Odoo Accounting Consultant, New Zealand

GST basis, fiscal positions and checking the return

A New Zealand business registered for GST accounts for it on the basis agreed with Inland Revenue, and that choice changes which transactions belong in each return. Odoo can treat taxes on an invoice basis or recognize them when payment is made, using cash basis settings on the tax. Getting this wrong does not cause an error message; it quietly produces the wrong return. So the first step is to confirm your basis with your accountant and set every tax to match.

Then I configure:

• Standard taxes from the New Zealand localization, reviewed rather than accepted as they come, with any extra taxes your accountant wants for reporting.
• Fiscal positions for zero-rated exports and for overseas suppliers, so the correct tax is applied without staff choosing it.
• GST on imports recorded from customs documents in the way your accountant prefers, separate from the supplier invoice.
• Tax report mapping, so the boxes your accountant uses are filled from tagged amounts.

For a test period, I compare Odoo's GST report with a calculation your accountant prepares independently, line by line. Differences are traced to a tax, a fiscal position or a document and corrected before any live return. Whether returns are filed from Odoo or through Inland Revenue's own channel depends on what your version supports; I confirm it rather than assume. More on how Odoo structures taxes sits on my Odoo Accounting page.

Landed costs and stock valuation for importers

Many New Zealand businesses that choose Odoo import most of what they sell or make. A container of goods carries the supplier price plus international freight, insurance, customs duty, clearance and local cartage. In Xero or MYOB those extra costs often went straight to expense accounts, and margins were estimated in a spreadsheet. In Odoo they can be added to stock value and flow into cost of sales when goods are sold.

The decisions I make with your finance lead and accountant:

• Costing method per product category, usually average cost or FIFO for imported goods, chosen with your accountant because it affects reported margins and stock value.
• Automated (perpetual) valuation, so receipts and deliveries post to stock and cost of goods sold accounts as they happen, rather than through periodic journals.
• Landed cost allocation by value, weight, volume or quantity, depending on what reflects each cost best, applied when the freight and duty bills arrive.
• Timing: what happens when goods are sold before the final freight invoice is received, and how late adjustments are handled.
• GST on imports kept out of stock value and claimed as your accountant directs.

I test these with real shipment documents, then compare stock value in Odoo with the ledger at cut-over. The Odoo in New Zealand page covers the wider inventory and production side.

Leaving Xero or MYOB cleanly

Moving finance from Xero or MYOB to Odoo is not a data dump. The aim is a clean starting position that your accountant agrees with, plus enough history for management to compare periods.

The approach I usually recommend:

• Cut over at the end of a GST period, ideally aligned with a month end, so the last return from the old system and the first from Odoo do not overlap.
• Map the chart of accounts from the old file to the Odoo chart, tidying accounts that grew without a plan and replacing tracking categories with analytic accounts or plans where profit by branch or division is needed.
• Load open items: unpaid customer invoices and supplier bills individually, so they can be paid and reconciled in Odoo.
• Load stock as quantities and values that match the balance sheet at cut-over, not just quantities, so valuation starts correctly.
• Bring monthly summary balances for prior periods if comparisons matter, and keep the old file read-only for detail.

Bank reconciliation in Odoo then picks up from the cut-over date. I check whether bank synchronization is available for your New Zealand banks in your version; statement imports work where it is not. Reconciliation models handle recurring items such as fees and card settlements. The ERP data migration service describes the reconciliation evidence I prepare for your accountant.

New Zealand and Australian companies in one ledger

For a trans-Tasman group, Odoo's multi-company design can hold both entities in one database. On the accounting side, that brings real benefits but needs care.

• Separate localizations: the New Zealand company uses New Zealand taxes and its chart, the Australian company uses Australian ones. I check both are configured and tested, not just the home country.
• Intercompany transactions: sales between the companies can create the matching bill automatically. I make sure New Zealand GST and Australian GST are treated correctly on each side and that the currency of the transaction is agreed.
• Intercompany balances and loans held in dedicated accounts on both sides, reconciled monthly, so eliminations are straightforward.
• Group reporting in NZD or AUD: the consolidation tools in Odoo vary between releases and editions, so I check what yours includes, and if it falls short I specify a feed into a reporting tool your accountant already knows.
• Access limited so staff in each country see their own company, while group finance sees both.

If Australian payroll, reporting or compliance needs would push heavy customization into a database the New Zealand team relies on, separate databases feeding consolidation may be safer. I lay out both options with their effect on month-end effort. The multi-company ERP page discusses the trade-offs more broadly.

Community, Enterprise and when Odoo Accounting is the wrong call

Odoo Community includes invoicing and core accounting, but several features finance teams rely on daily, such as parts of bank reconciliation, financial reports, consolidation and some localization reporting, can require Enterprise depending on the release. Teams that stay on Community tend to plug the holes with Odoo Community Association modules. That can work for a capable team, but each module adds upgrade and support work. I list the accounting features you need and where each would come from before the edition is chosen.

Situations where I would not move a New Zealand company's books into Odoo:

• The accountant's practice is built around Xero and the business has little stock. Keeping Xero and improving operations around it may be wiser.
• Payroll is expected inside the ERP. Most New Zealand firms keep a dedicated payroll product and post its journals, so check what your version offers before assuming otherwise.
• The group is standardized on Microsoft, where Dynamics 365 in New Zealand is the natural comparison.

I work remotely, with workshops in your afternoon and progress ready each morning. For wider advice, see my New Zealand ERP consulting page or the New Zealand hub.