In the large storms in Wellington recently lots of us were affected both personally and in our business operations. How did your business hold up?

Our client The Lodge at Pauatahanui Inlet, a stunning wedding venue was hit hard with trees down restricting access and no power or facilities working. You might have read about them in the Dominion Post and seen the photo of the groom with chainsaw in hand.

The week after the storm GST was due and they still had no power or access to their computers. As the Lodge uses Xero – the online accounting software we recommend to our clients, it simply required a message to us and we logged into their Xero file checked with them on a couple of items of coding and completed their GST returns for them and filed them with Inland Revenue by the required date. While Inland Revenue might have been sympathetic to a late return it was one less thing for them to worry about and they could concentrate on the physical issues at the Lodge.

If your power is down or your computer is damaged by power surges when it does come back up, would your accounting system be available as it was for the Lodge? Think about using online solutions such as Xero to be part of your contingency plan.