The business is built around people. Its barbers combine traditional skills with modern styling to give clients a place where they can feel comfortable, look their best and leave with greater confidence.
As the business grew, however, managing multiple locations, a busy team of barbers, contractor payments, wages, bookings and GST became increasingly complex.
The customer-facing side of Boar & Blade was strong, but its financial processes had not kept pace.
When we began working with Boar & Blade, we did not want to be an accountant who simply received the numbers, processed them and moved on.
We wanted to understand the people behind the business, how its barbers worked, how each location operated and where the owners were spending their time and energy.
By taking that interest and looking more closely, we found issues that had previously gone unnoticed. Some contractors who appeared to be required to register for GST had not done so.
This meant their invoicing arrangements needed attention and Boar & Blade had been missing GST credits that may otherwise have been available to the business.
We spoke with the people involved, explained what needed to change and helped get the contractors’ GST registrations and invoicing arrangements in order.
This was not simply a technical exercise. It meant Boar & Blade could stop unnecessarily losing money through a process nobody had previously questioned.
We also reviewed how wages were being calculated and processed. This uncovered errors that had not been identified by the previous accountant.
Boar & Blade had been overpaying wages, with flow-on effects for its reporting and other obligations.
For the owners, discovering this was understandably frustrating. They had trusted that the process was correct and had been making payments based on that advice.
We worked alongside them to understand what had happened, assess its effect and put the process right.
We corrected the wage-processing method, strengthened the checks around payments and helped ensure the same problem would not continue.
That gave the owners something more valuable than a corrected calculation: it gave them confidence that their team would be paid accurately and that the figures leaving the business could be trusted.
With three barbershops and a team working across different locations, the owners already had enough competing for their attention. They should not have needed to chase paperwork or wonder whether important financial issues were being missed.
We used technology to make the flow of information easier and more reliable. Contractor invoices, payroll information and supporting records became easier to access, check and understand.
This created greater visibility across Ponsonby, Wynyard Central and Wellington. It also meant we could identify potential problems earlier, rather than waiting until a tax deadline or the end of the financial year.
Technology improved the process, but communication made the real difference. We kept in touch, explained things in straightforward language and raised concerns when they mattered.
The owners did not have to wait for a formal meeting to find out what was happening. They had someone they could contact, ask questions of and rely on for an honest answer.
The practical results included:
The owners no longer had to assume that everything was correct simply because the numbers had been processed.
They had an adviser who was prepared to look beneath the surface, ask questions and follow an issue through until it was resolved.
They gained greater peace of mind knowing that somebody was paying attention – not just to the accounts, but to the effect those accounts had on their people, their cash flow and the future of the business.
Instead of discovering problems after the damage had been done, the owners could have conversations earlier and make decisions with better information.
Boar & Blade helps people feel confident in how they present themselves. We wanted its owners to feel that same confidence in the business they had worked hard to build.
Our contribution was not limited to correcting GST and payroll. It was about being present, listening carefully and treating the business as if its success genuinely mattered – because it did.
By combining better technology with careful review and more personal communication, we helped give Boar & Blade stronger foundations and its owners more time and confidence to focus on their barbers, their clients and the continued growth of the brand.