Case Study
Beyond accounting
Haavik Research got a lot more than it bargained for after bringing nextAdvisory on board to help lift its financial game.
Case Study
Beyond accounting
Haavik Research got a lot more than it bargained for after bringing nextAdvisory on board to help lift its financial game.
Client Snapshot
Haavik Research makes it easy for chiropractors around the world to stay up to date the with latest industry research by helping them understand and effectively communicate the science behind it all.
The Situation
Since kicking off her business in 2014, owner Heidi Haavik had been through a couple of accountants but just wasn’t satisfied.
They’d come in, get the books sorted for the year, then leave.
She needed more.
Was she following best practice? Was there more she could be doing from an accounting perspective in order to grow?
Alongside financial help, Heidi had always known she could use some extra business direction. But she didn’t think a business advisor or business coach was an option she could afford.
Little did she know, her search for a better chartered accountant would result in much more than she bargained for, quickly boosting her profits and developing the business in a ton of other ways she never expected.
I didn’t have time to go looking into all of that. I came across Luke and Phil’s ad which honestly seemed too good to be true. But I thought, ‘hey I’ll give them a go’ and I’ve never looked back, says Heidi.
I didn’t have time to go looking into all of that. I came across Luke and Phil’s ad which honestly seemed too good to be true. But I thought, ‘hey I’ll give them a go’ and I’ve never looked back, says Heidi.
The Solution
It was 2017 when Heidi brought nextAdvisory directors, Phil and Luke, on board, initially to take care of her accounting needs.
They immediately put in place smarter systems and processes and the financial side of the business began to run more smoothly.
But it wasn’t long before the scope expanded.
They set up regularly strategic planning sessions where broad goals and specific targets around business growth were worked through. Challenges were brought up and solutions put in place, with accountability being an important success factor.
Together, they identified smarter ways to work including automating processes and outsourcing appropriate tasks. They also worked through future proofing the business by introducing checks and balances so any changes and future growth would be sustainable.
And the focus hasn’t just been about increasing numbers.
Heidi says...
I started to find their wider strategic planning assistance so helpful that I thought, ‘let’s give that a go too’
All of a sudden we were experiencing significant growth, and each team member is now working to their skills and strengths which means we’re saving time and getting better results
We’re a values-driven company so we also work on targets around integrity for example
The Results
While things were slowly progressing for Haavik and Heidi knew where she wanted to get to, she believes the structural input and strategic business development advice from nextAdvisory has been invaluable, fast-tracking their success.
Memberships (which make up the bulk of their income) have skyrocketed, they’re saving significant amounts of time by working smarter and profits are continuing to rise.
Strategic planning sessions between nextAdvisory and the Haavik team are now a regular in the calendar as they continue to look to future growth.
And for Heidi, her vision to educate the world about the science of chiropractic is becoming more of a reality every day.
Heidi says...
Accountability has been a huge part of this. Luke and Phil are great at keeping each team member on task. We come into meetings with clear progress on our targets and things don’t slip like they used to.
We’re spending more on outsourcing, but we’re making more because of it. We have clear systems and processes in place and we never lose sight of what’s important anymore.
The Facts
- 100% increase in membership.
- Significant time savings..
- 300% increase in profit..
- Team members now working to skillsets
The Facts
- 100% increase in membership.
- Significant time savings..
- 300% increase in profit..
- Team members now working to skillsets
The Gold
What’s been invaluable for Heidi is the wider strategic business coaching support she’s received that’s gone way beyond accounting.
Although she’d been involved in strategic planning in other roles, she acknowledges it can be hard to take that step back when it’s your own business.
She also believes their different (but complementary) skills have been useful.
About nextAdvisory
Run by two high-energy, Kiwi blokes with a passion for helping business owners thrive, nextAdvisory is a qualified chartered accountancy service in Auckland.
But they’re much more than that – they’re straight talking business development experts, business advisors, business coaches and business mentors who take the time to get to know you and your business and provide tailored services that meet your needs.
What’s more, you’ll deal directly with either Phil or Luke throughout the entire process (often over a cheeky beer).
Heidi says...
I leave team meetings with Luke and Phil delighted at how much we get out of them. Every single time there are little gems that help us grow.
It feels like they’re one of the players in our company. They come in with ideas without me even asking and bring so many wider business skills to the table.
![From what we have seen, business owners SHOULD NOT blindly pay their May tax without advice as to whether their profitability warrants it. Why? Because, 1/3rd of our clients won’t be paying tax in May. Accountants are on the front line of the economy and we have real time financial data. At the time of writing this, it is less than 10 days after the end of the financial year, and we’ve mostly finished reviewing the profitability of a good cross-section of the NZ economy: construction, engineering, marketing, e-commerce, services. All sorts. Here’s some tax insight that might help you understand what’s happening in the economy. AND, hopefully understand how tax works for many of you businesses owners. For some background, a lot of NZ SME’s pay tax in August, January and May to stay current with tax. This is loosely based on their profitability of the year before (2023FY ended 31/3/2023). This means that when they get their accounts done, they have hopefully cleared taxes on profits for the current financial year (2024FY ended 31/3/2024). We don't just tell our clients to pay tax based on last year. Every year is different. We review our clients' profitability throughout the year and by this final payment on the 7th of May, we have a really clear insight as to how profitable the financial year was. The 2 common themes are: 🔸 A lot of businesses don’t even need to make a payment in May because their profitability will be lower than last financial year, so they have less tax to pay. They've paid enough tax in August & January. 🔸 Some of those who do need to pay tax (even at a higher rate) are struggling to collect the cash (income from the work they’ve done) so they are battling to see how they can make the payment.
One of the tricky things for a growing business is that IF they don’t collect the money for the work they do in a timely manner, they will always struggle to pay their tax. Why? Because they’ve done the work, sent the invoice which recognises revenue and profit, BUT they haven’t turned it into cash in their business. [Continued in comments...]](https://nextadvisory.nz/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
