XU Magazine - Issue 37 by XU Magazine

The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

ISSUE

magazine COVER STORY

How to maximise value from your app subscriptions Control spiralling costs while increasing efficiency so you deliver top-tier client service

FEATURE ARTICLE

How to stop the stress this tax season

PLUS LOA DS MORE FRO M

Xero Connected Apps

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Issue 37 / 1

TUTORIALS CASE STUDIES INTERVIEWS NEW APPS NEW RELEASES

Blast of in 0202 itt tt #1 job management alte Workfo waa b Bl eRo Same pricing

More functionality

Better

Migration period

Dec 2023 Betae testing

Feb 2024 New product launches

Workfo waa is tanging or tte better 2 / Issue 37

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

26 Ju Xero’s ret

tee ernative ok experience

un 2024 ’s WFMe tires

Greater insights

Jul 2024 Blaste off

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Issue 37 / 3

Welcome to issue 37... magazine

The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Issue 37 Main Contacts CEO: David Hassall (Co-Founder) Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell (Co-Founder) Chief Revenue Officer: Alex Newson Account & Partnership Assistant: Robyn Consterdine Creative Assistant: Aidan McGrath Editorial Translator: Lyla Lezghad Editorial/News Submissions: If you have any editorial content (news, comment, tutorials etc.) that you would like us to consider for inclusion in the next edition of XU Magazine, please email us at editorial@xumagazine.com Advertising: advertising@xumagazine.com E: hello@xumagazine.com W: www.xumagazine.com ‘Xero’ is a trademark of Xero Limited (New Zealand). XU Magazine is collaboratively produced by an independent group of Xero users and is not affiliated in any way with Xero. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © XU Magazine Ltd 2014-2023. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. XU Magazine is published by XU Magazine Ltd (08811842), registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Office 1, Brunswick House, Brunswick Way, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 4BN, United Kingdom. All information contained in this magazine is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. XU Magazine cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant XU Magazine a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all/ any editions of the magazine, including in any physical or digital format, throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither XU Magazine nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. The views expressed in XU Magazine are not necessarily the views of XU Magazine Ltd, its editors or its contributors.

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COVER STORY AutoEntry by Sage How to maximise value from your app subscriptions

Fishbowl An Inventory Success

Story

ApprovalMax Internal Financial Controls with ApprovalMax

CloudPayroll Managing Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) or lieu leave

WorkflowMax by BlueRock Navigating the new: Tips on transitioning from WorkflowMax by Xero to WorkflowMax by BlueRock

Spotlight Reporting Your Guide to Consolidations with Spotlight Reporting

HR Partner 3 Easy Ways to Show Employees You Care

ovolu.com

14 Fishbowl An Inventory Success Story How Fishbowl Revolutionised COYO’s Food & Beverage Inventory Needs

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Datamolino How to fix bottlenecks and make preaccounting faster

Interviews...

Bright Maximising profit: Effective pricing models used by accountants

Expense On Demand How To Modernise Your Expense Management

44 48

48 Sarah Ingram Product Manager Wolters Kluwer

Joiin Building Partnerships

INTERVIEW Wolters Kluwer This is the next-generation in tax and accounting research

Dext Automated Data Extraction

FEATURE ARTICLE AutoEntry by Sage How to beat the tax season crunch

Sonia Dorais CEO Chaser

Tidy Innovation in Practice: A Call to Accountants in the Healthcare Sector

Wolters Kluwer UK How Automation Can Fuel Growth in Smaller Accountancy Practices

80 Kevin Lord General Manager of the UK Firmcheck

Events... Institute for Certified Bookkeepers The 2023 ICB Bookkeepers Summit: Inspiration, Innovation, and Bookkeeper Success

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The World’s Largest Business Show is Back For 2023!

DID YOU KNOW?

XU are now a CPD Corporate Member We have been working closely with the CPD Certification Service to have our articles CPD Certified. As you are reading through the magazine any article that shows the CPD Certified logo has been approved to count

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towards your CPD points. We are really excited to have been able to secure this for our readers as it means all approved articles can now be used towards your CPD points and building up your CPD register.

Look out for any article that shows the CPD Certified logo. It has been approved to count towards your CPD points!

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INTERVIEW Chaser XU Magazine sits down with Chaser CEO Sonia Dorais

GoProposal How to Profit from your Onboarding Process

Tim Hoopman Get Involved with Beyond Blue and Support Mental Health

AdvanceTrack Dispelling GDPR and outsourcing myths

INTERVIEW Firmcheck Checking in with Firmcheck

xpna Stop “Exporting to Excel” - start and end there with xpna

WorkGuru Getting Paid on Time Starts with Sales

ApprovalMax ApprovalMax and Airwallex extend integration availability to Australia and New Zealand

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94 94 96 104

UPDATES AND NEW RELEASES NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS CLASSIFIEDS

Chaser Chaser has helped businesses to collect $5 Billion in 2023

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Cover Story

How to maximise value from your app subscriptions Control spiralling costs while increasing efficiency so you deliver top-tier client service

37 8 / Issue 36

XU XU Magazine Magazine -- The The independent independent news news source source for for users users of of accounting accounting apps apps & & their their ecosystems ecosystems

Cover Story

How to maximise value from your app subscriptions How do you control spiralling costs while increasing efficiency?

The world of business goes through cycles. Given the way the world is right now, most people might suggest we’re experiencing a doom-and-gloom cycle. But it might surprise you to learn that this is incorrect. to research A ccording amongst just under 12,000 worldwide business leaders carried out earlier this year, 71% were confident about the success of their business. This rises to 84% when the respondents were asked to project this out to 12 months’ time. When asked what accounted for this confidence, two responses came out on top with equal weighting: a drive for increased efficiency, and quality of staff. So, it seems two paths might be considered for any business facing challenges in the current economic climate: look both to invest resource in implementing efficiency savings, as well as in the people who make it possible for you to do what you do. There is a key difference between these two options, of course. For sole practitioners, investing in staff is a non-starter, outside of growth plans. For practices with multiple employees, investing in employees—training, recruitment, incentivisation—is a hugely

rewarding process for all involved. But there’s a fiscal cost attached that might not be available at present. However, a drive for increased efficiency is accessible to practices of every size.

@ApprovalMax

@AutoEntry

Brian Carolan, Product Owner, AutoEntry by Sage Brian Carolan is Product Owner at AutoEntry. He has been working at the organisation since before its launch, helping guide the development and success of the world-class accounting automation product. An expert on all matters relating to accounting, Brian has a deep understanding of not only AutoEntry but how customers use it. Brian is dedicated to helping both the product grow and helping customers and users get the most from AutoEntry.

Software as an employee This article is

One of the first things to examine is how you use each app that forms your technology stack. This is far from “We don’t consider the elementary how long the app consideration it might take to might seem. complete a task”

Doing more with what you already have is very attractive—or, in some cases, a need to do more with less, thanks to spiralling costs for everything from the apps we use to the office spaces we rent.

I’ve had a sneak peek at an upcoming book from Natasha Everard, which looks at surviving and thriving as a sole practitioner, and she coins the phrase “software-asan-employee”. This plays on the

For the modern accountant, the software they use represents a significant cost. And it’s never been more necessary to eke every ounce of value from those core, integrated products that you rely upon daily. This might even include switching if an app’s price has steeply increased in a way you can’t justify. Let’s take a deep dive into getting the most value from apps. It’s not nearly as straightforward as you might think.

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Cont...

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Cover Story industry terminology of Softwareas-a-Service (SaaS), of course. But it’s a philosophical viewpoint that creates insight into the best ways for bookkeepers and accountants to use software. Despite widescale predictions in the industry back in the 1970s and 1980s, when the technology first became available, accounting software did not replace accountants. In fact, demand for the accountancy profession continues to be strong, according to research. What we know from these decades of experience is that accounting apps work best when they augment human activity. They’re best when they work alongside us, and take some of the strain. This is what Natasha is hinting at. In treating software quite literally as a kind of employee, you automatically uncover the best ways for it to augment your own work. Just like with an employee, you need to think in terms of assigning the software tasks. And you need to manage the software and its tasks so that it fits with your schedule, and boosts your own personal efficiency, or that of your team.

Ad-hoc apps Compare this to how many of us instinctively use apps. We consider them only in terms of the functionality they offer, and we make use of that functionality in an indiscriminate, as-needed way. This is like having an employee sitting in a corner of the office. They’re ready to take orders, but most of the time they’re sitting around playing Candy Crush on their phone. It’s an inefficiency that most employers wouldn’t tolerate! More than this, when using apps in an ad-hoc way, we don’t consider how long the app might take to complete a task, or whether we can bunch lots of tasks together so that the app can efficiently churn away while we do something else.

morning. (In fact, AutoEntry rarely takes more than a few hours to extract data but these are just examples of how tasks can be scheduled for around a given work pattern.) How Natasha uses AutoEntry is just like asking an employee to process the paperwork by a given deadline, so that she can then do her own work with that data. This maximises her personal efficiency and ensures best value is received from the apps. Deeper understanding But it goes even deeper than this. With a real-world employee, you quickly come to realise where their strengths lie: the things that they’re good at. As time goes on, you’ll get to a point where you’re making the most efficient use of them.

An identical Natasha points out approach needs “Consider benefits that, each Friday, to be taken with like partner she uploads bank apps. You need to programmes statements to ensure you read offered by the AutoEntry so that the manual, or the vendor” the data is ready support website, or and waiting for her the training videos on when she starts work on YouTube. Reach out to the Monday morning. Similarly, she support team to keep abreast of uploads receipts and invoices in what’s new in the app. the afternoon so that the data will be there waiting for her the next Make sure you know every little thing that the software is capable of, so that you’re getting the best value. As I mentioned above, you wouldn’t consider only using 50% of an employee’s skills and time. That would be wasting money, right? So, why ignore huge swathes of the capabilities of the apps you pay for? Apps we use today are typically very mature, in that they’ve been around for years. And month on month throughout that time, features have been added and improved. You need to keep on top of this, because it’s a direct route to increasing your efficiency—for no more than you’re already paying!

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Cover Story This has to be a lifelong, alwayson process. If you’re only using an app for the same-old headline feature that inspired you to signup in the first place then it’s just inefficient. It must be partnered with a constant review of your own working processes, so that you can provide the software with space to create the efficiencies. Again, comparisons to a realworld employee are apt. If you employ a new team member, you wouldn’t keep working in the same way you always have and ignore what they can do for you. You’ll have to adjust what you do, and how you do it. Making use of software features is no different. Review, don’t react

respond to the issue. The advice has to be to review, and not blindly react. Switching software vendors is certainly an option, and I’ll discuss that in a moment. But that must be the end of a decision process, rather than the start of it. Hasty decisions can have severe revenue implications not immediately visible.

I suggest a calm and collected review process to determine the value you get from an app. For example, you should consider support offered for those times you have questions, or run into problems. You’ll almost certainly know that this can vary radically between software vendors. It can mean the difference between spending “Trial the new a week unable to app on your own work because of a business accounting problem, or having to get a feel for it” somebody address that problem within hours or even minutes.

Many accountants have found software costs increasing of late. This is a symptom of the wider cost of living crisis, and is unfortunate for everybody, although further debate is beyond the scope of this article. What we can discuss is how to

Can you afford to spend a week unable to complete an essential task?

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO APP PRICE INCREASES TO TRY AND DETERMINE IF THE VALUE PROPOSITION STILL MAKES SENSE: • How will the app’s pricing scale with your practice and increasing client numbers? In short, how does it fit into your business plan for the coming years?

• How transparent is vendor’s pricing/billing? Is the app’s value obscured by lots of different subscription offerings and seemingly aim only to bamboozle you?

• When was the app’s most recent price increase? How often do they occur? Small yearly increases might be expected, but large increases dropping at seemingly random times will stress your bottom line. It’s not unreasonable to want more predictability.

• Do you have to pay extra to access what you might consider basic and essential features?

Third-party review sites like Trustpilot often highlight how good a product’s support is, so are a good starting point. Consider, too, any integrations. Most people reading this magazine are fans of Xero, but it’s not the only accounting app out there used by clients. QuickBooks remains stubbornly popular, while Sage is a resurgent force in the cloud accounting space. Meanwhile, there are many other accounting apps that clients have a habit of signing-up for. Which do your apps integrate with? The broadest possible selection is a must because otherwise you’re simply creating friction for the client. Consider benefits like partner programmes offered by the software vendor. For example, AutoEntry’s Partner Programme means its partners can get free credits, or even cashback, when “Many practices their clients signhave switched to up for AutoEntry. itemised billing, so Because of this, labour and software some accountants are separate” and bookkeepers actually end-up using AutoEntry for free! Making the switch Sometimes it’s simply best value for you to switch from one app to another. So, how do you go about doing this? To decide on which app to introduce to your processes, the

• Has the software vendor ever moved the goalposts by, for example, entirely rescoping the subscriptions they offer? Cont...

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Issue 37 / 11

Cover Story rules are the same as they ever were. Ask around to see what others use, for example. Enquire with your awarding body, if you have one. Trial the new app on your own business accounting to get a feel for it before you roll it out to clients.

essentially invisible to the client, then it might be tricky making the case for a switch away from software the client has baked into their everyday processes. Ensure you emphasise any new features or ease of use offered by the new app, rather than explaining that you’re trying to save money.

Once you’ve made the choice, decide on the most suitable time Look into data export from the window to make the switch. This old app, and migration features might be at the end of a financial offered by the new app. The year, for example, or at the introduction of the end of a given quarter. GDPR and its right Switching at any other for data portability “It’s often time can be like has made getting possible to trying to change the data out of apps do more with tyres on a moving easier than it once less” car. was. But this doesn’t necessarily make it If yours is a practice easy to get that data with multiple employees into the new app. then ensure there’s a project owner for the process, and KPI Moving data into the new app milestones to ensure you’re might not even be required. For continuing to get the best value. example, an export of all the Training will be required, too. data from the old app might sufficiently satisfy legislation Decide on the most appropriate around retaining financial data for client transition process. For a given period. And if you don’t example, you might choose intend to access this historical to switch just new clients you data in the future, then this might acquire to the new app, while be all that’s needed to remain leaving some older clients on compliant. the older app for the sake of continuity. Alternatively, your Pricing right client migration list might be segmented according to those With increased app pricing, it you know to be tech-savvy, might be necessary to consider compared to those you know to how apps are funded. struggle with technology. Some clients will require more work, Most practices simply integrate while some clients will require the cost of apps into their hardly any. operational costs, as mentioned earlier. Thus, the client remains Consider your communication blissfully unaware of any price plan, too. Nobody likes change increase, no matter how steep, and if yours is a practice that with the obvious downside of integrates the costs of software your practice having simply to into your fees, so that they’re swallow price increases, at least

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until the next yearly client pricing review (and, of course, I’m sure you regularly review prices with all of your clients!). However, many practices have switched to itemised billing, so that costs for labour and software are separate and transparent in invoices. This is great example of how transparency can help solve many client problems. Alternatively, some practices are requesting clients “bring their own software”. In other words, you suggest an app, and they pay vendor direct for that app. You then integrate your software with theirs via the cloud to ensure the data flows freely. Conclusion Considerations around the software used in a practice have always been critical for the bottom line. But recent price increases along with other spiralling costs mean more sophisticated insights are needed in order to drive efficiency gains and ensure value is delivered. The good news is that, with software, it’s often possible to do more with less. It might take a little time to research and adapt processes, but the rewards are always well worth it in the long term.

FIND OUT MORE... Try AutoEntry free or get a demo: autoentry.com

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Issue 37 / 13

An Inventory Success Story How Fishbowl Revolutionised COYO’s Food & Beverage Inventory Needs I

This article is

n a fast-paced consumer goods landscape, where innovation, exceptional customer service and efficient inventory management are the cornerstones of success, COYO, the renowned coconut yoghurt brand, has thrived with the support of Fishbowl inventory management software. This partnership has revolutionized COYO’s operations, marking a remarkable journey towards efficiency, growth, and market leadership. COYO, headquartered on the Sunshine Coast, first implemented Fishbowl during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by erratic shifts in demand and supply. Facing

several business challenges that necessitated a robust inventory management solution, COYO found the answers they were seeking in the Fishbowl inventory management software solution.

@Fishbowl

Craig Scarr, Marketing Director, APAC, Fishbowl Craig Scarr is a marketing professional and business leader with passion and focus to help organisations and leadership teams to generate outstanding results. Craig has extensive experience as a business professional spanning strategic marketing, brand management, partnership development, content, and digital media marketing across a diverse range of industries including FMCG, financial services, not for profit organisations and software solution providers.

two weeks. I can’t really remember how we functioned without Fishbowl. I do remember a lot of spreadsheets. And it was very, very difficult to see where the errors were happening. Fishbowl solved those problems for us.”

One of COYO’s key challenges was to move away Additionally, from spreadsheets, traceability for which often resulted compliance was a Sandra Gosling, Co-Founder, in stock outages critical factor. COYO or excessive stock levels. Sandra Gosling, “Fishbowl has positively COYO co-founder emphasized this impacted the company really by issue, stating, centralising all of our information,” Gosling emphasized. “It’s very, “Prior to Fishbowl, COYO were very important for us. If we have having stock shortages, every one to an issue with the product, time is of the essence to get that information out to the market to solve the issue. And we’ve got, I think four hours, something ridiculously small like that to do that. In the system we were running prior to Fishbowl, that was a problem. Now that can be done in a quick 90 minutes.” Though the transition wasn’t without challenges, COYO received exceptional personalised support during installation and onboarding. Over time, the organisation witnessed a significant transformation.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

“Fishbowl provided great support but it was hard at first. The change management piece was significant. You know, getting people to endorse and use the new system, but then all of a sudden, things started to happen and here we are!” Mrs. Gosling recalls.

COYO’s various departments, fostering cohesiveness. Gosling enthused, “Fishbowl’s impact extends beyond inventory management. It has emerged as an invaluable asset to our entire organization. Sales, logistics, production, finance—we now operate as a unified whole. It has been an immense boon, not to mention the environmentally conscious shift away from mountains of paper.”

productivity facilitated by Fishbowl: “Fishbowl has roughly halved the time it takes to plan our week’s production, and we can achieve the production in at least half the amount of time previously required!”

According to Simon Jupe, Fishbowl Turner also APAC Managing Director, extolled Fishbowl’s “Implementation of inventory contribution to management software can be order placement a transformative process for efficiency: “Now with businesses of all sizes, Furthermore, COYO Fishbowl, we can have George Turner, Production but once businesses has also achieved so much confidence Manager, COYO get past the significant in placing orders. initial change improvements in What used to take us management piece cost management. 1-2 days, with Fishbowl we can now and staff start Christine Buckley, achieve in just 2-3 hours!” Systems becoming avid adopters of the new Accountant at COYO’s remarkable journey, COYO, explained, solution that’s when powered by their partnership with businesses can “You can only work out Fishbowl, is a testament to the product costs based on effectively streamline transformative power Simon Jupe, MD Australia, what you know. With and optimise of innovative inventory Fishbowl Fishbowl, you have the operations, reduce management solutions. The visibility to see everything costs, and boost company’s commitment to and very quickly calculate profitability.” delivering exceptional individual product coconut-based costs.” “All of a sudden the business products remains has real-time visibility into their unwavering, and Moreover, inventory levels, locations, and their success Fishbowl’s audit stock movements. With information story continues to function has in real-time, companies can inspire others in provided COYO make truly informed purchasing, the industry. with full visibility restocking, and order fulfillment into their operations. decisions. This visibility helps Christine shared her prevent stockouts, overstocking, Christine Buckley, Systems associated costs, and customer experience, stating, Accountant, COYO “Before Fishbowl, dissatisfaction.” Mr Jupe said. we’d write off inventory and never really know where we “Since implementing Fishbowl, were at. Now with the Fishbowl COYO has experienced substantial gains in efficiency and workflow audit function, we have full visibility FIND OUT MORE... of who’s doing what & why and we improvement,” says Mrs. Gosling. “With Fishbowl, you get instant can trace everything really easily.” To find out more about visibility, you can trace everything Fishbowl, visit: George Turner, COYO’s back; it’s been a game changer!” accomplished Production fishbowlinventory.com.au The implementation of Fishbowl Manager, celebrated the has seamlessly amalgamated astronomical gains in

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Issue 37 / 15

Internal Financial Controls with ApprovalMax A Guide to the Future of Accounting

@ApprovalMax

Trent McLaren, Accounting Industry Leader Accounting Thought Leader Of the Year, Founder of Journey - SaaS Consultancy for Accounting Tech, CEO From The Trenches - Real Life in Accounting. Ex - Weel, Ignition, Intuit, TOA Global, eWAY

As businesses work to plug leaks in spending in the face of a challenging financial outlook, new accounting technology steps in to tighten the grip on financial controls. a squeeze on W ith company profits,

This article is

businesses are looking for smarter ways to manage their budgets. With that has come greater realisation that internal financial controls have a big part to play. Here we share the trends in how the accounting industry responds to this pressing issue and the accounting technology playing a significant role in this shift in focus. This is the reason for adopting better financial controls Streamlining how businesses buy from suppliers affects the bottom line in more ways than one. A growing emphasis on internal controls offers ways to respond to increased regulatory scrutiny and evolving accounting standards. • Financial information can be trusted – controls ensure financial information’s accuracy, reliability, and integrity. • Assets better protected – businesses can monitor and track the flow of assets, reducing the risk of mismanagement or loss. • Fraud deterrence – separating the roles of approving purchases, receiving goods, and making payments helps prevent employees from misusing

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company funds or diverting assets for personal gain. • Better compliance with regulations – can meet tougher ATO, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and accounting standards around financial reporting and disclosure with more accurate records and simpler auditing procedures. Business and accounting are adapting to pressure with new tech There’s now plenty of tech in the clever accountant and bookkeeper’s scope, from automated accounting systems and data analytics to cloud-based solutions. Different countries are quick to innovate, while others are more cautious. All though are welcoming the tech discussion, and achieving tighter financial controls in a few ways: • Efficiency – Clearer rules and processes enhance accuracy and real-time monitoring. • Risk management – New tech is making it easier to protect finances against fraud, cybercrime, data mishandling and compliance errors. This ultimately enables protection from penalties, legal liabilities, or reputational damage. • Meeting regulatory changes – Stricter financial controls enable

accountants to keep pace with a fast-moving regulation landscape. Rules are changing to meet the challenges of digital innovation, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), data privacy, tax priorities, and financial disclosure and reporting. The benfits of tightening financial approval processes ApprovalMax has satisfied a pent-up demand for tighter financial controls with technology that makes it clearer to assign responsibilities and keep decisionmaking in check. The proper asset management measures work to safeguard and prevent unauthorised use. It facilitates: • Segregation of duties – This is about separating responsibilities and duties among individuals or departments. Businesses can reduce the risk of fraudulent activities by dividing tasks such as authorisation, recordkeeping, custody of assets, and reconciliation. For example, separating the roles of approving purchases, receiving goods, and making payments helps prevent employees from misusing company funds or diverting assets for personal gain. • Documentation of policies

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

and procedures – Financial controls establish clear policy guidelines for cash management, inventory control, and procurement processes. Standardised procedures help ensure consistency, accountability, and compliance with internal policies and external regulations. By documenting these processes, businesses can monitor and track the flow of assets, reducing the risk of mismanagement or loss. • Stricter budget and accountability controls – With clearer approval processes for expenditures, investments, and other asset-related transactions, assets are used for legitimate business

purposes. There is appropriate oversight and accountability. Authorisation levels, budgetary controls, and expenditure limits help prevent unauthorised or excessive spending that could deplete assets or increase the risk of financial loss. • Accuracy and compliance – Automation helps reduce human errors, ensure consistent processes, data protection, and provide real-time visibility into asset movements and transactions. The next step is to investigate technology for more robust controls With the tech comes the solution to fix these pressing issues.

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Accounting firms stand to benefit as much as their clients. The natural next trend is more and more will be adopting these solutions. By staying ahead of technological developments, businesses can maintain a competitive edge, improve operational effectiveness, and ensure their financial controls remain robust in the face of changing business risks.

FIND OUT MORE... How strong are your financial controls? Click here to find out.

Issue 37 / 17

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Issue 37 / 19

Managing Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) or lieu leave This article is

TOIL or M anaging lieu leave enables employees, if allowed by their employer and the award conditions in Australia, to accumulate paid time off in lieu instead of receiving overtime pay, for working extra hours beyond their regular hours. Organisations should develop a clear policy that outlines how TOIL/Lieu Leave is recorded as a credit and then taken as leave. Rules on when it can be taken should be communicated to employees, as some organisations allow flexibility, while others may have restrictions regarding when it can be taken and how much advance notice is required. Many organisations still use manual spreadsheets to track TOIL/Lieu Leave which could cause the organisation to have a range of issues such as incorrect records, loss of data and not paying correctly on termination. In CloudPayroll/iPayroll there is

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the ability to set up specific leave types that employees can apply for. Through their employee kiosk app employees can seek approval of working additional hours to go into TOIL/Lieu Leave credit before they work them. This can avoid any misunderstandings if the employee works additional hours which may not have been approved by their manager. If approved by the manager, the employee will receive an automatic email notification that the credit time has been approved. This will then be added to the TOIL/Lieu Leave balance in the appropriate pay period. By automatically adding hours worked to the balance, leave approvers will have full visibility of the balance enabling them to make appropriate decisions when leave is requested to take time off as TOIL/Lieu Leave. When employees apply to take their TOIL/Lieu leave via their Kiosk app, they select the to and from date/period. If a work profile has been set up for

Joanna Cruickshank, National Sales Manager, CloudPayroll Joanna has been a small business owner, is a qualified accountant and is passionate in helping people get the best payroll solution for their organisation.

employees CloudPayroll/iPayroll will automatically apply normal hours worked for that day/period, although this can be changed by employees, if for instance they wish to take a few hours off for their manager to approve. TOIL/Lieu Leave can be seen to reward employees for their extra effort while maintaining work-life balance and flexibility without costing organisations extra dollars on their payroll. CloudPayroll/ iPayroll makes keeping track of employees balances an easy one.

FIND OUT MORE... For more information, please contact CloudPayroll/iPayroll. Email: sales@cloudpayroll.com.au or sales@ipayroll.co.nz Phone: +61 3 9670 0422 or +64 4 472 2997

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

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“I have been using Datamolino for a few years now, staff love it and clients love it. Easy to use, fast, reliable and accurate.” Andrew Perrett ACCA, TC Group “Speeds up the bookkeeping process, so precious time can be spent on advisory.” Hollie Moore ACCA, BKL

“Support from Datamolino has been awesome. ” Ong Jun Han, Mazars

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Issue 37 / 21

Navigating the new: Tips on transitioning from WorkflowMax by Xero to WorkflowMax by BlueRock F

This article is

or accountants, bookkeepers, and businesses everywhere, change is a constant companion. With the rapid advancements in technology, our tools, methods, and processes have been undergoing a transformative journey. One such significant shift is the migration from WorkflowMax by Xero to WorkflowMax by BlueRock which customers will be contemplating early next year. If you’re reading this, chances are you have clients who have evaluated their options and are on the cusp of this transition. At first glance, migration might seem like a daunting task. But fear not, because the WorkflowMax by BlueRock team is dedicating immense time and resources to ensure that the upcoming change period is nothing short of a breeze for you and your clients.

The rationale behind the move On 23 March 2023, Xero announced that WorkflowMax would be retired on 26 June 2024 and that BlueRock acquired the WorkflowMax brand to build WorkflowMax 2.0. or WorkflowMax by BlueRock. Since then, we’ve been working round the clock gathering user feedback, and planning our development pathways, and we’re now almost 90% through the build and focused on launching a beta version in December 2023.

Chris Galt, Head of Product, WorkflowMax by BlueRock With over 10+ years of implementing and building custom integrations into WorkflowMax, I know its power for SMBs. My mission is to ensure you and your clients feel that impact with our new product.

customer service, and sales. All to ensure that our new customers transitioning from WorkflowMax by Xero get the very best experience and support throughout the migration period and beyond.

Between February and June 2024, the migration window will open for all (who choose) to transition to the enhanced WorkflowMax by BlueRock platform. If you’re wondering, ‘Why make the shift?’, the answer lies in progress. The new platform retains the best of the old In fact, we’ve gone and improves it “We’ve gone from a team of one with a modernised from a team of to almost 40 in a interface and a one to almost matter of months. roadmap including 40 in a matter of Adding key roles many updates and months” across marketing, new features that will partnerships, be ready for go-live. design, product This isn’t just a change; development, product it’s an upgrade. experience, customer success, So how can you best navigate this upgrade? Laying the groundwork: The key to a smooth migration The initial migration stages are all about preparation and planning. Investing time to understand how the migration works can prove invaluable. Dive deep into our resources, watch the migration tutorial, and acquaint yourself with the migration wizard. If you’re uncertain about anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team or partner community. We’re here for you.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Where to start Start by setting clear goals and scope. When do you plan to migrate? Do you foresee any process improvements that could streamline operations in the new application? What outcomes do you anticipate post migration? Map out a detailed migration timeline “New bulk and allocate the mean it actions necessary resources will be easier to – team members, ‘spring clean’ in time, and funds, and the new system” decide if you want to work with an expert implementation partner or advisor. Project tools like WorkflowMax, Asana, or Trello can help you keep tabs on your migration milestones. Establishing Test runs: An essential step these parameters will serve as a compass, ensuring everyone is From February 2024, you’ll be aligned and on the same page. able to set up a trial account on WorkflowMax by BlueRock. We Let the migration wizard do the recommend that all businesses heavy lifting planning to move across spend time exploring the new product There have been many questions and features. Test it out with about ‘What data comes across?’. some real-life job data – the inThe short answer is almost product prompts will show you everything! We’ve developed a what has changed tool called the migration and what’s new. wizard that connects “So customers with your old Check out the the very best get WorkflowMax by performance, experience and Xero account to pull ease of use, support throughout your data into your and integration the migration new account. capabilities.

period”

We’ve built the wizard to transfer everything that’s possible. WorkflowMax by BlueRock comes equipped with bulk actions to help manage your data post migration, so it will be easier and quicker to do the spring clean in the new system. Please note: There are a few elements that won’t make the automatic jump. These include custom reports (you’ll need to rebuild them due to the huge reporting improvements), custom print templates, and third-party integrations that will need to be reconnected and reconfigured. These are straightforward processes, and our team will guide you along the way.

Migration best practice Here are some best practice tips to help with migration. Anticipate downtime: The downtime period is when you temporarily halt operations in your old system while the migration is happening. Essential activities like time entries, invoicing, and purchase order receipting should be completed prior to initiating the migration. The migration could take anywhere from 2 hours to 24 hours, depending on the amount of data to come across, so think about the timing of your migration in relation to the

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peak and slower times in your business. Reconnections: Post migration, you’ll need to reconnect WorkflowMax by BlueRock to your third-party apps like Xero or Google Drive. Don’t forget to make sure all your login details are in a password manager for easy access to make the process quicker. Security first: The user initiating the migration will need to have the necessary privileges (administrator and API access) enabled in your old account to successfully launch the migration. For an added layer of “Our partner security, get your community team to enable provides multi-factor unbelievable authentication value” (MFA) in Xero before the migration. Checks and balances: Review the migration audit and run a handful of tests to ensure the integrity of your data. Going forward: Once migration is complete and you’re happy, all activity should be in the new WorkflowMax by BlueRock account. Changes made in the old system post migration won’t be transferred to the new system.

Cont...

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migration champion within your organisation. This person should be familiar with both platforms and can act as the point of contact for all migration-related queries, ensuring a unified communication channel. The road ahead with WorkflowMax by BlueRock Think of migration not just as a change, but as a fresh start. With WorkflowMax by BlueRock, moving from one system to another opens doors to better use of your tools, adapting them to your needs, and finding new ways to grow. It's not just about making sure everything works; it's about continuing to make things better.

Download the migration guide

Keep your team in the loop Migrations are as much about people as they are about data. Keep your team and stakeholders in the loop throughout the process. Advanced notifications, regular updates, and interactive sessions can preempt apprehensions and foster a sense of collective ownership. Consider nominating a

It’s a great idea to do regular check-ins and training with your team. Make learning about the ins and outs of the platform a regular thing, so everyone can use it to their full potential. And don’t forget about feedback from those using the software. It’s golden. It helps make sure the system gets better and stays relevant to your needs. If your team comes up with any feature ideas or additional improvements, you can send a request to us or join our feature requests forum. We often hear ‘I’m not sure I’m getting the most out of this

system’. If that's how you're feeling, our support and customer success teams are all ears. They're here to help you dig deeper into what WorkflowMax can do, especially once we roll out even more features after launching. Our partner community provides unbelievable value too, so if you’re wanting to get an expert to take care of it all for you, then visit our website to find a partner. We can’t wait to welcome you and your clients to your new home for job management!

FIND OUT MORE... Still want more help and support? Visit our migration made easy page for more information Find an advisor or implementation partner Want to become a partner? Register your interest

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Issue 37 / 25

J¯

Events

The 2023 ICB Bookkeepers Summit: Inspiration, Innovation, and Bookkeeper Success Bookkeepers assemble to be entertained, educated and inspired.

@ICBUK

Elizabeth Carter, Head of Marketing, Institute for Certified Bookkeepers Elizabeth has been working in marketing for longer than is believable. Focussing mainly on B2B tech, she first started working with accountants and bookkeepers a long time ago at PracticeWEB (part of the AccountingWEB/ SIFT portfolio). More recently, Elizabeth worked at Senta and IRIS Software Group, building on strong relationships across the profession, before joining ICB in July 2023.

Xero boss Alex von Schirmeister will be kicking off this year’s Bookkeepers Summit: the only event dedicated to bookkeepers, featuring inspirational guest speakers, industry titans, legislative updates and bookkeeper stories. This article is

2023 theme is ‘Do it T he your way’; a celebration of the fact that there are many ways to be a bookkeeper. Whether you have ambitions to grow your firm, you’re keen to be part of a large team in industry or you’re happy – just as you are – there’s something for every bookkeeper at the Bookkeepers Summit.

Guest speakers

summit. As well as a keynote from “REMEMBER: You This year we’re Alex ander von don’t need to be joined by Schirmeister of an ICB member entrepreneur Xero, attendees to attend. All Sahar Hashemi at the Park bookkeepers are who will share Plaza Hotel will welcome.” insight into her be able to learn journey as founder about pricing from of Coffee Republic and everyone’s favourite 6 Buy Women Built - a campaign Figure Bookkeeper Jo Wood to bring consumer recognition to FICB. Will Farnell will also be women-built brands in the UK. sharing his philosophy on placing bookkeeping at the heart of Bookkeeping Royalty the accountancy function and Chris Downing from Sage will be The luminaries of the exploring the potential impact bookkeeping world will assemble of AI on the lives of the nation’s Cont... for both the in-person and digital bookkeepers.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

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Issue 37 / 27

Events

WHAT TO EXPECT:

The Bookkeepers Summit is a hybrid event, with both in-person and virtual events happening across Global Bookkeeping week. You can choose to join in as much or as little as suits you - but do join in!

Monday 6th November

Weds 8 November

Thursday 9 November

In-person Summit Park Plaza Hotel London

Virtual Tech Day

Virtual Summit

Be in the room where it happens! Join your fellow bookkeepers for a day of talented speakers, actionable insights, and unparalleled possibility. Hot lunch included. Hotel bedroom discount codes are available.

Explore the best tech in the market to enhance your practice and streamline your work with demos from our software partners.

Our virtual summit draws together key industry speakers for practical insight and advice. Offering two tracks GO BIG or STAY STRONG you’ll find the right information for your personal journey.

Book Here

Keep up to date with the latest tech and innovation

for the bookkeeping world. The highlights include awards for new practices, ICB students, large practices and Bookkeeping Personality of the Year. The vendor space is also recognised, with awards for software, financial services and training providers voted for by the ICB membership.

Bookkeeper Stories Be inspired by stories from fellow bookkeepers. Lara Manton MICB will be sharing what it’s like to do the books for a top US Reality show. Bookkeepers Clare Kendall FICB & Laura Murphy MICB PM.Dip will be talking about their top tips for networking and collaboration.

Learn how the brightest software companies are innovating to meet the changing needs of bookkeepers. Our strategic partners Xero, Apron, FreeAgent, IRIS Software Group and Sage are joined by a host of software vendors that are offering a range of innovative solutions.

Key Legislative Updates Everything you need to know about the latest AML legislation from the ICB experts, as well as Tax Updates from Paul Aplin OBE and Rebecca Benneyworth OBE and the latest news from HMRC.

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LUCA Awards: The Oscars of the bookkeeping world Everyone’s favourite part of the Bookkeepers Summit, the LUCA Awards Ceremony is the hotly contested awards ceremony

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more, visit our website https://www.bookkeepers. org.uk/

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR SERIES

Strategies to overcome capacity challenges Are you looking for effective strategies to create capacity within your practice?

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By dedicating time to improve your processes, leverage technology, and better manage your client relationships, you have the power to unlock untapped capacity within your practice.

Watch on-demand now! Scan the QR code for access to two 30-minute practical workshops designed to help you implement key strategies in your practice to increase your capacity, and your bottom line. Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Issue 37 / 29

Your Guide to Consolidations with Spotlight Reporting

@spotlightrep

Matt Kekena, Product Lead, Spotlight Reporting Working closely with customers, Matt drives the product vision, strategy, and experience to help you solve problems and open new opportunities.

New to consolidations in Spotlight Reporting and not sure where to start? We’ll walk you through the basics so you know what to expect along the way. You’ve no doubt heard of consolidation. It’s a part of effective management and essential to providing insightful information to all stakeholders to keep a business scaling. This article is

grow, A sit’sbusinesses often inevitable that additional entities will be needed. Typically these will arise from international expansion into new markets or for legal and risk mitigation. Whatever the reasons, you need to be able to prepare consolidated reports based on their group performance and position. Our team has consolidations down pat, and we want to share our expert-level experience with you. Why Consolidation? First things first, consolidation serves three simple but exact purposes: 1. Consolidations empower stakeholders to get a complete overview of the overall group 2. Consolidation = less paperwork. There’s less effort involved in assessing the overall group’s financial health, i.e. you don’t have to prepare a set of reports for each entity!

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3. Consolidation cuts out all transactions that occur between entities and the parent company. These things essentially cancel each other out. Eliminating these transactions gives a simplified view of business performance. Our CEO and Founder, Richard Francis (FCA), advocates that consolidation needs to be regular, achievable, and scalable. Let’s break that down: • Regular: stakeholders should see regular, up-to-date and accurate information for decision-making. • Achievable: if consolidated accounting was less timeintensive, it would be both costeffective and a win-win for both the preparer and consumer. • Scalable: as entities or currencies are added, they should be able to be easily folded into the existing reporting framework. Sounds easy, right? Depending on yours or your client’s business

model, consolidation can quickly become complicated using traditional methods – we’re talking spreadsheets here, with their manual transposition risk and outdated reporting options. To make consolidation easier on you, we’re going to walk you through the basics of creating a consolidated report in Spotlight Reporting, including the process for importing data, through to visualising and sharing your first report. Using Spotlight Reporting for Consolidations Being able to prepare consolidated reports is a ‘must’ for advisory accountants. Spotlight Reporting was developed to not only provide faster creation of advanced management reports – great for the CFO, CEO Board and/or Advisor – but to present beautiful, understandable outputs. For those needing consolidation functionality, Spotlight Reporting’s products offer ease of use, speed and clarity.

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

1. Making sense of Spotlight Multi vs. Spotlight Reporting Before we get started, let’s talk about the differences between the two Spotlight Reporting products that can be used for consolidation: • Spotlight Reporting was designed for company consolidations. You can use it to consolidate up to 75 entities, and to create consolidated and entity comparative Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports. • Spotlight Multi is more suited for franchises and not-forprofits which need to aggregate up to 500 entities. Along with creating group Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports, you can also rank/benchmark the entities and highlight underperforming entities. 2. Build your first report Building your first report can be daunting, but trust us, it’s easy. I’ve put together a great how-to video (3-min) taking you through the steps to build a consolidated report that will delight your stakeholders. 3. Level-up with these features We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve to enhance your consolidated reports: • Spotlight Reporting will complete multi-currency conversions using xe.com when working in a multicurrency consolidated report. You can view and

edit the exchange rates that Spotlight uses for converting organisations with different currencies into the group report currency. • When you work with a group of companies, there may be situations where one company within the group sells to or buys from another. If you want to adjust your reports to account for these intercompany transactions, you can do this automatically using Eliminations. • You can use categories to filter consolidated reports and compare entities with certain traits. For example, if you run a group report consisting of entities located around the world, you might then want to run a comparative P&L for UK branches only. • Apply Organisation Filters so that you can also gain deeper insights into your consolidated group by filtering an entire report or a single page by an

individual entity (or collection of entities) within the group.

“Super easy and quick to run consolidations with multi currency groups. Really adding value to our clients for 3 way forecasts and scenario analysis.” – Zenaida Bharucha, Stepping Stone

4. Aggregation and benchmarking Aggregation and benchmarking does not have to be a costly, slow and manual process. It should be useful, efficient and transparent. As mentioned earlier, our specialist product called Spotlight Multi can handle aggregation and benchmarking for up to 500 entities. Spotlight Multi facilitates: • Effective, clear reporting at head office, franchisor or accountant/CFO level • Shareable, understandable reports for franchisees, branches or individual entities • Specific, actionable benchmarking, exception reporting and rankings across various KPI’s • Cross-border multi-currency conversion • Narrative observations, highlights and recommendations for open dialogue on performance improvement.

FIND OUT MORE... https://www. spotlightreporting.com/ consolidated-reporting

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Issue 37 / 31

33 Easy Ways to Show Employees You Care The practical side to building a positive employee culture

@HRPartner

Amanda Rivera, Communications Champion, HR Partner Amanda is a communication specialist who is passionate about helping businesses run more efficiently with HR solutions. Her goal is to make it easier to create workplaces environments where employees can thrive, while also meeting business goals.

You might spend a large portion of your time thinking about your employees, but do they even know you care? most successful A sbusiness operators

This article is

know, the real game-changers behind successful companies, are the people. The old playbook of merely meeting basic employee needs is outdated and the modern workforce demands flexibility, inclusivity, and a genuine emphasis on well-being. In other words, employees need to know you care! To ensure a business’s competitive edge, we need to ensure teams feel valued and cared for, so they can do their best work and allow the company to thrive. But how exactly do you show your employees that they are vital parts of the organisation?

and care towards employees. After all, performance reviews aren’t just about ticking boxes; they are opportunities to foster development, align goals, and strengthen relationships. Consider implementing the following practices: • Regular and Consistent Feedback: Don’t wait for annual reviews; create a continuous feedback loop, enabling real-time adjustments and improvements. This goes for employees too – if your employer isn’t implementing regular reviews, implement

them yourself and make time on the calendar. • Two-Way Communication: Encourage employees to share their perspectives, ensuring that reviews are not just a top-down process but a collaborative effort to drive everyone’s career growth and thrive together. • Objective Assessments: Encourage employees to share their perspectives, ensuring that reviews are not just a top-down process but a collaborative effort to drive everyone’s career growth and thrive together.

Let’s explore three simple ways to show your team they’re truly valued. 1. Recognise Employees with Easy Performance Reviews Holding regular and valuable performance reviews is a great start to helping your employees grow. Although you might think that employees would prefer to skip their review, the reality is that a lack of review process can indicate a lack of commitment

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

thrive in hands-on workshops or in-person conferences. By offering a variety of training formats and pathways, employees can choose what suits them best. - Flexible Work Arrangements: Recognise that employees have different needs due to personal commitments, family dynamics, or preferred work patterns. Offering options like remote work or flexible hours can cater to these individual preferences. 2. Celebrate Employee Milestones

3. Invest in an HR System for Your People

Recognising and celebrating milestones, whether birthdays, work anniversaries, or significant achievements, sends a strong message that you value your employees as individuals. Here’s how to make these celebrations meaningful:

Just as financial systems are critical for managing a company’s monetary resources, a robust HR system is essential for managing your employees. Imagine having a centralised hub that can handle everything from recruitment and onboarding to employee development and well-being – Your business might thrive!

• Acknowledge Individuality: Personalise celebrations to reflect what’s meaningful to each employee. Make birthdays, work anniversaries, or project completions shine with individualised messages and rewards. • Create a Culture of Recognition: Foster a community where peers celebrate each other, enhancing camaraderie. Make sure to implement a system where employees can easily praise each other for good work, enhancing the sense of team unity and shared success.

Here’s what you can do when you have an organised HR management system: • Personalise Employee Experiences: Tailor programs or benefits to meet individual needs, showing that you recognise and value their uniqueness. What could this look like? Here are a few examples: - Customised Learning and Development: Not everyone learns the same way. Some might prefer online courses, while others

- Personalised Benefits: Allow employees to pick and choose from a range of benefits that suit their individual needs. For instance, younger employees might prioritise student loan assistance, while older ones might focus more on retirement planning or healthcare options. • Streamline Processes: Cut through administrative burdens, allowing more time for meaningful human interactions and employee growth.Do you have an open role within the company? You may be looking externally when your perfect candidate is sitting right next to you. By having a robust HR system for your employees, you can easily see their previous skills and experience that may make them perfect for an open position. By having employee profiles that include their ambitions, strengths, interests, and past experience, they can pave their own career path within the company. And this

• Invest in Meaningful Rewards: From personalised gifts to extra time off, ensure that rewards resonate with employees’ preferences and values. Tangible rewards still hold a special place. Track and manage these tokens of appreciation, ensuring that your gratitude doesn’t just get spoken; it gets shown. • A tool like HR Partner makes it easy to keep on top of milestones like employee birthdays and anniversaries. Cont...

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Issue 37 / 33

saves you time and money on management system for a lengthy recruitment process! your employees can help It’s a win-win for everyone.With with open communication. HR management platforms like You can better ensure that HR Partner, you can easily see messages and announcements employee profiles to track their from leadership are reaching growth, see their skills beyond everyone in the company. their current role, and Additionally, you so much more. can promote “Creating a Maybe you recruit open dialogue workplace where externally? across teams and employees feel The Applicant departments to cared for is not Tracking System share news and a fleeting trend; within HR updates to ensure Partner makes everyone is aligned it’s a business recruiting efficient and informed imperative.” by using email on what’s going on templates, defined throughout the company. stages, and the ability to add the successful applicant as a Most importantly, the message new employee. that having an HR system sends to employees is powerful! It • Provide Transparency and shows that you value your team Open Communication: members at least as much as Transparency in the workplace other parts of the business where means being open, honest, you have proper systems in place. and straightforward about company operations, decisions, To build a thriving, engaged and communications. When workforce, the right tools and employers are transparent, practices are key. By investing employees tend to trust in an HR system like HR them more, which can lead to Partner, holding meaningful increased morale, engagement, performance reviews, and and retention.Having an HR celebrating milestones,

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you’re showing employees that you see and value them as individuals. In turn, this commitment to their success and well-being can translate into a more engaged, loyal, and productive team. Creating a workplace where employees feel cared for is not a fleeting trend; it’s a business imperative. Start these practices today, and watch how they transform not only your employees’ experience but your organisation’s success as well.

FIND OUT MORE... Does your company use an HR system you love? Are you running a team of 20-500 people? HR Partner helps you streamline your HR Processes and get all your employee information in one place. Book a free demo today to see for yourself: www.hrpartner.io/demo

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

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Issue 37 / 35

How to fix bottlenecks and make preaccounting faster

The pre-accounting phase can create many bottlenecks in accountants’ daily workflow. Here are some tactics on how to mitigate them.

This article is

pre-accounting phase T he encompasses various tasks that accountants and bookkeepers must complete before transactions are officially recorded in the accounting system, including document collection, data entry, data validation, coding, categorization, and approvals. Each of these steps can create bottlenecks in accountants’ and bookkeepers’ daily workflows, whether during manual data entry and validation or dayto-day interactions between accounts payable teams and other departments or clients. I’m sure you’re familiar with at least one or two of these common issues: • Misplaced or chaotic paperwork • Lack of a standardized accounts payable process

• Time-consuming manual administrative tasks • Inefficient approval workflows and slow payment processing • Lack of centralized data, leading to communication issues between AP teams and other stakeholders • Duplicate payments due to data entry errors • Invoice matching errors All of these call for automation or, at least, optimization. The good news is that these bottlenecks can be mitigated by improving collaboration and streamlining workflows among all stakeholders involved. Let me share a few tactics for how your team can automate and optimize specific problematic tasks, preventing bottlenecks from affecting your business. I hope you’ll walk away inspired.

@datamolino

Lu Jakubac, Customer Success Lead, Datamolino Lu is at the heart of Datamolino’s client experience, diving deep into onboarding and cultivating lasting relationships. She loves working directly with clients, truly understanding their needs, and figuring out how Datamolino can help. She’s driven by meaningful solutions, not just ticking boxes. For Lu, it’s about the tool and the people using it.companies.

1. Eliminate paper clutter Paper invoices or receipts may get misplaced, or make it hard to find information fast. Instead of heaps of paper, digitize all records. Going paperless makes things simpler, saving time and effort for the accounts payable team and other departments when searching for invoices. In digital form, you can find your documents faster, without the need for looking through papers in binders or shuffling paper on your desk. Simply scan every paper invoice or receipt using an app like Datamolino. Your clients can actually do them by themselves. More in the next point. 2. Streamline document collection Digitizing your financial documents allows for more streamlined document collection. Bookkeeping automation tools like Datamolino let you or your clients import invoices via multiple platforms, from anywhere basically - either by web app, email or mobile app for easy scanning of invoices or receipts on the go. Your clients or suppliers can simply snap a picture with their phones using the mobile app and upload it or forward documents by email in just a few clicks.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Not only does this make the data easy to access for anyone who needs it, but it also makes maintaining data consistency straightforward. In Datamolino, you can invite as many users as you want to collaborate with. You can grant access to specific folders, ensuring data visibility tailored to each person. 4. Automate data entry

When documents are collected digitally, your clients are able to import all documents continuously throughout the month. In Datamolino, each folder gets assigned a unique email address, so your client can easily forward their email invoices for processing as soon as they receive them. This makes a world of difference as it helps ensure you will not have to hunt your client for remaining paperwork at the last minute. 3. Centralize all data on a cloudbased platform Whether you’re working individually or as part of the team, having one centralized platform for all accounts payable data is great help for improving paperwork management, data consistency and keeping everyone involved on the same page. With documents stored in the cloud, nothing gets lost or misfiled. Any document can be uploaded, copied, sent and downloaded in seconds without the need for costly and time consuming snail mail or physical archiving services. Everything is searchable and retrievable in seconds - from anywhere, at any time.

Reducing manual work in your accounts payable processes is essential to minimize errors and save time. Bookkeeping automation softwares can automatically extract data from your invoices, bills, receipts and bank statements. Just upload your financial documents to a tool like Datamolino and in a fraction of time, all data is accurately captured and ready to be exported. You no longer have to worry about mistakes in the matching and reconciling processes, or missing errors that would’ve been costly. With fewer manual tasks, you and your team can focus on more meaningful work, such as collaborating with other departments, or advisory.

automation tools like Datamolino offer features like approval structure, folder notes, and comments. For example, you can easily approve purchase bills with a single click before exporting them to your accounting software. One use case involves clientaccountant collaboration, where clients confirm the validity of invoices to be imported. In larger accounting firms, this feature enhances workflow visibility. Junior staff prepare invoices, which senior staff review for formal mistakes. Rejected invoices include a ‘rejection reason,’ facilitating a learning process for improvement.

FIND OUT MORE...

5. Build better approval workflows Having one single platform where you store all accounts payable data also allows you to collaborate better across multiple departments. Accounting

Learn more about Datamolino here: https://www.datamolino. com/

Datamolino offers a dashboard with a clear overview of all transactions. All invoices, bills, receipts sit digitized under one roof, neatly organized. Plus, your whole team can collaborate together in one place.

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Issue 37 / 37

Maximising profit: Effective pricing models used by accountants

@brightsg_

Alexander Schwendtner, CRO, Bright Alexander is the Chief Revenue Officer at Bright, a leading provider of accounting, payroll, corporate governance, practice management and tax solutions to accounting firms across the UK and Ireland.

This article explores popular accounting pricing models, their pros and cons, and how to pick one that aligns with your firm’s goals. isn’t just about P ricing covering your costs and

This article is

making a profit – it’s about valuing your expertise and sending a clear message to your clients about what they can expect from you. So, let’s dissect the advantages and shortfalls of some of the most popular pricing models, so you can decide which model fits your firm best.

Turning guesswork into strategy Hourly Rate – Charging by the hour is by far the most popular billing strategy amongst accountants. It can

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provide flexibility to cover any unpredictability and allows clients to see exactly how much time is being spent on tasks.

to determine your price. Many clients prefer a fixed fee. It also means you’ll try to be as efficient as possible.

Hourly billing however, can tend to focus more on the efforts, inputs, and activities rather than the results and value delivered. It can also be difficult to track exactly how long you’re spending on a client, which means income can fluctuate.

The major downside to fixedfee pricing is that while income remains fixed, costs may not be. A fixed-price contract may increase the risk of operating at a loss.

Fixed Fee – Charging a fixed fee is a common pricing model that lets businesses control costs. This method involves taking what it costs to provide a service and adding a suitable percentage

Cost Plus Pricing – This pricing strategy involves charging clients for every cost associated with a job and adding a specified percentage to achieve your profit. Cost-plus pricing is simplistic and predictable, and it allows you to have total control over what you charge for your services.

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

The biggest downfall of a costplus pricing model is that it disregards clients’ budgets and ignores market demand and competition. Regular Retainer – Charging a monthly or annual retainer allows for more financial predictability than other pricing models, as well as improved cash flow, and longterm client relationships. Charging regular retainers allows you to bundle up your services into different packages to help clients pick one that best suits their needs. However, there can be limitations on earning potential due to time commitments to existing clients and you risk not being fully compensated if the

work goes beyond the agreed scope. Value-Plus Pricing – Value-plus pricing is a customer-focused model, based on the perceived value of products rather than cost. It is often influenced by what competitors are charging. This pricing model emphasises what each customer is willing to pay, focusing on the worth of the service to the customer, rather than the cost of providing it. With value-plus pricing, it can be challenging to accurately determine the value of a service, as each client’s needs and perception of value can vary. The perceived value of services can also change over time due

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to many different factors – so prepare for regular price reviews.

Choosing your pricing model Each pricing model carries its unique benefits and challenges. Your choice should reflect your firm’s ethos, operational structure, and the value you wish to convey to your clients.

FIND OUT MORE... Decided on your pricing model? Learn how to set consistent fees with BrightPropose: BrightPropose Demo

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How To Modernise Your Expense Management A guide for business owners looking to improve their expense management practices.

Effective expense management is crucial when it comes to ensuring the long-term success of a

@ExpenseOnDemand

Sidd Nigam, Director, Expense On Demand Sidd is a seasoned professional with a strong background in managing diverse strategic partnerships, including sales, product development, channel partnerships, engineering, operations, legal, and marketing. His expertise lies in boosting revenue through post-sales partnerships, utilising effective go-to-market strategies, and optimising customer and partner experiences.

business.

This article is

to a recent A ccording study, 64% of small businesses face financial challenges which limit their success. Effective expense management is key to improving their financial situation in these scenarios. After all, expense management enables business owners to make smarter financial decisions, especially when looking to cut costs and increase revenue. Given the current economic climate, effective expense management is more crucial than ever. Despite this, many businesses rely on outdated practices. Why is expense management important for small businesses? An accurate and modernised expense management policy is crucial because it often reflects in a business’s bottom line. When expenses are mishandled, vital cost-cutting opportunities are missed out on, money doesn’t stretch quite as far, and compliance is put at risk. This can lead to a series of issues. Why do businesses struggle to manage their expenses? There are many reasons why

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businesses may struggle to effectively manage their expenses. Firstly, the rising cost of living is often reflected in business expenses, with everything from travel to office supplies increasing. As such, businesses that were previously performing well financially may be feeling the pinch. However, a lack of clear policy is often the biggest culprit behind mismanaged finances, so too is failing to use time-saving automation technology. This means human error plays a huge role in how expenses are recorded and managed, often leading to avoidable mistakes. The truth is the majority of employees are not trained in financial management, which means they are less likely to be able to handle this work independently.

Fortunately, there are many ways in which businesses can modernise this practice, ensuring that they are handling their finances correctly moving forward, including using technology such as Expense On Demand, pioneered by global director Sidd Nigam. How to modernise your expense management. 1. Have a clear policy in place. The first step towards modernising expense management processes is having a clear policy in place. For example, this document should clearly outline what does (and does) not qualify as a work expense to avoid confusion. Otherwise, companies may face an onslaught of expense bills for

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

unrelated costs. Guidance should also be provided on how to reclaim expenses and what supporting documents must be presented during this stage. Again, this will help to ensure compliance across the board. This will also serve to manage employee’s expectations relating to reimbursements, avoiding potential conflict. In any case, it’s best to keep the policy as simple and straightforward as possible and free from complicated legal or financial jargon. This document should be easily accessible to all employees so they can refer back to it as necessary. 2. Split expenses into different categories. Splitting expenses into different categories can also help to modernise your expense management policy instead of using “business expenses” as a blanket term for numerous different costs. Typical business expense categories could include: • Operating Expenses • Travel Expenses • Marketing & Advertising Expenses • Client Entertainment Expenses • Administrative Expenses In addition to categorising expenses, business owners must also dictate how much money can be spent on each expense.

even controls in many instances are lax, because the accounting & compliance is done post the expenditure. Instead, businesses should consider giving employees a cash advance, paid directly into their bank account. Here they use their personal credit card to pay for expenses. The upside of this approach is that the employee must spend within the expense policy, and can also collect points on their card, and use it for holiday, etc. ExpenseOnDemand, manages the risk, where the advance given can be a percentage of salary or another amount. The spend is tracked in real time, against the advance. Most importantly, the employee cannot request more than the policy limit. Our AI displays their spending pattern v/s others, which can then be used to increase or decrease their advance amount. This gives employees a greater opportunity to be in charge of financial decisions, when they have to account for them. This makes it easier for owners to track spending and enforce policy, and also deliver a perk which all employees love - at no cost!.

ExpenseOnDemand was built to simplify the expense management process by creating one centralised platform for small businesses to manage expenses, control spending, and ensure compliance across the board. By automating the process of filing and managing expenses, staying on top of spending has never been easier. In addition to sourcing the right software, it’s crucial that business owners also use the technology in the right way. All employees should receive the appropriate training beforehand. This will ensure that it’s being utilised correctly. Furthermore, if certain legacy systems or practices have been utilised for years, the transition into new software may take some time and training and demonstrations can ease this gap.

4. Use Software. Working to track expenses manually can be time-consuming and often leads to mistakes. Something as simple as a datainput typo can lead to problems and confusion. Companies should look to automate this process by using the latest expense management tools and software, such as ExpenseOnDemand.

3. Discuss payment methods. Many businesses give their employees business credit cards. Not only is there a cost to this, but

technology is a business owner’s biggest asset. After all, it can automate and simplify tasks that would otherwise be timeconsuming and stress-inducing. However, businesses must be able to choose the best software for their team and business as a whole - especially when it comes to expense management.

There’s a better way to tackle expense management:

How to use Expense Management Software. In the modern working landscape,

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Book A Demo

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Building Partnerships Strong, meaningful partnerships drive Joiin’s next growth phase. Whether collaborating with customers, app vendors supporting each other, or affiliate partners spreading the word, strong partnerships offer the keys to success. I started at Joiin, we W hen had quite a rudimentary, This article is

minimum-value product but tons of ambition to get more customers on board. Over the last few years, our product and customer base has grown exponentially, organically. But what excites me, as Joiin heads into the next growth phase, is how interconnected all our work has become. For example, at Joiin, we continue to work alongside our customers to develop our product. At the same time, our collaborations with other app vendors feed into product development initiatives and help customers decide on the best tech stack for them; all the while, our expanding network of affiliates spreads the word, bringing in more customers and tech partners. And so this productivity loop continues.

For readers currently building their businesses or supporting others in the process, the idea of work interconnecting isn’t going to break any new ground. However, a product-led approach may be a unique proposition for many. Being product-led and using this approach to drive growth means our entire company comes together to create a product that people want to buy and then stick with. It also guides our belief that we must continuously find new and different ways to engage with key people around our product and make all this work interconnect.

@joiinreporting

Paul Shipway, Chief Commercial Officer, Joiin Paul Shipway is the CCO at Joiin – the Xero consolidated reporting app. Having grown businesses from start-up to exit and supported others in doing the same, Paul deeply understands the many challenges business owners and finance teams face. He recognises the true value that accurate and timely financial data plays in the success of any business, small or large. He works with the team at Joiin to help deliver this to an evergrowing number of multi-entity companies worldwide.

Let’s look at some examples. Collaborating with customers As mentioned above, our productled strategy has at its core the belief that working in partnership with customers to develop our product is best. If you decide to utilise our Joiin platform, you can expect to play your part in its development. We often go direct to individual customers – and are not scared to do so – to discuss their product ideas, scope what’s required,

SOME JOIIN HIGHLIGHTS FOR INTERESTED AFFILIATES • 96% of existing annual users renew every year, feeling confident to sign up again. • Within an average of 7 minutes, first-time users get value from our platform, often in the form of a first off-the-shelf report. • 94% of Joiin users onboard themselves without reaching out for support, as our product has such an intuitive user interface • If you’re interested in joining our affiliate programme, you can find us on the Reditus website here: https://app.getreditus. com/marketplace/joiin.

Joiin works with its customers to create a better product for all.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

and start the work. Rob and Tomek, two of our co-founders and directors, steer our product development roadmap alongside customer input. We now collaborate better with our customers and implement their product requests more effectively, and it’s safe to say that our platform has grown in popularity as a direct result of this work. Developing dashboard reporting with customers

showcase how our apps work together seamlessly to increase business efficiency, improve finance processes and deliver an effective tech stack for accountants and business finance teams using such software. At Joiin, we’re continuously pulling in new product features developed alongside our customers to showcase how they work. For us, we want to lead with our product, helping potential buyers see how easy it is to use and the possibilities it offers. Joiin’s new customisable dashboard with drag-and-drop

For example, when we launched our product’s dashboard – which provides our customers with a highly visual one-page financial overview, meaning they can easily stay up to date with the metrics that matter most to them – we delivered against customer feedback that had explicitly asked for a dashboard view. The dashboard was the first result of our outstanding product team coming together in our new office environment to build something exceptional.

Partnering with ApprovalMax For example, one of our partners is ApprovalMax – a clever app that creates robust financial controls for multi-entity organisations by automating the accounts payable process. Alongside ApprovalMax, we collaborate on webinars, creating content together. The idea behind creating this joint content is to provide the potential buyers we have in common with ideas on making spending control and reporting at a group level effortless – saving these people time, effort and money for more valuable tasks.

A year or so on, following ongoing customer feedback, we’ve updated the dashboard. It is now wholly customisable: you can configure widgets The webinars using a variety of KPIs, are a great way chart types and to promote our “It also guides our belief filters and move consolidated that we must continuously find new and different and re-size these financial reporting ways to engage with easily using drag platform, how it key people around our and drop. And integrates with product and make all this there’s more to other platforms, work interconnect.” come and deliver and the launch of against, such as more new features. outstanding sharing options, customisable KPIs, On our website, you can find a and even multiple dashboards. new area that showcases our app vendor partners here: www.joiin. Partnering with other app co/partners. vendors Working with affiliates The common thread between Joiin and our app vendor partners As discussed above, we is that our platforms integrate continuously develop our product with cloud accounting software into something people want to such as Xero, QuickBooks and stick with, which incorporates Sage. their ideas, coupling this with content that helps them We collaborate on projects that understand how it works and

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functionality.

integrates with other apps. But how do you then spread the word further? We recently decided to launch a new affiliate marketing programme with the affiliate management team at Reditus. Our “Being product-led and using this approach to first-ever affiliate growth means our drive programme will company comes entire enable us to to create a together connect with product that people want and recruit more to buy and then stick affiliates globally, with.” spread the word more widely, and grow outside of our network. For affiliates looking to build referrals with us, my message is that we’re a fully committed partner offering solid conversion rates and a desirable platform that is snowballing in growth. That we collaborate with our customers on product development and partner with other app vendors to share helpful content means we now boast some impressive numbers, which you can see in the blue box on the opposite page.

FIND OUT MORE... Explore Joiin & sign up for a free trial: joiin.co

Issue 37 / 45

Accounting with Dext Trusted by thousands of accountants and bookkeepers worldwide, Dext’s cloud-based software provides accounting solutions to help you to be more productive and save time on your day-to-day tasks.

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Make the change to Dext Prepare for reliable, accurate and automated financial data extraction.

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Issue 37 / 47

Q&A

This is the nextgeneration in tax and accounting research Wolters Kluwer launch CCH iKnowConnect

@cchaustralia

Sarah Ingram, Product Manager, Wolters Kluwer A seasoned professional with a passion for innovation, Sarah Ingram brings a wealth of experience in developing customer-centric solutions that drive business growth. With a proven track record of guiding cross-functional teams, she excels at addressing customer pain points and providing solutions that align with user needs.

Xero User Magazine sat down with Sarah Ingram from Wolters Kluwer to learn more about CCH iKnowConnect.

Tell us about yourself and your role at Wolters Kluwer?

This article is

My role is defined by a clear mission to optimise the user experience when using Wolters Kluwer research solutions. I do this by providing efficient access to accurate and up-to-date information. My goal for the customer is straightforward yet impactful - minimise search time and maximise productivity. This approach is driven by a deep understanding of the challenges faced by professionals in the field. This includes the product development of our new CCH iKnowConnect platform, a powerful and intuitive research platform designed to meet the needs of tax, accounting, bookkeeper, and legal professionals across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.

How do customers influence and shape Wolters Kluwer solutions? Customers play a pivotal role in shaping Wolters Kluwer solutions and customer feedback is a key component of our development process. Through a continuous and rigorous customer feedback process, customers provide us with insights into their needs and wants which are invaluable in driving product development forward. Through surveys, user forums, and direct interactions, Wolters Kluwer actively seeks input from our customer base. This feedback loop enables us to understand pain points, identify emerging trends, and pinpoint areas for improvement. Myself and my team at Wolters Kluwer carefully analyse this

feedback to inform product enhancements and new feature development. In addition to gathering feedback, Wolters Kluwer actively involves its customers in the testing of prototypes. This collaborative process allows for a handson evaluation of potential solutions, ensuring that they align seamlessly with the practical requirements of Tax, Accounting, Bookkeeper, and Legal professionals in the field. This iterative approach ensures that solutions are not only technologically advanced but also directly address the practical needs of our customer community. In essence, the customers act as co-creators, influencing the direction and evolution of Wolters Kluwer products and solutions. Their experiences and insights

Introducing CCH iKnowConnect Wolters Kluwer’s next-generation digital research platform with powerful search and intuitive browse experience to ensure you get to the right results faster. Access all the comprehensive, up-to-date and in-depth content you’ll ever need - curated by Wolters Kluwer experts, always presenting the latest practical content, commentary, legislation and rulings.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Q&A serve as the compass guiding the company towards delivering tools that truly resonate with professionals.

What is contextual inquiry?

Contextual inquiry is a crucial component of Wolters Kluwer user-centered design approach. This qualitative research method involves observing and engaging with users in their natural work environments, providing invaluable insights into their behaviours and needs. By employing contextual inquiry, the product innovation team gains a deep understanding of a user’s research workflow. This method allows us to identify pain points, uncover workflow intricacies, and ultimately refine our research product to better serve the user.

What are the biggest pain points you hear from accountants and bookkeepers and how do you tackle these challenges?

Navigating the intricacies of tax, accounting and bookkeeping matters often proves to be a time-consuming endeavor for users. While Google Search

offers a straightforward approach with its intuitive interface and rapid results, professionals recognise that there are instances when precision becomes paramount. In scenarios where accuracy is non-negotiable and the stakes are high, specialised platforms like CCH iKnowConnect step in to fill the void. CCH iKnowConnect seamlessly combines the simplicity of a Google-like search experience with the assurance that every piece of information has undergone rigorous scrutiny and verification. This platform serves as a bridge between convenience and certainty, affording professionals the optimal blend of user-friendly accessibility and trustworthy, accurate knowledge in their pursuit of excellence. Staying abreast of the ceaselessly shifting terrain of tax laws and regulations presents a formidable hurdle. The consequences of non-compliance are weighty, underscoring the critical importance of staying informed and up-to-date. This is where CCH iKnowConnect steps in as an invaluable ally. By offering realtime updates and comprehensive resources, it ensures that professionals are equipped with

the latest information, reducing the risk of non-compliance and providing peace of mind in an ever-evolving regulatory environment. Additionally, you can have these crucial news and announcements conveniently delivered to your inbox, further streamlining your access to vital updates. A significant challenge faced by junior professionals in the field is knowing how to initiate a research task and identifying the right keywords. To bridge this gap, CCH iKnowConnect has Topic Pages. These pages serve as a launchpad, providing a structured approach to understanding a given topic. By highlighting key legislation, seminal cases, and offering direct links to expert commentary and practical tools junior professionals can embark on their research journeys with

Cont...

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Issue 37 / 49

Q&A confidence and clarity. This feature not only streamlines the process but also nurtures a deeper comprehension of complex matters, fostering growth and proficiency within the profession.

What are your favourite features of CCH iKnowConnect and why?

The 360-degree view of legislation in CCH iKnowConnect is the platform’s most outstanding feature. This innovative function provides users with a complete perspective. It allows those who prefer to commence their research via legislation to directly access commentary, cases, and specific details related to that section of an Act. This transformative capability has proven to be a gamechanger, benefiting all users of the platform. It enables professionals to delve deeply into legal texts, resulting in a thorough understanding of the regulatory landscape and

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a more streamlined research process than ever before. With this feature, CCH iKnowConnect sets a new standard in delivering a seamless and comprehensive research experience.

What’s coming in the future?

Wolters Kluwer is committed to delivering innovative solutions driven by an intricate blend of data, domain knowledge and AI – working together with our customers to ensure we are providing valuable solutions that align with their workflow. We have leveraged advanced technologies, such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for several years within our solutions and continuing to apply advanced technologies such as Generative AI, and other forms of Artificial Intelligence, remains a key focus area in the development of our solutions. These capabilities are a supplement to our deep domain expertise. In a significant stride forward, Wolters Kluwer is presently

engaged in the development of a generative AI research assistant. Leveraging the extensive library of Wolters Kluwer’s knowledge, this cutting-edge tool is designed to deliver direct, accurate answers to user questions. With the new research assistant, the process of obtaining reliable information is poised to become even more efficient and seamless. Stay tuned for this groundbreaking advancement in the realm of tax, accounting, and legal research.

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more about CCH iKnowConnect, join the live introductory showcase on 15th November. Register for your complimentary seat.

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Easy, profitable onboarding is here The time is now to give your tired onboarding

processes a shake up

Watch our FREE on demand workshop & find out where you are on the Engagement Success Roadmap so you can: Turn boring, time consuming processes into scaleable assets Solve your compliance concerns Implement software so simple, the whole team can use it

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Issue 37 / 51

Automated Data Extraction Where do I start?

@dextofficial

Katie Hawking, Head of Practice Solutions & Sales Enablement, Dext Katie joined Dext in January 2021 having spent 13 years in practice, specialising in small business development and focusing on digital transformation. Katie spearheaded the navigation through the app marketplace, developing a tech advisory offering and getting the firm MTD for VAT ready. She then spent 3 years working for one of the world’s largest cloud accounting software platforms supporting and advising large number of accounting firms across the UK.

Automation. It’s a small word but it can drive big changes for you, your business, and your clients.

This article is

data A utomated extraction is fast becoming a staple in accounting and bookkeeping. As someone who works at one of the industry’s leading providers, you may well expect to hear that from me. But, like so many others, I’ve seen the impact this smart but simple technology has had on our profession. But that’s not to say everyone is onboard. At Dext, we still meet so many accountants and bookkeepers yet to embrace automated data extraction. Much of that is down to a lack of confidence on how to implement this kind of technology, which creates uncertainty. If that sounds familiar, then this article is for you – a beginner’s guide on how to introduce automated data extraction at your firm. These suggestions are based on my own experiences, both during my time in practice and working in the wider accounting technology space, most recently at Dext, where I now help others get the most from their accounting tech. I hope you find

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them useful. I certainly wish I’d had some of this knowledge when I started. 1. Understand and Define Your Goals

the key question, are they open to using technology, or will you need to adapt the way in which you work with them in order to accommodate their needs?

A quick word on cost. When adding new technology, “Introducing any you’re signing up form of technology to a continuous to your business is a contract, so it’s team effort.” essential that the software in question is a longterm investment and not a The key, then, is to better temporary fix. Think forward and understand your automation far ahead. You should also decide needs. There are three ways to whether you intend to absorb the do this. First, it’s imperative that costs or on-charge to your clients. you align your tech strategy with Many firms I’ve worked with will wider business objectives. What do a mix of both depending on are the problems you are trying to the client. fix and how might software help you solve them? 2. Create a Team of Stakeholders Next, ask your team what they want to see. Where are their Introducing any form of sticking points? And how do they technology to your business feel about automating them? is a team effort. It may start Remember, they’ll be the ones as one person’s fleeting idea, using it. Finally, talk to your but without the collective buyclients. Try to get a sense of their in from your employees and needs and expectations. And, clients it will remain that way. A There are plenty of nonstarter stories when it comes to introducing automation. And so many of those can be traced back to a lack of preparation and understanding.

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

successful implementation leans on the expertise of numerous people. Call together a taskforce of your most engaged and digitally-savvy employees – we often refer to them as cloud accounting specialists, or digital transformation experts. This group should be responsible for overseeing the early days of your automation journey and beyond. That may involve helping others get up to speed, managing expectations and combating fears. You can also incentivise your wider team with rewards to help ease resistance and increase uptake. You might even want to gamify the process to create friendly competition The point is, change takes time, but it also takes more than one pair of hands. Bring your best people together to give yourself the best chance of success. 3. Engage Your Wider Team Change depends on effective communication. In the case of software, that means more than a one-off email. You’re making a significant addition to your firm and modifying the way it functions. If possible, try to build a comms plan with clear milestones. That may include an official announcement, product training, client reviews and regular team meetings to check in on how things are progressing. The more open you are with your plans, the more likely people are to buy into the project. Work with your specialist sub-team to build and share a strategy that keeps everyone engaged and involved. This will also allay any fears from those in the wider business around their job security. Automation technology is here to make their lives easier, leaving them free to spend time on more interesting work.

your clients to have with your automation tool, pull a comms plan together that lets them know what changes they can expect. It may be that they continue to provide the information as they always have done and in the same regularity. However, you may decide you’d like them to interact with the system themselves and provide the information on a more real-time basis. If you’re met with resistance, remind them of the ‘why’. It may help to refer back to the value in its purest form: To simplify how they submit financial transactions. You can then build on this by explaining how it helps them save time and stay compliant. And, of course, how they maximise their tax savings with copies of the receipts to claim back all relevant business expenses. Once they’re sold on the value, you can start to bring them into the process through live training, review sessions and weekly check-ins. It may sound like a lot of work, but you’ll be pleased to hear that Dext offers these client initiatives as part of your subscription. 5. Continue to Monitor and Evaluate Implementing any type of software is rarely a ‘one and done’ process. There are a number of variables that may force you to reconsider your initial choice. Your firm may outgrow the terms of its current subscription, or even the software’s capabilities. The ROI might not live up to

expectations. Clients may not engage with the product as you’d hoped for. The list goes on. The point is, conditions change. That’s why it’s so important for you or your designated team to keep an eye on your firm’s use of data extraction software. Assess whether it’s doing what it promised to do. And continue to ask your employees and clients the same question. It sounds obvious but change management doesn’t stop at the point of change; it’s a continuous process of fine-tuning. I do encourage you to also keep up to date with any product improvements, it may be that there are further opportunities to improve your processes and those of your clients by maximising your use of the product. Final Thoughts The advice I’ve shared in this article draws on my own experiences, and the approach we at Dext encourage our partners to consider when sourcing new technology. But there’s much more to this process than those suggestions alone. To get the full picture, we’ve created an in-depth guide on what it takes to get started with automated data extraction.

FIND OUT MORE... Download the full guide here: dext.com

4. Keep Your Clients in the Loop Once you’ve decided on the level of involvement you want

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CCH iKnowConnect

Streamline your res and maximise produ

Introducing Wolters Kluwer’s next-generatio

Powerful search and intuitive browse experience Get you to the right results faster.

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Deliver confident, accurate advice

Practic fo

Backed by over 50 years’ Wolters Kluwer knowledge and experience.

Aligned t you work a specia

Experience it for XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

search workflow uctivity

on research platform

ce area cus

Stay up-to-date with the latest news

to the way and area of alisation.

Real-time updates with alerts delivered daily or weekly based on your preference.

In-depth and practical commentary Written by trusted tax and accounting experts.

r yourself – request a free 7-day trial today! Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Issue 37 / 55

Feature Article

How to beat the tax season crunch It comes around every year, just like the holiday season. But for accountants and their clients, it’s far from a season of joy. Of course, we’re talking about tax season, that time when every client suddenly wants your attention. promise yourself Y ou that this time will be This article is

different. You’ll be ready. But it comes around before you know it and it’s still a scramble. With resources and recruitment opportunities seemingly scarcer than ever, how can you be prepared without running yourself or your team into the ground?

for each crunch point, all in one place? It so happens that Sage has a suite of apps that provide everything you need for this. You might find it surprising but all of them are platform-agnostic, and integrate perfectly with Xero.

Let’s assume you’re one month away from tax deadline. The technology is out What’s required there to automate to create an “What’s required so much of ultra-quick Best the process, Practice plan that to create an ultrabut it can be you can carry quick Best Practice forward with overwhelming plan?” knowing which you and apply to apps and software clients—especially to choose. Wouldn’t those that are new to it be great if you could your practice? get the software you need Starting the journey Start by considering the journey your client will travel with you. For those who arrive on your doorstep a few days or weeks before the deadline, with bags of paperwork in hand, the first task is to sign them up. Although time is of the essence, this is your opportunity to ease

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@AutoEntry

their nerves and take charge of what could be a longstanding working relationship that grows as the client’s business expands. Assert yourself as the expert and communicate the value your services will bring—not just now, but all year round with GoProposal by Sage’s menubased pricing. The average time it takes GoProposal to generate a proposal, right in front of the client is just 10 minutes. When you sign up for GoProposal’s whole suite of onboarding products, you can take your client seamlessly from sign up, to generating a fully compliant, bespoke engagement letter crafted by compliance specialists, then complete ID verification, Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and Risk Assessments with expert guided prompts with GoProposal AML. Getting the data Once you’ve wowed prospects with a world class onboarding experience in record time, now is the time to continue to impress them with your efficiencies in processing all that crucial compliance data necessary for their tax return.

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Feature Article This can involve getting data from 1000s of items of paperwork. AutoEntry by Sage comes to the rescue. Simply point your mobile phone at the document and take a snapshot. Once you categorise the data and click to publish through your accounting software, the job is done. Or you can scan and email documents from a desktop computer. AutoEntry can speed up data entry processes by up to 90% so that days turn into hours. It also has up to 99% accuracy, meaning the client is much less likely to face penalties from the tax authorities if any aspect of their

financial records is incorrect. The entire process of using AutoEntry is so simple that clients can do it themselves. If they can take a selfie then they can use AutoEntry! Snapping paperwork when they receive it is a much better procedure across the year, and also means that they needn’t worry about losing things like receipts. Once it’s in AutoEntry, not only is the data extracted automatically but the photo taken of the document is retained, too. Forecasting the future You’ve gone above and beyond to facilitate this new client, while your tech stack has ensured it

hasn’t eaten into your time with other clients. But how do you educate your clients to ensure this last-minute crunch doesn’t happen next year? With Futrli by Sage, you can forecast and project likely tax liabilities for up to three years in the future. Plus, the client is “How do you setup perfectly for ongoing educate clients advisory so so this doesn’t that next year, happen next it’s less about the compliance year?” grind, and more about being the client’s perfect business partner. You can utilise the forecasts produced through Futrli to communicate the need your client has for year-round accounting services, that can be itemised and charged through GoProposal. This way, you can get ahead and ensure that your whole clientbase is prepared for tax season months in advance.

FIND OUT MORE... Try AutoEntry free or get a demo: autoentry.com Get a free trial of Futrli: futrli.com How to compete your tax returns before Christmas: goproposal.com

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Innovation in Practice: A Call to Accountants in the Healthcare Sector In the Bay of Plenty region, amidst New

@tidyint

Doria Kao, Education Lead & Marketing Strategist, Tidy After completing her internship with Tidy, Doria joined full-time last year with a degree in Strategic Management from the University of Waikato. An avid wordsmith, she brings an ebullience to storytelling in both product education and marketing at Tidy.

Zealand’s sea-swept east coast, lie two organisations with a shared mission. This article is

Oral T auranga and Maxillofacial Surgery (TOMS) and Tidy, are collaborating to solve stock, patient, and practice management inefficiencies through a single, elegant software solution. TOMS Origins TOMS is a specialist oral surgical clinic that supports local dental and medical practices by providing patient care outside the scope of general practitioners. Surgeons Dr Abi Estelle, Dr John Bridgman and Dr David Chrisp are often found removing impacted wisdom teeth, providing surgery for dental implants, and managing difficult dental extractions.

John Bridgman had ambitions for more. “Twelve years ago, we decided that we wanted to try to become paperfree,” he says. Given the unique demands of medical practices and the desire to preserve a personal connection between patient and doctor, the process was trickier than anticipated. “There were a couple of things that were really hard to do. It turns out that paper is actually really difficult to replace. [With] desktop computers, we found that we lost the intimacy with the patient contact.”

Today, TOMS has fully embraced “TidyClinic will enable digitalisation. In the medical They have been shortened waiting lists industry, using iPads in and increase patient reliable, secure, their practice throughput, leading to and risk-free for over a revenue clinical more administration decade and at the same time, so is mandatory and have integrated everyone wins.” legally required, multiple software which has traditionally systems from reception led to many processes to consultation clinic to remaining analogue. surgery room. So, how have they achieved this? Nurses and support staff at TOMS once spent hours flicking The answer is Tidy, a software through spreadsheets, stickers, development company and paper folders to monitor headquartered just 10 kilometres inventory activity. However, Dr from TOMS.

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Tidy Origins Tidy has been an official and trusted Xero Connected App Partner since 2012, providing inventory and project management software to help businesses keep operations tidy. The founder-led company was born from the need to create order from disorder for businesses. “A tidy workplace is a safer and more efficient workplace,” explains Kevin Mann, founder and CEO of Tidy. “That’s where the name of the business comes from. It’s not just tidy in a physical sense. It’s tidy in a metaphoric sense. If you know where things are, if you’ve got a system that works, you can serve your customers more efficiently and build a better business.” TidyStock TidyStock, Tidy’s inventory management solution, proved to be the perfect fit for TOMS when they began using it in 2020. In many clinical environments, surgeons operate like barristers. They operate independently with their own accounting ledger, but provide their services in a

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

collective physical environment such as TOMS. It would be uneconomical for one surgeon to run one “multi-service” clinic alone.

The Genesis

However, this can complicate the accounting side of things.

“We saw an opportunity to have a patient management system integrated with strong stock management which would be extremely desirable.”

Fortunately, Tidy’s seamless integration with Xero made it easy for TOMS to maintain robust financial control while managing multiple surgeons and addressing an important issue in the clinic: inventory management.

The effectiveness and popularity of TidyStock at TOMS spurred a new idea for John.

At the same time, Tidy was searching for a clinical partner to participate in the development of their new generation of software.

“Stock control is a complex matter for us because we’ve got a considerable amount of implant stock,” says John.

It was on the eve of New Zealand’s first COVID-19 lockdown that John came to Tidy’s office to discuss this idea with Kevin.

“They all have an expiry date so you’re always conscious of not only replacing what you need, but also making sure you don’t end up with obsolete stock.

“We were keen to speak into the development and have our needs incorporated into the design of the system,” says John. Kevin adds,

Being able to handle that was a really exciting frontier about Tidy - that’s how we got into it. But through that, we realised there’s a whole lot more capability that a company like Tidy could offer.” Tidy’s flexibility and willingness to help TOMS integrate their existing iPad system with TidyStock made the transition even smoother.

“We’d already had success in the healthcare sector, but our relationship with TOMS put a vertical focus on bringing about a leap in capability and flexibility from Tidy’s first generation of product to its second.” The lockdown period allowed Kevin and Tidy’s engineers to

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work intensely on the TidyClinic project and collaborate with John online. From its inception, it was paramount that TidyClinic was constructed with clinical input and designed with the healthcare sector’s needs at its heart. TOMS is one of many clinics who contributed to the development of TidyClinic. In the research and development process, Tidy consulted with various organisations, including private hospitals and optometrists. In these discussions, Kevin discovered a common thread: clinics essentially provide a “remanufacturing” service for patients. “That’s an area we have extensive experience in. Many of our customers are manufacturers and engineers, but we “We saw an opportunity found that clinics to have a patient have a lot of the management system same demands with strong integrated despite working management” stock with patients and different equipment.” With Tidy’s experience and software expertise at the helm, supplemented by valuable input from local clinicians, a beta

Cont...

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version of TidyClinic was released for user testing in 2023. Into the Trials TidyClinic is now undergoing trials in TOMS’ live clinical environment, side-by-side with their old software. John remarks about the trials, “We’ve been impressed at the speed at which the engineers can adapt the software when we give feedback. Now that the structure has been built, they’re able to fine tune and modify it rapidly. It’s quite exciting.” Days into the trial, TOMS received news that it was mere months until their current patient management system would crash permanently. With the enigmatic time bomb of the old software ticking away, it became more vital than ever to get TidyClinic up and running in the clinic.

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The Future with TidyClinic John is enthusiastic about how TidyClinic will transform not only TOMS but also all clinicians ready to embrace a revolutionary digital future. “TidyClinic is well designed, it’s helpful to clinicians, and it presents information in a succinct and clear way. The user interface is clear, efficient, and saves time while financial control will be quicker, easier, and better.” By simplifying and streamlining operations, TidyClinic reduces non-earning time and shifts the weight of complex administrative tasks to computers, allowing staff to focus on more productive areas. This aligns with TOMS’s aim of making incremental gains, which ultimately translates into increased productivity and revenue. “TidyClinic will enable shortened

waiting lists and increase patient throughput, leading to more clinical revenue at the same time, so everyone from the patient to the clinicians win,” says Kevin. Tidy plans to launch TidyClinic to a broader market in early 2024. This presents an exciting opportunity for accountants seeking to enhance financial management and clinic efficiency for their healthcare sector clients.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more about how TidyClinic can help your healthcare sector clients unlock the full potential of their practices, visit: tidyclinic.com

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

#IWantToBeAnAccountant

What type of accountant do you want to be? #IWantToBeAnAccountant

If you want to be an accountant that helps clients more then talk to the team at advancetrack Book a Zoom meeting with our team advancetrack.com/start-here/ Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

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How Automation Can Fuel Growth in Smaller Accountancy Practices

@wolterskluweruk

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK Wolters Kluwer provides software and services to tax and accounting professionals working in complex, compliance-driven environments. We help our customers make critical decisions every day, by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialised technology and services.

Small and medium-sized practices are beginning to leverage automation to achieve business process goals, and accelerate digital transformation plans.

This article is

t may seem that only large enterprises are employing automation at scale. However, small and mediumsized practices are beginning to leverage automation to achieve business process goals and accelerate digital transformation plans. In 2022, Gartner predicted that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software end-user spending would increase by 19.5%, following 31% growth in 2021. They also stated that increased visibility of automation tools has made them seem more accessible to small and medium-sized practices. At Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, we’re certainly seeing this trend amongst our users, as customers look to us to help them with that journey beyond their existing technology. In this article, we’ll examine how small and medium-sized practices can use automation to fundamentally change the way they work – with a view to boosting efficiency and productivity. We’ll also specifically look at how automation can help to fuel practice growth. First of all: what exactly is RPA? RPA is often referred to as simply ‘automation’. This technology can be woven into a number of existing software applications, many of which are often used

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within accountancy practices. Businesses in all sectors are using RPA to automate repetitive, menial tasks. There is no one-sizefits-all approach to automation, but the first tasks that practices automate are usually administrative. When tasks are automated effectively, they can be removed from a human’s daily task list. This frees up time to focus on more lucrative tasks, ones that rely on human intellect and imagination. As an additional bonus, automation should ultimately reduce errors. Anyone that has been tasked with a large amount of manual data entry knows just how easy it is for small errors to mount up. Automation can help to prevent these causing significant issues. What can SME practices automate with RPA? We’ve already mentioned data entry as a top candidate for automation. However, any number of processes – including invoicing, reporting, and order fulfilment – can be easily automated. Tasks that strictly rely on rule-based actions, which require minimal human decision-making, are also prime candidates. Here are some great examples of where RPA is being successfully implemented in the tax and accountancy sector:

Client Onboarding: automation streamlines the onboarding process by efficiently collecting your clients’ information, verifying identities, and creating necessary documents. Chatbots and digital forms enhance the client experience, while ensuring compliance with regulations. Payroll Processing: automation can save working time in finalising payroll calculations, tax deductions, and generating pay stubs. It also ensures accurate and timely payments to employees. Direct deposit automation also eliminates manual entry and reduces the risk of human error. Tax Compliance: automation helps to maintain accuracy and timeliness in tax-related processes. It ensures that tax forms are prepared correctly, submitted on time, and aligned with the latest tax regulations. This reduces the risk of penalties. Billing, Invoice Processing, and Reconciliations: automating invoicing and payment tracking accelerates cash flow and reduces the chances of billing errors. It can also reconcile accounts and flag discrepancies, leading to more accurate financial records. Financial Reporting: automated systems can gather and analyse financial data from multiple sources. This enables faster and more accurate reporting,

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

which in turn supports better decision-making and enhances transparency.

a practice. This can help to secure financial support for further automation initiatives.

Employee Onboarding and Offboarding: automation may simplify the administrative tasks associated with employee transitions. This includes account setup, access granting, and documentation processing. In turn, this leads to smoother onboarding and offboarding experiences.

Wait: Are RPA and AI the Same Thing?

It is also important to take best practice principles into account when implementing RPA. Accurate and clean data is the foundation of effective automation. Before integrating automation, it’s essential to ensure that the data you’re working with is accurate, consistent, and properly organised. This might involve data cleansing and validation processes to minimise errors and discrepancies. In addition, you should consider taking a gradual and staged approach to automation implementation. Starting with a few select processes can allow practices to identify challenges, and refine their long-term approach and strategy based on real-world experiences. Successfully automating a few processes early on can also demonstrate the value of automation to stakeholders within

It may be useful to address this common question. Many practices may feel they are not at the right stage of their digital evolution to implement Artificial Intelligence (AI). In a nutshell, RPA and AI are different beasts. RPA refers to the use of software robots to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks within existing business processes. AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence through learning from experience – and can therefore include tasks such as problem-solving, making business predictions, and adapting to new commercial circumstances. Practices may find the steps taken to implement successful automation helpful for an AIdriven future. RPA may handle standardised tasks. In the future, AI could provide extra levels of efficiency for more complex workflows. Accountants could be wise to keep their finger on the technological pulse. How Can Automation Fuel Practice Growth? Once manual or repetitive tasks are completed, practices can

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begin to focus on more humanfocused, value-add opportunities. This could include recruitment for growth, building stronger engagement with clients, or creating new branding and marketing strategies. Implementing automation may also help to accelerate new business development. Research from McKinsey has shown that offloading non-selling tasks to automation can open up 20% more capacity in your sales team. This can, in turn, help you to improve sales productivity by as much as 30%. The possibilities are endless. With automation introducing time savings, increased capacity, and better operational processes, practices can gain a competitive edge and thus demonstrably grow their revenues and client base. At Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, we believe in, and invest in technology that makes a difference – technology for the real world. To find out more about how we can advise on automation and other forms of accounting software, get in touch.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more email cchsoftware@wolterskluwer. co.uk or visit the Wolters Kluwer website: wolterskluwer.com

Issue 37 / 65

Q&A

XU Magazine sits down with Chaser CEO Sonia Dorais XU:

Chaser has released a number of innovative features over the past year, what’s the overall mission?

SD: This article is

Chaser’s mission is to give SMEs worldwide the confidence that they will get paid for their work, help them reduce late payments, save time, and improve cash flow in an efficient and friendly way. With the increased availability of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, Chaser has been able to offer SMEs cuttingedge technology to further improve their chances of receiving timely payments from customers.

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XU:

Chaser's recent success includes the development and implementation of AI features. Could you delve into how these features cater to the needs of credit and collections teams?

collections teams significantly cut down the time they spend on these time-consuming tasks. Currently, they include Recommended chasing times, Payer ratings, and a Late payment predictor.

SD:

XU:

50% of businesses spend 4 or more hours every week on their receivables tasks. This time goes to tasks like working out which customers to chase, when, and how often. In total businesses waste a predicted 56.4 million hours per year on these types of tasks, according to QuickBooks. The introduction of these AI features helps credit and

Can you tell me about how you recommend chasing times using AI?

SD:

Recommended chasing times analyse data on thousands of B2B payments to suggest a custom, optimal time and day to send customer payment reminders to increase the chance of payment. This new feature uses AI to let

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Q&A SMEs reach customers exactly when they’re most likely to pay, automatically.

XU:

How do AIgenerated Payer ratings help your users?

SD:

To help businesses decide how to prioritise their collections efforts, they can use newly-released Payer ratings. Payer ratings use data on customers’ previous payment behaviour and compare trends seen across Chaser, assigning every payer an AIgenerated ‘rating’. Ratings are ‘Good’/‘Average’/ ‘Bad’ and predict how likely a customer is to pay their future invoices on time. This lets SMEs who are often strapped for time see at a glance how their customers are paying, prioritise effectively, optimise their followup approach for different payer groups, and instantly see who their problem payers are.

XU:

What insights can SMEs gain from the Late payment predictor?

SD:

The Late payment predictor gives instant AI-generated predictions on how likely an invoice is to be

paid late, assigning a percentage score out of 100. This gives SME finance teams instant visibility on whether to expect cash on time, problem accounts they should prioritise, and whether to pursue collections. All of these features are designed to make life easier for credit and collections teams, improve decision-making, and help them to save time and minimise late payments.

XU:

How has the implementation of AI in accounts receivables impacted financial processes for businesses?

SD:

AI has had a tremendous impact on streamlining rulesbased financial processes for businesses. For example, the use of machine learning algorithms can streamline tasks like loan processing and reduce risk by up to 40%. Big data analysis can help identify patterns for more accurate market predictions or fraud detection. Ultimately, the use of AI helps finance teams run their processes more efficiently, and condense

large amounts of data to help them make more informed decisions that can improve their businesses' financial outcomes. In the context of accounts receivables, for example, we have also seen these benefits play out. We know that users who send their reminders at Recommended chasing times, using Chaser’s new AI feature, are getting paid on average 3 days faster than those who don’t utilise this technology within Chaser.

Chaser team at The Leadership Awards 2023

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Cont...

Issue 37 / 67

Q&A

XU:

Chaser has successfully helped businesses collect over $5 billion this year. Can you share some key strategies that contributed to this impressive achievement and set Chaser apart in the industry?

SD:

Chaser is thrilled to have helped businesses collect $5 billion through the software in 2023, and this target was reached more than 3 months earlier than expected. One of the key functionalities that have contributed to achieving this goal is SMS payment reminders. This lets users increase their chances of payment by sending a text message reminder to their customers’ phones. With the inclusion of payment links, SMS payment reminders give users’ customers the convenience of being able to pay invoices instantly from their phone. By using a combination of email and

SMS payment reminders, SMEs have increased their chance of getting paid within a week of their invoice due date by 56%. Although we have reached the $5 billion goal, Chaser’s mission remains the same; to support SMEs worldwide to get paid in an efficient and friendly way so that they improve cash flow.

these tasks. Ultimately, the innovations in our roadmap across the next three years aim to let finance teams move away from manual, repetitive work, aid decision-making, and let them spend more time focusing on supporting their business growth.

XU:

What key innovations are you looking to invest in across the next three years?

SD:

Chaser is continuing to find ways to remove the manual work, stress, and uncertainty that comes with accounts receivables management. We are carefully researching which tasks and processes receivables teams spend the most time on, and are finding ways to use newly available technology to improve decision-making and automate

FIND OUT MORE... Use Chaser to automatically chase and collect late payments, without using the human touch: chaserhq.com

Chaser wins UK Small Business App Partner of the Year at the Xero Awards 2023

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Reach customers when they’re most likely to pay Using AI-powered recommended chasing times

Recommended Mondays at 9AM Wednesdays at 11AM

Recommended: Mondays at 9AM and Wednesdays at 11AM

End-to-end accounts receivable software, seamlessly connected to Xero Try it for free Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Issue 37 / 69

Here’s 4 reasons to use AutoEntry to automate your data entry

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

* Up to 24 hours before renewal

Pay only for what you use Our subscription plans are based on the data you extract—and nothing else.

All features for free All AutoEntry plans are comprehensive and identical in terms of features.

Unlimited everything From day #1 all users get unlimited user accounts, client companies, and cloud storage.

No contract required Sign-up to our monthly rolling subscription and cancel at any time.* Get a demo autoentry.com

Based on 461 reviews Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Issue 37 / 71

How to Profit from your Onboarding Process

@THEJamesAshford

James Ashford, Author of Selling to Serve & Untapped James successfully founded, established and sold client engagement platform, GoProposal. He’s taken proven strategies from the best in the business and inspired hundreds of accountants and bookkeepers through inspiring keynotes, webinars and workshops.

Onboarding clients needn’t be a chore. In fact, it can be a lucrative process that’s easy for your whole team to deliver.

This article is

we buy something, W hen we want to enjoy it as soon as possible. Especially when it’s a big investment, like a car, for example. We can’t wait to get the keys, feel the steering wheel glide through our hands and the engine rev under our feet as we drive off into the sunset. When clients sign up to invest in your services, they’re signing up

to invest a huge amount of money with you... but they don’t get a shiny new object, like a car, to show for it. There’s no way to sugar-coat it; spending money on accounting services is boring. It’s your job to ensure the experience is exciting for them. So, how can you make them feel like they’re buying so much more

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

than an accounting service? When you onboard them as a client, it’s their first experience of your world. Now is your time to wow them, not just when they’re a prospect, but throughout their whole onboarding journey. The purpose of onboarding Why is onboarding such a crucial part of your relationship?

HOSTED BY

James Ashford

GET YOUR

HOUSE IN ORDER

How to profit from your onboarding process 72 / Issue 37

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Fundamentally, the purpose of onboarding is for you to get the permissions and information you need to deliver the services you agree to. You might not get all the data you need instantly; agreements can be honed and tweaked, but you do want to provide your client with their first ‘wow’ moment as soon as possible. The wow moment will be dependent on their industry, for example, a wow moment for a construction industry client might be the first time they send an invoice off and get it paid without having to chase it up. Other vital purposes of onboarding include: • Ensuring you’re fully compliant, signing clients up with the right engagement letters and AML (Anti Money Laundering) checks • Making them feel assured they’ve made the right choice • Managing their expectations of what to expect in your working relationship going forward • Turning them into a great client by setting the tone of the relationship on a positive note • Indoctrinating them into your way of working • Upselling additional services that you know would be of benefit to them • Getting referrals The problem with onboarding With so much importance on onboarding, what could go wrong? Here are four things to consider: 1 - It always takes longer than you think From getting a proposal and engagement letter signed, to retrieving the correct ID checks, onboarding consists of a lot of back and forth between you and the client. If any part of this process is still being done manually, it’s an extra barrier for your clients, e.g., if they are still required to come to your office to provide a physical copy of their ID.

2 - You don’t have a dedicated resource to onboard clients Onboarding often isn’t considered regarding team capacity, especially at busier times of the year. If you were to take a client on in December or January, your resources are already stretched, so even if you usually have dedicated resource for onboarding, it is likely used elsewhere at this time. 3 - The process is rarely inspected or improved If you aren’t reviewing your process and making it better, you can guarantee that it’s getting worse. Because there will be members of staff who cut corners here and there, and over time, this process will deteriorate. So, it needs constant inspection. 4 - There are costs involved in onboarding Human resource and software costs usually aren’t accounted for in your clients’ fees. Which is wild when you consider how important we’ve established this part of the relationship is, and how much attention to detail is required. The onboarding solution How can you ensure that your working relationship starts strongly, ensuring compliance is watertight and without stretching your team’s capacity to breaking point? Start by reviewing your current process. Get feedback from clients. Then, create an experience map to envision how you want your process to be. It’s time to improve the experience any way you can. A quick win to start implementing this is with software that automates manual tasks. There is a plethora of software solutions out there, but few solutions that put your proposals, AML checks and Engagement Letters all in one place. GoProposal’s suite of onboarding solutions does

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that, with triggers that guide you through every step required to ensure your client is onboarded while they’re ready and raring to go, and that you’re compliant every step of the way. Whatever software you use, create an internal checklist, and train your team on that process – removing yourself as a bottleneck is crucial for the growth of your business and subsequently your profits – did you know GoProposal was stress tested on my then 7-year-old son? Meaning there’s no reason you can’t train every team member to use it and take ownership of their own client-base from the beginning. Some firms have started including an onboarding fee to cover the costs associated with it. Though some consider this controversial, it can be easier to implement than you think. Start with a small fee with your next client who might be complicated to onboard. It’s ok to test and tweak until you find a price that fits. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the work you need to do to overhaul your client engagement process, I’ve created a FREE, downloadable roadmap to assess where you are, and break down the steps you need to take to turn onboarding into a scalable asset. I did this with GoProposal members as part of an exclusive workshop. You can catch the recording below, along with your free scoresheet.

FIND OUT MORE... SCORE YOUR ONBOARDING PROCESS HERE: goproposal.com

Issue 37 / 73

Get Involved with Beyond Blue and Support Mental Health Blue is an B eyond independent, not-forThis article is

profit organisation, working to address issues associated with depression and anxiety in Australia. Its key aims are raising awareness about depression and anxiety, reducing associated stigma, and encouraging people to seek help early. Beyond Blue couldn’t do what we do without the help and support of the community. There are so many ways you can get involved to help all people in Australia to achieve their best possible mental health. Make a donation! Your donation will help Beyond Blue to: • Reduce the impact of

depression, anxiety and suicide by supporting people to protect their mental health and to recover when they are unwell. • Reduce people’s experiences of stigma and discrimination. • Improve people’s opportunities to get effective support and services at the right time. Book a speaker! I have been a speaker for over 5 years, and it is very rewarding. I wanted to share my story to increase the community’s understanding about mental health so that we can start a conversation about it. You can request a free community speaker to share their story in your workplace, school, or community group to raise awareness and reduce stigma.

Tim Hoopmann, Speaker and Trainer Experienced founder with a demonstrated history growing small business. Strong entrepreneurship and professionally skilled in Business Planning, Cloud Technology, Sales, Marketing, and Operations Management. A passion for helping small businesses use technology as a key enabler to increase productivity and decrease costs. A volunteer speaker for beyondblue, an Australian organisation that works to raise awareness of anxiety and depression, reduce the associated stigma and encourage people to get help.

The sharing of personal stories of anxiety and depression is a powerful way to raise awareness, reduce stigma and to encourage help seeking behaviour. Volunteer at an event! You can represent Beyond Blue at events such as conferences, expos, community festivals and sporting events near you! The event volunteers help ensure they have a useful and positive presence at these events. Partner with Beyond Blue! Learn how your business can support the work of Beyond Blue through their partnership or business supporter programs. Join their online community! As a forum user you can read, share, and learn from people who understand what you’re going through.

FIND OUT MORE... Information on how to get involved at: www.beyondblue.com.au

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

POWERFUL SOFTWARE. DELIGHTFULLY SIMPLE. is well designed, " TidyClinic it’s helpful to clinicians, and it presents information in a succinct and clear way. The user interface is clear, efficient, and saves time while financial control will be quicker, easier and better.

John Bridgman

Specialist Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Tauranga Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Users of

Issue 37 / 75

Dispelling GDPR and outsourcing myths

Believe the GDPR myths, and you could see the information regulator come down on you and your firm. are a few myths T here circulating in the This article is

accounts outsourcing industry about what is required to make outsourcing legal from a GDPR perspective. Chief among these is the idea that if someone is accessing your servers from India then this, on its own, is GDPR compliant. Without other measures in place this is actually illegal, and you can get into a lot of trouble with the ICO as a result. The ICO makes it quite clear that this is the case – they say that a restricted transfer takes place if “you are initiating and agreeing to send personal data, or make it accessible, to a receiver who is located in a country outside the UK” – note the part marked in bold. To make this worse, you may not be aware that most accounting firms handle ‘special category’ personal data – such as healthcare invoices, records of union fees paid, or political/ religious donations. So, if your outsourcer experiences a data breach and your controls are

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inadequate, you have a big problem. So, what do you need to make sure is in place?

@ApprovalMax

@AdvanceTrack

Vipul Sheth ACA CTA, Founder and Managing Director, AdvanceTrack Outsourcing Vipul is a UK based ICAEW Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor. Vipul trained with a regional UK firm before moving to Ernst & Young and KPMG. AdvanceTrack is a UK Headquartered Accountancy Outsourcing Company with offshore operational centres, delivering services around the globe. AdvanceTrack demonstrates compliance with international security laws including GDPR through certification to ISO27001:2013, ISO27701:2019 and BS10012 audited by BSI. Quality is certified to ISO9001:2015 and Business Continuity certified to ISO22301:2019

by BSI against ISO27001:2022 on information security and ISO27701/BS10012 on personal information management. Our standards:

• Firstly, there needs to be appropriate risk assessment of and contracts in place with the overseas legal entity. • Secondly, your client engagement letter needs to reflect the possibility of transfer. • Finally, the data being transferred needs to be treated securely, both on your network and on the network of anyone accessing it. At AdvanceTrack we work with a top legal firm to ensure that we have the correct contractual measures in place. You contract with our UK legal entity, and we handle the transfer to India. We have also made considerable investment in security measures and controls around use of personal information and have been assessed on this by numerous top accounting firms. Additionally, we are certified

• ISO 9001 Quality Management • ISO 27001:2022 Information Security Management • BSI 10012 Personal Information Management System • ISO 22301 Business Continuity • ISO 27701 Personal Information Security An external auditor from the British Standards Institute (BSI) spends several days with us each year. The auditor goes through all our procedures, risks and controls to make sure we do what we say we do. We currently have five standards (see below) and, whether security, privacy, quality or continuity, they are all riskassessed. We identify risks, and then evaluate them in terms of impact on confidentiality, integrity of

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

information and availability of information. We then look to minimise the chance of those risks occurring. Then we implement controls, and look at the residual risk: is there anything else we can do? Those controls could be as simple as making sure laptops have antivirus on them – or as complex as managing redundant data centres or updating our business continuity plan. Externally audited The external auditor reviews all our controls – reviewing whether we follow them. They’ll take samples and we then demonstrate how we follow things through, including taking action to fix any issues that have arisen. AdvanceTrack gives data protection the investment in time and resources that it needs. As a result, we are not the cheapest in the market, but you need to ask yourself how much it is worth for you to sleep soundly at night!

FIND OUT MORE... If you’d like to speak to us about how we could help your practice, please get in touch at www.advancetrack.com/ start-here

FAQ: WHAT ARE THE TRAITS OF A ‘TYPICAL PRACTICE’ WORKING WITH ADVANCETRACK? Our latest FAQ looks at the typical qualities and attitudes that pervade the firms we typically work with at AdvanceTrack. Technology and culture We see that firms are proficient with technology. More importantly, there is usually a culture that is open to change – to adopt new processes and workflow – and, by definition, this means the embedding of new technology. When a practice begins working with us then there are inevitably some changes in how the work is undertaken and tracked – but the vast majority of practices are open and proactive and looking to make the venture succeed. Investment Making any change, particularly in an accounting firm, is viewed as a risk: ‘We could perhaps be more efficient and improve profits and service, but why ruffle feathers when we do OK?’ But there are firms that do try different things, and crucially, understand that these won’t always work. These firms will try something and, if it fails, then they learn to fail ‘quickly’. This requires an investment of time and money. But, with a risk-based approach, driving change can bring about huge benefits – certainly in a climate where many practices have an opportunity to improve. Which leads to… ROI Practices that can deliver change, make improvements, are usually good at project management. And a key aspect of the out-turn of a project is using metrics that allow you to track the impact of the changes made. For firms that work with us, they will eventually look at the impact on their bottom line. But, beforehand, we see them use client service measures, including job turnaround. And, if we can help client work be undertaken quicker and more efficiently, then cashflow and lock-up improves. Firms that work with us certainly measure – and see – improvement in the revenue per head. Ambition Finally, the firms we work with usually have leaders with a clear ambition – and these revolve around practical targets such as gross margins. But that is normally tied into running the firm better, offering clients more, upskilling team members – which all creates a more saleable asset. They see that improving the firm’s value is the ultimate goal.

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Xero Marketplace

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Issue 37 / 79

Q&A

Checking in with Firmcheck

Plus a conversation with Kevin Lord, their General Manager of the UK

XU: This article is

Can you share the origins of Firmcheck, its journey so far and how things are going in the UK market since the launch 6 weeks ago?

Firmcheck was born in the misty mountains of Wellington, New Zealand, from a company called Connectworks. We created a software product to solve the pain points of company secretarial and trust management activities for Accounting and Law firms in New Zealand. This proved to be a successful company for the last 8 years.

the Connectworks product, and it is currently being used today. Hamish Edwards, a co-founder of Xero and an integral part of Connectworks, wanted to see if our product would solve the pain points of different geographical markets outside New Zealand. From that moment, we initiated intensive research focusing on the UK. We quickly found that most accounting firms were satisfied with their company secretarial needs, but they were screaming out for an AML solution that tried to cover the full spectrum of activities a firm needs to do to be compliant.

Over the last 3 years, our customers started to ask for a solution to manage their AML requirements. We built this into

Over the last 12 months specifically, the team in New Zealand put a lot of sweat and tears into creating a product

FC:

we believed would be the leading AML solution in the UK. We were lucky that our New Zealand AML product was already comprehensive, but we wanted to launch from a strong foundation. We listened to the accounting firms, talked to bodies and institutions, and created a space where we feel we take care of the stress and pain of AML for firms today — from education to software. And we’re only just beginning. We launched at Accountex Manchester, and the response to our brand and product has exceeded expectations. As Xero did in the early days, we will continue to listen and develop to the needs of the market — which is exactly what we’re doing with our Firmcheck customers today. We’re looking forward to the journey ahead, building a comprehensive, yet simple AML management system alongside our customers.

XU:

Firmcheck is a product that has come out of NZ, and you’ve done a lot of research in a number of markets, are there any specific challenges or themes that have emerged during your journey?

FC: The Firmcheck team on launch day at Accountex in Manchester, including both Kevin Lord and Sophie

As we just touched on, AML compliance is just generally a challenge for firms. It’s not a value add, it takes time, it adds complexity, but it's just something you have to do.

Maxwell our first two UK based team members

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Q&A No matter how big or small the firm was that we spoke to during our research, there was a common theme that kept cropping up: “AML is a necessary evil and it keeps me up at night.” Solo practices, to top 50 firms all shared similar issues with AML compliance – firm size just made the complexity of those challenges much higher. When you hear that sort of consistent sentiment from your research, it is pretty clear that whatever processes, tools, education or solutions that are out in the market today are not fully solving the functional and emotional needs in this space. This gave us the confidence to commit all our resources to building an AML management system for the UK, and the response we’ve had to our launch has aligned with the research. What has been clear throughout our research and in launching into the UK market is that the maturity gap between practices is expansive – you’ve got some firms out there who are managing AML really well, and in some cases doing more than “just meeting their compliance requirements”, whereas you’ve got others who have little idea other than they know they need to do something, but aren’t sure what. That’s one insight that is driving us here at Firmcheck – we want to close that gap and make sure the accounting industry has a much better basic level of understanding when it comes to AML compliance.

XU:

Addressing AML compliance is essentially what Firmcheck is all about. Can you elaborate on how the platform assists clients in managing AML through the client lifecycle, for both new and existing clients?

FC:

We are an AML management system

Some of the Firmcheck team talking about the challenges of AML with Alex Huerta Falcon and how software can solve some of them - connecting with the accounting community is critical to our success

— so we aim to assist you in being compliant across the key pillars of your firm's requirements. To keep it light here, this can be categorised across three areas: Managing your clients, your firm, and your personal development. • Our system gives firms accessible and engaging education courses to ensure you stay on top of your annual AML training requirements for CPD. • We provide user-friendly software to manage your new and existing clients AML needs. • What this means is that everything is kept in one place, including documentation, ID verifications and determinations, meaning you have a complete digital “paper” trail for when you need it. • And, we provide firm-wide risk assessment templates. The goal of Firmcheck is to make sure you have the tools you need to meet your AML requirements with ease, speed, and efficiency. We also try to do this in an affordable commercial model, as we know firms don’t want to spend their budget in these areas.

XU:

How does Firmcheck provide assurance to users that they are meeting AML compliance obligations effectively? Are

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there any unique features or strategies that distinguish Firmcheck in this regard?

FC:

Today, there’s a wide variation in how firms manage AML. Unfortunately there is a perception that simply running an ID check and documenting that outcome is enough to stay compliant, which we know isn’t true. We’ve engaged with the UK bodies who share the same frustration. To answer your question, we stay unique and distinguished and focus purely on the things you need to be compliant and try to put that all into one offering — so you can stop worrying if there are any gaps in your AML process. We don’t do the work for you, we’re very clear on that, and nor do the institutions want us to, but we make the work that you need to do easy to follow and manageable. And that’s why you’ll see us continuing to work with experts to create educational content, actively sharing insights on LinkedIn, and consistently producing easy-to-digest articles on our blog. Keeping this simple philosophy seems to be working for us right now.

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Q&A

XU:

In terms of technology and innovation, how does Firmcheck stay ahead in the industry? Are there any upcoming features or enhancements that users can anticipate?

FC:

Oh, we have a lot of ideas for how we want to evolve alongside the accounting industry – but the main thing we want to do over the next 12 months is to keep our ears to the ground, listening to the firm's needs, keep close to the pulse of any new regulations, and ensure that our customers have what they need to feel confident in their AML process. This is a political answer, but this is how we have succeeded today and will continue this method into the future. So, I can’t share those ideas/details until we confirm them with our customer's needs.

XU:

The growth in cloud apps has created other challenges around data security and compliance - which we know are paramount in the financial industry. What measure does Firmcheck take to maintain integrity when it comes to security and complaince?

FC:

The joys of being a startup within a mature software company are that we’ve gone through these elements throughout our 10-year existence. We’ve stayed on top of all GDPR requirements and built strong infrastructures and operational processes to maintain a stable and secure platform in Connectworks. It was easy enough for us to move these principles into Firmcheck. Our Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer lead in this space. And with some Xero expats onboard, we have all the experience we need to deliver the latest technologies to ensure we can still develop features at a quick speed into the market without impacting our stability.

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XU:

And, given the dynamic regulatory landscape, how does Firmcheck adapt its services to ensure clients remain compliant with evolving AML regulations?

FC:

You might hear us say this a lot, but a key component to our success is staying on top of this evolving landscape. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to do this correctly, from building the right internal practises, having an agile development mindset, hiring the right people who are passionate about solving these pain points, working alongside the institutional bodies, and connecting with the AML experts within the industry. Laws and legislation will continue to evolve, and you can’t not stay on top of that – where we know we can add value is by helping accounting firms understand the ‘why’ behind that – there isn’t enough of that explaining happening right now. We will continue to work hard in this area as we believe this is needed to help accountants today and tomorrow.

XU:

You’re obviously early on in the journey, but do you have any success stories from Firmcheck customers so far?

FC:

Yep, for sure. Outside the unexpected number of people who are now our customers within such a short time, here are a few snippets for your readers. Our free AML education has been incredibly well received, with comments like “I wish I had this last year, as it would have saved my firm a lot of cash” to “This is the least boring AML course I’ve done”, which we have taken as a compliment. Our software has been talked about in a few social forums recently, which has also bought a

smile to our faces: "Firmcheck is really impressive. Signed up earlier in the week." We want to stress that a key part of creating more AML success stories is by working hand in hand with our firms, which has an education component at it’s heart, if customers win, we win, and if we remember why we do AML compliance in the first place which is to reduce financial crime, the world wins.

XU:

Looking ahead, what can we expect from Firmcheck in terms of growth, new features, or expansions into additional markets? What is the company's vision for the future?

FC:

We launched with a product we believe is the leading AML management solution in the UK. Our plans over the next 12 months are twofold: do our best to educate the market about their AML requirements (in turn growing the overall AML maturity amongst the accounting industry), and continue to build features alongside the industry needs. If you haven’t gathered already, our vision is echoed in our previous answers – staying close to the pulse of the industry is how we will continue to evolve, not building things to become a system of complexity, instead building features that reduce the pain points, and doing it in a creative, smart, intuitive way. We are not a traditional software product; we must comply with the regulations. Making sure we help our customers do this as efficiently and effectively as possible is an excellent north star for us.

XU:

Let’s talk a bit about the team – what strategies and values drive the company's approach to team building and

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Q&A leadership, and what makes you confident you’ve got the right ingredients for growth?

FC:

If one of your readers hasn’t met us yet, I hope they can resonate with the sentiment we’ll share in this answer. We are a human-centric company. This word can be misused in technology companies today, so we’ll try to give some details to show we mean it at Firmcheck. We work hard in this area, as we have a lot of experience growing successful software products within this company. And the key ingredient for us all has been motivated, caring, collaborative people with a self-improvement mindset. Having these pillars within your team gives you an excellent foundation for success. You must implement systems and processes from there to align with your strategy and people's skills. These things are very contextual, and we do our best not to use templates or copy/paste methodologies. We adapt them to the context we are in. An example is moving from a mature software company like Connectwork to sprinting back into a startup mode for Firmcheck. This takes a culture shift, requires a lot of communication, and restructuring teams — doing our best to give people clarity, alignment and focus. It’s not easy to do, but when you have the right foundation with your team, these things can be achieved. Finally, to stay aligned with the self-development point, the company itself needs to partake in this. So, we’re always listening to our team and how we can improve each week using tools like Officevibe — which hopefully results, from the outside view, in an excellent customer experience.

In conversation with Kevin Lord, General Manager of Firmcheck in the UK

Kevin Lord - Firmcheck General Manager of the UK

XU:

What motivated you to join the Firmcheck team?

KL:

From my first interaction with the Firmcheck team, I could feel the sense of pride they had with working with one another. There is a culture in place of autonomy, self-improvement and working towards a common goal that I found irresistible. Our Executive Chairman, Hamish Edwards, recently gave incredible advice to a group of accountants in that they should “treat their practice as their number one client and by doing so, your clients will get the best service from you” That is very much the Firmcheck way - we try to create an exciting, challenging, enjoyable and supportive environment for each other first and foremost. In return, it will result in a high quality product and service for our customers. There is proven experience and success in this industry within the team so I’m delighted to play my part in that.

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XU:

You clearly have a lot of passion for Firmcheck, what’s the motivation for trying to change the shape of AML in the accounting industry?

KL:

AML in the accounting industry has been seen as a “necessary evil”: a legal obligation that, for most, is a pain in the backside to do. We are also seeing a HUGE inconsistency in what accountants think AML entails and what their obligations are. Financial crime is on the increase and as legislation tightens, the role of accountants in tackling AML becomes even more important - society as a whole suffers from an increase in financial crime and accountants, with their forensic knowlege of the client’s businesses, can play a fundamental part in stopping this. Call me bold, but we will be the the leading voice for the accounting profession in all things AML, through: • Educating the industry on what

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Q&A their AML obligations are and how to meet them effectively, • And, shifting the task of AML from a time consuming necessarily evil to one that, not only helps you meet your personal and professional obligations, but creates value in your practice through other means.

XU:

No doubt since you launched the product at Accountex in Manchester you’ve spoken to lots of potential customers, and we’ve seen the popularity of AML softwares grow, any insights from those conversations as to why the time is now for AML compliance software?

KL:

The accounting industry as a whole is suffering from an increase in demand and a decrease in resources to meet these demands. Plugging a lot of these gaps are the dedicated practice software you are starting to see spring up. As financial crimes increase and regulations tighten, the accounting bodies are reacting appropriately and are increasing the amount of AML audits/reviews being carried out each year. So the initial emotions I am experiencing from accountants around their current AML processes are shame and fear. Shame in that the practice has not prioritised AML, has let those processes slip and perhaps not treated it like a legal obligation; and fear in that they have no idea where to start in order to get this important issue fixed. In my early conversations, there is an overwhelming gap

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in knowledge when it comes to what is required to be compliant and then how to put systems and processes in place which leaves accountants with a feeling of dread of any audit. With an increasing number of fines being handed out, it’s rising to the top in terms of importance, as no one wants to see their reputation damaged.

XU:

What do you believe sets Firmcheck apart from the rest of the pack, and where are things heading in the future? Any spoilers?

KL:

We want to make AML a valuable part of your accounting practice. What that looks like is having a slick, professional journey in place for new and existing clients, combined with a systemised process that protects you and your clients business – put that all in one place and you’ve already started to streamline your AML processes. We intend to be the authoritative voice for accountants when it comes to their AML obligations. So building relationships with the regulatory bodies and legislators will be vital but also providing more stories on the reasons why AML is important, and examples of how good AML process has contributed to a more positive society overall. In the future? Even now there is a huge amount of products and services (banking, finance, insurance, to name a few) that businesses use via their accountants - almost all require AML/KYC checks. I can see Firmcheck playing a huge role in streamlining usage of these products and services via your business….ultimately

enhancing the client/accountant relationships.

XU:

Is there something we should keep an eye out for over the next 6 months, that you’re really excited about?

KL:

We will be expanding our presence in the UK which will help double down on our ability to really listen to accountants and their pain points around AML. As our reputation grows, we are excited about influencing not only the AML space, but the practice tech space in general. We’ve got a number of exciting webinars in the pipeline ranging from tech stack decisions, to dedicated AML compliance talks with industry leaders – add to that a really exciting event coming early next year (I don’t want to give too much away) there is some really great stuff happening. On the product front, it’s all about having our eyes and ears to the ground – so maybe you’ve got something you need in an AML management tool, and you’d like to share that with us? Maybe that’ll be the most exciting thing to keep an eye on in the next 6 months. P.S. you can always keep on top of what’s coming by giving us a follow on LinkedIn.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more visit our website firmcheck.com

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Issue 37 / 85

Stop “Exporting to Excel” - start and end there with xpna Leverage Excel and xpna to build dynamic,

David Elsey, co-founder, xpna David is a co-founder of xpna and has spent more than a decade building and implementing corporate performance management tools for government agencies, universities, superannuation funds and listed companies. xpna is the result of David’s and co-founder James Summerton’s vision to put user-friendly, enterprise-grade reporting and planning tools in the hands of accounting firms and finance teams by leveraging the world’s most popular financial modelling tool, Excel.

consolidated, connected reports Client needs are changing. To differentiate your firm, you need to do things - differently

This article is

edefining the Role of Advisory in Contemporary Accounting Accounting is evolving. Gone are the days when firms were mere record-keepers and compliance officers; today they are strategic advisors to their clients. This transformation raises the bar for what accounting firms, and the software they rely on, should offer. While web-based tools offer a partial solution, they often lack the customisation capabilities

clients now demand, leading many to the tried-and-true "Export to Excel" option. What if, however, we could begin with an Excel environment that is already fully optimised?

limitations. It should never be used as a database and grapples with the hierarchical nature of the chart of accounts. It also needs frequent, manual updating from Xero to reflect the most current data. xpna is designed Elevate Excel Reporting with to alleviate these limitations, xpna transforming Excel into a dynamic reporting tool Excel is undeniably that integrates a powerhouse seamlessly with "What if, however, we when it comes Xero. A real-time could begin with an to reporting, link ensures that but it has its the numbers Excel environment are always up to that is already fully date, providing optimised" an accurate view of company position and performance. And if a number doesn’t look right, a single click retrieves all the transactions behind it. Consolidated Reporting Done Right Multi-entity consolidation has been a focus for xpna from the very beginning. The platform allows you to connect to multiple Xero files and streamline the process of creating a cohesive financial view. Its intuitive

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

interface lets you map out different accounts and tracking categories into a flexible, unified chart. This holistic approach is further enhanced by features that allow for the creation of elimination entities and automation rules, and an autobalance function that resolves discrepancies that might exist in the source ledgers.

highly detailed and actionable forecasts, giving businesses the tools they need to manage risks and spot growth opportunities effectively.

add services are delivered. It's time to ask more from your reporting app stack, and to step boldly into the future. xpna is here to guide the way.

The xpna Difference: A Mission Beyond Features

xpna’s underlying mission is to provide rapid access to accurate, real-time financial information, Consolidated Accurate and make it easy Forecasting: An to build exactly Advisory Mustthe reports you Have need. By merging "If a number doesn’t the familiarity look right, a single In the era of of Excel with click retrieves all the accounting innovative firms serving as features and pretransactions behind it" strategic advisors, built templates, the importance of xpna is empowering precise forecasting accounting firms tools cannot be to offer a new level of overstated. xpna's top-down and bespoke advisory services. driver-based planning functions offer you the means to construct xpna is not just another tool in adaptable, responsive, financial the toolbox but a catalyst for models. This sets the stage for change, elevating the way value-

FIND OUT MORE... To get a customised demo, or to start a free trial, visit: https://xpna.co/learn

CMY

The Excel-based solution for consolidated, always up-to-date reports

�� xpna.co

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Learn more

Issue 37 / 87

Getting Paid on Time Starts with Sales

Embedding payment terms AND automation into your quoting process means no late payments, and no arguments about it. all know that cash is W eKing, and without it,

This article is

nothing can happen in your business. Wages stop getting paid, suppliers stop delivering goods and services, and your reputation can take a serious hit, even if you’re profitable. For many businesses, getting paid is the just last step in the process of delivering a job, and it’s never really thought about until the accounts receivables list grows in size, lateness, and its impact on the business. With a function that

@Workguru_io

Tony Harcourt, CEO and CoFounder, WorkGuru Tony is a software founder, consultant, and speaker on business processes and cloud systems. He has worked with clients ranging from mining giants to family businesses on their systems, platforms and Processes. Tony is passionate about helping small-businesses grow and prosper, and believes that it's impossible to do that without the best-of-breed cloud solutions to save time, and increase business visibility for a real-time review of your business operations.

is so utterly crucial to business success, it’s often amazing how little effort is devoted to it, and the impact that has on SMBs cannot be overstated.

said that of overdue invoices in Australia, 57% were more than 60 days overdue! That’s huge and represents an enormous risk to any business!

In the UK, the FSB estimates that over 50 000 businesses are pushed into insolvency each year, as a direct result of late payments.

What’s even more crazy is that, business owners and managers spend an awful lot of time improving and optimising their sales process, and operational delivery to ensure that work gets done, but comparatively little effort goes into getting paid on time. It’s amazing that the function that provides the cash and liquidity that business is utterly dependent on, is often left up to an accounts clerk to chase overdue invoices.

In Australia, Xero’s Small Business insights report 48% of business invoices are paid late, with more than 10% of those over a month overdue. Illion’s August report

WorkGuru and Pinch teams together at Xerocon Sydney 2023

There is a cost to getting paid late that is often missed when you’re reading a standard P&L - simply because there isn’t a line in most that accounts for it adequately. Outside of debt collection fees, and bad debts, late payments hurt SMBs in three ways: Overdue invoices remove liquidity from the business and hinders its ability to grow! The opportunity cost of not having that extra 50K, 100K or 200K cash at bank can be enormous.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

People have to spend time and money chasing cash that they’re owed, rather than chasing more sales or improving the business. You’re spending money on a valuable resource, to chase money - which increases your Cost of Sales and impacts your margins! Worse, this is a staff member that can’t be dedicated to growing the business. They damage relationships with customers. When you do work for someone and don’t get paid in a timely manner, it can have flow on impacts with follow up work, and even cost you a customer altogether. Whether it’s bad systems, or bad cashflow on your customer’s end, poor payment behaviour creates resentment, and puts entire business relationships at risk

This means that when a Quote is accepted, the business owners can be confident that they’re going to get paid, on time, and in full for the work they do, and the client knows upfront the terms of the engagement, including how and when the bill will be paid. To bring this vision to fruition, WorkGuru has partnered with the team at Pinch Payments for our latest product release, GuruPay. GuruPay brings the payment terms and automation into the sales process and ensures that service providers and their customers are all on the same page about how and when payments will be made.

Looking for a payments partner that had the flexibility of platform and technology was important, and they had to At WorkGuru, we’ve be a company been working that shared towards solving our values and “Getting paid is this problem for drive to improve NOT just the last our customers the lives of for a while now, small business step in the process and embedding owners. That’s of delivering a job” the payments why working with conversation into Pinch Payments the sales process. was a simple decision. Our goal was to allow Their customer-centric SMBs to optimise their ethos and the strength of their cashflow, sell only to customers underlying technology made it an who have a full intention of easy choice, and one we’re truly paying the bill on time, AND save excited about the money that they’d otherwise spend on accounts receivable. Paul Allen, CEO of Pinch Payments, shares our enthusiasm, When we spoke to our customers, stating, "We are delighted to one of the key requests our support WorkGuru in their mission customers have made was to not to enhance payment solutions for only accept payments after a job small businesses. Through this is done, but to take a deposit at collaboration, we are furthering the point of Quote acceptance, our own mission to eradicate the or even require a pre-approved issue of late payments, a problem payment method for future that exacts a significant toll on the invoices. global economy each year."

Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

We’re delighted to work with Paul and the whole Pinch team to try and address the late payments problem that is damaging SMBs across the world and it’s our aim that by 2024, all WorkGuru customers have the ability to pre-authorise payment methods at the quote stage, to ensure that they’re paid on time. Additionally, we’re keen to do this at the lowest possible friction for our customers. A key element of the GuruPay offering is that it doesn’t need to cost customers a cent. Where your jurisdiction allows it, GuruPay allows you to pass on the fees and charges associated with your transactions to customers, and have them automatically applied to your invoice, and the payment reconciled in Xero. While it’s a small step on the journey of improving global payment times for SMBs it’s one that WorkGuru is proud to be undertaking and we hope will make a huge difference to all of our customers globally. *While GuruPay is currently only available in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to roll the offering out to our UK customers in early 2024.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more about WorkGuru, visit their website https://workguru.io/

Issue 37 / 89

ApprovalMax and Airwallex extend integration availability to Australia and New Zealand Global Batch Payments with ApprovalMax for Airwallex. Prepare, Approve, and Pay.

@ApprovalMax

Helmut Heptner, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, ApprovalMax Helmut masters not only theoretical knowledge about effective organisations, but has helped many businesses to transform their daily operations and make them more efficient. As one of ApprovalMax founders, Helmut has led the company from the earliest days on.

Following the ApprovalMax and Airwallex partnership announcement in the UK, both companies are excited to share this integration to Australian and New Zealand businesses. expansion into the T he Australian and New

This article is

Zealand markets will allow accounting partners to provide clients with a comprehensive solution that streamlines financial controls and approvals for international payments and processing through the combination of ApprovalMax and Airwallex’s advanced financial technology.

Airwallex batch payments in “When batch payment approvals are managed by ApprovalMax ApprovalMax, it transforms allows users the way finance teams collect to create duly authorised invoices for batch payments while a batch of ensuring a controlled and payments, seamless integrated data submit them flow,” - Helmut Heptner, Co-Founder and Director of for automated Operations, ApprovalMax. approval processing, and use Airwallex as the payment method, all from within ApprovalMax. This offers a seamless solution for businesses seeking greater control over their finances and the end-to-end accounts payable cycle by streamlining the entire process from preparation, approval, and payment. The integration also gives accounting firms the ability to manage client payments without requiring

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access to their bank account, and having to handle manual file uploads, thereby saving time, reducing errors, all while tightening financial control points.

service offering to the next level, by significantly improving their clients’ experience while not taking on any additional risks where payments are concerned.”

“When batch payment approvals are managed by ApprovalMax, it transforms the way finance teams collect duly authorised invoices for batch payments while ensuring a controlled and seamless integrated data flow,” said Helmut Heptner, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, ApprovalMax.

“As businesses expand globally they need an end-to-end financial solution to facilitate fast, affordable payments while creating a frictionless customer experience,” said Luke Latham, General Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Airwallex.

“Together ApprovalMax and “The vision behind our collaboration Airwallex are making this a reality. is for ApprovalMax and Airwallex to This integration will not only work together in order to take away simplify batch payments but also the burden of manual approvals help businesses save on FX when and payments. Businesses are paying employees and suppliers required to implement robust in their preferred currency. We’re financial controls in a world excited to be partnering with of connected digital processes ApprovalMax to further support where cyber security threats are businesses as they look to scale increasing. Now we are helping globally.” Australian and New Zealand businesses get to a stage About the where they can integration: approve and make “As businesses expand globally they need an endfaster payment If your to-end financial solution to runs. This leads to organisation affordable fast, facilitate better business manages payments while creating a frictionless customer efficiency and significant experience,” said Luke happier suppliers payment Manager General Latham, in the long run.” volumes, for Australia and New Zealand at Airwallex. especially “It also allows us those involving to take our partners’ international

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

transactions in foreign currencies, then using Airwallex for payments embedded within ApprovalMax is an excellent option. This integration is particularly beneficial for businesses that are already using Airwallex, as well as for partners who provide or intend to offer treasury services. To take advantage of this integration, you must have active accounts with both ApprovalMax and Airwallex. Together ApprovalMax and Airwallex: • Eliminates any breaks in the

chain between payments preparation and completion • Enables an improved cash flow management process by ensuring payments are authorised by the correct stakeholders • Provides an easy and affordable way to make international payments to over 150 countries in over 40 currencies • Organises payment reconciliation with transparency • Automates audit trail creation • Provides a way for accountants to make payments without needing access to client bank accounts

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• Enables seamless synchronisation of data to Xero, including payment information and bank feeds

FIND OUT MORE... Want to try ApprovalMax? Start a trial, visit: approvalmax.com

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Issue 37 / 93

New Releases & Xero Connected Apps

Updates and new releases from Xero connected apps New feature shout-out

Expense On Demand expenseondemand.com

Are you a Xero-connected App? Got a new feature or update you’d like to share with the Xero User community? Email alex@ xumagazine.com

1. Capture Receipt– Capture and save receipts Capture Receipts or attach receipts to a claim from “Saved & Emailed Receipts”. 2. Smart Scan available on dashboard 3. Fuel card/Cost of fuel Editable by Finance Managers 4. Receipt with Multiple Tax Rates viewable by Finance 5. Expense details editable by

Finance Expenses editable by Finance 6. Upload multiple receipts to claim 7. Multiple receipts can be uploaded at once Add multiple receipts to a single expense claim. HR Partner hrpartner.io HR Partner has recently launched a brand new eSignature tool to make it easier for job applicants and employees to electronically sign important documents!

Wolters Kluwer wolterskluwer.com Introducing CCH iKnowConnect, Wolters Kluwer’s next-generation digital research platform with powerful search and intuitive browse experience to ensure you get to the right results faster. XPNA xpna.co Xpna now includes a library of pre-built reports to make getting started even easier

New to the

Xero App Marketplace New App shout-out Are you a new Xero-connected App? Let other Xero users know... email alex@ xumagazine.com

Bankeasy Bills and Expenses, Invoicing & Jobs apps.xero.com/au/app/bankeasy

BizzCtrl Debtor tracking, Payments bizzctrl.com

DevsDen Batchpayments Payments devsden.co.za

Bankeasy is a conversion tool that turns Xero bills into payment instructions for banks using the new ISO 20022 standard in Switzerland. The solution also imports any bank statement file received from financial institutions in the ISO 20022 XML format into Xero’s account statement transactions.

Automate your accounts receivables from invoicing to cash in the bank. Get paid and get paid faster with a Xero integrated collection process. Have full transparency and control over our ethical, low cost and convenient collection process.

This Batch Payments service, offered by the DevsDen Software Company, provides a solution by creating formatted Xero Batch Payments that are specific to the bank you use, ensuring that the payments are correctly processed and deposited.

Caretaskr CRM caretaskr.com

Easy Month End Accountant Tools, Other easymonthend.com

A care platform for small to medium-sized NDIS and Aged Care providers and workers. You can manage your day-to-day operations from client management to booking staff appointments.

Easy Month End is a team workflow management tool that will make your month ends a breeze. Say goodbye to managing your team’s work allocation and recurring tasks on Excel and Outlook and enjoy a workflow tool made specifically for finance teams.

Basis Financial services, Reporting basis.so Basis is a strategic finance platform that helps teams bring together financial and operational data, create data-integrated forecasts, and provide business leaders with real-time analytics.

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

New Xero Connected Apps

New to the

Xero App Marketplace

FreshPay Payroll HR freshpay.cloud

ProcureDesk Bills and Expenses, Inventory procuredesk.com

A simple automated and collaborative cloud payroll software that has a direct Xero integration. Designed by payroll professionals when not being able to find great cloud payroll software. Fresh and exciting, we listen to our customers needs and build new features around you.

ProcureDesk helps small to medium-sized companies reduce the time spent on creating and approving purchase orders and supplier invoices. It provides a central place to create, approve and track purchase orders and supplier bills.

Hero Blue Accountant Tools, Reporting heroblue.com.au Hero Blue is a cloud-based finance schedule generation and storage tool. Hero Blue allows all your schedules to be stored in one simple and secure location. NiceJob Other, Conversions get.nicejob.com NiceJob is a reputation marketing platform designed to help businesses get the reputation they deserve. Numerint Accountant Tools, Other numerint.com Export all your supplier bill and bank spend attachments. HMRC requires you to keep records for at least six years. Oomph CRM CRM, Invoicing & Jobs oomphworks.com Save time and boost productivity with Oomph CRM’s complete customer relationship management system, bringing all of your contacts into one place. Create & send invoices/quotes, stay on task with Activities, synchronise your TAX rates with Xero & report on every detail.

QuickHR Reporting, Payroll HR quickhr.co QuickHR is a comprehensive HR management system that streamlines HR processes and empowers employees. It offers a user-friendly interface, costeffectiveness, compliance support, and insights for informed decisionmaking. Re-flow Connector Invoicing & Jobs, Reporting re-flow.co.uk A powerful field management software provider, enabling businesses across construction, highways, traffic management, civil engineering, landscaping and rail to digitally transform their operational processes to the next level. Setyl Bills and Expenses, Inventory setyl.com Setyl is a complete IT management platform used by businesses globally. Track and manage IT assets and software license SaaS spend. Skyvia Custom Integration, Reporting skyvia.com

loading, building complex data pipelines and its orchestration, sharing data via OData or SQL endpoints, etc. It supports all major cloud apps and relational databases. Sumday Accountant Tools, Reporting sumday.io Software that makes carbon accounting as transparent and robust as financial accounting. Built for accountants and made for businesses of any size, anywhere Sumday is now. SuperOps CRM, Time Tracking superops.ai Professional services automation is software designed to help MSPs, IT professionals and consultants with resource management and billing operations for client projects and utilization rate management for billable staff. Webtize Point of sale exconnect.erpplugins.com Automatically synchronize data between Erply ERP and Xero with a quick and easy setup using the exConnect integration. Wunderbuild Bills and Expenses, Invoicing & Jobs wunderbuild.com Wunderbuild is a construction management software to assist with various aspects of the construction process, such as estimating, project management, scheduling, budgeting, collaboration, communication and more.

Skyvia is a no-code cloud data platform for data integration (ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL), data sync, workflow automation, CSV data

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Please note: this is not an exhaustive list of new Apps in the Xero App Marketplace. You can see all Xeroconnected Apps at apps.xero.com

Issue 37 / 95

Classifieds

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Classifieds Payroll & HR

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Issue 37 / 97

Classifieds Year End

Networking

AML Software

AML management Made Easier.

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You all ready for next week? Yep, got my new Ovolu card at the ready!

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

THE ICB BOOKKEEPERS SUMMIT 2023 BOOK NOW Do it your way at the only dedicated bookkeeping event in the UK Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Way #Do Your it 6th Nov 23

Park Plaza Westminster, London Follow us on X (Twitter): @xumagazine

Issue 37 / 99

Events

The World’s Largest Business Show is Back For 2023!

@TheBusinessShow

Business Show Media Business Show Media is an international events company with offices based in the UK and Singapore. They host 7 events with editions taking place in London, Los Angeles, Miami, and Singapore. The Business Show has been running for over 22 years and has a rich history of helping entrepreneurs start their dream business, and also helping small business owners drive their organisation’s growth.

This article is

he world’s largest business show is back for 2023, returning to the ExCeL London on the 22nd & 23rd of November. The aim of the event is to motivate, educate, and inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners and help them start or grow their dream business. Running alongside this are the co-located shows Going Global Live, Working From Home Live, the Retrain Expo, and our new additions The Sustainability Show, and The Future Working Show. This edition of The Business Show will host an audience of 30,000 SME and startup owners, and will provide all the help and guidance you need to make your organisation a success. As an entrepreneur, you will have access to knowledge and resources to help you on your business journey including advice

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and guidance from some of the biggest names in business. This is the best year yet for keynotes with experts from such global brands as Google, Spotify, TikTok, Uber Advertising, and Tinder. We also have this year’s The Apprentice winner Marnie Swindells. Nowhere else will you find such inspirational and educational sessions under

one roof for FREE. This is a rare opportunity to get first-hand advice from the people who started right where you are; take advantage of this unique learning opportunity. There are also over 750 exhibitors showcasing all the latest products and services needed for small businesses to succeed, as well

XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

Master the art of client collaboration! Our 6-page guide is designed to help you with: Completing the approval process Catering to clients by consolidating your apps and automating follow up. Managing correspondence Handling your inbox so every interaction is backed with context. Gathering documentation Improving file sharing so clients can self service. Sourcing accurate information Cutting out copies of files so every document is its own source of truth.

Get the guide Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Issue 37 / 101

Events

as 200 educational seminars and interactive “Hear keynotes masterclasses from from experts from such names as HSBC global brands such as Google, Spotify, UK, Intellectual TikTok, Uber Property Office, and Advertising, and Tinder.” UK Export Academy from Department for Business & Trade. Find out how to start a property development business, how to market on Social media, tips to

get more clients, and a range of other insightful and educational topics. These masterclass spaces are limited and on a first come, first served basis, so make sure you sign up on the website to secure your place!

and our coffee networking area. You can sign up to speed networking via the website and guarantee your spot. You’ll be able to meet with like-minded individuals and create meaningful business relationships.

We also have incredible networking opportunities at the speed networking sessions; one minute mini-meetings in a corporate take on speed dating,

This year is set to be better than ever before. If you don’t want to miss out then register for a FREE ticket here: www. greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk. This will give you access to all the co-located shows and all of the show features. For more information please contact the marketing team at marketing@thebusinessshow. co.uk.

FIND OUT MORE... Register for your FREE ticket today: greatbritishbusinessshow. co.uk

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XU Magazine - The independent news source for users of accounting apps & their ecosystems

THE BUSINESS SHOW 2023