Beta For lecturers and teachers
Put your class at the desk.
The Practice is a browser game about the first years of an accounting career in New Zealand. Students code bank feeds, reconcile accounts, check expense claims and answer clients, with real NZ rules, simplified, and feedback on every answer. Use it as a class exercise while it's in beta.
- Free while in beta
- Real NZ rules
- Runs in a browser
- Feedback on every answer
- working weeks (4 at uni)
- 29
- jobs in the inboxes
- 211
- expense claims to check
- 123
- rulebook pages
- 112
- kinds of job
- 10
What it covers
The topics you teach, as the jobs a junior does.
Each rule arrives in the rulebook when the work needs it, and is used straight away on a client's papers. Real NZ rules, simplified for play.
GST
15% on, 3/23 out. Registered or not, what has no GST in it, overseas subscriptions, and a GST return box by box.
Cash coding
A client's bank feed: the right account and the GST on each line, private or business, with a lookup for every payee.
Bank recs
Match the bank to the ledger, explain timing differences, and spot the difference that divides by 9.
Accruals
March costs belong to March. Accruals excluding GST, prepayments, supplier statements and stock cut-off.
PAYE
The payslip against the timesheet, KiwiSaver at 3.5% and 3.5%, the student loan, and payday filing.
Low-value assets
The $1,000 line, repair or capital, the asset register against the invoice, and depreciation by months owned.
Entertainment
The Christmas party at 50%, gifts of food and drink, free food for the public at 100%, and the GST adjustment.
And more
Expense claims and the $200 rule, receipts against invoices, IRD dates and penalties, provisional tax, the shareholder current account.
As a class exercise
Start with the semester. Finish with the exam.
The game opens with a student's last semester at uni: four weeks that walk through every kind of job, the first two with no clock. The rulebook is their course notes. Then a final exam: 20 questions drawn from a bank of 48 across 8 topics, open book, with one resit.
From there, Year 1 is a graduate's first year, a week at a time. On Standard, a working week takes about 20 real minutes; on Relaxed there's no clock at all. It suits a tutorial, a homework run, or a class working through the same week and comparing notes.
Feedback on every answer
Wrong answers explain themselves.
Every mistake shows the right answer and the reason. The boss's weekly email scores each job with notes, and next Monday the first item in the inbox asks about last week's slip again. Bully, a bulldog clip, gives a short tip the first time each kind of job appears.
The game was directed by a New Zealand accountant, and automated tests check that every job can be solved from its own answer key. It's a game, simplified for play, and not tax advice. Your students will still need you.
Considering Not built. Would it be worthwhile?
Classes, and a login for you?
We're considering class groups and teacher logins, so you could run The Practice with a whole class and see how it's going. None of it is built, and we'd rather ask before we build it: would you use it, and what would you need from it? Your answer helps us decide whether it's worth doing, and what comes first.
A class group
Register a class and share a join code. Students join with it.
A teacher login
See each student's progress, marks, and where they're stuck. Reset, nudge or remove students.
Maybe, later
A class leaderboard, and choosing which weeks or topics your class plays.
Bring The Practice to your class.
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. Tell us where you teach, the course or year level, and roughly how many students, and whether class groups and a teacher login would be worthwhile for you, and what you'd need from them. We'll be in touch.
Questions
Can I use it with my class now?
Yes, as a class exercise. Each student requests to play with their own email; while the game is in beta, a person approves new accounts. Leave your details with a note about your class and we'll be in touch.
Can I see my students' progress?
Not yet. We're considering class groups and teacher logins, and we'd like to know if they'd be worthwhile before we build them. For now, students can show you their own results: their exam mark and their boss's weekly reviews. Tell us what you'd need, or vote on the roadmap in the game if you're signed in.
What topics does it cover?
GST (15%, 3/23, registration, returns), cash coding, bank reconciliations, accruals and cut-off, PAYE (with KiwiSaver and the student loan), low-value assets and depreciation, and entertainment at 50%, along with expense claims, provisional tax, IRD deadlines and more. The rulebook has 112 pages.
Is the accounting accurate?
It uses real New Zealand rules, simplified for play. The game was directed by a New Zealand accountant, and an earlier version's content went through a structured NZ tax-accuracy review that the current content follows. Automated tests check every answer can be reached. It's a game, not tax or accounting advice.
Is it suitable for secondary students?
It's set at uni and in a practice, and it starts from the accounting equation, assets and liabilities, and GST, with no clock for the first two weeks. Students taking NCEA accounting will recognise a lot of it. Play the first uni week yourself to judge it for your class.
What does it cost?
It's free while it's in beta. Pricing for schools and universities hasn't been decided.
Try the first week yourself.
It's the quickest way to see if it suits your class. The first two weeks have no clock, so take your time.