New Zealand Outsourced Issue 4

Issue 4 April 2014

NEW ZEALAND

OUTSOURCED work the smarter way

In this issue: Introducing Flourish Outsourcing Ltd Xero feature Client focus — Bookworks

www.flourished.co.nz

Welcome to our ‘mini’ magazine New

Zealand Outsourced

New name and enhanced service You may have noticed we have a new name — Flourish Outsourcing Limited.

Why the change? I wanted a name to reflect the end result of working with us: growth and prosperity. Outsourcing gives businesses the opportunity to flourish, and so the name was born!

Flourish will still provide office and marketing support but my focus is on boosting productivity. When pondering the ‘why’ about Flourish and the services I offer, I kept coming back to the goal of ‘helping people work smarter, not harder’.

Good systems and processes allow businesses to work smoothly, but staff members are sometimes left feeling like they need to be busy being busy, especially when systems have automated part of their role.

My job is to not only advise on the best office systems to use but also on how to get office staff to refocus on the important stuff, rather than fighting fires each day or trying to look busy doing nonessential tasks.

What does productivity mean to me? Work less, play more, and get a better outcome.

The outcome could be more time to spend working on important tasks, getting home on time or increased profitability — ‘working smarter, not harder’ really works.

In this issue I’m focussing on Xero, which in my opinion has been revolutionary in providing a robust, intuitive and powerful accounting system that every business should be using.

Enjoy!

Kiely Buttell

Produced by: Kiely Buttell Flourish Outsourcing Ltd 0800 122 889 kiely@flourished.co.nz

What is all the fuss about?

Most of you will have heard about Xero, either via newspapers or through friends and acquaintances. It is very popular and there is good reason for that.

Xero has led the way in cloud accounting, leaving most of its rivals stuck in the 20th century with their desktop applications. Xero is funky, smart and, above all, user friendly and has definitely made ‘doing the books’ a lot easier and — dare I say it — fun!

As you can probably tell I love working in Xero. I love nothing better than getting the big tick once my accounts are reconciled, and then looking at the myriad of reports that are available to help me track my business.

I have implemented Xero for a number of clients who needed a better way of keeping track of their books and invoicing. It has been especially helpful in the not-for-profit world, where bulk invoicing is the norm and is usually a painfully time-consuming process. Xero has made that a breeze, along with easy to understand reporting.

I quickly realised how Xero could benefit not only my business but also my clients’ businesses, so I undertook the process to become a Certified Xero Adviser. This means that I understand how Xero works, and I can train clients to use it and provide support when needed.

I generally stick to providing clients with the training to do their own books in conjunction with either a bookkeeper or accountant, depending on their needs. If you are looking for a great bookkeeper, head over to page six to find out more about Bookworks, our client focus this issue.

Need more convincing that Xero could work for you? Here are my top five reasons to use Xero:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

It’s easy.

It’s accurate.

It offers heaps of reporting.

Its data is up-to-date, no waiting around.

It’s in the cloud.

What’s wrong with Excel?

A lot of smaller businesses use Excel to invoice and keep track of their books. I did too but there comes a point when you need a system with a bit more grunt and usability to get the job done quickly yet accurately.

There are a number of problems that come with using Excel: • Unless you have a high level of expertise, setting Excel up to track your finances is not easy. Yes you can maintain a simple spreadsheet but analysing those figures is time consuming and often put in the too hard basket.

• Spreadsheets are easily changed, with no traceability. They are also open to errors. Imagine if you or a collegue entered $10,000 instead of $1,000 would you find this easily in a spreadsheet?

• If you have large amounts of data and multiple worksheets, performance can be an issue. The system gets overloaded and can spit the dummy!

• Spreadsheets do not intergrate with other software systems, so you ‘ll be double-handling data.

Why use accounting software?

Cloud based accounting software is accurate and easy-to-use. The programming is all done seemlessly in the background which gives the end user an easy to use and intutitive interface Because it is in the cloud the software can have multiple users, which is great for giivng access to your accountant, book-keeper or key staff members. You can also limit the user access so that not all of your sensitive information is visible. For example you may want a staff member to send invoice but not see your confidential financial information.

All of your data is securely backed up in the cloud, so you could have a catastrophy and lose all of your hardware without losing any of your information.

Reporting is easy — access Profit and Loss, Balance Sheets, and GST reports with the click of a button.

Speedy invoicing

If you send more than ten invoices in a month then using good invoicing software is a must. Not only does it save you time but you’ll also be able to track debtors instantly.

I’m astounded at the number of businesses who take months to send out their invoices. They must have seriously good working capital to not need prompt remittances!.

The likely reason for slow invoicing is that it’s done manually, either in Excel or Word. Each time they process an invoice must be painful! First they need to find contact details, then type in the description, the amount, and work out the GST — gah! Way too much time involved!

With an invoicing software system (such as Xero) the template is done for you. All you’ll need to do is add a logo. You only need to enter a contact in once; the system will recognise the contact when you next go to enter it.

You can set up recurring or inventory items in advance and then access them by a click of a button and the GST amount is worked out for you, either inclusively or exclusively.

The invoice can then be sent via email using the software, or printed and sent via snail mail. You can also set the invoice up so that customers can pay online — there will be a link embedded in the pdf directing them to PayPal or another online merchant. Easy!

Once your invoices are loaded in the system Xero will display on your dashboard those that are overdue (see picture below) making it easy to stay on top of those late payers.

Client Focus

Craig Hibbert — Bookworks Ltd Craig is a bookkeeping whiz. Bookworks has been in business for ten years and with a great team there is nothing ‘books’-related they can’t tackle.

Craig is a qualified Accounting Technician with the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants and also has a Diploma in Business, qualifications that back up his 25-plus years’ experience in business.

Bookkeeping doesn’t need to be confusing, put in the ‘too hard basket’ or be an expensive exercise. Bookworks believe in one simple philosophy: helping you to make sense of your books. With accurate and timely financial information you make better business decisions.

Bookworks believe in value for money and offer a free initial consultation.

They’ll sit down with you and work out what you need.

Some of the services Bookworks typically provides are:

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• Accounting software health checks • Training and support for accounting packages • GST filing • Payroll • Cashflow and budgeting reports • Profit and Loss analysis For more information visit www.bookworks.co.nz or call 03 379 5338

T: 03 379 5338 | M: 021 483 995 PO Box 8906, Christchurch, 8440 www.bookworks.co.nz

Free yourself from admin overload and OUTSOURCE! Let your marketing goals become reality and OUTSOURCE!

WWW.FLOURISHED.CO.NZ 0800 122 889