When you’re in business there are a number of laws you must comply with.

Here some of the areas they cover

• tax
• staff
• company operations
• book keeping
• fair trading
• privacy
• workplace and health & safety.

There are also local bylaws, resource consents and Treaty of Waitangi principles to consider. It can seem a bit daunting but lack of compliance can cause big problems. It can be costly and could even lead to your business being shut down. So it’s important to get expert advice and to spend some time on compliance issues.

Here are some handy tips

research compliance issues to do with your business activities before you start

get professional advice, and if necessary employ someone to look after compliance matters for you

mark your calendar with important dates, like when returns or payments are due

deal with documents or returns when they arrive – don’t let things pile up or go missing

don’t throw any documents away unless you’re absolutely sure you don’t have to keep them.