Simple Accounting Services is located in a hip urban district lined with French cafes in Wellington. Clients access the workplace through one of those cafes, which serves a steady stream of flat whites to client meetings, up the stairs of a former wool store. It's a long way from Bruce's primary school in Tokomaru, where he shared a classroom with 120 other kids. When Bruce was about 12 years old, his father took a job as a computer programmer in town, and Bruce began attending Palmerston North Boys High School. “It was quite daunting on the first day. We were living by the river and had to ride our bikes all the way through town and through traffic lights. I’d never really seen traffic lights before, so that was a big change.”

 

Bruce played rugby in high school and studied economics, math, English, science, and accounting. Then, when a local firm needed someone to work for them, they turned to Bruce’s accounting teacher to find out who was the greatest at both accounting and computers. “He suggested me,” says Bruce, “which was interesting because I used to wag accounting and physical education classes, and go to work at the garden centre in the afternoons. I thought, well I’ll take the job, and if I don’t like it, then it’ll stand me in good stead for another role. And here I am – it’s just kept going.”

 

Balancing the duties of a major city accounting firm with having his kids on weekends proved to be a challenge. “On Fridays, I needed time off to pick up my children. So I went home to Tash and said, 'Let's start our own firm,' and she replied, 'Let's do it,' and we did - despite the fact that I only had one client at the time." At first, Bruce ran the company from an office in their garage on top of a hill in Wellington, a windy city. The southerly would frequently come whizzing under the roller door, blowing Bruce's papers off his desk.

 

That was the beginning of Simple Accounting Services, a name that accurately defines the company's emphasis. “IT contractors, small retail enterprises, mums and dads with rental properties, and tradespeople are among our clients. The larger Wellington firms with which I worked were interested in handling larger clientele. It felt like there was a gap in the market, so that’s where we went. We try to do good service, fast, and for a good price.”