XU Biweekly - Issue 65 - 7 October 2023

XU XU

REDEFINE HOW PEOPLE PAY INVOICES EVERYWHERE

How payment platform Apron’s latest £12M investment will change the game for SMBs, and their accountants, at a whole new scale

WE'RE BEYOND THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT APRON HAS RAISED £12M IN A SERIES A FUNDING ROUND LED BY INDEX VENTURES, WITH PARTICIPATION OF OUR EXISTING INVESTORS, BESSEMER VENTURE PARTNERS AND VISIONARIES CLUB. AND WITH IT, A WAY TO RADICALLY SCALE UP OUR MISSION TO REINVENT HOW BUSINESSES MAKE PAYMENTS.

Apron has proven itself to be a game-changer for SMBs and the boutique accountancy firms they work with. With this investment, we’ll now be able to transform the workflow for larger practices handling hun-

dreds of clients, thousands of transactions, and billions of pounds.

As our investor at Index Ventures, Partner Jan Hammer explains:

“The needs of SMBs have been ignored for too long. Bogdan’s team have realised that if you build an amazing product, it will spread organically and at speed among small businesses and accountants. Apron have not just built a technically exceptional back-end payments platform: combined with their unique focus on the product experience for end-users, they have the potential to redefine how people pay invoices everywhere.”

How it started

We launched our beta in March 2023 to change the way businesses pay for things. Apron lets business owners and their finance partners sort, pay and reconcile invoices: with no complex onboarding, no room for error, no need for bank access and absolutely no time wasted.

How it’s going

We’ve seen staggering growth in our first few months, driven by a new wave of accountants hungry for innovation. Our next step? Make that difference, but on a dramatically larger scale. With the new funds, we’ll deepen and widen our

product suite. Today, we’re announcing two major updates that will place Apron at the heart of the critical infrastructure which larger accountancy practices rely on to keep business booming.

Say hello to Apron Hub

The new home for all things payments; especially for big teams handling transactions for lots of different businesses.

Apron Hub lets you:

• Add your team members, and assign them roles and clients.

• See all pending tasks on a page. So nothing gets missed, and you can spot sticking points before

they turn into roadblocks.

• Set up workflows. Let’s say there’s a standard chain of approvals that has to happen every time you pay a bill. Set up that flow in Apron Hub, and apply it to all bill payments across any number of clients — three or three-thousand.

All in all, it gives practices more oversight, making the payments process much safer and a whole lot slicker.

Coming soon: Apron Snap

Next in the pipeline is Apron Snap — a tool that captures invoices instantly and automatically. This is something our community has been crying out for, and

we’ve got launch pencilled for early 2024. Here’s what Apron Snap is set to do:

• Fetch invoices from all your clients

• Snap all the invoice info

• Categorise it automatically

• Feed it into your bookkeeping software like Xero or Quickbooks

You’ll be able to pair it with the rest of Apron, or use it on its own. We see this reinventing how accountants work with clients. Apron Snap will reliably hoover up details from tens of thousands of invoices and feed them straight to where you need them.

Read more

Swoop and Sage unveil Global Partnership

SWOOP, A FINTECH COMPANY SPECIALISING IN FUNDING SOLUTIONS AND SAGE, THE LEADER IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL, HR, AND PAYROLL TECHNOLOGY, ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THEIR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

Aimed at helping businesses and accountants access a wide range of funding opportunities, the partnership will also help identify opportunities to reduce

business costs in areas such as energy, banking and foreign exchange, providing a significant impact on the bottom line. By integrating their Sage accounting software once, businesses can identify more accurate funding opportunities, streamline the funding process, unlock business savings, and benefit from tools such as cash flow forecasting.

In today's dynamic economic landscape, businesses face challenges in secur-

ing the financial capital they need to grow and thrive. Research conducted by the Sage Foundation has highlighted that the lack of financial resources is one of the most significant obstacles businesses encounter on the journey to success.

Swoop and Sage have joined forces to simplify and expedite the process of accessing vital funding for businesses.

Find out more

Saturday 7th October 2023

The independent user news source for accounting apps and their ecosystems

New Apps & Updates

SPEED UP DATA COMPLIANCE TASKS & INCREASE YOUR PROFIT ON EVERY CLIENT JOB

diligence checks, while still offering you the flexibility needed to work with different clients’ data.

• Handy common data checks included outof-the box and ready for use.

• New Data Checklist Templates allow you to quickly set up practice-wide standards across all clients and staff.

NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS!

necks at period and year ends.

• Real time, complete and accurate accounts unlock quality insights for better advisory and reporting services.

What are the benefits for advisors?

Hero Blue

• Easily standardise and improve the quality of data for all your clients.

• Complete Accounts and Tax Return filing jobs quickly and profitably.

• Unlock accurate real time data and insights to deliver better advisory services at scale.

How does Aider’s Data Compliance tool work?

The new and improved tool helps you standardise and automate your data due

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 65

Newsdesk:

If you have any news or updates that you would like us to consider for inclusion in the next edition of the XU Biweekly, please email us at: newsdesk@xumagazine.com

CEO: David Hassall

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Chief Revenue Officer: Alex Newson

Design & Communications

Manager: Bethany Fulks

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‘Xero’ is a trademark of Xero Limited (New Zealand). XU Biweekly and 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 publication may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

XU Biweekly is published by XU Magazine Ltd (08811842), registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Office 1, Brunswick House, Brunswick Way, Liverpool, L3 4BN, United Kingdom. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. XU Magazine Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information.

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• Customise the checklist further for each client as needed.

• Get alerted automatically when the latest Xero data indicates potential issues.

• Fix transactions and get required documentation promptly to remove bottle-

Aider’s improved Data Compliance tool makes it quicker than ever to set up automated data checklists and enforce quality standards. Now you can easily ensure your clients' data is coded correctly for compliance and performance reporting.

Find

Introducing Source by First AML

FIRST AML, THE GLOBAL AML SCALEUP, TODAY ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW SELF-SERVICE PLATFORM, SOURCE, DESIGNED TO REVOLUTIONISE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING WORKFLOWS FOR COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS AND TEAMS.

The new platform offers an unrivalled choice for organisations with complex or multinational onboarding requirements, delivering streamlined collaboration and ensuring AML consistency.

Created for compliance teams in the law, real estate, accounting and finance sectors, Source empowers businesses to save valuable time, reduce costs and eliminate frustrations associated with AML compliance.

Whether it's simple EIV checks or tackling the most

challenging and high-risk compliance areas, the platform equips organisations with the tools and capabilities to handle it all seamlessly from one platform.

Key features include access to over 300 global corporate registries covering more than 100 countries, AI-enabled identity verifications, compliance automations, data collection decisioning, real-time case visibility, AML intelligence, and risk-tolerance flexibility, all from one platform.

With this comprehensive suite of functionalities, finance firms can increase onboarding efficiency, enhance compliance workflows, maintain consistent compliance processes, and reduce the risks of data security and privacy breaches.

"We are proud to introduce First AML Source as the go-to solution for accounting firms grappling

with complex onboarding processes and evolving AML requirements,"

said Milan Cooper, CEO and Co-Founder of First AML.

"Our next generation platform is purpose-built to empower organisations to orchestrate and navigate the intricacies of AML compliance effortlessly, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and peace of mind. Beta users have told us they have seen a 70% efficiency increase with using the platform."

“The manual process we had before was so tedious. I’d recommend anyone wanting to streamline their CDD / KYC processes to utilise First AML's Source.”

- Rebecca Black, Administrative Manager, Cleaver Partners

New to Fathom: Account codes in financial statements and in-app training

Display account codes in financial statements

If you’re more familiar with your account codes than account names, they’ve added the ability to include account codes in your reports.

They’ve listened to your feedback and heard your requests. With this enhancement, you can:

• Display account codes in a Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet statement

• Show account codes in Financials & Trends tables

• Add account codes to several of the Excel reports

Account codes are automatically imported into Fathom from your source accounting system. They can be displayed in a financial statement showing a ‘Detailed’ view of the accounts.

Video

Keep reading these in-app videos from the ‘Reports’ section of a company or consolidated group.

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, and the best part is you can do all of this for free.

Skyvia

GLOBAL - Skyvia is a no-code platform for data integration (ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL), building complex pipelines, sync, & workflow automation. It supports all major cloud apps and relational databases.

Skyvia is a full-featured ETL, ELT, and Reverse ETL tool for Xero. It allows creating a copy of Xero data (and any other supported data sources) in a relational database and keeping this copy up-to-date automatically.

Easily manage your GoCardless payments: Update subscriptions in bulk

Helping businesses to manage payments better

We aim to truly make getting paid as simple and easy as possible. In doing, so we create exceptional experiences for the thousands of businesses using our payment solution. From independent gyms and swim clubs to multinational tech businesses and energy companies.

Working closely with customers and thanks to their insightful feedback, they’re making managing payments straightforward and more flexible to suit their needs. Within the GoCardless dashboard customers can now edit the prices of subscriptions in bulk so they can:

• Save time manually managing subscriptions and focus instead on what they do best

• Create less disruption for those making the payments and maintain an excellent customer experience

New: Update everyone at once

Whether a business needs to change the price of 10 or 1,000 subscriptions, there’s no need to cancel and recreate a new one anymore. Subscriptions (previously known as Plans) can simply be edited for everyone paying that subscription at once.

If it’s for an annual subscription price increase, or change to the price of a subscription for any reason, businesses no longer have to move customers onto a new subscription, but just edit the one they’re on.

What will those making payments see?

We understand that customer experience is at the heart of every business. We want to be transparent about what people see when they pay, so businesses using GoCardless can be confident in their whole customer experience.

Keep reading

training

for Fathom reporting

They’ve added reporting education videos in Fathom! After receiving positive feedback on their in-app forecasting videos, they've created short training videos for reporting as well.

Admin and Advisor or Editor level users can access

Simply click on the ‘Book & Glasses’ icon in the lower left corner to open the video menu. Once you’ve completed a video, you can check it off the list to keep track of your progress.

None of the videos are longer than 3 minutes, so you can quickly get up to speed with Fathom’s reporting capabilities and discover features you haven’t used before!

Learn more

Introducing your new joiin dashboard

CIRCIT, A LEADING AUDIT VERIFICATION AND CLIENT COLLABORATION PLATFORM, ANNOUNCED A PARTNERSHIP WITH TMF GROUP. THE PARTNERSHIP WILL BRING CIRCIT’S TECHNOLOGY TO TMF GROUP'S FUND SERVICES AND CAPITAL MARKETS CLIENTS, TRANSFORMING THIRD-PARTY CONFIRMATIONS AND PBC AUDIT REQUEST COMMUNICATION PROCESS.

The partnership with TMF Group is a significant milestone for Circit in its offering to the asset management industry. TMF Group is a top provider of fund services administration and this partnership will enable the company to accelerate the deployment of its platform to a global client base and associated audit firms.

“We’re very excited to partner with TMF Group who have a clear commitment to deliver the best technology stack in their client services offering. Together, we will work to roll out our new technology to TMF Group's operations in the U.S, LATAM and Europe.” David Heath, CEO at Circit.

Read more

PRIMEGLOBAL AWARDED XERO GLOBAL PARTNER STATUS, XERO BECOMES PRIMEGLOBAL’S PROVEN OPTION FOR INDEPENDENT MEMBER FIRMS.

Xero, the global small business platform, today announced it has signed a new three year global agreement with PrimeGlobal to empower its member firms to adopt and use Xero’s cloud accounting solutions to help their clients grow and succeed.

PrimeGlobal is an association of independent accounting and business advisory firms comprising more than 300 highly successful independent member firms across 112 countries.

Under the agreement, PrimeGlobal has been awarded the Xero Global Partner status, which provides new benefits to its participating member firms, including education and co-marketing opportunities, extended account management, as well as access to training and support.

In addition, PrimeGlobal and Xero will collaborate to support the sharing of best practices, provide insights into the latest industry trends at conferences and events, and explore opportunities for member firms to better understand future technology and industry trends.

Read more

QUICKLY PULL TOGETHER YOUR KEY METRICS IN ONE PLACE WITH A SIMPLE YET POWERFUL INTERFACE, CREATING A DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS YOU PRECISELY WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE, WHENEVER OR WHEREVER YOU NEED TO SEE IT.

It is completely customisable: widgets can be configured using a variety of KPIs, chart types and filters and can be moved and resized using drag and drop.

“A dashboard that shows you precisely what you need to see, whenever or wherever you need to see it.”

Find out more

LIBERIS PARTNERS WITH IPOSG TO PROVIDE INNOVATIVE REVENUE FINANCE SOLUTIONS TO RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY MERCHANTS.

Revolutionising financial support within the IPOSG ecosystem, Liberis, the leading embedded finance platform, has announced its strategic partnership with IPOSG, a UK-based software development company, offering its unique Revenue Finance solution

Liberis’ expertise in embedded finance, combined with IPOSG’s reputation as a trusted EPOS applications provider, promises to reshape the landscape of financial support for businesses.

Read more

BGL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS (BGL), AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF COMPANY COMPLIANCE, SELF-MANAGED SUPERANNUATION FUND (SMSF), INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND AI POWERED PAPER-TO-DATA SOLUTIONS, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF ITS CAS 360 CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

The Certification will recognise CAS 360 clients who have successfully completed all the CAS 360 Training Courses. The CAS 360 Certification Program empowers clients to showcase their proficiency in BGL's complete company, trust and AML management software, CAS 360 and gain recognition for their expertise from employers, clients and peers. The CAS 360 Certification program is currently offered to BGL clients free of charge.

Norman Michael, Training and Documentation Manager at BGL, said:

"Becoming CAS 360 Certified is available to all BGL clients through a series of on-demand product training courses and assessments. The courses incorporate interactive videos, practical exercises and a short test. Participants will earn 2 CPD hours for completing each course and receive a certificate and badge to proudly display their expertise."

Find out more

Xero data reveals growth in Canada’s accounting and bookkeeping industry

ADOPTION OF CLIENT ADVISORY SERVICES, VALUE BASED PRICING, AND CLOUD SOLUTIONS LINKED TO PRACTICE GROWTH.

Xero, the global small business platform, today announced the release of its State of the Industry Report for Canada, which found that the country’s accounting and bookkeeping firms have experienced widespread revenue and profit growth, linked to the adoption of new operating models and cloud solutions.

The report revealed that 70 percent of Canadian accounting and bookkeeping practices surveyed experienced growth in revenues over the past 12 months, with more than half (56%) of those practices attributing their revenue growth to an increase in clients. At the same time, 70 percent of practices reported increases in profits, with an increased number of services provided

(48%) and streamlined internal processes (41%) most commonly cited as reasons for rising profitability.

“Canada’s accounting and bookkeeping industry has responded to successive waves of disruption with resilience, ingenuity, and a remarkable willingness to adapt,” said Faye Pang, Country Manager for Canada, Xero. “We’re seeing subtle but significant shifts towards business models and uses of technology that amplify the value practices can offer their clients. The positive impact that these changes are having on revenues and profitability suggest that they could well become the industry norms of the future.”

The report’s findings point to growing change in the fundamental value proposition that accounting and bookkeeping practices offer.

Keep reading

ICB HAS ANNOUNCED THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2023 LUCA AWARDS. BUT SHORTLISTED BOOKKEEPERS AND COMPANIES WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER TO FIND OUT THE WINNERS.

Bookkeepers Awards

• Student of the Year

• Tutor of the Year

• New Practice of the Year

• Small Practice of the Year

• Large Practice of the Year

• Employer of the Year

• Employed Bookkeeper/Team of the Year

• Branch of the Year

• Social Media Influencer of the Year

Vendor Awards

• Data and Expenses App of the Year

• Payroll and HR Software of the Year

• Business Bank of the Year

• Practice Management App of the Year

• Financial Services Provider of the Year

• Reporting and Analysis App of the Year

• Bookkeeping Software of the Year

• Tax and Accounts Production Software of the Year

• Client App of the Year

• Bookkeeping Personality of the Year

• Friendliest Software of the Year

• Friendliest Training Provider of the Year

See all the finalists

‘Digital drag’ reveals £77.3bn income gap

THE UK’S SMALLEST COMPANIES COULD GENERATE £77.3BN OF EXTRA REVENUE AND CREATE 885,000 NEW JOBS IF THEY ALL DIGITALISED AT THE RATE OF THE TOP 20% OF TECH ADOPTERS*. THIS IS ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM XERO, THE GLOBAL SMALL BUSINESS PLATFORM, AND ECONOMICS CONSULTANT, CEBR.

Researching 694 of the UK's smallest businesses, from Xero's Beating the 'digital drag' report also found that SMEs that had digitalised the most over the last four years grew their revenue by 8.1% over the same period, compared to the slowest adopters, who’d seen their revenues decline by 4.7%. Improving customer experience, smoother operations, and expanding their client base were cited as the top three benefits for adopting more tech.

Read more

XERO ANNOUNCES NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH PRIMEGLOBAL

THE APPLICATION PERIOD FOR THE XERO BEAUTIFUL BUSINESS FUND WILL BE WRAPPING UP A FEW SHORT WEEKS! TO HELP US SELECT THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 XERO BEAUTIFUL BUSINESS FUND, WE’VE LINED UP A STELLAR LIST OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL JUDGES.

The judges represent small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers and Xero’s global partners. They will play a key role in evaluating the entries to help our small business winners achieve their ambitions.

Our regional judging panels will each

identify four regional winners (one winner in each category), who will each receive NZ$20,000*. There will be a total of 28 regional winners who will then be put forward to our global judging panel. The global judges will select our four global winners who will receive an additional NZ$50,000*.

We spoke to the global judges to share more about why they were inspired to become a judge and to learn more about what they are most looking forward to seeing as part of this year’s entries.

Find out more about the judges

Chata.ai & AI Know Announce New Partnership

INTRODUCING GENERATIVE AI FOR SELF-SERVICE DATA ANALYTICS TO THE CHILEAN MARKET

Chata.ai, a Canadian tech company focused on developing conversational artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, announces a new strategic partnership with AI Know, a technology consultant in the Chilean market.

AI Know specializes in researching and analyzing worldwide AI solutions, focusing on those with the highest potential for creating value within the market. Through strategic partnerships with global trailblazers like Chata.ai, AI Know streamlines the deployment of these solutions to businesses, all while offering immediate support.

Keep reading

Reckon One receives ‘Best Customer Support’ badge from Software Advice

DUE TO THEIR EXTREMELY IMPORTANT CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES, WE’RE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT RECKON ONE HAS BEEN RECOGNISED AS AN IMPACTFUL SOFTWARE CHOICE FOR BUSINESSES.

Some of Reckon’s key customer support stats

From their online community to their dedicated technical and cloud specialist teams, at Reckon they take customer support very seriously. As a part of this commitment, they regularly report on key stats to see how they’re helping our customers. Here’s a yearto-date snapshot of 2023.

“Receiving the ‘Best Customer Support Badge’ from Software Advice is an honour, particularly as customer support is an area in which we strive for perfection,” says Alex Alexandrou, General manager

Who are Software Advice?

Software Advice guides businesses through the software buying process. Through 1-on-1 conversation and trusted insights, Software Advice has helped more than 900,000 businesses find the right technology for their specific needs. Software Advice features over 2 million verified reviews.

Keep reading

WE ARE EXCITED TO INTRODUCE A NEW ADDITION TO THE OCERRA AP AUTOMATION SOLUTION: PURCHASE ORDERS (POS).

The Ocerra POs allows the creation, approval and sending of POs to suppliers, following an automated 2-way match.

Product Overview

The Ocerra PO is a lightweight solution designed to streamline the procurement process for small and medium-sized companies.

It operates independently from your accounting or ERP system, offering a dedi-

cated feature within the accounts payable (AP) automation framework for creating and managing purchase orders.

This approach simplifies procurement, ensures secure financial processes, and is cost-effective. It achieves these goals without the usual complexities of integrating purchase order functions into larger systems, offering greater flexibility and ease of use.

It's important to note that Ocerra POs is a standalone feature and is not intended to replicate the extensive financial capabilities found in ERP systems.

See all the updates

WEEL, AUSTRALIA’S LEADING SPEND MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF ITS SMALL BUT MIGHTY FEATURE, EXPRESS EXPENSE COMPLETION. THIS NEW FEATURE EXPEDIATES EXPENSE REPORTING FOR BUSINESSES BY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING THE COLLECTION OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENSE DETAILS.

This straightforward innovation hinges on an optional feature that automatically limits Weel card usage for users with incomplete expense reports older than three days. To restore card access, users only need to upload the missing receipt.

Hunting down missing receipts and managing incomplete reports has long been a headache for businesses and their finance teams. Weel's Express Expense Completion feature instigates a behavioral shift at the employee level, reducing the need for finance teams to chase receipts.

Find out more

Weel’s new card blocking feature increases expense report completion by 37% within 24 hours

Increase accuracy by up to 99%.

No contract, plus fair and reasonable monthly pricing.

Integrates seamlessly with Xero and others.

Automate everything: create rules for even more time saving.

Get all features from day #1 at no extra cost—including unlimited companies* & users.

relevant for accountants and bookkeepers *

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Events & Webinars

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPCOMING UK WEBINARS

UPCOMING APAC WEBINARS

Strucket Rich: How inventory management system

Fishbowl helped a Sunshine Coast based strainer bucket company scale-up to play with the big fish

IT SEEMS LIKE MANAGING INVENTORY IN YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE A FAIRLY STRAIGHT-FORWARD PROCESS RIGHT? COUNT THE ITEMS IN YOUR WAREHOUSE, TRACK THEIR MOVEMENTS, AND REORDER THEM WHEN THEY GET LOW. SEEMS STRAIGHT FORWARD ENOUGH, ON PAPER, BUT THE REALITY IS ANYTHING BUT THIS SIMPLE, AS SUNSHINE COAST FOUNDER AND CEO OF STRUCKET, KELLY LAVERY FOUND OUT WHEN HER BUSINESS STARTED TO EXPAND RAPIDLY

“In the early days of Strucket we would do everything manually. There was often a lot of scrambling and trying to work out exactly where we were at and

hoping we had the numbers right” Mrs Lavery said.‍

“We started with one pallet of stock in a tiny room and it just grew and grew and grew and we discovered that if you don’t have your systems in place to grow, that’s going to be your biggest problem.”‍

The business, originally named Buderim Bucket company, started quite small back in 2018, but as success with social media took hold, the company grew rapidly and it became obvious that the business needed a better way to take control of stock and the ordering process.‍

“We realised quite quickly as we were going through that something had to

change...we were moving so fast and we didn’t want to slip up and make mistakes so we needed excellent systems put in place and luckily through local community we found Fishbowl and that was the problem Solved.” Mrs Lavery said.‍

“We have a lot of clients with a very similar story to this,” said Fishbowl APAC Managing Director, Simon Jupe, “Managing inventory involves numerous tasks and components that all need to work in harmony on a continuing basis to produce the desired results. Most businesses start small and with very manual processes, but to take your business to the next level, you really need to have the right tools and the right automation to help you scale appropriately.” He said.

Fishbowl is an inventory management solution that provides features and functionality for small to enterprise-sized warehousing and manufacturing businesses. Fishbowl performs inventory management tasks such as: Barcoding, Serial number and batch tracking, Advanced bill of materials and work orders and has Seamless accounting integrations with Intuit QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Reckon Accounts.

“Our software solution provides our clients with granular visibility into their operations, efficiency to streamline and grow, and flexibility to customize today and in the future, all at a fraction of the cost of other ERP systems on the market.” Mr Jupe said.

There’s a lot more than just functionality to consider when deciding to take on an inventory management system to improve the way your business operates.

Implementation and onboarding is a huge element too. How the system is set up and how staff perceive the need for the solution all play crucial roles in whether the system will succeed.

When speaking about the setup and service provided by Fishbowl, Mrs Lavery said

“It was great to get help from a real person. It was refreshing to be able to resolve issues in a timely and efficient manner and at the same time be heard and respected as a customer. It’s hard to get that kind of ser-

vice these days."

“Our clients are everything to us and our awesome team does everything they can to deliver the best setup, service and business solutions around!” Mr Jupe said.‍

"Whilst there were quite a few things to figure out when we first implemented Fishbowl, I just love it now because it allows me to have the operational side of the business taken care of. I can access reports and I know where my stock is at all times. I can focus on what I’m good at, the product development for Strucket and the sales and marketing, so that we can continue to sell Strucket worldwide.” Mrs Lavery said.

Keep reading

By Craig Scarr, Marketing Director, APAC, Fishbowl

Help Your Clients Select the Right Job Management Software

By Tony Harcourt, Co-Founder & CEO, WorkGuru

WORKGURU’S CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, TONY HARCOURT, SHARES HIS TIPS ON HELPING YOUR CLIENTS SELECT THE RIGHT JOB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE.

While many clients will make a decision on their own, many will turn to their accountants and bookkeepers for advice, and it can sometimes be tough to know how to go about recommending software.

Stop and Assess

Before your clients jump into a new system, there’s a few questions to ask about what the optimum outcome for the client is. If they were using a bunch of spreadsheets and workarounds, you should help them analyse the shortfall in what they have, and get a system that meets their real-world requirements.

Focus on the Problem to be Solved

A lot of the time, people focus on the industry, or the features of a program that they want for their clientsand that’s a good starting point, but the real key is to step back and ask, “What is

the problem we’re trying to solve here.”

The whole point of the software is to solve problems for you, and not necessarily to solve them the way that you do now - particularly if that way is inefficient, or outdated.

Know What you Love About What You’ve Got

It sounds silly, but you’ve got your current software for a reason. You like something about it enough to keep it around, so if everything it currently did for you was taken away, it’s really important to know what it is that you’d miss about it.

Don’t assume that every piece of software in the same category has the same features or achieves the same outcomes,

Know What Your Extra Must Haves, and Nice to Haves are

Once you know what you’d hate to lose about your current software, think about the things that you just WISH it did better. If you’re moving to a new platform, categorise that list into MUST haves, and Nice to Haves.

Parlez-vous français?

Do you want Stock Control? Calendar Scheduling? Easy Variation handling? Progress Claims? What is it that’s going to make a real difference to your business?

Remember that a Must Have is “I won’t buy the software at all if it doesn’t solve X.” Nice to have, is “I’ll still consider the software if it has all my Must Haves, but doesn’t solve this thing.”

Get

A DEMO - not Just a Trial

Getting a custom demo is the no 1 most important thing that you can do. Free trials are awesome (and you should get one of those too!) but the thing about Job Management Software, is that it can take a heck of setting up to see it work to its true potential.

A demo, customised to your client by the software company, shows you how THEY (the expert) would solve the problem using their software. Remember, if you and your client have never played with it before, there’s going to be HEAPs of things about it that you don’t know! Ask the experts, and make them show you. Keep reading

HOW TO FIX BROKEN AND SLOW EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESSES

By Trent McLaren, Accounting Industry Leader

DISCOVER SOME PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO HELP STREAMLINE YOUR ORGANISATION’S EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESSES.

What’s the old saying? You have to spend money to make money. The innovative business sees the value in that philosophy while putting guides around spending that keep decision-making in check.

The evolution of this side of the company has failed to keep up with the progressive spirit the business was founded on. It’s impossible to win a horserace with the jockey pulling back on the reins.

Read on to find some actionable tips to enhance efficiency, eliminate bottlenecks, and empower your team with adequate spending controls.

The common bottleneck for expenditure approval processes‍

There are several common causes for slow and inefficient processes when it comes to approving costs in a company. These causes can vary depending on the organisation’s size, structure, and specific operational challenges.

1. Manual workflows‍

With automation technology now on our side, there is no longer the need to rely so heavily on the manual movement of documents. This causes delays in routing and bottlenecks.‍

2. Lack of standardisation‍

Miscommunication and prolonged decision-making are the enemy. No matter how big or small, every company needs clear guidelines

for requesting, reviewing, and approving spending.‍

3. Hierarchical approval structures

Multiple levels of management approval and oversight can cause delays.

4. Manual tracking and follow-up

Lack of visibility into the approval status is a significant concern. It’s essential to eliminate the process to monitor the progress and identify and fix bottlenecks.

5. Lack of delegation and empowerment

Efficiencies are found by removing centralised decision-making authority. More employees in charge of their own cost centres and budgets make making the load more manageable.

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Starling Bank sets the standard: Boosts interest rate to 3.25% for Personal and Joint current account balances

STARLING BANK WILL PAY 3.25% AER INTEREST (VARIABLE)* ON CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCES OF UP TO £5,000 FROM 1ST OCTOBER 2023. THE MOVE WILL MEAN THAT ALL PERSONAL AND JOINT ACCOUNT CUSTOMERS EARN INTEREST ON THEIR BALANCE WITHOUT HAVING TO MOVE THEIR MONEY INTO A SEPARATE ACCOUNT OR DEDICATED POT.

Digital bank urges highstreet lenders to follow suit

• Earn interest on Starling’s free account with no need to move money around

• Customers to earn 3.25%

AER interest (variable)* on balances of up to £5,000

• Rate automatically applies from 1st October and is paid monthly

John Mountain, interim CEO of Starling Bank said: "Most banks with competitive interest rates require customers to move money into a separate account or pay a subscription fee."

"This friction means that many people won’t get around to taking action and so miss out on the interest on their main balance. We wanted to change this and ensure that everybody benefits by paying interest on the first £5,000 in their current account. This is something that all big banks should consider doing."

Starling will pay interest on positive balances, so customers’ money has earning potential whether they're holding money for day-today transactions or saving for holidays or heating bills.

PayPal, Venmo Credit and Debit Cards Now Available to Add in Apple Wallet

Interest rates apply to the first £5,000 in a customer’s account, inclusive of money held in Spaces and children's Kite cards connected to an adult account.

Customers with pre-existing joint accounts will earn interest on joint balances of up to £5,000, as well as on balances of up to £5,000 in their personal current account. Most of Starling’s retail customers will benefit from the interest on the entirety of their current account balance, with 94% of customers holding £5,000 or less.

Interest is paid monthly on the first day of the following month. The 3.25% interest rate is available to new and existing customers.

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SONIA DORIAS - CHASER CEO WINS INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AT WOMEN IN CREDIT AWARDS

WE'RE DELIGHTED TO SHARE THAT SONIA DORAIS, CHASER'S CEO, WON THE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD AT THE WOMEN IN CREDIT AWARDS 2023. THE AWARDS WERE HELD AT THE BREWERY IN LONDON ON SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2023.

The Women in Credit Awards are an event dedicated to recognizing outstanding women and their allies in the credit and financial services industry.

The Innovator of the Year award recognises a woman who has demonstrated achievements that have brought something new –such as a change in process, strategy, or technology - to the organisation work for.

Sonia was shortlisted for the Innovator of the Year

award for leading Chaser through its release of innovative features including:

• Chaser Pay

• Recommended chasing times

• Late payment predictor

• Payer ratings

“Outstanding work. The entry clearly displays her commitment to innovation. What she’s achieved this year in payments offers great innovation from payment apps to provide seamless transactions and improve cash flow analysis.”

- Comments on Sonia's work from the award judges

Sonia's accomplishment was a testament to her pivotal role in leading Chaser's recent innovations. Notably, in June 2023, Chaser introduced Chaser Pay, a streamlined payments solu-

tion that enables SMEs to request and collect payments directly through the Chaser software, offering various payment options, including debit, credit, instant/open banking, Amex, and ApplePay.

Additionally, under Sonia's guidance, Chaser launched Payer Ratings in March 2023, utilizing artificial intelligence to assess customer payment behavior and provide AI-generated ratings ('Good,' 'Average,' or 'Bad'). These ratings offer SMEs quick insights into their customers' payment tendencies for effective decision-making.

Furthermore, Sonia championed the development of AI features like Recommended chase times and the Late payment predictor.

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CUSTOMERS CAN CONTINUE EARNING THEIR CASHBACK AND REWARDS WHILE USING APPLE PAY TO MAKE PAYMENTS WITH THEIR PAYPAL OR VENMO CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS INSTORE, ONLINE OR IN THEIR FAVORITE APPS.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced today that customers now have the option to add their eligible PayPal and Venmo credit or debit cards to Apple Wallet, and begin making payments with a simple tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch. PayPal and Venmo credit or debit card holders can make payments quickly and securely in-store, online or on their favorite apps using Apple Pay — and can still earn the same cashback and rewards that they love on their eligible purchases.

PAYPAL USD (PYUSD), PAYPAL’S ON-CHAIN, REGULATED, DOLLAR-DENOMINATED STABLECOIN 100% BACKED BY U.S. DOLLAR DEPOSITS, SHORT-TERM U.S TREASURIES, AND SIMILAR CASH EQUIVALENTS, IS AVAILABLE ON VENMO STARTING TODAY.

A little more than six weeks ago, we announced the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD) with the mission of providing the market with a stable form of digital value designed to connect fiat dollars to the web3 ecosystem and over time, reduce friction from everyday payments while improving speed and lowering costs.

Consistent with that mission, we are pleased today to announce that PayPal USD is now available on Venmo to select users and will be rolling out fully in the coming weeks. Venmo users are

The use of mobile wallets continues to increase in popularity as consumers gravitate toward safe, quick, and contactless card payment options. A survey conducted by Morning Consult last year found that 42% of Americans have used mobile wallets. The option to add a PayPal or Venmo card to Apple Wallet offers an easy and secure way to make quick payments on-the-go or online.

PayPal and Venmo customers who have added their cards to Apple Wallet can also use Apple Pay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to make fast and convenient purchases in apps or on the web in Safari without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information.

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Starling Bank raises 1-Year Fixed Saver interest rate to 5.53% S

TARLING BANK IS TODAY RAISING THE INTEREST RATE ON ITS 1-YEAR FIXED SAVER FROM 5.25% TO 5.53% AER/ GROSS*.

Effective from Thursday 21 September 2023, Starling Bank customers choosing the Fixed Saver will receive a return of 5.53% on balances of £2,000 - £1 million locked in for one year.

A Fixed Saver is managed from the Spaces section of both the Starling Bank app and online bank for maximum visibility and control. Users can also hold multiple Fixed Savers at any time. Find out more

able to purchase PYUSD and send it to friends and family on PayPal, Venmo, and compatible external wallets. In the first example of a stablecoin enabling wallet interoperability at scale with no cost, transfers between PayPal and Venmo users are fast and free, connecting two wallets with millions of users each.

Individuals using compatible external wallets, and merchants accepting payments in PYUSD, will also be able to receive transfers from Venmo users. Blockchain network fees apply.

We are also pleased to note that PYUSD is already present in native crypto experiences, and continues to be made more broadly available as the ecosystem grows. In the few weeks since its launch in the open market, PYUSD is already present on select exchanges including Crypto.com, Bit-

stamp, Coinbase, and Kraken; leading wallets like MetaMask, Ledger and Phantom; custodians and institutional service providers like Fireblocks, Copper, Paxos and Fordefi; crypto payment service providers like Bitpay; and already supported by some of the most used decentralized applications.

In addition to the increased availability and distribution in these first few weeks, PayPal USD has been greenlisted by the New York State Department of Financial Services, making it easier for virtual currency entities licensed in New York to support PYUSD.

They remain fully committed to the mission behind PYUSD: deploying a safe, regulated stablecoin at scale both for the web3 ecosystem and for everyday payments,

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PayPal USD (PYUSD) is now available on Venmo