Your finance team closes the books in Xero, then rebuilds per-production margin in a spreadsheet every wrap
Custom accounting software (or a costing layer on top of Xero) for a Wellington firm runs NZD 70,000 to 240,000 over 4 to 8 months. Build custom when you need job-level cost attribution, grant-tranche revenue, or multi-entity consolidation that Xero can't do natively. Xero and QuickBooks are excellent general ledgers. They can't tell you the true margin on a production whose costs overlap with two others sharing the same crew.
Your Wellington studio or agency runs Xero, and the GST and PAYE returns to IRD are clean. The problem is the question that actually matters: what did this production make? Costs overlap across jobs, a shared editor's time spans three productions, gear hire lands on whichever job the producer remembered, and grant income arrives in tranches that Xero treats as flat deferred revenue. So per-production margin is a spreadsheet someone rebuilds at every wrap, when it's already too late to change anything.
QuickBooks has the same blind spot. These tools are built to be a correct general ledger, not to answer how a project-shaped, overlap-heavy creative business actually made or lost money on each job.
What breaks first in Wellington
- Per-production margin is rebuilt by hand in a spreadsheet at every wrap, always too late to act on
- Shared costs (an editor, a grade suite) land on the wrong job because attribution is manual
- Grant tranches are recognised as flat deferred revenue instead of against delivery milestones
- Multi-entity firms re-key the same transaction into each entity's Xero file
The fix: accounting built for Wellington, not rented
A custom costing layer (or full accounting build) attributes every cost to the right job in real time, recognises grant and milestone revenue the way funders actually pay, and consolidates multiple entities without re-keying. Per-production margin becomes live and final at wrap instead of a late spreadsheet, while GST and PAYE filing to IRD stays correct underneath.
What accounting costs in Wellington
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Costing layer on top of Xero | $70k to $120k | 4 to 5 months |
| With grant revenue and multi-entity | $120k to $190k | 5 to 7 months |
| Full accounting build with IRD filing | $190k to $240k | 6 to 8 months |
The capability list that earns its budget
Accounting services we deliver in Wellington
Digital Heroes builds the full accounting stack for Wellington teams. Typical engagements cover Xero integration, invoicing software, bookkeeping software, financial reporting and accounts payable automation.
Exactly what you get
Either a costing layer that sits on Xero or a full accounting build, attributing every cost to the right job in real time and recognising grant tranches as funders actually pay. Per-production margin is live and final at wrap, multi-entity consolidation stops the re-keying, and IRD filing stays clean underneath. It feeds your ERP, project management software, and business intelligence dashboards so finance and operations finally agree.
How to choose a developer in Wellington
Hire a team that pairs real accounting knowledge with NZ tax, and keep your accountant in the room. Ask them whether a costing layer on Xero or a full ledger fits your case, and to recognise a grant tranche through the books in front of you. Wellington's screen and gov-contract firms live on accurate job margin, so the developer must understand cost attribution, not just bookkeeping.
- !They propose ripping out Xero unnecessarily. Ask whether a costing layer would do.
- !No accountant involved in design. Ask who ensures the build passes audit.
- !They don't understand grant tranches. Ask them to recognise one through the books.
- !No IRD filing experience. Ask for a prior NZ GST or payday-filing integration.
- !They ignore overlapping-job attribution. Ask how a shared editor's time gets costed.
Teams investing in accounting in Wellington usually scope it next to warehouse management, field service management, erp, since these systems share data and budgets.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to replace Xero?
Often not. Many Wellington firms keep Xero as the general ledger and add a custom costing layer that attributes costs to overlapping jobs and recognises grant revenue correctly. A full custom ledger is only needed when Xero genuinely can't be the base.
Why can't Xero attribute costs across productions?
Xero is a general ledger built for clean department-based accounting. It can't natively split a shared editor's time across three overlapping productions or recognise grant tranches against milestones, so per-job margin becomes a manual spreadsheet rebuild.
Does it still file GST and PAYE to IRD?
Yes. Whether it's a costing layer or a full build, IRD integration for GST returns and payday filing stays in place, so compliance is correct underneath the job-costing intelligence.