How much money do I need to start a business in NZ?

This is a more complex question to answer than it might first appear. So much will depend on your intended business type, size, and structure.

It all means you could be paying just a few hundred dollars to get going with a straightforward sole trader setup… or you may need to set aside tens of thousands of dollars for a company that has premises, personnel, and inventory from day one.

What is the minimum cost to start a business in NZ?

So what are typical business start-up costs in New Zealand? Is $5,000 enough to start a business? Is $10,000? Below is a rough estimate guide of what you could expect.

Wait, so does that mean I can start a business in NZ with no money? Yes, especially if you're setting up as a sole trader, using free online tools, and starting from home. While you may still need to cover essentials like opening a business bank account or purchasing a domain name, it's possible to get started with less than $500.

However, the reality is that there is no set answer. It all boils down to the type of costs your business will need to cover. Below is a breakdown of areas you may need to consider.

Breakdown of common startup costs in NZ

Here are some of the costs you can expect when launching an NZ business.

As you will see from the rundown, some of these areas of expenditure will be one-off expenses, not requiring repetition later. Other costs, though, may “recur” throughout your business’s operating lifespan (typically every month).

How much does it cost to register a business in NZ? The costs here will, of course, hinge greatly on the specific business structure that you choose:

• The sole trader (just you) structure tends to be the cheapest – there’s no requirement for a sole trader to register with the NZ Companies Office, and while they need an IRD number, this is free to obtain. Overall, a sole trader’s business structure and registration costs will typically be around $0 to $50.
• Compared to operating as a sole trader, you can normally expect to pay a bit more to establish a limited liability company. This is due to such factors as the need to reserve a company name and incorporate with the Companies Office. Overall, the business structure and registration costs associated with a limited liability company will typically be around $125 to $500.
• If you are interested in starting out as a partnership (you and a mate), a written agreement will be needed. You can purchase a template for this online for as little as $20. Alternatively, you can hire a lawyer to prepare the agreement for you, for around $400 or so. Overall, the business structure and registration costs associated with a partnership will typically be around $100 to $500.

The specific professional licences and business permits that you might need for your business, will largely depend on your specific industry.

If, for instance, your NZ business will be tech or IT-based, you might pursue relevant CompTIA certifications to help demonstrate your skills and knowledge.

Expect to pay: Anything between $0 and $5,000.

Hiring a lawyer can be great for helping you get all the fine legal details of your business structure, trademarks, and contracts right. This could, though, account for a significant chunk of your business setup costs – think around $500 to $1,500 for a fixed-fee service.

Applying for a trademark for your business, meanwhile, will cost $50 to $100 per class.

Then, there will be the need for you to set up with an accountant and/or accounting software platform. One well-known cloud-based accounting software provider that we checked, for instance, offered plans costing as little as $35 per month, or as much as $113 per month.

Expect to pay: These fees vary widely, from approximately $0 to $5,000.

You’re just starting out, so you might be able to depend on your home Internet and utilities to begin with. This could cost you nothing extra on top of your current expenses, or perhaps just a few hundred dollars, depending on whether you need to set up anything new.

If, though, you will need a separate office or retail space, a deposit equivalent to the first few months’ rent may be needed, and perhaps fitout costs. Together, these expenditures could amount to around $5,000 to $20,000.

That’s before you add the costs of electricity, water, and the Internet for your rented space – this could be roughly $100 to $500 per month.

Expect to pay: Around $0 to $50,000, depending on your circumstances, needs, and aspirations for your Kiwi business.

No Aotearoa business can get going without assets and supplies. Fortunately, these might not set you back as much as you anticipate.

An IT consultant could achieve liftoff with a laptop costing just $1,000 to $2,000, for instance, while subscribing to Microsoft 365 for $10 to $20 per month, and paying around $10 to $50 per month for cloud storage.

Again, though, a lot hinges on the specific nature of your business. Physical retail point-of-sale (POS) systems, for example, can cost around $500 to $2,000. If, meanwhile, you need to invest in manufacturing machinery, expenditure of about $5,000 to $10,000 might be incurred.

Expect to pay: Anything between $0 and $10,000 could be possible here.

You’ll struggle to get much traction for your young business if it doesn’t have a professional-looking online “face” from your very first day in operation.

Fortunately, even relatively basic “DIY” sites – using Wix or Shopify, and costing only approximately $20 to $50 per month – can look smart and “do the job”, at least to begin with. A professionally built site, though, will set you back more, up to $5,000.

Don’t forget to grab a memorable domain name for your website! Our domain name checker tool at JumpStarter will make this easier. An .nz, .co.nz, or .kiwi domain name will probably cost you roughly $35 to $100 per year.

As for your business’s social media accounts, it’s free to set up a basic presence on Facebook, X, and other popular platforms. If you intend to use social media ads, though, you can add spending of approximately $50 to $500 per month to your total.

Expect to pay: up to $5,000, the cost varies greatly depending on whether you do it yourself or hire someone.

The marketing of your Kiwi business will, of course, be a recurring one, rather than a mere one-off expense.

While it’s possible to spread the word about a business at relatively little expense, it doesn’t tend to be an entirely free activity:

• A set of flyers and/or business cards, for instance, will probably cost you approximately $100 to $500.
• Logo design and branding, meanwhile, can incur expenditure of around $200 to $2,000.

As we touched on above, social media ads alone can quickly add up as a cost for a new NZ business. The costs of Google Ads can also accumulate, hovering at around $100 to $1,000 per month.

Expect to pay: As little as $0, or as much as $5,000 or so. It’s wise to budget around $200 to $1,000 for your initial burst of digital marketing.

Again, when it comes to insurance, NZ businesses won’t have all the same needs. So, here are some of the most important policies to consider:

• Public liability insurance will protect your business against financial loss arising from accidental injury to other people or damage to their property. Any business could potentially face a public liability claim. So, you might want to set aside approximately $300 to $1,000 per year for this one.
• Professional indemnity insurance will protect you as a professional against financial loss if a client or a third party claims that negligence or errors in your work caused them to suffer damages. It is aimed at professionals who provide a service or advice to their clients. If you need it, expect approximate costs of $500 to $2,000 per year.
• Cyber liability insurance will protect your business against the financial risks and legal costs that incidents of cybercrime, data breaches, and other online threats can bring. You might need to pay around $300 to $1,000 per year for such a policy. 

Expect to pay: Around $2,000 per year, keeping in mind the above might not be your only business insurance cost types.

It’s mandatory – although thankfully free – to apply for an IRD number as an NZ business. It’s free, too, to file income tax if you take the “DIY” approach.

If, however, you opt to file with an accountant to ensure you are always in compliance with your tax obligations, there will naturally be a cost to this. They can help you file for goods and services tax (GST), too, if your business needs to do so.

Expect to pay: Around $100 to $500 is a sensible amount to budget for initial compliance.

Opening a business bank account with a major bank – such as ANZ or Westpac – is typically free. However, you can anticipate being charged fees of around $5 to $20 per month.

Not all NZ businesses need to carry out anti-money laundering (AML) checks. However, the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the AML/CFT Act) obliges certain individuals and organisations to detect and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Entities subject to this law include:

• Financial institutions
• Casinos
• Virtual assets service providers
• Accountants
• Lawyers
• Conveyancers
• High value dealers

It may cost you around $100 to $500 to set up AML checks for your new NZ business.

Expect to pay: Anything between about $0 and $500 for the initial costs associated with setting up a business bank account and arranging for AML checks.

There will be two key planks to your Kiwi business’s initial staffing costs:

• Recruiting the right staff in the first place will typically cost around $500 to $2,000. This is before you account for whatever salary is competitive for each given position – perhaps around $50,000 to $80,000 per year, per employee.
• Training your staff will, again, depend on your industry and the needs of the given role, as well as whatever training, knowledge, and experience the employee already possesses. IT certifications, for instance, might set you back approximately $200 to $500.

You might be able to help reduce some of these costs by running your NZ business on a solo basis initially. Don’t wait so long to start hiring that it hampers your business’s growth prospects, but do try to wait until your revenue stabilises before you begin the recruitment process.

Expect to pay: Setting aside $50 to $500 for personal training is a wise course of action, even if you might be your business’s only worker to begin with.

All manner of unforeseen expenses can easily spring up from nowhere during those delicate early weeks and months of operating an NZ business. Always budget a little more than expected, especially if you’re starting your business with $5,000 or less.

For example, you might suddenly realise that you’ll need to invest in an expensive software upgrade, or a legal dispute might arise that your present insurance doesn’t cover.

Expect to pay: Allocating roughly 20% of your total budget for contingencies is probably ideal. This will amount to around $500 to $2,000 for many people starting a business in NZ.

These figures will vary depending on your business type and industry — but they offer a realistic range of what you might spend when starting a business in NZ.

Launching your dream business can be so much more straightforward with JumpStarter’s help. Take a look at our online resources now, to discover how we can be by your side at every stage.