WHY give away branded pens? Does this work as a promotional tool and if so, how?
The BNZ certainly thinks so. How many BNZ pens do you have, and how often do you see other people with them or use them yourself?
Give-aways remind the recipient, regularly, of your existence. The more difficult it is to remember you, the more useful the give-away.
You might be a specialist in your field. Once you’ve delivered your service you’re likely to be forgotten unless you can provide a reminder, like a pen. If you’re an irregular or seasonal supplier, such as delivering firewood, your give-away will help you to be remembered next time.
The longer your give-away lasts, the longer you’ll be remembered. Fridge magnets are a favourite give-away for this reason. Give-aways work because people are loath to throw out something of value.
A couple of clever examples include a nail file for someone providing products for women, and a plastic device with a small blade for cutting articles out of newspapers. Be imaginative and you might come up with an excellent give-away.
Gifts of wine and food
IRD has recently announced that you can generally claim 100% of the costs of gifts such as food, wine or event tickets as an expense. When these items are given as gifts they are not covered by the entertainment rules. IRD qualifies this – if gifts are to employees fringe benefit tax considerations arise.
KiwiSaver account
A recent letter from a client says: “I have just reviewed my KiwiSaver account at [XYZ] and note that I have not been given credit for Employer Contributions made in November 2011. I know they were paid as my company is the employer. I could have easily missed this if I had not quickly reviewed their statement.” Do you check your KiwiSaver account? You should. Mistakes do occur and could be big. Don’t forget to check the closing balance on your last statement matches the opening balance on the new one.
Tax refunds
The IRD has issued a reminder that any tax refunds paid in error must be sent back to it. The department expects the money back within 15 days (that does not mean working days, it means two weeks) and threaten penalties and interest charges if you hang on to the money for any longer. IRD often sends out refunds and we have asked it to apply the refund to some other tax.
Pause before you bank that IRD cheque. If you allow IRD to credit refunds to your bank account, be extra vigilant. What if you check bank statements only once a month, if at all? Consider insisting they send you a cheque.