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Mane + Co: Branding & Website Design Case Study

Mane + Co, previously Nouveau Hair Boutique approached us in the lockdown period wanting a new eCommerce website. Liane has a very clean and modern style with a nod to the Art Deco era. Liane came to us for advice on changing her name and branding, and so Mane + Co was born. With complete artistic freedom, we created a clean and readable logo. The ‘M’ has slight arches and the geometric box around it is in line with the Art Deco theme. We developed business/appointment cards and signage in l...

Varntige: Rebranding our own company

We made the decision in the early months of 2020 to move away from 'The Good P.A' and rebrand to 'Varntige'. This was to embody the shift of the business from what was once a single person working from home, to now a team of experienced Virtual Assistants specialising in: Bookkeeping, Administration, Graphic Design, Website Design and everything in between. Our mantra since then is to grow, and help our clients grow their businesses: ...

Bookkeeper versus Accountant - what's the difference?

If you're googling or asking this question, you're not the only one! We're often asked: What the difference is between an accountant and a bookkeeper?Why would I need or want an accountant AND a bookkeeper for my business?  There is debate about when the word 'bookkeeper' came about. But it's suggested some time in the 1400 - 1600s, so we've been around a while. At that time it was written as someone who kept account books. And to this day it really is the same thing. Imagine we're in ...

FAQ's

If we/I want to start using your services how do we go about this?You get in touch with us. From there we will arrange a meeting (face to face, online or a by phone) to help understand how we can help. We will find out what issues you're having and ask the questions that provide us with a better understanding of your business. After that we will provide you with a New Client form and a Plan document which outlines what services you will receive, the costs and the terms specific to that...

Andrea's 2020 Bookkeepers Conference

A run down of the 2020 Bookkeepers Conference from our Bookkeeper Andrea.As a new staff member, I was excited to learn that I was invited to attend Bookkeepcon2020!! The prospect of catching up with associates and past colleagues and being part of the bookkeeping world was great and I was not disappointed.  Also, the drive and trip away was the perfect bonding opportunity for me and my new boss 😉 We were all first given the task of writing down 3 things we hoped to gain from conference.&...

Inspiration for Creatives

What drives your passion. What is that special ingredient that sets your work apart. It’s hard to generate ideas and creativity from within ourselves only, we need triggers and sparks to ignite those ideas. We need to be inspired. I love my job at Varntige, I have the chance to work and collaborate with clients from all industries. Every day I walk into new jobs and different opportunities to embrace my passion, design. But what about inspiration? As inspiring as sitting at a desk is (I hope t...

Meet our newest team member, Andrea

Welcome to our newest team member Andrea who joined the team just a short 4 weeks ago. Andrea will be covering for Tangiwai as she is off on maternity leave any day now! Andrea is joining our team as a Bookkeeper & VA and will stay on even when Tangiwai returns next year. ...

What does a Bookkeeper do?

So you've been wondering what does a bookkeeper actually do?As a firm offering bookkeeping services it never occurred to us that some people don't know what a bookkeeper does. Until we had someone say to us that they were so relieved to hire a bookkeeper, they now had someone doing all their reconciling in Xero for them. We asked what else the bookkeeper was doing and they said "just the reconciling, that's what a bookkeeper does isn't it?"...And yes, yes we do reconciling.. but we (as bookkeepe...

What can I claim as a business expense?

We're often asked by business owners "What can I claim as a business expense?" Here's a run down of common things that are and aren't claimable.  Q, I'm a Plumber and I pay a subscription to be part of Plumbers world inc, can I claim this? A, Yes you can, this is a business expense you can claim.  Q, I want to thank my team and take them out for lunch, can I claim this? A, Yes you can, however entertainment expenses can be 50 or 100% claimable (for gst and tax purposes). You can find o...

The NEW us - Varntige

We’ve renamed and rebranded, our new name is: Varntige.You will notice over the next month a change to our new colours, including a new website. For us Varntige (a play on vantage, and pronounced just the same) represents the next level in our journey as a business. We’re no longer ‘The Good P.A’ – me, working on my own from the home office. We’re a team of experienced Virtual Assistants, Bookkeepers and Graphic Designers who want to help our clients get to the next level i...

Why isn't my online shop selling products like hot cakes?

You have been looking at the amount of people visiting your website and it is LOW and you're not getting sales through your shop. But why??? I mean you have just had a new website built which was supposed to do AMAZING things for your business and you think it looks pretty, so what is going on? There is a lot that goes into 'selling online', having a beautiful looking website is only one of those things. On its own, it is not going to sell more produc...

Keep your Xero account tidy, monthly checks.

Every month when we are completing tasks for clients in Xero, we also complete a set of checks. For most clients we are not the only one that will be in their Xero account, you can have: The clientThe accountant + their staffOther advisors clients useThe clients staff  This all means there can be plenty of things going on. As bookkeepers it is our job to make sure a client’s Xero account is tidy for their accountant when it comes time to do the financials. If you do not have a bookkeeper ...

What you need to know when building your own website!

DIY'ing your website? With so many small businesses building their own websites on the likes of Rocketspark, Squarespace, WIX and other DIY website build software, it really helps to know the important things to look out for when building a website. Design, Content & SEO are the three main things that make up a website. See our notes below for some things you will want to think about when DIY'ing your own website build.  Design (everything that makes it beautiful) Check the softwa...

Managing Payroll so farmers can do what they do best!

When you're asked to picture farmers, what comes to mind?Dirty gumboots, tired-looking from being up before dawn and out in the paddocks until after the sun has set? Now picture that same farmer, working those long hours, in those tiresome conditions, and then picture him going home to go do the paperwork that still needs to be done Tons and tons of paperwork.  Workers need to be paid, bills need to be checked, jobs need to be thoroughly considered and planned for. Add on top of that accide...

The time-saving secret of busy bosses

It’s a weeknight, and you’re working late at the office again. If you’ve got other staff, they’ve gone home already, but as the boss you can’t just walk away and switch off. There are invoices to send, emails to respond to, accounts to manage.You’d love to get home to the kids, but this work won’t do itself. Or could it?What you need is a supporter in your corner, someone to take the administrative load off your shoulders and proactively help your business become more efficient &md...

Work from ANYWHERE - Get your office online

We consider ourselves the Pros at working online, it's what we've been doing the last five years and every day we learn new and better ways to work with our clients. We wanted to offer some tips to businesses that are only just getting used to working online and at the moment might feel like they are fumbling through. So, here is our thoughts and some of the software we rate highly.  Look to change from running a paper-based filing system to an online one. When Chantelle started V...

A List of Opportunities

We wanted to give freely to business owners who right now are going to be struggling. While it's great to keep optimism going and look at the positive side of this. There is a dark side. The one which will have families in tears, wondering how they will pay for food, their mortgages and even how they will pay their staff. I feel their pain. I too, have had to make a very quick Pandemic Plan and forecast our Cash-flow to see if we can make it.  So many of our clients will be affected from th...

What do you think Joe should do?

The Cost Difference - Varntige versus an employeeToday I've created a fictional business called 'The Plumbing Store', owned by Joe so that I can provide you with an example of the value we often add over employing staff.  'Joe' from 'The Plumbing Store' has an Office Manager working in his office 30 hours a week. Joe's Office Manager has decided to leave, and he has been looking to replace her but is finding it difficult to find the right person. Not just that but Joe doesn't even have the ...

Having a Paperless Office to create efficiency

Paperless, can you even imagine?Do you work in an office that feels like it's covered in paper? Maybe it's not that bad, but you have thought about making the change to paperless and wondered how to go about it? What are the real benefits? Continue reading to find out our thoughts. At Varntige we have been paperless since we opened almost five years ago. We never started with 'client files' or piles of paper. In fact, when we look back at our stationery costs it would seem we barely go thro...

Why do we choose Rocketspark?

Rocketspark provides a website you can update We only build websites in the Rocketspark platform because they were the solution to our problem - as a business we struggled to find website build software that was beautiful, easy to use, google friendly and most importantly that we could easily update ourselves. Then we found Rocketspark and just like that our problem was fixed.  Rocketspark websites provide the following: Beautiful templates that we edit to fit your businessDI...

The FAQs of hiring us as your VA - the answers to your questions!

How does this VA thing work?So, you've been thinking about getting a VA (Virtual Assistant). To get started we offer a FREE 1-hour meeting to work out if we're the right VA for your business. We want to learn all about you and your business and what's important to you! After this if you want to get started, we send a Plan Document for the Packages/work we have discussed. You fill out our New Client Form and get given a VA (who manages all your work) and we get right to work. In that first meetin...

Why RocketSpark is the perfect website platform for 80% of NZ Businesses

We've been building RocketSpark websites since 2016. We started doing so when I realised how UGLY the website I'd built for Varntige really was. I'd built it in an NZ based hideous template build software. I was so proud of myself at the time too - and had every reason to be, however after looking back I think Oh no... So, when I found out about RocketSpark, saw the designs and how easy it was I jumped at the chance to hire a Graphic Designer and build these websites for our clients. It was the ...

Why would I need a Bookkeeper?

Is this a question you've asked yourself recently?Or you're asking now? Why would you need a bookkeeper?  As a business owner keeping your accounts tidy is so important. We see first-hand the problems that can be caused when not looking after your accounts - owing suppliers, owing staff, owing the IRD and finally your business failing. All things we are sure no one wants to have to deal with. These problems usually occur when someone without the skills and knowledge has been managing the ac...

Why Varntige is 100% Xero for their Bookkeeping Services

When Varntige started in 2015 they serviced both MYOB and Xero Accounting Software clients. However, Chantelle quickly came to realise that time is a limited resource and she wanted The Varntige team to be the very best at what they do. So, she decided to Niche and offer bookkeeping services in only Xero. This meant staff could spend their training time each month keeping up to date with only the one Software. Allowing them to have the time to keep up with all the updates and fully understand ho...

What are your thoughts on the 4 day working week?

I have been thinking a lot lately about a 4-day working week. For myself as a business owner I really want the team to have an enjoyable time at work. I want them to come and work at Varntige and feel inspired to live better lives. Not saying that any of the team don't live good lives but we can always improve, can't we? Be healthier, have a better balance between work and our personal lives. I want our team to enjoy their families and friends and by doing so be happier at work. I'm calling...