Beta For accounting students
See the job before you choose it.
The Practice is a game about your first years in a New Zealand accounting practice. Code a client's bank feed, sort the GST, reconcile the bank and check expense claims, with real NZ rules, simplified. Get one wrong and you'll see the right answer, and why, straight away.
- Free while in beta
- Uni, polytech and NCEA
- Real NZ rules
- Any device
Real NZ rules, simplified
The rules you're learning, doing a job.
Everything runs on New Zealand rules: GST at 15% (and 3/23 to take it out), who's registered and who isn't, IRD's deadlines, PAYE, KiwiSaver and the student loan on a payslip, and the 1 April to 31 March tax year. Simplified for play, never dumbed down.
- GST and GST returns
- Cash coding a bank feed
- Bank reconciliations
- Expense claims and the $200 rule
- PAYE, KiwiSaver, student loan
- IRD dates and penalties
Stuck? The Rulebook slides in from the side, and it's searchable. At uni it's your course notes.
Learn by doing
Every mistake comes with the answer, and why.
Week one: Mum does hair from home. A cut and blow-wave is $69 with GST in, and she's been putting 15% aside for the GST. Nana says that's wrong. Who's right?
The $69 already includes GST, so the GST in it is 3/23: $69 × 3 ÷ 23 = $9.00. 15% of $69 is $10.35, which puts aside too much.
Nana is right. Nana is always right.
That's how the whole game works. Your boss's email scores every job, with notes. Get something wrong and next Monday a quick question asks you about it again. Bully, a bulldog clip, gives you a tip the first time you meet each kind of job.
What the job's actually like
Try a year in practice before you sign up for one.
You start in your last semester at uni and sit a final exam. Your mark decides which of three Hamilton practices will offer you a grad job, from $52,000 to $60,000. Then you work your first year, a week at a time.
An inbox of client work against the clock. A treasurer who ticked GST on everything "because GST is good". A boss who reviews you. Month-ends, a visit from IRD, busy season in February and March, and an auditor at the end of the year. A pay packet after PAYE that has to cover the rent. It's the work juniors really do, and it's more fun than you'd think.
Pick up on any device
A week on the bus, another on the laptop.
It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or laptop, with nothing to install. Sign in with your email (a code, no password) and your game follows you. It saves as you go, so you can stop after any week. The full game is about 11 to 14 hours; the short one about 7 to 9.
At school, taking accounting?
The uni weeks start from the accounting equation, assets and liabilities, and GST, with no clock for the first two. A good way to see where the subject can take you.
At uni or polytech?
You'll know the theory. Here's the job: the client file, the deadline, the receipt that doesn't match. Aim for 75% in the exam and Burnham & Out will have you.
Want in?
The Practice is in beta: it isn't released yet, and it's free while we test it. Request to play and you'll get an email when you're let in.
Or leave your details and we'll tell you when it opens to everyone. Running a student society? Tell us in the note: we'd like to hear from you.
Questions
Do I need to have studied accounting?
No. The game starts with four weeks at uni that begin with the accounting equation and GST, and Bully the bulldog clip gives a tip the first time you meet each kind of job. If you're taking accounting at school or uni, a lot of it will look familiar.
Does it count towards NCEA or my qualification?
No. It's a game, not a course, and it doesn't earn credits. It's practice at the work itself, with real New Zealand rules, simplified for play.
Are they real NZ rules?
Yes, simplified: GST at 15% and 3/23, GST registration, IRD deadlines, PAYE, KiwiSaver, the student loan, provisional tax and the 1 April to 31 March tax year. It's a game, so it isn't tax or accounting advice.
What happens when I get something wrong?
You see the right answer and the reason straight away. Your boss's weekly email scores each job with notes, and the next Monday a quick question asks you about it again.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install. Sign in with your email and pick up where you left off on any device.
Is it free?
It's free while it's in beta. The game isn't released yet: request to play the beta, or leave your details to hear when it opens to everyone.
Your first desk is waiting.
No interview, no dress code, and you can make your mistakes here first.