Christchurch earthquake: Xero offers assistance with accounting

Rod Drury. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Christchurch businesses that lost financial records in the earthquake can recreate them for free by accessing Xero's online accounting platform and importing bank statements into its system.

Xero said yesterday that it would provide free access until June 30 to recreate financial records for the 2011 financial year. Chief executive Rod Drury said many businesses would have lost records because of the cordon and the damage sustained to offices.

"They can't access these details, it's stuck in the business. Some just don't know how to start. People need to start looking at tax and GST refunds, so businesses are going to have to rebuild records.

"Some business may not trade again, but even if you're not trading, businesses need to finish their books."

Businesses will need to access bank transactions between April 1, 2010 and March 31 to produce accurate numbers.

Electronic bank transactions can be imported into Xero and the fast cash coding features within the application can then be used to quickly process data going back 12 months.