In this article you'll find a step-by-step guide for getting setup with Solo. If you're still unsure about anything or have questions, please feel free to send us a message using the in-app chat.
A quick note before we begin: Solo is intended for New Zealand sole-traders. Determining if you're a sole-trader is easy; if you haven't registered a company with the New Zealand Companies Office then you're automatically a sole-trader and Solo is definitely for you. Ok, let's begin:
1. Set up your account
The first step is to configure Solo's settings. This will customise Solo's features to your unique situation and make sure your tax calculations are accurate. To set up your account, go to the Settings page.
For detailed instructions, check out our how to configure your settings guide.
Here's a brief overview of Solo's settings and how each one effects your account:
Income Tax – If you pay provisional tax, Solo will calculate provisional tax for you and display the relevant tax periods.
GST – If you have GST, Solo will calculate your GST and generate all the figures you need to file your GST returns.
ACC – Enter your BIC code and Solo will calculate your ACC.
Rental Income – If you earn rental income Solo will enable income and expense categories specific for rental properties. Solo will also generate all the figures you need to file your income tax return.
Home Office Expenses – If you have a home office Solo will enable specific expense categories for claiming your home office expenses.
Other Expenses – If you use a vehicle for business Solo will enable specific expense categories for claiming your vehicle expenses.
More info: How to configure your settings
2. Import your income
To accurately calculate your taxes, Solo first needs to know how much income you have earned since the beginning of the financial year (1 April). This step covers how to successfully get all of your income into Solo.
There are two methods for getting your income into Solo:
Categorising your bank transactions.
Connecting your IRD account.
Which method you should use depends on the type/s of income you earned. Below are the income types that Solo supports – and how to import each type:
Self-employed Income – Categorise your bank transactions.
Rental Income – Categorise your bank transactions.
Salary or Wages – Connect your IRD account.
Schedular Payments (WT) – Connect your IRD account.
NZ Interest – Connect your IRD account.
Benefits – Connect your IRD account.
Student allowance – Connect your IRD account.
Pension – Connect your IRD account.
More info: Income types explained.
Categorising your bank transactions
To import and categorise your bank transactions, first connect your bank with Solo. Bank feeds are a convenient and secure way to automatically import your bank transactions from a New Zealand bank into Solo. Once your bank is connected, your transactions will be automatically imported into Solo daily. To connect your bank account:
Go to the Bank Feeds page.
Click Ok, let's go and connect your bank.
Alternatively you can also upload a transaction file from your bank or manually enter individual transactions.
More info: How the bank feeds work. Adding transactions to Solo.
Next, categorise your income transactions:
Go to the Income page.
Click the Select a category drop down box for the transaction you want to categorise.
Select the appropriate category from the drop down menu.
Click the round tick button to save the transaction.
That's it. Once your income transactions have been categorised, they will be added to your total income and included in Solo's tax calculations.
Tip: For personal transactions (such as transfers or a payment from a friend) you can categorise them using the 'Archive' category, or simply leave them as uncategorised, and Solo will exclude them from your tax calculations.
More info: How to categorise your income transactions.
Connecting your IRD account
If you have income that is taxed before you get paid, such as a salary, wages, schedular payments or bank interest, you can sync this income directly from IRD. The income, as well as any tax paid, will be automatically included in Solo's calculations and you don't need to categorise any transactions. To connect your IRD account with Solo:
Go to the IRD Feed page.
Click Ok, let's go and connect your personal IRD account.
More info: How the IRD feed works.
3. Claim your expenses
Now for the fun part. Claim expenses and watch your tax bill reduce. To claim business expenses you first need to categorise your expense transactions.
How to categorise an expense transaction:
Go to the Expenses page.
Click the Select a category drop down box for the transaction you want to categorise.
Select the appropriate category from the drop down menu.
Click the round tick button to save the transaction.
That's it. Once your transactions have been categorised, they will be included in Solo's tax calculations. You can view your categorised expense transactions at any time by clicking on the Expenses tab at the top of the Expenses page.
Tip: You can view the GST and deduction amounts for each expense by expanding the transaction. You can also edit the transaction details.
Tip: For personal expenses you can categorise them using the 'Archive' category, or simply leave them as uncategorised, and Solo will exclude them from your tax calculations.
4. File tax returns
Once you have imported your income and claimed any expenses, Solo will calculate your income tax, GST and ACC. The Taxes page provides and overview of all your upcoming tax obligations for the next 12 months. When a tax return becomes due:
Go to the Taxes page.
Click the File & Pay button next to the due period.
In a separate window, open the IRD website and log into your myIR account.
Copy and paste the figures generated by Solo in your online IRD tax return.
Once you have completed your tax return in myIR, click the Done button inside Solo to close the tax period.
Tip: No information is sent to the IRD from Solo. You can undo and edit a closed tax period in Solo at any time.
More info: How Income Tax works, How GST works, How ACC works, How Provisional Tax works.
Next steps
Staying on top of your taxes is easy with Solo. All you need to do is continue to categorise any new income and expense transactions and file your tax returns as the become due. We recommend categorising your transactions as soon as you receive them so that Solo's calculations are always up to date.
We also recommend setting up a separate bank account and putting aside the 'Put aside for tax' amount that is shown on the Solo Dashboard. That way you will always prepared for tax time.
Here's a simple summary:
Categorise your income transactions as you receive them (unless all your income is imported from the IRD feed).
Categorise your business expenses as you receive them.
Put aside your tax so you're always prepared for tax time.
File your tax returns when they're due.
When you first login to Solo your 14 day free trial of Solo Premium will automatically begin. During the trial period you will have full access to all of Solo's features.
You can subscribe to Solo Premium at any time during your free trial, or after the trial ends, to continue using Solo's premium features.
We hope you enjoy using Solo and it makes your life a little easier. If you have any questions or would like to suggest an improvement please send us a message through the in-app chat.
Have a magical day 😀
More info: Subscribing to Solo Premium