28/04/2026
10 Years of Primary Accounts: From the Cowshed to the Office 🍾🐄
At the end of this year, Primary Accounts will be 10 years old. But the "why" behind this business didn't start in an office—it started on Farm.
In 2011, after years of working our way through the dairy ranks, we finally bought our own 100 hectare, 200 cow dairy farm in Northland. There was no family help or silver spoons; just years of hard graft to get our own dirt under our feet.
Between 2011 and 2018, we worked hard. We battled through floods, and the kicker was in July 2014, the first cow had just calved and the paddocks, 50% of the farm, turned into salty lakes.
While we were swimming in mud, the Fonterra payout took a dive. We went from $8.40 down to $4.40, and then the crusher: $3.90 💲🤑.
We lived off nothing. We knew exactly what it felt like to check the bank account and wonder how to make the math work.
My youngest had just turned 5, and I made the call to go back to work at an accounting firm. But what I saw there frustrated me. I saw good, hardworking people overpaying for "rubbish" service. I saw business owners who were flying blind, not actually knowing their numbers or how to fix them.
I knew they deserved better. I knew they needed someone who had actually sat at a kitchen table and worried about a $3.90 payout.
So, I started Primary Accounts. Ten years later, I’m still just as passionate about making sure you never overpay for service and that you always know your numbers.
Thanks for being part of the last decade. Here’s to the next one! 🥂
