry and business is not always right for you and it is a lot of trial and error! But the answer I give is a question right back: Are you posting consistently?  So tell me, are you making an effort to be active online? Are you continuously communicating with your followers? If your answers are th...

Lockdown is here and I need a website!

What a week! Who would've thought we would be back in level 4, not me... and I bet not you either! So, let's get down to business, how are you running your business in lockdown? How are you selling your products without being in your shop? How are you sharing your services with everyone?? We have the answer... a website. Yep, we ALL need one....

Do you need financial help over lockdown to keep your staff paid and your business afloat?

The government has a range of support schemes available to help businesses and their employees get through Covid-19 lockdowns. We can help you understand what support you may be eligible for, and we can either help with applications or apply on your behalf....

Is your Rocketspark website growing with the world? Website Redesign vs Website Revamp

Advice from a Rocketspark Gold PartnerRocketspark is constantly developing features and expanding their platform to perform better and better. This may mean that your website might not be functioning as well as it could be, don’t worry, we can help!...

Varntige's SPCA Cupcake Day 2021

What is SPCA Cupcake Day? SPCA Cupcake Day started in 2009 to raise money to help abused and neglected animals. The SPCA receives only 5% of funding from the Government and relies heavily on the support of people like you to help provide a future for these beautiful animals. 🐈🐕 Since Cupcake Day started they have raised over 3 million dollars through delicious Cupcakes made by people like us. What better way to give then getting something yummy in return!  So how can you help? You can...

Is a cheap website designer worth it?

Why does it cost so much to design a website and can I find it cheaper elsewhere? The short answer, yes. My preferred answer, DON'T!! Yes, you can find cheaper designers. You can find people who will offer a low price, and do the bare minimum to build a - generally not so beautiful - generic website on a platform you cannot update yourself.  You might be happy you are online briefly, until that person disappears and you are unable to contact them OR worse the WEBSITE disappears (and yes it ...

Phasing out of cheques in New Zealand – Are you prepared?

As more New Zealanders are choosing to make and receive payments electronically, banks in New Zealand will no longer be issuing or accepting cheques.  Each bank has a different date they will be making this change, do you know the end date of yours?  Have a look at the list below to see when your bank will no longer be accepting cheques:  ASB - cheques will not be issued or processed after 27 August 2021Find out more here BNZ  - phase out cheques by the 01 July 2021Find out...

I need a new website, where do I start?

Your business needs a new website... There are some things you need to consider when you are tackling a new website build. At the top of your list should be: What goals do you have for your new website?How much time do you have to put into the project?What is your website budget? And all these factors intertwine... What goals do you have for your new website?Why are you building a new website? To get leads, to make sales, to share info? Do you have no online presence or are you not proud of...

The role of a Receptionist

If you were to google ‘A receptionist’s duties’ a few years ago, you would typically find the role described as: answering phones, taking messages, typing and having a pretty, friendly smile. Man, how this role has changed over the years.Your receptionist is your businesses’ first point of contact and it is therefore essential that your receptionist is friendly, helpful and inviting.  However, a lot more duties have been added to this role.Here at Varntige, our receptionist role has...

I NEED a website, but I don’t have the cashflow

Websites are so important. They are usually the first impression that people have of your business AND the first point of contact from your potential client/customer. I know, of course we will be telling you that you need a good website – we are in the business of making beautiful ones! But we are also in the business of helping you be happier and less stressed in your business. We want to provide solutions to suit YOUR business, YOUR cashflow and YOUR time. This might mean you don’t have th...

Ultimate Bobcat Services: Branding & Website Case Study

Ultimate Bobcats Services is an earthworks company located in Te Aroha, servicing the wider Waikato area. Although they have been around for a while, they came to us needing a website for new customers/clients to visit.  We soon realised any branding Ultimate Bobcats had up until that point wasn't the right fit for them. We wanted to show they are 'Ultimate'. We developed a strong, stamp-like wordmark as their logo and high contrast business cards and signage to match. From here we were abl...

Storyteller Eatery & Bar: Branding & Website Case Study

Bridie approached us wanting new branding, signage, menu & website design for her new exciting business venture: Storyteller Eatery & Bar.The brief was designing for a new intimate setting for people to gather, share stories and of course, create new ones.Bridie was after a modern but old english library mash up, highlighting food and drink....

Rotor Work Ltd: Branding & Website Case Study

Rotor Work came to us wanting a website refurbishment. With so many pages, 12 service categories and numerous sub-categories from there, this soon became the largest website we had yet created. Rotor Work is an established Helicopter company, they are well-known for their agricultural services and were looking to expand on their scenic flight and adventure services. They wanted an ‘app-styled’ services page, movement and rolling titles, lots of visual interest and iconography.We were able to...