A lot of New Zealand businesses spend time typing out customer details that the government will give them for free.
BLUEPRINT
9/10/20261 min read
Here is something we use often, and most small business owners have never heard of it.
Every registered New Zealand company has an NZBN, which stands for New Zealand Business Number. Behind that number sits the NZBN Register. It holds the legal name, any trading names, the registered address, the entity type and contact details. It is public, and anyone can search it.
MBIE also lets you connect your own systems to it, and it is free to use.
Here is why that matters if you run a small business.
1. You can stop typing customer details.
Your customer gives you their NZBN, or you search for their name. Their legal name, registered address and entity type come back and fill in the form for you.
No spelling mistakes in the legal name on a contract. No invoice sent to an address they moved out of two years ago.
2. You can find out when their details change.
The register has a watch list. Add your regular customers and suppliers to it, and you will be told when one of them changes something. A new address, a name change, a new director.
You find out because someone told you, rather than because an invoice came back to you.
One thing worth keeping in mind.
Every company is on the register. Sole traders, partnerships and trusts are only listed if they chose to sign up, and businesses can keep some of their details private. So it will not cover everyone you deal with. If you invoice other businesses though, it will cover a good number of them.
Something you could do this week.
Look up your five biggest customers on nzbn.govt.nz and set up a watch list. It takes about ten minutes, it costs nothing, and you do not need anyone to help you do it.
And when it is set up properly.
Someone fills in the enquiry form on your website with their company name. By the time that job reaches your accounting system, the correct details are already sitting there. Nobody has typed a thing.
That last part is the sort of work we do at One Peak. We just make it easier for you to get the job done.
If you invoice other businesses, it is worth a look. Hope it helps someone.
#SmallBusinessNZ #NZBusiness #Automation