Your first year on the main street: the bills nobody mentions

Most new owners are good at the daily maths. They know what a coffee costs to make, what the rent is each month, how many hours they can afford to roster. What catches them out is everything that doesn’t arrive weekly: the bills that land once a quarter, once a year, or only after the first year is over.

Here’s a plain-English list of those bills for a New Zealand café, shop, salon or clinic — and how to stop them becoming a crisis.

Why does the first year feel so expensive?

Partly because it is. But mostly because of timing. In the first year, you’re spending on set-up while learning your trading patterns, and several obligations only kick in once you’ve filed your first returns. The result is that some of the biggest bills arrive in your second year — just when you thought you’d found your feet.

The fix is simple to describe and harder to do: put every lump sum on a calendar, and set money aside for it every week.

GST: collected daily, paid in lumps

Business.govt.nz says you must register for GST once you expect to earn more than $60,000 in a 12-month period, and GST is charged at 15%. Every sale includes GST that isn’t really yours — it belongs to Inland Revenue and gets paid on your filing dates.

Inland Revenue lets businesses choose a filing frequency: monthly, 2-monthly, or 6-monthly if sales are under $500,000 a year. Business.govt.nz notes that most small businesses choose 2-monthly or 6-monthly.

The trap: 6-monthly filing means fewer returns, but the payment covers six months of trading in one go. If you haven’t been setting GST aside, that’s a big bill. Business.govt.nz also warns that a common mistake is not continuing to charge GST once you’re registered, even if turnover is low.

What to do: move the GST portion of each week’s takings into a separate account.

Provisional tax: the year-two surprise

Inland Revenue says you’ll have to pay provisional tax if you had more than $5,000 of residual income tax in your last return. For most new businesses, that means provisional tax starts after a profitable first year.

With a 31 March balance date on the standard or estimation option, instalments are due on 28 August, 15 January and 7 May.

The trap: after a good first year, you may face the final tax for that year at around the same time as provisional tax instalments for the next one begin. Your accountant can explain the exact timing for your business, and may suggest options that suit uneven income.

What to do: ask your accountant early in year one to estimate your tax, and start setting money aside from your first month.

ACC levies: the invoice that follows your return

ACC says it sends your levy invoice by post or email once you’ve filed a tax return. That means your first ACC invoice may arrive well after you’ve started trading.

You can pay in full, or spread it over three, six or ten monthly instalments by direct debit, which roll over each year. ACC notes that from 1 April 2026, instalment interest applies to all instalment plans. If you can’t pay by the due date, ACC encourages businesses to contact it early.

Employer costs beyond the hourly rate

If you employ staff, the wage is just the start.

Cost	What to know
Minimum wage	$23.95 an hour for adults from 1 April 2026 (MBIE)
KiwiSaver	Default employer contribution 3.5% from 1 April 2026, rising to 4% from 1 April 2028 (Inland Revenue)
Holiday pay	Pay-as-you-go at 8% of gross earnings only for genuinely irregular work or fixed-term agreements under 12 months (Employment NZ)
Public holidays	Time-and-a-half and alternative days where they apply
ACC	Levies based on your payroll and industry
Payday filing	PAYE and deductions paid to Inland Revenue on time

Our page on funding the summer team covers seasonal staffing costs in more detail.

Licences, registrations and renewals

Many main-street businesses need licences or registrations that come with fees and renewal dates:

• Food registration with your council, plus verification visits.
• Alcohol on-licences. Wellington City Council, for example, says on-licences are renewed one year after first issue and every three years after that, with applications due at least 20 working days before expiry. Missing it can mean stopping alcohol sales.
• Other permits — outdoor dining on the footpath, signage, health licences for some beauty services. Check your council’s requirements.

Put every renewal date on the calendar the day you get the licence.

Insurance, rent reviews and repairs

• Insurance usually renews annually, often as one payment unless you arrange otherwise.
• Rent reviews may arrive after your first year or two. Check your lease — our commercial lease checklist explains how reviews work.
• Repairs — the fridge seal, the grinder burrs, the broken door closer. Budget a small monthly amount even if nothing’s broken yet.

Build your first-year bill calendar

Start with this list, add your own dates and amounts, then run them through the cash gap estimator to see which months run short:

1. GST payment months and estimated amounts
2. Provisional tax instalments (with your accountant’s estimate)
3. Final tax for your first year
4. ACC levy invoice and your chosen payment plan
5. Insurance renewal
6. Licence and registration renewals
7. Rent review dates
8. Equipment servicing

If a gap shows up, you’ve got time to plan. That might mean setting aside more each week, talking to Inland Revenue about an instalment arrangement, or arranging short-term funding before the bill lands. Want to talk it over? Start an enquiry — no credit check to ask.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. A new salon owner opened in October and had a strong first year. In year two, their first ACC invoice arrived, their final income tax for year one fell due, provisional tax for year two began, and their rent review increased the monthly rent — all within a few months.

Because they’d been setting aside a share of weekly takings since opening, they covered most of it. For the remainder, they compared an IRD instalment arrangement with a short unsecured facility and chose the one that kept their monthly cash comfortable through winter. Our page on GST and provisional tax compares those options.

A simple three-account system

Many main-street owners keep their money straight with three business bank accounts:

1. Operating account — where takings land and day-to-day bills are paid.
2. Tax account — a set share of weekly takings for GST, provisional tax and ACC. Don’t touch it for anything else.
3. Buffer account — a slowly growing reserve for repairs, quiet months and surprises.

Set up automatic weekly transfers from the operating account to the other two on the same day each week. Review the amounts every quarter with your accountant. It sounds basic, but it’s the single habit that most often separates owners who sail through year two from those who get caught out.

What about the costs of growing?

A successful first year brings its own bills. More customers usually means more staff, more stock and sometimes more space — all paid for before the extra takings arrive. If your first year goes better than planned, revisit your tax estimates with your accountant straight away, because higher profit means higher provisional tax. Growth is good news, but it’s cash-hungry news.

Don’t let a lump sum knock you over

If a first-year bill is heading for a quiet month, it’s far easier to sort out before it arrives. Start your 60-second enquiry and tell us what’s due and when. Asking doesn’t touch your credit file, your details stay with one team rather than being sprayed around, and someone who understands new main-street businesses will ring you. Accurate figures — what’s due, when, and your monthly takings — help us match you properly first time.