Agriculture & Horticulture · New Zealand · Farm Operations

You're running a farm all day and a compliance folder all night.

Freshwater farm plans, fertiliser reporting, spray diaries, seasonal staff timesheets, and an invoice you're pretty sure you never sent. Octawerks sorts the admin using the tools you already run, in two weeks, wherever in NZ you farm.

39%
Of NZ farmers did not meet the fertiliser nitrogen reporting rule in 2024. Paperwork missed, not intent. (RNZ / Ministry for the Environment, 2025)
6.4 days
Average time NZ businesses wait past due date to get paid, up 14% year on year. (Experian, 2025)
2 weeks
From first call to first process live. No long projects, no big upfront commitment.
What your week actually looks like

Every farm business running its own books knows this grind.

You are out moving stock or checking the block by 6am. The spray applied yesterday still is not logged in the diary. Casual staff hours from three different people are scrawled on paper, or texted to you in three different formats, and payday is Friday.

Somewhere in your inbox is a processor invoice from six weeks ago you are pretty sure you never actually sent. The freshwater farm plan deadline is next month, and the fertiliser records you need are half in a spreadsheet and half in your head. The council will not care that calving got in the way.

This is not a farming problem. It is a process problem. Small farm businesses running the property and the books cannot keep spray diaries, staff hours, invoicing, and compliance deadlines straight with paper and memory. Every record you do not log today is a record you are guessing at when the deadline lands.

What we sort

Five areas where NZ farm businesses lose the most money and time.

We work with the tools farm businesses already use and remove the manual steps that slow down every week. No new software to buy. No retraining your team.

01
Compliance record-keeping: logged as it happens

Spray diaries, fertiliser and nitrogen reporting, and freshwater farm plan tasks get logged as they happen, with reminders before every deadline, not after the council letter arrives.

02
Seasonal & casual staff timesheets

Hours from casual and seasonal staff get captured on the spot and land ready for payroll. No more reconciling three people's scrawled paper timesheets on a Sunday night.

03
Stock & input tracking

Stock movements, spray applications, and fertiliser inputs get logged once, in the yard or on the block, instead of retyped later at the kitchen table if they get typed up at all.

04
Invoicing & payment follow-up

Invoice to the processor or buyer goes out the day the job is done. NZ businesses wait an average of 6.4 days past due to get paid (Experian, 2025). Farms that invoice on time stop funding their buyer's cash flow out of their own.

05
Supplier & contractor coordination

Bookings for spraying, shearing, contract milking, and deliveries get confirmed and tracked without a string of missed calls and a text you have to dig up to check what was actually agreed.

How it works

First process live in two weeks. No big projects.

Farm businesses are complex and every season brings its own pressure. We do not try to sort everything at once. We start with the one thing costing you the most, usually compliance records or invoicing, prove it works, then build from there.

Step 01

We listen. 30 minutes, free

Tell us how records, staff hours, and invoicing get managed on your farm today. We ask the right questions. No pitch, no obligation. You leave with a clear view of where the hours and money are going.

Step 02

We map your tools and your farm

We identify the one thing to fix first. Usually compliance record-keeping or invoicing turnaround. You get a written plan showing exactly what we will build. No obligation to proceed.

Step 03

We build it. And it runs itself

We connect the tools you already use and remove the manual handoffs. Most farm businesses are up and running within two weeks and ahead of their next compliance deadline within the first month.

Is this right for you?

Built for New Zealand farm businesses with 1 to 15 staff.

You run a family or small farm business, dairy, sheep and beef, or horticulture, anywhere in New Zealand. You are good at farming. The compliance and admin behind the farm is the part that keeps you up at night.

You likely already have tools for accounts and maybe farm records. Those tools are capable of far more than most farm businesses have set them up to do. We connect them, sort the repetitive handoffs, and give you back the hours you spend re-entering spray records, chasing staff hours, and reconciling invoices.

Every unlogged spray application is a record you will wish you had. Every missed reporting deadline is a compliance risk you did not need to take. Every late invoice is a cash flow problem you created for yourself. These are process problems. Process problems have process solutions.

See our services
Common questions

What NZ farm businesses ask us first.

Every farm is different. How can you automate something that changes every season?

We sort the repeatable parts. Spray diary entries, reporting deadline reminders, staff hour capture, the invoice trigger once a job is done. The judgement calls, what to spray, when to sell, stay with you. The repetitive steps that happen every week regardless of season are what we handle.

Can you help with freshwater farm plan or fertiliser reporting deadlines?

Yes. Missed reporting is usually a paperwork problem, not a compliance intent problem. We build tracking and reminders so your records are ready before the deadline, not scrambled together the week it lands.

I already use Xero or a farm records app. Why is the admin still taking so long?

Those tools handle the numbers and records well. But the process between the paddock and the ledger, getting what happened on the farm into the system, is still mostly manual on most farms. We sort that handoff.

What does it cost?

It depends on your operation and which areas you need sorted. We start with a free 30-minute call to understand your setup. From there we tell you exactly what we would build and what it costs, before you commit to anything.

Do you only work with farms near Auckland?

No. Agriculture is a nationwide service for us. We work with farm businesses across New Zealand, remotely. The process is the same wherever you are based.

Free 30-minute call for NZ farm businesses

Every missed reporting deadline is a risk you didn't need to take.

Book a free 30-minute call. Tell us how your records, staff, and invoicing work today. We will tell you honestly what we can sort, what it will save you, and what it costs. Most farm businesses leave with a clear plan, whether they work with us or not.

Choose a time