Completing an annual return

Transcript

Duration: 7:51

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Cate, the presenter of this video, is on screen with the New Zealand Companies Office branding in the background.

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Kia ora, I'm Cate, and in this video I will take you through the steps on how to complete an annual return for your company on the Companies Register.

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Screen switches. ‘How to complete an Annual Return for your company on the Companies Register’ appears in the center of the screen.

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Annual returns can be easily forgotten or misunderstood; but if you're a director of a company, understanding what an annual return is, and how to complete one is really important.

An annual return is often confused with the Inland Revenue tax return. However, these are two separate obligations with differing requirements.

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Screen switches to a side-by-side companion view with a line dividing the screen.

Under the Inland Revenue Tax Return heading the screen displays the following: • Summary of income and expenditure Under the ‘Companies Office Annual Return,’ heading the screen displays the following • ‘Confirming the details of your company every year’ and • ‘Not a financial document’ appear.

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The Inland Revenue tax return is a summary of income and expenditure. Whereas the Companies Office annual return is confirming the details of your company every year. The annual return is not a financial document, but it is a public record of information about your company, such as business address and details of directors and shareholders.

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Screen switches back to Cate. She is on the right side of the screen. An image of the Companies Office website is on the left side.

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For your annual return, you will be confirming this information or making the correct changes.

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The website image enlarges to fit the screen. A computer curser moves from the left side of the screen and clicks on the Companies Register navigation button. Screen switches to the Companies Register website.

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For your annual return, you will be confirming this information or making the correct changes. You will need to complete your annual return through your Companies Register account. It involves reviewing and updating any key information about your company to confirm the details are still correct.

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Screen switches to a screenshot of an overdue annual return reminder email from the New Zealand Companies Register.

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To help you remember when your annual return is due, we will send you an email or text reminder. It is important that you keep your user account details up to date to ensure we have the correct email address, and you receive that reminder.

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The screen scrolls up and down the email.

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You will receive the reminder at the beginning of the month your annual return is due. You have until the end of the month to complete it.

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A curser clicks on a button with text reading ‘Click here to file your annual return now.’ The screen switches to the Companies Register login page.

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Once you have received your reminder, follow the link to take you to your RealMe login.

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The screen switches to an enlarged internet search bar. The text ‘www.companies.govt.nz’ is typed in.

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You can also access your account by going directly to the Companies Register website.

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Screen switches to the Companies Register website. A curser moves to click on the RealMe button at the top right side of the screen.

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If you've forgotten your RealMe username or password, click log in on our website and use the forgot username or forgot password links.

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Screen switches to the RealMe logon page.

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As long as you have your email address or phone number that you use to set up your RealMe account, you should be able to reset your login details.

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A cursor points to the words ‘Forgot Username or Forgot Password.’ A cursor selects the Username box and the username ‘TestCateMBIE’ is typed in. The password box is then selected. The password entered in is protected and a series of black dots are shown. The cursor clicks on the orange ‘Log on’ button.

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Remember to use the same RealMe as you used previously or when you registered the company.

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Screen switches to the Companies Office dashboard. A cursor clicks on the company ‘TEST123ABC Limited’ under the My Companies section.

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Once you are logged into your RealMe account, you will be taken to your Companies Register dashboard. It is important to note that you must have authority if you are going to be the one completing your company's annual return.

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Screen switches to the company’s summary page. There is an orange triangle with a white exclamation mark and a warning that the annual return is overdue. There is an orange button labeled ‘FILE ANNUAL RETURN.’

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If you were the one who registered the company, you would have received authority automatically. If you are not the one who registered the company, and you don't see a banner, you do not have authority, and you will need to request authority.

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Screen switches to a zoomed in Companies Register Help Centre webpage. The cursor clicks on the ’Search the help centre’ button.

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Screen switches to a zoomed-in Companies Register search bar. The word ‘authority’ is typed in.

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Check out our help centre on our website for more information about authority.

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Screen switches back to the Companies Office dashboard.

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Here on your dashboard, you will see any tasks that you may need to complete. Here you will find the link to complete your annual return.

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Screen switches back to a zoomed-in Companies Register search bar. ‘test123abc’ is typed into the search bar.

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Screen switches to a ‘Search the Companies Register’ webpage. The company ‘TEST123ABC LIMITED’ is the result from the search. The cursor clicks on the company name. Screen switches to the company’s summary page. The cursor clicks on the orange ‘File annual return’ button

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When you search for your company, you will also see the banner reminding you about your annual return. Click on the ‘file annual return’ orange tab to get started.

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Screen switches to an information page which explains in more detail about the additional information the user could provide if they wish to.

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You will be taken to an information page. This page tells you about the additional information we collect as part of the annual return process. Take your time to read through the messaging. This additional information is optional to provide, and you can skip over it. Once you're read, click on the ‘Continue’ button. If you don't want to see this message again, click on the ‘Do not show me this message again’ button before clicking ‘Continue.’

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The cursor clicks on the check box and then clicks the blue ‘continue’ button. Screen switches to the maintain a company page. The screen scrolls down to show the full page. At the bottom of the screen, there is a blue ‘continue’ button on the right side. The cursor clicks the button.

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On the next page, you will see the additional information that you read about on the previous page. On this page, you will be asked to provide your invoicing details, contact details and trading details. When complete, or if you choose to skip, click the ‘continue’ button at the bottom of the screen.

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Screen switches to the maintain a company page. The header, in yellow text, reads ‘File annual return.’ There is a yellow triangle with a white exclamation mark on the top right side of a box to show that this section requires attention.

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On the file annual return page, take the time to read through all of the information.

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The page scrolls down to reveal the other boxes. They are labeled:  ‘Ultimate holding company,’  ‘Directors,’  ‘Shareholdings,’ and  ‘Annual Return Information.’ Each box has a yellow triangle with a white exclamation mark on the top right side, indicating that they all require attention.

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This is the page where you will confirm the details are still correct.

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The page scrolls back up to the ‘Company addresses’ box. The cursor points to the orange edit button, the screen zooms in, and the cursor moves over to the ‘Confirm as correct’ button.

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If you need to update any of this information, you can first click the orange ‘Edit details’ button in each section, and then click the orange button to confirm as correct. You will notice there are orange exclamation marks on all sections.

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The cursor clicks the ‘Confirm as correct’ button. The yellow triangle changes to a blue circle with a white checkmark in the middle indicating that this section is complete.

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Once confirmed, these will change to blue check marks to show you have completed that section.

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Screen switches the maintain a company page with the yellow header and the yellow triangle

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Let's start at the top of the page, your company's address, check that the information is correct. If you need to make any changes, select the orange ‘Edit’ button and make the necessary changes.

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The mouse clicks on the orange ‘Edit address details’ button. The screen switches to a page where the user can change their company’s email address, phone and mobile number or fax number.

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When you are happy, click the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button.

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Screen switches back to the maintain a company page. The cursor clicks on the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button and the yellow triangle changes to a blue circle with a white check mark. The focus shifts to the next section, labeled ‘Ultimate holding company.’

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In the next section, you will be asked if your company has an ultimate holding company. An ultimate holding company is a company that has a controlling interest in your company. If you are unsure if your company has an ultimate holding company, you should seek professional advice.

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The cursor moves to click on the orange ‘Edit company details’ button. The screen switches to a page to edit the ultimate holding company details. There is a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’ button to select if the company is or isn’t an ultimate hold company. The ‘No’ button is pre-selected.

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By default, ‘No’ will be selected. You'll need to click on the orange ‘edit’ button if you'd like to change this to ‘Yes’.

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Screen switches back to the previous page. The cursor clicks on the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button and the yellow triangle changes to a blue circle. The focus shifts to the next section, labeled ‘Directors’.

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Once you have selected the correct option for your company, click on the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button.

Under the directors section, check that the director's information is correct. You can add edit and remove director details in this section.

Please note that a registered company must have at least one director who lives in New Zealand or is a director of a company registered in Australia. Sometimes you will see a not validated New Zealand address. This just means that the address is not verified by New Zealand postal records. However, if this address is correct, then you can click the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button.

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The cursor clicks on the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button and the yellow triangle changes to a blue circle. The focus shifts to the next section, labeled ‘Shareholdings’.

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Next up is the shareholding information. Once more, check this information to make sure it is correct.

Make any necessary changes using the orange, ‘Edit shareholding’ button or click the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button to move on to the last section.

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The cursor clicks on the orange ‘Confirm as correct’ button and the yellow triangle changes to a blue circle. The focus shifts to the next section, labeled ‘Annual return information.’ The user name is prepopulated in a text box with a drop down box below is for the designation options. The cursor selects ‘Authorised person.’

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In the annual return information section, you will need to confirm your filing month and your designation as the filer. Double check that your name has been prepopulated correctly. Then under designation, select if you are the director or an authorised person.

When you are happy with all of the information on this page, click the ‘File annual return’ button. Remember you won't be able to make any further changes once you've clicked this button.

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The screen switches to the payment page.

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Now it's time to pay. On this page, you will see the breakdown of the fee, the fee amount and how you can pay. Select the payment option you wish to use.

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The cursor selects ‘Internet banking’ in the dropdown box for payment option. Then the cursor moves to click the blue ‘Payment’ button.

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‘Your reference’ refers to what will show up on the bank account used to pay.

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A pop up with the header ‘Transaction accepted’ comes up. There is a blue ‘Continue’ button.

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Once your payment has gone through, you will see a notification on your screen that the payment has been processed. Click the ‘Continue’ button.

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The screen switches to a thank you page indicating that the annual return has been successfully filed.

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You will also receive an email notification confirming that your company's annual return has been completed.

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Screen switches to the presenter, Cate.

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So, there we have it. We have now successfully completed this year's annual return. I hope that this video has cleared a few things up for you.

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Screen switches to the Companies Register website.

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Screen switches to the Companies Register’s help centre.

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But if you are looking for more information, make sure to check out the Companies Register website or the Help Centre.

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Screen switches back to the presenter, Cate.

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As the help centre has lots of useful information and resources, such as how to manage your company and keep director details up to date.

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The screen switches to a dark navy-blue background with the New Zealand Companies Office branding in white in the middle of the page.