EOFY IT Checklist: What NZ Businesses Must Review

Every year it goes the same way. The accountant asks for the figures, someone scrambles to confirm what laptops the business actually owns, and three subscriptions nobody remembers signing up for turn up on the statement. Then the books close and the technology goes back to being ignored until next year.

It does not have to be that way. The same deadline that forces a tidy-up of your books is the ideal moment to tidy up your technology, and doing both at once saves you covering the same ground twice.

This guide is a practical EOFY IT checklist for New Zealand businesses. You will see what to check, what to claim, and what to fix before the books close, so the new year starts clean rather than cluttered.

What Is an EOFY IT Checklist and Why Does It Matter?

An EOFY IT checklist is the set of technology checks you run near your balance date to close off the year. It covers your hardware, your software licences, your support contracts, and your security position, and it feeds clean information to your accountant. The phrase is shorthand for the end of financial year IT review every business should do once a year.

Think of it as the technology version of stocktake. You count what you have, check it still works for the business, and clear out what you no longer use. Done once a year, it stops small problems from building up into expensive ones.

It matters because your IT touches almost every number in your accounts. Hardware appears as assets and depreciation. Software shows up as recurring expenses. Cloud subscriptions, phone plans, and support contracts all sit in your operating costs. If that picture is messy, your accounts are messy too.

A year-end review also surfaces problems while there is still a reason to act on them. Old laptops that should be written off, licences nobody uses, contracts auto-renewing at the wrong price: these get found when someone deliberately looks for them.

When does the financial year actually end in New Zealand?

For most New Zealand businesses the financial year ends on 31 March, the standard balance date set by Inland Revenue. Some businesses use a different date, such as 30 June to line up with Australian operations, or 31 December to follow the calendar year.

Whatever your balance date, the IT review is the same job: a structured look at what you own, what you pay for, and what needs fixing. The timing simply tells you when to do it. Confirm your own balance date with your accountant if you are unsure.

Is this the same as IT budget planning?

No. A year-end review looks backward and tidies up the year that is closing. IT budget planning looks forward and sets your technology spend for the year ahead. The two work best back to back: finish the review, then use what you found to shape next year’s plan.

What Should Be on Your EOFY IT Checklist?

Your EOFY IT checklist should cover six areas: your asset register, software licences, support and service contracts, your security position, backups and recovery, and any unspent budget. Work through each one in order and you will not miss anything important.

The point is not to fix everything in a week. A useful EOFY IT checklist is about looking honestly at each area, writing down what you find, and deciding what gets actioned now and what gets carried into next year’s plan. These six areas are where most New Zealand businesses uncover money, risk, or both.

Tidy up your IT asset register

Start with your IT asset register: the list of every device, server, and major piece of equipment your business owns. Check it is accurate. Note anything that has been retired, lost, or replaced, and flag gear that is past its useful life.

Your accountant needs this list to be right. Assets that no longer exist should not still be sitting on the books, and kit that was bought during the year should be recorded properly. A clean register makes depreciation simpler and your year-end faster.

Run a software licence audit

Pull a full list of every software subscription and licence the business pays for. A proper software licence audit asks two questions of each one: are we actually using it, and are we paying for the right number of seats?

This is where money leaks. A 20-person business can easily carry five seats for staff who left months ago, two tools that do the same job, and a premium plan bought for a project that finished last year. None of it is large on its own, which is exactly why it never gets questioned. Added up across a year, it is real money.

Review your support and service contracts

List your IT support agreement, your internet and phone contracts, and any other recurring service deals. Check the renewal dates and the prices, because this is one line on the EOFY IT checklist that owners skip most often. Auto-renewal is convenient until it locks you into last year’s rate on a service you have outgrown.

How Should You Handle IT Assets and Depreciation Before Year-End?

Before year-end, make sure every IT asset is recorded correctly so your accountant can apply depreciation, write-offs, and any available deductions accurately. Your job is to give them a clean, accurate picture; their job is to apply the tax rules.

This is the part of your EOFY IT checklist where small amounts of preparation translate into real money. Getting your asset records straight before the books close gives your accountant the best chance to claim everything you are entitled to.

That said, a few points are worth knowing so you can flag the right things and time purchases sensibly. Always confirm the detail with your accountant or tax agent, because the rules change and Exodesk does not provide tax advice.

What is the low-value asset write-off?

In New Zealand, business assets that cost $1,000 or less, excluding GST if you are GST registered, can usually be written off in full in the year you buy them rather than depreciated over several years. For IT, that often covers items like a single monitor, a keyboard and mouse set, or a low-cost accessory.

This is useful to know when you are deciding whether to make a small purchase before or after year-end. Your accountant will confirm what qualifies for your situation.

Should you bring forward IT purchases before the balance date?

Sometimes, but only if the spend is genuine. If you already plan to replace ageing devices, doing it before your balance date can bring the deduction into the current year. There is also a 20% Investment Boost deduction available on many new depreciating assets bought from 22 May 2025, which your accountant can explain. A funded alternative is IT hardware leasing, which spreads the cost as a predictable monthly expense instead of a large one-off outlay.

The trap is buying gear you do not need purely to claim a deduction. A deduction returns a fraction of the cost. Spending money you would not otherwise spend is rarely a saving.

What Security and Compliance Items Belong in a Year-End Review?

Your EOFY IT checklist should confirm that your core security controls are in place and working, that your backups can actually be restored, and that any compliance obligations are being met. Security gaps do not respect the financial calendar, but year-end is a reliable prompt to check them.

Can your backups actually be restored?

Only if you have tested a restore. A backup that runs every night can still fail when you need it, so check that yours are running, that they cover the data that matters, and that someone has actually restored from them in the last year. Plenty of businesses only discover their backup was incomplete at the moment they need it. Year-end is a sensible time to run that test while it still costs nothing to find out.

Does your security match your cyber insurance?

Check the policy conditions against what you actually have. Review the basics first: multi-factor authentication on key accounts, current endpoint protection, and staff who can spot a scam. If you hold a cyber policy, read the conditions, because a gap between what your cyber insurance requires and what you actually have in place can void a claim at the worst possible moment.

Do not forget the Windows 10 deadline

If any business devices still run Windows 10, factor that into your year-end thinking. The Windows 10 end of life milestone means those machines stop receiving security updates, which can also affect compliance and insurance. Planning the upgrade now is cheaper and calmer than scrambling later.

What Do Businesses Get Wrong at IT Year-End?

The most common mistake is treating year-end as a purely financial exercise and leaving IT out of it entirely. The accountant closes the books, the technology goes unexamined, and the same hidden costs roll into another year.

A few specific errors show up again and again. Spotting them in advance is the easiest way to make your EOFY IT checklist worth the time instead of another box to tick.

Letting subscriptions auto-renew unchecked

Software and service subscriptions renew quietly in the background. Without a deliberate review, you keep paying for tools nobody opens, seats for staff who have left, and tiers you have long outgrown. A licence audit each year is the simplest fix.

Leaving retired gear on the asset register

Old laptops and servers that have been replaced often stay on the books for years. That distorts your asset picture and makes depreciation harder than it needs to be. Flagging retired kit is a five-minute job that saves your accountant real time.

Treating the review as a one-off

A year-end review works best when it is a regular habit rather than a last-minute scramble. Businesses that run the same checklist every year build a clear record of how their technology and spend change over time. That history makes each year’s review faster and every budget conversation better informed.

How Do You Turn Year-End Findings Into Next Year’s Plan?

Once you have worked through the EOFY IT checklist, take everything it surfaced and sort it into three lists: fix now, budget for next year, and watch. That single step turns a pile of notes into a plan your business can actually act on.

The fix-now list is small and urgent: an unpatched device, an untested backup, an insurance condition you do not meet. The budget list captures larger items like hardware refreshes and project work that belong in next year’s spend, and it doubles as an IT budget review that grounds the next planning round in real findings. The watch list holds things that are fine for now but worth tracking.

Feed it straight into your roadmap

Your year-end findings are the raw material for a forward plan. Pulling them into a technology roadmap gives each item an owner, a rough cost, and a timeframe, so technology decisions stop being last-minute reactions and start lining up with where the business is heading.

Handled this way, one review does two jobs. It closes off the year that is ending and gives you the starting point for the year ahead, so neither has to be done from scratch.

Get Your IT Year-End Sorted Before the Books Close

Exodesk helps Christchurch, Dunedin, and wider South Island businesses work through a complete EOFY IT checklist: tidy asset registers, leaner licence spend, and a clear plan for the year ahead. Our IT consulting team can do the heavy lifting so you and your accountant get an accurate picture.

Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business or connect with us on LinkedIn to stay updated with more insights.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an EOFY IT checklist?

An EOFY IT checklist is a structured list you work through near your balance date to close off your technology for the year. It confirms what hardware and software you own, audits licences and contracts, tests backups, and resolves security gaps before the year closes. The aim is to give your accountant clean information and start the new year without loose ends.

When is the end of the financial year in New Zealand?

For most New Zealand businesses the financial year ends on 31 March, which Inland Revenue calls the standard balance date. A 30 June year-end applies only to some businesses, often those aligned with Australian operations, and 31 December suits those on the calendar year. Check your own balance date with your accountant, then work through your EOFY IT checklist in the weeks before it.

What should be on an EOFY IT checklist?

A good EOFY IT checklist covers six areas: your asset register, software licences, support and service contracts, your security position, backups and recovery, and any unspent budget. Work through each area in turn, record what you find, and decide what gets fixed now versus carried into next year.

How often should a business review its IT?

A full IT review once a year, timed around your balance date, suits most small and medium businesses. Security basics like backups and patching should be checked far more often, ideally monitored continuously, but the wider stocktake of assets, licences, and contracts fits naturally into the EOFY IT checklist. Running it at the same point each year makes the job faster and the comparisons more useful.

Should I buy IT equipment before the end of the financial year?

Only if the purchase is genuine. If you already plan to replace ageing devices, buying before your balance date can bring the deduction into the current year. Avoid buying gear you do not need purely for a deduction, since a deduction only returns part of the cost. Confirm timing with your accountant.

What is the low-value asset write-off in New Zealand?

In New Zealand, business assets costing $1,000 or less, excluding GST if you are GST registered, can usually be expensed in full in the year of purchase rather than depreciated. For IT this often covers smaller items like a monitor or accessory. Your accountant will confirm what qualifies for your business.

How do I clean up my IT asset register?

List every device, server, and major piece of equipment the business owns, then check it against reality. Remove items that have been retired, lost, or replaced, and add anything bought during the year. A clean asset register makes depreciation simpler and speeds up your year-end.

What security checks belong in a year-end review?

Confirm your backups are running and have been test-restored, check multi-factor authentication and endpoint protection are active, and review whether your security matches your cyber insurance conditions. Year-end is also a good prompt to plan around milestones like the Windows 10 end of life deadline.

Is a year-end IT review the same as IT budget planning?

No. A year-end review looks back and tidies up the closing year, while IT budget planning looks forward and sets next year’s technology spend. They work best in sequence: finish the review, then use the findings to shape the plan for the year ahead.

Can Exodesk help with our EOFY IT checklist?

Yes. Exodesk works with Christchurch, Dunedin, and South Island businesses to work through a complete EOFY IT checklist, including asset register tidy-ups, licence audits, security checks, and a forward plan. We coordinate with your accountant so the technology side of your year-end is accurate and stress-free.