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 when she created The Farm Office Team. 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 The Farm Office Team 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 The Farm Office Team 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.
She left us to have a child, worked in a rural accountant's office, and rejoined us in December 2023 after moving back to the North Island.
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 owned a small business.
Prior Gina was in diverse roles in the Agriculture/ Horticulture sectors.
She lives in Masterton with her children.
Gina enjoys bookkeeping, spending time with her family, getting outdoors, and exploring our beautiful country.
Mischa
Meet Mischa, the most loyal office companion on The Farm Office Team. 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.
Bonnie
Meet Bonnie, half of the team's "partners in crime". She as been keeping the office free of tree crickets since 2018. Bonnie spends a lot of time being decorative in the office, where she has her own bed on the second desk.
Clyde
Meet Clyde, the other half of the "partners in crime". Clyde is very chill and very loud. If you hear meowing while on a call, it will be Clyde you are hearing.
Fenna
Meet Fenna, our newest recruit who joined us in September 2024. She has years of training ahead of her, but so far she has proven to be very entertaining and somewhat distracting
The Farm Office
The Farm Office has been helping farmers manage their business finances since 2001. While much has changed since we first opened our doors, our focus has remained the same. We're known for being friendly and helpful. When you sign up with us, we'll tailor a package that meets your farm's needs. We'll ask you questions about your business so we can set you up with the right software and training. The goal is to get you comfortable and confident with your system. We'll help you by phone or email until you feel in control. We work with farmers from all over New Zealand, including backcountry stations, dairy farmers, farm consultants, and agricultural contractors. We love what we do because of the variety and the long-term relationships we build with our clients. The Farm Office is proud to be a gold Farm Focus partner, a silver MYOB partner, and a silver Xero champion partner.
