MischaMeet Mischa, the most loyal office companion. She is a very golden white shepherd. Very cuddly, friendly, ball obsessed. Side hustles; being a Canine Friends Therapy Pet and cat police, no cat flights are allowed while she is on duty.
Evelien Baas
Evelien started her business on 1 November 2001. She has a Master of Science in Animal Husbandry from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. During her studies and after her arrival in New Zealand in 2000 she worked as a relief milker on dairy farms.
From 2003 she was a shareholder in an equity partnership for a large dairy farm for 4 years, where she was responsible for reporting to shareholders, financial administration & HR. Evelien has reared calves/grazed cattle (supplied mainly by clients) on her lifestyle block from 2002 until her move to Christchurch in 2015. This practical knowledge about New Zealand farming systems means she has been creating and maintaining annual cash flow budgets for clients since 2003.
Qualifications: MSc in Animal Science, Wageningen University 1994, Diploma in Public Relations NIMA A 2000, MYOB certified consultant 2011, certified member of the Institute of Certified NZ Bookkeepers 2016, Xero Certified consultant 2017, Figured certified 2020, New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association - Certified Payroll Specialist - Level 3 2020.
Evelien has a dog and two cats to keep her company in the office. She loves spending time with family and friends in her spare time, tramping, dancing and horse riding.
Carolyn Bentley
Carolyn joined Farm Office Services in early February 2022.
Carolyn comes with a wealth of payroll experience and a proactive attitude.
The proactive attitude proved essential as she picked up the payroll ins and outs very quickly. The planned gradual transfer of payroll to process to Carolyn was accelerated after only weeks by necessity. Carolyn was thrown in the deep end and swam beautifully.
Carolyn has a son who is now working and living on his own. She loves animals and she has a rescue dog and a cat that keep her company in her home office.
Tramping is Carolyn's way of enjoying the great outdoors and the motivation to stay fit, so she can enjoy her time on the track.
Donna Bentley
Donna joined Farm Office Services in July 2021.
Donna started her career working for accountants for about 18 years. She moved to work for CRS Software (now called Farm Focus) for almost 10 years. After that, she was a small business owner herself for 5 years while doing office work for a number of other businesses.
Donna has two daughters who grew up on a sheep, cattle & deer farm. Donna has spent her life in the Wairarapa where she still lives now. Donna's office companion is a dog.
She enjoys doing bookwork, travelling, and spending time with her family, including doting on her grandchildren.
Gina Lockwood
Gina joined The Farm Office in July 2021 together with Donna.
She left us to work in a rural accountant's office and then rejoined us in December 2023 when she moved back to the North Island. We are very happy to have her back.
Gina started working for Farm Focus in 2014 on the phone support team. She knows all the ins and outs of the Farm Focus software. During that time, she also has been a small business owner.
Before Farm Focus Gina was in diverse roles in the Agriculture/ Horticulture sectors.
She lives on a dairy farm near Masterton with her husband, two children and a dog.
Gina enjoys bookkeeping, spending time with her family, getting outdoors exploring our beautiful country.
The Farm Office
Both the name and emphasis of the company have changed since Evelien started the company in 2001, yet the principles are still the same; helping farmers manage their financial administration.
The Farm Office's policy is to be friendly, and approachable. When we take on a new client we create a customised package that works for you. During a set-up or training, we ask lots of questions about your business and how you run your business, to make sure everything is covered.
The aim is to set your software up correctly so it works for you and to get you confident with your system. We are always available to any of our clients after an initial training or set-up to help by phone or via the Internet until everything is under control.
Current clients vary from backcountry stations, and dairy farmers on the West Coast and in Canterbury, to farm consultants and agricultural contractors. This variety plus the long-standing relationships with many of the clients are the reasons why we love what we do.
The Farm Office is a gold Farm Focus partner, a silver MYOB partner, and a silver Xero champion partner.
