Edward Bostock, Author at The Profit

Edward Bostock

Small Trade Contracts: What you need to know moving forward

The Fair Trading Amendment Act 2021 comes into force in August 2022 and this will place new obligations on businesses while providing new protections for consumers and small businesses. The key change is that “standard form small trade contracts” will now be subject to the unfair contract principle. To understand the significance of this change we first need to identify...

More compliance for Trusts

In my last article, I summarised some of the key changes to Trust Law arising from the Trusts Act 2019, which comes into force on 30 January 2021. One of the key changes. The Act aims to make trusts more accessible and to strengthen the ability of beneficiaries to hold trustees to account. In doing this, the Act increases compliance...

New Trust Act – are you prepared?

On 30 July 2019, the Trust Act 2019 received Royal Assent signalling a modernisation of trust legislation that, given the number of trusts in New Zealand, we should all be aware of. The new Act will replace the Trustee Act 1956 and its purpose is to make the law more accessible to both trustees and beneficiaries of trusts. Significantly the...

Expanding your business? Proceed carefully …

It’s great to see Hawke’s Bay’s economy steaming ahead and to notice lots of positive signs that our business environment is thriving.As your business improves and demand increases you may be thinking about expanding by hiring new staff. Before you start making offers however there have been a number of changes to employment law recently that you need to be...

Business Ownership — preparing your exit strategy

It is common that an aspect of a business owner’s retirement plan is to sell the business and to use the proceeds to fund their retirement. It is important that thought and planning be given to the “exit strategy” so that when it comes time to sell the business, it is in the best shape. This is particularly important in...

Franchising – what’s in the fine print?

Despite being prevalent throughout New Zealand, there is no legislation that governs or regulates franchises, with the result that there is no requirement for the terms of a franchise to be fair and reasonable. What is a Franchise? Every franchise should be a replica of the Franchisor’s business, therefore giving customers of the franchise a consistent experience. The Franchisee gains...

Co-ownership agreements

You should always protect your investments as best you can and your entry into a new business venture is no different. Any new business always starts with good intentions and hope for a positive outcome. However, no matter how strong the bond between you and your business partner(s), every relationship goes through its ups and downs and you should try...

Have You Got the Right Lease?

It is probably fair to say that most small businesses do not own their own premises and, in such situations, it is necessary to “lease” premises. An Agreement to Lease (ATL) is usually the preliminary document, prepared by a commercial real estate agent, that contains the basic information agreed on by the Landlord and Tenant. The formal Deed of Lease...

Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised

It is important for every business to have formal Terms of Trade. When comparing large businesses to small, it’s fair to say the larger the business the more likely it will have written Terms of Trade. While there may be some who have operated for a substantial amount of time without written Terms of Trade and have never had cause...

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

On death a person’s assets form their “estate” which is subject to the wishes or intentions of the deceased’s Will or if they do not have a Will by the “rules on intestacy.” While many would acknowledge that they should have an up-to-date Will, it is surprising how many people do not have a current Will or one at all....