Bank Accounts
In the new model all Playcentre funds will be held in a central bank account. This means that centre whānau will not have to deal with changing bank signatories and anti-money laundering requirements and will not have the potential liabilities which may arise with having their name on the centre bank account.
All centre bank accounts and investments will be closed down as part of the transition and the funds transferred to the Playcentre Aotearoa bank account.
GST Returns
In the old operating model, 75 Treasurers had to submit GST returns every 6 months, and 86 had to do them every 2 months. All centres who are registered for GST will be deregistered as part of the transition process.
In the new operating model, only one GST return will be submitted for the whole organisation and this will be done by the Finance team. The GST on expenses for all centres will be claimed, reducing GST-able expenses by 15% for centres which were not registered for GST.
The Ministry of Education are changing their process to only pay GST on income to centres who are registered for GST, so being GST registered will not be a disadvantage. Bulk funding budgets will be adjusted to be GST exclusive.
National Purchasing Accounts
Supplier accounts will be moved into the name of Playcentre Aotearoa once centre whānau complete a Vendor Form. Your Kaimahi can order from these suppliers and the invoice will be processed by our Finance team.
Many centres use supermarket cards. Most require payment by direct debit, which creates complexity when scaled up to 400 centres. Over time, our national suppliers should replace the need for supermarket cards in most cases. If a supermarket card is currently needed to give the centre everything they require, we will transfer the account into the name of Playcentre Aotearoa and the card will continue to be available until the centre no longer needs it.
Playcentre Aotearoa have national accounts with OfficeMax and Mitre10 and your Kaimahi will be able to order most of the supplies you need (e.g. kitchen, cleaning, art, play consumables) through an on-line account. Supplies will be delivered to your centre within centre hours. The invoice will be paid by Playcentre Aotearoa and charged to your centre’s cost centre in Business Central.
National accounts have also been set up for other common supplies, such as Meridian for power and Mitre 10 (hardware and homeware), with work continuing to expand the list of national accounts. This puts the organisation on track to be able to move towards negotiating bulk buying discounts.
An example of regular purchase and national suppliers can be found under “National Purchasing Accounts” on the Centre Purchases page.
Different centres have different needs, especially those centres in rural or isolated communities. Other suppliers will be able to be used where necessary.
Charities
The current charity entities for each centre will be wound up as part of the transition to being a branch. This will remove any liability for current officers. Playcentre Aotearoa (Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi) will be the only charity remaining.
Petty cash
We are looking to phase out the use of petty cash in centres. We recognise that there are some expenses for which cash is still required though, so it will continue until a replacement solution for those particular costs is implemented.
Property
A new process is being put in place for small or regular maintenance items. Property Coordinators will be managing these works to happen immediately. Kaimahi can email [email protected] to identify any minor or regular maintenance works needed
Larger property works need to be submitted for approval as per the current property processes. Work approved by the Property team will then be prioritised. Where work is required to ensure the centre meets legislative and licensing requirements or health and safety, this work will be the highest priority and will be approved.
Replacement or maintenance of existing assets (e.g. roof replacement, repainting, recarpeting) will be scheduled, managed and funded by the Property team.
Other items will be coordinated with the National Grants Team to obtain funding, where possible. If a grant cannot be obtained, these items may be funded by Property, based on their priority. See Property Processes | Playcentre.org.nz for further information.
Expense Claims
Ideally, all purchases will be made through suppliers we have contracts with and will require online ordering in most cases. We know this may not be practical to begin with, so immediate purchases can be done via expense claims submitted to the accounts payable team by set deadlines. Payment dates will be on the 15th and 30th of each month.
An Expense Claim form and process has been set up so whānau can be reimbursed and the cost charged to the centre – see your Kaimahi or Transition Administrator for this.
Centre hire
The Online Booking system for centre hire is currently in the process of being tested so that hires can be managed without the use of email. Until this is fully operational, centres need to continue to follow the current process with the property team.
Centre Hire invoices will be raised by the Accounts Team and sent to hirers for payment.
Funds will be deposited into the Playcentre Aotearoa bank account and credited to the centre’s cost centre in Business Central.
Budgets
The budgeting process for the 2026 financial year will be happening while centres are being transitioned to branches. You will notice changes in the way your budget looks, such as:
- a new chart of accounts,
- removal of GST (if applicable),
- removal of costs such as Xero licences, repairs and maintenance, and other costs that will be nationally funded.
Due to this change, it will make it difficult for centres to compare budgets across years.
Once everyone has been in the new operating model for 12 months, we will have a better understanding of the income and cost profile of each centre. This will allow the process to be more consultative and accurate in the following financial year (FY2027).
NB: Not all centres will have a Kaimahi in place during the budgeting period (May/June 2025).
Tagged Funds
We know that there are cases where your centre whānau may have been saving towards something for your centre. To ensure these funds are available for the purpose intended, there is a process to request these funds to be “tagged” against your centre.
See the Tagged Funds Form.
