XU Magazine - Issue 21 by XU Magazine

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

ISSUE

magazine COVER STORY

Building the foundation for advisory services see page 8

ISSN 2054-7226

9 772054 722009

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The powerful financial project management software that over 10,000 businesses love.

Powerful financial analysis with a suite of customised reports

Track time, costs and profitability from quote through to job and invoice

Staff allocation feature gives more visibility over workflow, team productivity and capacity

Manage business on-the-go from anywhere, using the mobile app, and with everything in one system

Xero owned and integrated with robust customer support standards, and ongoing product development

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workflowmax.com/start

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“We love WorkflowMax because it means we’re spending less time doing admin and more time designing gardens, which is what we love.” Julia Levitt (L) and Fiona Ericsson (R) Sticks & Stones Landscape Design (Sydney, Australia)

Follow Stick & Stones’s story and find out how WorkflowMax can help your business get profitable workflowmax.com/case-studies

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magazine The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

Issue 21 Main Contacts CEO: David Hassall (Co-Founder) Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell (Co-Founder) Director of Strategic Partnerships: Alex Newson Media Manager: Emma Guy 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

COVER STORY ApprovalMax Building the foundation for advisory services

A2X Ecommerce niche the new black - Accountancy firm targets Shopify space with help of A2X

ProfitSee Understanding My Value and Worth: Now, How Do I Get Paid?

Futrli This isn’t advisory. This isn’t compliance. It’s something bigger.

T: +44 (0)116 340 0560 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 2014-2019. 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: 12 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 0BP, 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.

4 / Issue 21

AdvanceTrack Why ‘capacity’ is so important in understanding how technology changes your working life

FIRESIDE CHAT GoCardless The Importance of Leading with Values

NEW TO THE XERO ECOSYSTEM - Zivora Bridging the communication gap between accountants and small business

INTERVIEW Fluidly An interview with Caroline Plumb on entrepreneurship, AI and why it’s so hard for businesses to manage their cashflow

INTERVIEW Receipt Bank John Connolly on Life as Chief Product Officer at Receipt Bank

Hunt & Hawk Marketing is hard. (Warning—total BS)

Starling Bank Here’s why you should consider a digital-first business bank account

NEW TO THE XERO ECOSYSTEM - Fresh

Projects There are 150 architects in the room

SuiteFiles Improve client onboarding and management using tech

Link Reporting Ever thought about owning an alpaca?

eBillity A Day in the Life... Sarah, a Bookkeeper at Fast Bookkeeping

Soldo Joined-up spending: The missing link - Why real-time spend management is a real time saver

62 30

Tidy What’s behind the World Computer? Demystifying cloud computing

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Cover Story...

Building the foundation for advisory services

AccountancyManager Your business has gone digital. But has your culture?

Senta Hitting deadlines without the headaches - Top tips from the Senta support team

8 Interviews with... Caroline Plumb Founder & CEO Fluidly

Webexpenses How technology is helping to fight invoice fraud

94 96

Practice Ignition Make every moment count in your client journey – with Practice Ignition and Zapier

Check out our 2019/2020 Event Directory > Page 157

NEW TO THE XERO ECOSYSTEM - Zoho The clotted cream to your scone: How integrating Zoho Expense with Xero complements accounting

EVENTS

Maze Digital No Xero Integration? No Problem!

FOCUS: AUSTRALIA SuperConcepts SMSF admin and compliance – leveraging technology for a better way AutoEntry Loyalty won’t pay the bills

MarketInvoice Funding your business through uncertain times - How to avoid the cash flow pitfalls

34 72

John Connolly Chief Product Officer Receipt Bank

SimPRO 7 business challenges solved with essential data insights

Unleashed Using KPIs to demonstrate the value of advisory

UPDATED WITH

NEW APPS

CASE STUDY ApprovalMax A cloud technology success story: Leading the way with tech-driven advisory

App/Service Directory Turn to page 162

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NOW OVER

7AP0PS0

Issue 21 / 5

100

AppogeeHR How to supercharge your employee engagement & reap the rewards!

120

GoCardless GoCardless launches

in the US

136

PAYROLL PaySpace Why payroll is a function all SMEs should outsource?

138

DryRun 4 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Cash Flow Advisory

120 100

104

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY - Arthur

122

G-Accon G-Accon and Business Intelligence: an Affordable Solution

Online How to make your Property Clients less of an admin headache

124

Xavier Analytics Introducing: Xavier

106

126 128 130

APPS COMPARED Reporting

Compleat Software During times of uncertainty, having trust in your accounts payable process is key

108 110

QX Ltd Is Work the New God?

DataDear What is the future role of Excel in cloud accounting and business advisory, or is it already dead?

112

MyDocSafe The rise of cradleto- grave systems for customer management

Focus

XERO APP PARTNERS OF THE MONTH

140

TwentyTwo Why And How To Become A Vital Accountant

144

LimeCloud When did it become a late payment culture?

148 152

Tim Hoopmann Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take it offline!

156 160

New to the Xero App Marketplace

162 170

App/Service Directory Over 700 Apps!

The Profitable Firm Getting in touch & staying in touch: Email, Follow up, and Blogging

Updates and new releases from the Xero App Marketplace

Shieldpay What next for

accounting?

132

Sapaad Integrations: The Key to Modern Restaurant Management

134

infoodle 5 Reasons a charity needs Xero and infoodle

Accounting Business Expo Highlights from Xerocon Brisbane 2019

114

Wolters Kluwer When business as usual is not an option - Finding profitability just by boosting your productivity

170

118

WorkflowMax Superstar software to manage superstar projects (and clients!)

134

174

Xero Make it seamless - Sign

in with Xero

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Manchester’s in a different league

MANCHESTER CENTRAL | 22 SEPTEMBER 2020

Why Accountex Summit North 2019 proves a hit with accounting and finance professionals… oh, and watch out for 2020!

CCOUNTEX SUMMIT NORTH has cemented its position as a leading player in the financial events calendar. The second edition of the free one-day conference for accounting and finance professionals was held at Manchester Central in September. It proved a hit with 800+ invited delegates, who were able to fruitfully top up their CPD hours thanks to a compelling content programme. And event organisers Diversified Communications UK are already fine-tuning with the aim of staging an even bigger and better event at the venue in 2020. WITTY PRESENTATION BBC business journalist Joe Lynam kicked off proceedings for 2020. He had a packed keynote theatre audience riveted with a controversial, enlightening and witty presentation on Brexit. Delegates then moved through to the main hall where there was a packed seminar programme delivering 24 sessions in three theatres. Plus there was a focus on all the latest developments in technology, software and accounting tools from the conference’s cutting-edge exhibitors. Dean McMullan, partner at Allens Chartered Accountants, described Accountex Summit North as “a jam-packed day of accounting software and technology with an exciting choice of speakers.” This year’s educational offering was certainly varied. It incorporated product and industry updates from conference sponsors Xero, Intuit QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent.

SAVE THE DATE Accountex & Accountex Summit North Accountex will return to London ExCeL on 13-14 May 2020. For further information, please visit www.accountex.co.uk/london. Accountex Summit North will return to Manchester Central on 22 September 2020. For further information, please visit www.accountex.co.uk/summitnorth/.

MTD PROGRESS HMRC sent along Rebecca Hutton and Verna Gellvear to update practitioners on the UK tax authority’s MTD progress. “An extremely good use of a day – informative, relevant and also an eye-opener to the technology available today,” said Hugh Tracy-Forster, managing director at T4 Consulting. There were a host of well-attended sessions on subjects ranging from well-being and tackling anxiety to becoming a first class CEO and learning the ropes in marketing. Martin Bissett’s panel session on putting clients at the core of the business proved engaging and inspiring as did Amanda C. Watts’s lively discussions on marketing strategies. USEFUL SEMINARS “Accountex Summit North 2019 was a great place to find new software suppliers, meet my LinkedIn contacts for the first time and to attend some useful seminars,” said Lorraine Ellison, owner of Simply Additions. “The most useful element was hearing about what is coming next, which allows me to think about the impact on my business, and how it will affect my clients. It feels good to be ahead of the game!” “It was great to hear from HMRC on their implementation and plans for new tax regimes and put faces to the support helplines of our existing software providers,” said Sharon Turner, chartered accountant at Bryan Redhead & Co. “A perfect platform to learn, great opportunity to make professional connections and gain 8 CPD hours. A must-attend event to know the latest in the world of accountancy and finance,” added Prav Tyagi, principal accountant at TaxAssist Accountants Manchester South.

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Issue 21 / 7

Cover Story

Building the foundation for advisory services Key technology change drives industry disruption When comparing conventional accounting and advisory, it’s usually on the assumption that the former is focused on compliance, while the latter aims at measuring and reporting on company performance...

owever, in reality, drawing a distinct line between the two is questionable as they are closely interconnected and advisory never is a stand-alone activity. What’s undisputed though is the evidently growing demand for business advisory. Particularly in financial service outsourcing, small and medium organisations no longer focus solely on simply keeping the business alive but actually strive to continuously measure and improve their performance. What is fundamentally different about advisory? On the one hand, financial advisory is the logical next step from accounting and bookkeeping as it feeds on the data they provide. On the other hand, from the operational and delivery perspectives – the difference really is substantial. First of all, there is a change in customer. The scope of conventional outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services has always been dictated by government/regulatory bodies as the primary consumer/recipient of compliance and taxation data. 8 / Issue 21

The business was the secondary customer with the core intent of being fully compliant with the regulations and not paying excessive taxes. Advisory services, however, consider the business to be their main client. They focus on understanding the organisation’s financial health to figure out ways how to move the business forward. Secondly, unlike basic compliance services – which have been fully commodified, i.e. they are well structured, required on a scheduled basis and discrete by nature – advisory is a continuous service that evolves together with the client’s business. And thirdly, a principal differentiator is the much deeper involvement in the operational side of the business that advisory must have in order to able to provide the management with financial insights; in stark contrast to compliance, which needs only fairly basic accounting activities to fulfil reporting requirements. Key building blocks for advisory services When defining advisory as a continuously evolving set of services that are unique to each business and depend on its

@ApprovalMax

Konstantin Bredyuk, CEO and Co- Founder, ApprovalMax With roots in business process management and optimisation software development, Konstantin has undertaken hundreds of product implementations for ApprovalMax clients worldwide. Konstantin has been advising numerous organisations on implementing automation, financial controls and client collaboration capabilities using Xero-based trusted app stacks, with business profiles ranging from SMEs to large accounting and advisory practices.

current growth stage and business objectives, we can still think of a common framework of capabilities – the foundation – that needs to be in place for successfully providing advisory services. Those capabilities revolve around the information delivered to business customers, the format of collaboration with them as well as the tools and processes that enable delivery of advisory services. Actionable data Data shapes the basis for any kind of advisory. So first and foremost, effective financial advisory really does need accounting data to be enriched with business context to make it actionable. In practical terms this implies extending GL codes – e.g. government-defined and countryspecific ones – with businessoriented coding such as Xero tracking categories so that accounts payable and accounts receivable information can be translated into company performance indicators. It’s essential that such businessoriented coding is, firstly, specified together with the business and, secondly, continuously validated by its decision makers via timely

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Cover Story reviews and approvals. This is particularly true for company spending. Only adequate validations ensure another critical aspect of actionable data: it must always be both up to date and realtime available for advisory services. Financial controls Financial controls are a system of procedures and processes that have been agreed with the business and aim at establishing leverages, primarily over company spending. They should include a detailed specification of spend authorisation levels, authorisation criteria, rules for approval delegation and fraud prevention. In conventional in-house accounting, financial controls are often only minimal and the ultimate responsibility lies with the CEO. In outsourced accounting, especially if enhanced with advisory services and the vCFO role, financial controls become the cornerstone of shared accountability with the client. This ensures the predefined authorisation flow and provides a clear record of approval decisions in order to safely proceed with payments on behalf of the client, and being audit-ready at any given time. Client collaboration Another difference between advisory and basic compliance services stands out in the ways of client communication and collaboration. When you deliver advisory as a continuous service, you need to stay in touch with your clients at all times. On the operational level, you must be involved in every transaction – and have a clear understanding of its meaning and impact on the business. That means your communications – same as your services – need to be continuous with the ability to interact with your clients and for your clients to interact with you almost real-time.

Operations automation Safeguarding data quality, executing financial controls and sustaining continuous client collaboration while providing affordable and profitable advisory services – this is where operations automation with minimal errorprone and time-consuming manual interventions comes into its own. Advisory services benefit from various types of automated operations, for example the automation of integrations, data capture, reporting, expense management, approvals and authorisations, payments, multicurrency consolidation and many more. They all share the same objective: minimising manual handling and human error for every single task before joining as many codependent tasks as possible in an uninterrupted end-to-end flow and running all as a seamless process. Excellence in software and partner support When implementing a reliable foundation for the delivery of complex business-oriented services, you’ll need the best technology at hand. That’s why Xero and Xero-connected apps have become the solution of choice: the leading accounting platform extended with specialised digitisation, automation, reporting and other capabilities has all aspects covered.

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However, state-of-the-art technology alone is not enough. Building a custom solution for a client and providing services tailored to their particular business requires a unique understanding of both the product capabilities and the use cases it supports. At ApprovalMax, we are committed to delivering best-in-class software with the key value proposition of establishing robust financial controls and approval automation. Our unique product features – such as multi-step and multi-role approval workflows, review and coding by approvers, bill to PO matching, collaboration, audit logs and reporting – make us the gamechanger when it comes to truly realtime and actionable data, efficient and fully automated workflows and, last but not least, higher client satisfaction. On top of that, to ensure our clients are fully equipped for advisory service delivery, we provide a Partner Programme with a free partner edition of ApprovalMax and extended partner support services that include consulting and implementation services, onsite client trainings, on-demand product demo’s and dedicated support.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more visit: > approvalmax.com

Issue 21 / 9

Ecommerce niche the new black Accountancy firm targets Shopify space with help of A2X There is a massive opportunity to focus on the Amazon and Shopify accounting niche, it’s huge, fast growing and the sellers need expert advice and input into their business. Read how CloudCounting have been able to niche in the ecommerce sector, understand their clients pain points and solve them quicker...

wo years ago, CloudCounting was - as owner Tracey Newman puts it - a general accountancy practice. Fast-forward 24 months, the firm has made a name for itself as specialists in ecommerce accounting, specifically for Shopify sellers. The shift has been purposeful and organic. This reflects the way the accounting industry is changing - at lightning speed. Technology is crucial to how CloudCounting does business, so when A2X for Shopify came to market, it fundamentally changed the way Tracey and her firm serviced their clients. For someone who jokes about being an ‘oldie’ Tracey could easily give the next millennial a good run for their money. Here she talks about why A2X is her connector app of choice, what it means for the future of her business - and why you can no longer be a general-purpose accountant. Target clients not looking for tax agent or bookkeeper If you type tax agent or bookkeeper 10 / Issue 21

@a2xaccounting

Denym Bird, Marketing Director, A2X Denym is the Marketing Manager at A2X, the world leading e-commerce accounting connector for Shopify and Amazon merchants. Passionate about helping the e-commerce industry prosper he’s on a mission to help the millions of e-commerce businesses worldwide automate their accounting with A2X.

Brisbane into Google, you probably won’t find CloudCounting, but swap those keywords out for Xero Shopify sync and hey presto!

Her solution to her clients? Don’t integrate - we’ll teach you manual workarounds to lift the summarised data over.

With 1000 add on solutions in the Xero eco system, give or take, Tracey explains clients often come to her having already done a bit of research but are overwhelmed by options and confused with functionality.

“I was always uncomfortable with that because we always try to be a technologically savvy accountancy firm. So to then say, ‘Don’t integrate’, that really rubs against the grain, particularly with Gen Y and millennials, which most ecommerce people are.”

“We’ve concluded over the last year clients don’t really want to be given a choice. They may say they want it but intellectually it’s such a specialised area - how data speaks between systems - they’re really just looking for someone that has been there, understands best practice and can say, ‘This is the solution you need’.”

Tracey says that depending on the turnaround of each Shopify business, A2X easily gives them back an hour a day per client. She likes the design of the portal with client dropdown menus, that you can invite different users to view different data, and she appreciates how collaborative the team are behind the software.

A2X for Shopify arrives Tracey says she’d been aware of A2X for Amazon for years - and knew the sync was exactly what they needed for Shopify. Before A2X for Shopify, Tracey explains there was no other solution that would send summarised information to Xero.

“In my long career as a sync evangelist, I have only found two syncs that do what accountants need them to - summarise by payment method, by day. A2X is the second. “If I was younger and had my day again, I would absolutely be building out APIs for other apps,”

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

she laughs. “We see ourselves as a trusted virtual advisor in the tax and bookkeeping space, and I can’t think of anything in the Shopify space that would trump A2X as our trusted partner,” Tracey adds. What’s next for CloudCounting? When asked, ‘What does the future look like for CloudCounting?’, unlike most business owners, Tracey’s response is, “Not to grow”. Instead, the focus is “to get better at what we do, niche more, and absolutely A2X is a part of that future.” She says with A2X they have more confidence they’re providing their clients with the best service possible. “Clients convert very easily if you’re a subject matter authority and they can tell you know what you’re talking about. They’re always looking for new ways to bundle as much software and value into their monthly-fee packages as they can including negotiations with A2X. “We’re very much of the mind that we don’t necessarily increase our

profit margins as a result of more efficient technology - instead, we want to pass those savings to our clients. Using these tools has other benefits to us - it increases loyalty and retention and allows us to service more clients with the same resources.” As of the beginning of September, CloudCounting is also becoming completely virtual - moving out of their offices in Brisbane. Tracey explains they want to work with Gen Y’s and millennials, “tech people that speak our language.”

deeper the niche, the smarter you can be - that’s something clients will recognise and want to follow. She adds you also need to be a “bit of a techy”, you need to understand how data talks within systems like Xero, Shopify and A2X. If that’s not your skillset, Tracey says hire a Gen Y that understands. “No one in the future is going to hire you because you do a great tax or GST return. They’re going to hire you because you can solve problems quicker than they can.”

Goodbye to the general accountant Tracey’s advice for her fellow peers? Niche, and then niche again. She says accounting is moving away from compliance type functions at a startling rate. There’s also endless chatter in the industry about offshoring and diminishing jobs for young people. She understands that perspective but says it is no longer possible to be a general-purpose accountant. As ecommerce Shopify accountants, she recognises that Cloud Counting has a specific market and says the

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FIND OUT MORE... Find out more at: > a2xaccounting.com

Issue 21 / 11

Understanding My Value and Worth: Now, How Do I Get Paid? As more accounting professionals move into providing advisory services, a common question raised is “how do I get paid?” Peter M. Vessenes shares the lessons he’s learned about pricing services based on value rather than time; lessons he had to learn the hard way...

12 / Issue 21

hat am I worth? This was the recurring question in my 20s. When I first got out of college (1972) I was sure that making $50,000 meant I’d died and gone to a material-heavenon-earth. That was a lot of quantitative easing, government spending, and inflation ago...

So I decided to go to graduate school. I learned a lot about being a think tank facilitator but was not happy with the idea of becoming a lifetime bureaucrat. So my wife, Katherine, and I moved to the country. She became an Assistant DA, and me… well, I would figure it out eventually.

I had done a lot of things to earn money growing up, leading me to an important understanding of how the value of what you provide corresponds with the price you charge. At 13 years old, I worked for my father’s industrial painting crew, working on overhead truss bridges in small towns in southern Indiana. Outrageously hot and humid, especially while hauling five-gallon cans of paint and water to the crews under radiating steel girders. Doing this for four summers persuaded me to not take over the family business...

Don’t get me wrong: I was busy. I did charity work at a prison, taught music lessons, and helped raise our 3 children. I also kept busy learning about microcomputers - I could see they were the future.

In college I found work as a professional musician. I was a fairly accomplished classical guitarist, performing for $50 per gig for a few hours of music. When I graduated, finding a job was not easy. For a while I worked building handcrafted wooden executive desks and as the news director for a Rock ’n’ Roll radio station. Both positions paid very little, and frankly, I quickly got tired of knowing where Mick Jagger was last weekend.

While helping these small companies for modest fees, I came to the realization that large companies in the technology sector were in the same boat. I also recognized that many startups in this field were created by programmers and technologist with limited understanding of how to run a business.

What drove me into my career was the horrid recession of 1982 and 1983. With unemployment in our area higher than during the Great Depression, these were very hard times. I started to help local businesses figure out what to do, and after seeing success, I thought, “I should be charging for this!”

Fixing broken things is addictive to me. Seeing how I could help these breaking and broken companies

@myprofitsee

Peter M. Vessenes, CEO & Founder, ProfitSee, Inc. Peter has served as a high-level corporate advisor since 1983. He began with assisting presidents of Fortune 100 companies, and broadened to include mid-sized corporations, closely held companies, start-ups, and capital formation. As the CEO & Founder of ProfitSee, his team has created a suite of cloud based software tools that provide accountants and bookkeepers the tools they need to grow and automate their advisory services.

was irresistible. I started to prospect in a more elegant way. I began by researching the company, its product/service offerings, the real distribution channels, and the challenges faced in their market. Next, I’d craft a letter to the CEO showing my insights and summarizing challenges they were facing. I would let them know that I would be near their office soon and would love to meet them over a cup of coffee. Thus began my career as a transition and turn-around specialist. In 1983 I persuaded three companies in Silicon Valley to cover my expenses for a complimentary review visit, but how and what to charge was still not clear. I found a mentor, a wonderful person named Ted Brown, to help. Ted helped in lots of ways. But most importantly, he helped me understand my true value, one of the most difficult aspects to providing services. The first hard lesson Ted taught me was to never charge an hourly fee, because hourly billing makes clients become clock watchers, rather than results and return watchers. Next began an interesting series of stark realizations. Ted suggested I charge a “day rate” to large corporate clients at $1,200 per day. This was 1982, in the midst of the

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

brain can capture in any given time cycle. This is why not studying in college and cramming for finals does not breed 4.0 GPAs. In this case, the truth was irrelevant. It was my client’s perception of value that took control. Despite this, we generated a 250% increase in revenue over three years, but they were one of the most challenging clients I ever worked with. So, I discovered the hard way that billing hourly or daily was not the right approach. The client’s perception of At last I got it: My value was the most important part of value was measured the equation. I in how much I was began exclusively providing and how billing on a much my clients monthly retainer. received for my This is the only services. effective way to take my client’s eyes off the money, and onto the benefits and returns on my service.

nation’s worst recession since the 1930s. Assuming an eight-hour day, this was the equivalent of $150 per hour. Yikes! I needed to learn to present my value in a calm and secure way. The question was, would they pay? Yes, they did! Over the years I have not closed every opportunity; sometimes the prospect does not understand the value proposition, but those types of clients are not the right fit. At last I got it: My value was measured in how much I was providing and how much my clients received for my services. But was charging per day the right approach? The answer was NO. I know this because I had engaged a business, run by a couple that had been stuck at a revenue ceiling for 13 years. They were doing okay but were very frustrated in not being able to expand the business. They

asked me to spend 4 days per month with them on site. My mistake was not defining the definition of a “day.” After accepting the offer to stay in their luxurious estate, I quickly learned that they were early risers and late to bed. In their mind, since I was at their home, the day started at 6:00 a.m. and I had to beg off at midnight. That’s right, 18-hour days were what I had unknowingly agreed to. Did pumping me for information, insight, and strategy that many hours in a day really speed up their progress? Absolutely not: there is a limit to how much the human

In summary, what did I learn when I was young? You can never undervalue yourself; the value of your services comes from what your client receives. Billing needs to based on value - not time. And, of course, a brilliant proposal is only worth its weight if you follow through on your promises. When we built ProfitSee, we used this same model. We want you to be a CFO-level advisor to your clients, and we want to help you every step of the way with training and assistance. If you are able to help your clients with their financial goals, forecast their cash flow, and strategize next steps, you will help change their future. And if you are able to do this through smart tools, like cloud accounting and ProfitSee, it makes it more efficient and easier to price your services based on value, not time.

FIND OUT MORE... Learn how to build proposals and service packages in a way that emphasizes the value you provide at: > www.MyProfitSee.com/ProposalOutline

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Issue 21 / 13

This isn’t advisory. This isn’t compliance. It’s something bigger. The industry shouts pretty loudly that advisory is the answer to all problems. But, is it? Or, more specifically, is it the answer for everyone? Futrli CEO and Founder, Hannah Dawson, has a game-changing solution to help you serve the portion of your portfolio that advisory just doesn’t fit...

e’re sorry.

The industry, over the last few years, has got a little too loud shouting about our favorite #buzzword: advisory. And that’s us included. We’ve all been so excited about the value these services could provide that we’ve been going a little too fast. We’ve all had good intentions. And there’s no doubt that advisory has done a lot of good. Countless firms have made a huge difference to businesses all over the world. We cherish those success stories. But, we can’t ignore situations where things haven’t quite worked out. We’ve been trying to encourage you to pick up advisory services with all of your clients, but we’ve come to the conclusion that advisory’s not always the right answer, for you or them. Research with our Futrli partners across the globe indicates that traditional ‘advisory’ is an essential service for, typically, around 10% of your portfolio. Why? Because these are your bigger clients. They need management accounts, board reports, scenario planning. They’re also able to dedicate the time and money needed for such a service. It’s essential for their operations and they know the value of data-driven decision-making. This is where tools like Advisor have made this easy for over 1,500 firms globally for many years now.

But, 50% of businesses are still failing by their fifth year of business. It’s astonishing, despite all the advancements in technology and services over the last 20 years, the success rate of these businesses hasn’t improved. As much as you want to help - you can’t. These businesses aren’t fit for what ‘advisory’ has become. Not to mention the demand for traditional advisory places both on your firm and your clients. A lot of your clients won’t have spare funds to pay for these services. And you don’t have the time and resources to spend on every one of your clients. You’d need to duplicate your firm five times over. They require an entirely new approach, and so do you. This leftover 90% is what we’d call your ‘core’. They’re the largest chunk of your portfolio, so it’s concerning to know they’re also the ones most at risk. It’s likely that they’re currently compliance clients. But they need protecting and strengthening, just like your advisory clients. In fact, they could need your support even more than your advisory clients. They don’t have a data team or a dedicated finance team. These businesses are the ones taking the biggest risks, facing make-or-break decisions with limited resources - a dangerous combination. And it’s not just dangerous to them.

14 / Issue 21

@FUTRLI

Hannah Dawson, Founder & CEO, Futrli Hannah Dawson, serial entrepreneur, mother, wife, and loather of spreadsheets. Hannah’s the founder and CEO of business finance platform Futrli. Hannah’s on a mission to provide accountants and businesses with game-changing solutions to boost the success rates of businesses, and help both parties, simply, feel okay.

If they’re at risk, then so are you. Acquiring clients is an expensive exercise. You’d do much better to retain them, protect them and then increase the opportunity within your core to offer relevant and timely help, which is of course what advisory actually is. It’s help. Plus, the mission of you and everyone at your firm, is business success. It’s your reason for being in business. So, if you’re not able to help, you’re not fulfilling that goal. And your clients are struggling. That’s bound to take a toll on team morale. Beyond that, you have the larger scale effect. These aren’t just faceless businesses. They’re families, communities, and lives. You have their customers, their suppliers, their investors and supporters to worry about. The closing of a business is so much more than just a boarded-up storefront. To change the 50% failure statistic I mentioned earlier, we first need to understand why these businesses are failing. Yes, ultimately, we all know it’s cash flow, but how do they get to that point? Well... Most business owners firefight their way through every day. They reactively tackle the issues that scream the loudest, not necessarily the issues that actually need their attention. They often start the day in their inbox, reactively dealing

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

with supplier and customer needs, and then the team member that knocks on the door and so on. It’s exhausting, but it also means they’re existing deep in their business, and not on it. And it goes further than that. Working reactively as they are and making fast decisions, they have no visibility or time to consider the future impact of the decisions they’re making every day. The result? There could be a fire burning in their business or one about to set alight, and they wouldn’t know. They could be damaging their future success and they wouldn’t know. No matter business owners never tend to shut off. They don’t know if they’re okay or not. And that’s where we came from. The mission to help business owners simply feel okay. A struggle for businesses to survive and a struggle for firms to really help.

Could something entirely new be designed to help these other businesses?

the things they have to celebrate. It’s a security blanket and a security guard in one.

There are different Support and real-world products within the insight into the hands Could something platform, each one is of your clients, in entirely new designed to enable a language they be designed to your clients to take understand. Futrli control of a different Platform’s built for help these other part of their business businesses to use businesses? until they’re fully in for themselves - so control. But the one that’s it’s hands-off for you. most relevant to your entire No implementation. No set portfolio is Flow. Why? Because up. No pressure. They need short, problems with cash flow are some snappy information, laid out in of the most damaging issues facing front of them. Our new collection all businesses. of products, Futrli Platform, is sewn together with an actionfeed. Because of that, Flow’s the first to Newsfeeds are a known and leave the blocks. Its aim? To put understood format of presenting your clients’ daily cash flow in their information, they’re the simplest hands. With easily accessible, AIand most accessible way to display driven updates on their customer constantly updating information. and supplier behavior; getting paid and feeling secure is now Actionfeed acts as a round-up with possible. Your effort? Connecting the most important information their accounts package, hitting in pole position. By dedicating send on their invite and that’s it. a few minutes a day to scroll We onboard them and take care of through their feed, your clients will them from there. know where their business is, the problems they need to face, and

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Issue 21 / 15

So, how does this new approach work for your firm? The benefit comes in three parts: 1. Short-term - it will elevate your firm and protect your entire client base. At the end of the day, that’s why we’re all here. 2. Medium-term - it will educate your portfolio about their businesses. And in their learning, they’ll have questions. Questions they’ll ask you. 3. Long-term - it will increase your advisory fees as they see the value in the advisory services you offer. A win-win. It’s a gateway. Irrespective of where your core is in their journey with you, one thing will fundamentally

FIND OUT MORE... Discover more about Futrli’s solutions for accountancy firms and their clients by heading to: > futrli.com/solutions/ accountancy

16 / Issue 21

change. They’re being educated on their business. When they have questions or need help, who are they going to ask? You.

grows, so will their hunger for more insight.

Those clients who were unengaged will be asking for help. It may be simple, like a credit That provides the basis control strategy, or it for your relationship may be more complex going forward. One This is how you reporting or scenario day they’ll become get your clients to planning, but again, part of your 10% recognize the value it will grow. Slowly (which, therefore, of your services. introduce them to will become much more services. You’ll more than ten name it, they’ll want percent!). It’s organic it. And again, breathe a development. You’ve sigh of relief, you’re working on a grown a relationship. No selling relationship, not a sales pitch. involved. We’ve built Futrli Platform to promote collaboration, with our Our takeaway: you don’t need to Slack and Gmail integrations you’ll provide advisory to the 90% - it be two clicks from your client. doesn’t fit them. And we’re sorry for saying you did. But you do need to This is how you get your clients provide something. And we think to recognize the value of your this is the best way to go about it. services. The tool’s ready to go. We’ll change the tide on business success and Suddenly your opportunity to on your success too. This is the next engage with clients who were step. Let’s make business success distant and at risk has transformed simple. into a trusted relationship. And that’s when you move them onto Futrli Advisor. As they grow, and as their knowledge of their business

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

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Issue 21 / 17

Manage. Edit. Share. Sign Keep all your client information and documentation in one place. Cloud based, secure and accessible from anywhere.

“SuiteFiles saves us hundreds of hours each year” – Marius, North Advisory 18 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Introducing Connect Work better, together. Secure, efficient collaboration.

Share folders and files with your clients securely

Invite clients to drag and drop documents directly into their client folder

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Issue 21 / 19

Why ‘capacity’ is so important in understanding how technology changes your working life T

here are a range of drivers of change in an accounting practice, and these will vary in value dependent on the varying challenges it faces. These will include: • Number of staff/Utilisation • Timing of service delivery • Use of offshoring/outsourcing in the practice • The pricing model used (fixed or variable) • How work is delivered to your clients • Frequency of invoicing @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 and BS10012 audited by BSI.

20 / Issue 21

All of these drivers can be impacted by the adoption of technology. But firms adopt technology at different rates, even in different parts of a single practice. Martec’s Law sets out pace of technological development versus change in an organisation. Most organisations are held back by the speed at which the technology is introduced into the business, and later have to ‘reset’. Consider within your own practice how quickly some teams have adopted change or new processes and technology. A prime example is a client using cloud accounting like Xero, but the year-end process

is an annual process months after the financial year end. If that sounds like how your firm engages with clients, then neither party is benefitting from the technology improvements that software companies are introducing. So, what are firms going to do to respond? There are varying approaches. Pick the technology changes that have the most impact. Increase the agility of the team/ business Press the “reset” button intermittently across the organisation. Consider where there is a wholesale change in the systems and/or process as a way of speeding up change. The image above shows the difference in perception of cost/ value between the firm and the client. Accounts processing and being compliant for audit are allocated a lot of value by the firm, but the client attaches little or no value to them. The most valuable part of the service from the clients’ perspective is the client meeting and implementation and advisory work and the follow-up client meeting. So, if the compliance part of the

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

business is perceived to have the least value, shouldn’t this be delivered at the lowest cost in the fastest possible time?

• Available hours by staff • Expected productivity by staff • Budgeted rates by staff

Calculate your capacity plan

Any difference will be a surplus, or shortfall, of capacity.

Using a ‘top down’ approach, consider: • Predicted client billings • Write off allowances (plan should be zero) • Special Work Using a ‘bottom up’ approach, consider:

Improving processes will improve the capacity of your firm There are a number of tasks that need to take place to improve your processes, which will in turn help you build capacity. Firstly, you must identify your

Credit: Aaron Dunn

As the MD of an offshoring/ outsourcing business, I’d have to put the case that all firms need to look at the capacity required to not only deliver the service but grow the firm. Our most successful firms have ’spare capacity‘. which they achieve through a mixture of technology and strategic use of our outsourcing/offshoring solutions.

The question you should ask yourself is ’how much is your free capacity?’

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Issue 21 / 21

internal ‘champion’ to lead the process change, then they must build a framework for change. Identify key leaders and their role in the review of this process, ensuring that non-compliance with the process won’t be tolerated. Then you can build detail around the new process, once compliance has been signed off and key leaders have agreed on the changes. You’ll never make everyone happy, so consider the majority view. Also consider key risks, and impact on clients. Building an efficient team Next you must make sure your team is fit for purpose. Training is the key to this, and this is done by building a training culture. The main areas to consider are: • Process training • IT Training • Personal skills training e.g. negotiation or presentation • Product training (e.g. Xero etc) • Share your training plan with a wider group (internal/external stakeholders) Delegation skills Build a delegation plan. Consider the skills needs in your business and ensure the team have the training to do the job. They must focus on solutions and ensure you hire and keep the best talent.

FIND OUT MORE... Book your web discovery meeting with an AdvanceTrack professional by clicking here: > advancetrack.com/start-here

Then you must consider the skillset of your team. By having the right team balance with appropriate skills and experience you minimise rework, minimise errors and write-offs, particularly if work is otherwise delivered by senior managers and partners. Finally, if senior staff are freed up, they can be more client facing delivering more to the clients and bringing in new business. Based on your client behaviour, it’s then key to try and smooth your workflow over the year. How do you do this? Well, build faster turnaround times within your production teams. AdvanceTrack has been building this for firms using their offshore-outsourcing capabilities. And then ensure that there’s free capacity across the year, not just certain months, allowing the firm to grow and deliver based on client demands. What are you measuring within the firm?

staff and client will be critical. Review successes and make improvements where necessary. Can you recommend any advice to the clients based on the information your team has reviewed? Consider if that advice is billable, and whether a fee discussion is required. If a client has poor bookkeeping or other issues, these must be communicated. If these are not communicated, they believe they provide good books. Firms across the industry are guilty of correcting the errors without communicating this to the client. Make the client accountable for their actions around timeliness, accuracy of the information provided, query resolution and payment terms. Consider the purpose of an engagement letter and ensure it focuses on the client relationship and not legals, which can be dealt with separately. Clients

I know from personal experience when working in larger firms that KPIs are given to staff they have little or no control of. As a result, if you measure them against this, it is demoralising as it is seen as unfair. So, ensure you measure people on things they have the power to manage. You must also give honest and regular feedback.

You’ve built your capacity plan. You’ve trained your teams and most importantly, you’ve adopted technology and have a plan to take the most benefit from this, so you are closer to the technology line in your improvement process.

Team members should be encouraged to advise management if job budgets can’t be met. An earlier conversation may reduce the write-off through open conversation with the client and team. Finally, ensure each team member has a job budget and delivery deadline.

Like all things, you need to consider the people in your business and ensure that they buy into the vision you paint of the firm and this will be driven by the type of person and possibly age profile of the team members.

You then consider how outsourcing/ offshoring can help deliver more.

Bear in mind that feedback from

Blast through the obstacles of a manual accounts payable process with automated ordering, invoice data capture and approval workflows.

22 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 23

Fireside Chat

The Importance of Leading with Values

Carolyn Breeze General Manager, ANZ GoCardless

Rachael Powell Head of People Xero

Hiroki Takeuchi CEO GoCardless

During Xerocon Brisbane 2019, XU Magazine were honoured to sit in on a fireside chat between GoCardless’ CEO Hiroki Takeuchi and Xero’s Head of People Rachael Powell, moderated by Carolyn Breeze. Much discussion was raised about the importance of leading with values and how you can monitor the manifestation of those values by conducting regular ‘pulse checks’. Afterall, your company’s values have a huge ‘ripple effect’ - something any business, no matter what size, can learn from...

CB:

Thank you for joining us today Rachael and meeting Hiroki. We are really excited to have you. It would be fantastic if you could just share for us your role within Xero and how long you’ve been with the company.

RP:

I’ve been with Xero for over 3 and a half years and when I started I was employed as the Chief People Officer. Since then my role has expanded and I look after all the human elements of Xero from the inside out. I look after

24 / Issue 21

the people on the inside - the 3,000 employees and manage the people experience function and I look after the customers - being our partners and their clients on the outside along with the customer experience team. I also have marketing and communications under my remit.

HT:

I’m Hiroki, the founder and CEO of GoCardless. At GoCardless we make it really easy to collect recurring payments and Xero is one of our biggest partners. We founded GC back in

2011, it was one of those typical tech startup stories where it started in my bedroom. From there we’ve grown from the UK to an increasingly global company.

CB:

It’s clear through the GoCardless and Xero partnership that our company values are closely aligned and that they resonate throughout all the employees and community Xero have built. I would love for you both to share about how the values came about, what the values are at

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Fireside Chat the core of your business and how you manage those and cultivate them within your organisations, especially when you’re growing at such pace.

RP:

So that is the conundrum that we face everyday, growing globally. We operate in 5 continents and 12 offices now. I think it starts with making sure you’re bringing on people that have the values that you aspire to and have everyone live by them. Equally as important is making sure that there is real clarity on the purpose that your organisation is striving to achieve. At Xero, our purpose is to improve the lives of people in small businesses, their advisors and their communities around the globe. And we test for that on the way-in. We make sure that test is two-way, so it’s not just about us choosing the employees - it’s about making sure we give them the opportunity to test us as well. Because when you’ve got people aligned to that purpose and able to live those values then they’re going to be passionate about what they do and play to their strengths.

CB:

Let’s look at the values that surround that purpose. Do you actually name those values?

RP:

Yes, my two favourite values are ‘human’ and ‘beautiful’. We’ve also got ‘champion’, ‘challenge’ and ‘ownership’. We’ve got those five values and ‘human’ and ‘beautiful’ are really the ones that people

Xero’s 5 Values...

talk about a lot. We make sure the product is beautiful, we make sure the relationships and the high quality connections that we’re building with our partners are beautiful and then we make sure that we keep it real. You will have seen so many of our presenters up on stage over the last couple of days who are really authentic - they get up there and really just speak from the heart.

HT: RP: HT:

Yes, the human element really resonates with us.

CB:

Did you form those values when the

What are your values Hiroki at GoCardless?

So we have four values. ‘Start with Why’ - which is about being really clear about the purpose and mission and why you’re doing something. The second is to ‘Take Pride’ - seeing what you do is not just a job but as a craft you want to hone and perfect over time. The third one is to ‘Be Humble’ similar to the ‘human’ value at Xero which is about taking the ego out of the situation and really focussing on how we create the best possible outcome for our customers and partners and everyone around us. This is opposed to “who’s idea was it?”, “who gets the credit?” or even “who gets the blame when things don’t go right?”. The final one is about ‘Acting with Integrity’ and the way I describe this one is “what do you do when no one else is looking?”. Doing something the right way because it’s important to you, not because you are worried about being caught and what would happen if you did get caught.

Human

Beautiful

Start with Why

Champion

Take Pride

Challenge

Act with Integrity

Ownership

Be Humble

GoCardless’ 4 Values...

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company was formed and did you get employees involved?

HT:

We went through a few iterations. We did it relatively early but still wish we’d done it a little earlier on. The first few times we did it, it didn’t really work. My own personal leadership style was very collaborative and back when we had about 40 employees we tried to get everyone in the room and asked “what are the values going to be?”. The problem with that was that because everyone has slightly different views, we ended up watering the values down to the lowest common denominator. Everyone agreed with them, but no one was super passionate about them. I think crucially it was important to champion the values myself and because I didn’t truly believe in them, I wasn’t proud about them and wasn’t shouting about them. So they didn’t really stick. It wasn’t until the third attempt where I’d been working with a coach who had been pushing me to own that ‘founder narrative’ and to be more comfortable in that position of leadership. He said “they don’t have to be your values but you do need to care about them”. So I started with a description of the things I cared about and then got a small group of people from the team. I asked them to work with me to set the values. They originated as my own personal values but they evolved and took a life of their own and have grown to form the company’s values. It’s only when we did that, it really made a big difference. Not everyone necessarily agreed with them entirely, and maybe we lost a few people along the way to be honest, but it was something that was a lot more authentic.

RP:

I think that’s the point, it’s OK to lose a few people along the way. It’s the optin/opt-out - this is what we’re going to stand for. I’m fascinated by that story, and clearly from meeting you and spending some time with you, you have got this humility. These values are authentic and now that they’re embedded it’s not just your responsibility - it’s the company’s

Issue 21 / 25

Fireside Chat responsibility to live those four values.

CB:

We have a very similar approach as well into making sure people that are joining GoCardless have those innate values and really align with them and understand them. Part of the onboarding process and part of the interview process is going through our values and making sure that they understand them. It was one of my favourite parts of the interview process when I joined GoCardless. Everybody who I met within the organisation, regardless of the role they were in, they just had them innately - they wore the values. I’m interested to hear a little bit more about your journey Rachael, because I know you’ve taken on more as time has gone on. One of the things that impresses me most about Xero is the effect your culture has on the wider community.

RP:

work with my executive team ensuring that we can codify the strategy and then mobilise the strategy through a fast growing workplace”. He also said “we’ve got enough people within the organisation that come with a HR background that will be part of your team”. I said “I can do that!”. Rod continued to say that he needed someone who knows what good talent looks. I was very passionate about positive psychology. I had seen when working in recruitment executive search what good talent looked like in terms of the organisations that were able to attract the talent that was helping their business success and it was not typical. It was organisations that were prepared to look for attitude and experience and were prepared to put values and purpose at the core. It was organisations that were really leaning in to build ambidextrous skills across their organisations to de-risk as they grew, to de-risk when people moved around. I said “I can absolutely do that Rod!”. There were fantastic PX (People eXperience) people I inherited within my team - they’re like rockstars, I love them all.

I love talking about this as I really think we have a unique opportunity to amplify and accelerate our purpose which is to improve the lives of so many in small business. I’ll tell you about Then after about 12 months I said to my story and my journey at Xero Rod, “you know what, we have this because it will help you understand amazing opportunity to amplify this the philosophy of what I’m going to to our customers and accountant/ talk about. I was employed by Rod bookkeeper partners Drury (former CEO of Xero) - they’re like the and he said to me “we’re relatives of Xero”. He looking for someone “We talk about said “great, you can who can run the ‘human take on Customer ‘People Experience’ ripple effect’ and eXperience too!”. globally”. I this brings it all So, I took on the remember laughing together.” CX team too! These at him when he asked were 450 specialists, if I was interested in accountants and this role. I remember bookkeepers mainly, who support saying to him “I’ve never ran our partners and customers. I also HR for a global organisation”. My took on marketing, branding and background was in technology, Rod communication. said “I need a marketer that can help me mobilise the strategy”. We talk about the ‘human ripple Rod’s a visionary, he’s constantly effect’ and this brings it all thinking five years ahead. You can together. If you think of it like a imagine as the business continues pebble dropping in a pond… if to scale so quickly he’s thinking you start with purpose at the core I can’t do all of this on my own, I and surround that purpose with can’t communicate this with the humans that are really passionate people at every office I go to, about small business and believe especially to unfamiliar faces. He in the purpose that they’re trying to said “what I need is an executive achieve. The next layer is the brand that can sit at the table that can

26 / Issue 21

and the platform which you’re going to use to resonate your messages out, then you touch the partners and the partners become part of the whole movement. The partners then touch the small businesses and the whole community wins. That’s the ‘human ripple effect’. We’ve done some statistics and looked at how powerful this is. Because if you think about it, we have 3,000 employees that can get to hundreds of thousands of individuals who work in accounting and bookkeeping practices but they can get to millions of small businesses. That’s the ‘human ripple effect’. It’s about keeping it clear and simple, having clarity on your purpose and making sure how we go about that is being kept aligned to our values and bringing the right people along on that journey.

HT:

I think it’s really unique how you’ve brought the accountants and partners into the fold. Coming to events like Xerocon, it shines through in the movement that’s been created. It’s the cultural similarity of all the partners and accountants that are champions of Xero and the Xero employees themselves - sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. How did you guys go about that initial cultural movement with the accountants and bookkeepers?

RP:

Several ways. It’s really important when you look at building a positive workplace, the things that you need to put in place. I talk about the science of positive psychology. The ‘father’ of psychology, Martin Seligman, has done a lot of research around five elements. His acronym is PERMA (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishments) and I thought that no one in the accountant and bookkeeper channel is going to remember that, so I turned it into EBITDA. I talk to our Partners about how to build a positive workplace and focussing this energy that’s beyond the technology. The irony of this is when I’m talking to accountants and bookkeepers is that the two most important things in growing your practice

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Fireside Chat and ensuring your success are not actually on your balance sheet. It’s ‘People’ and ‘Brand’. The third is ‘Technology’ which is the bit we bring to the table with Xero. If you have the right technology, the right purpose and the right people - to ensure you give yourself the greatest chance of success. The science actually shows this. So what does EBITDA stand for? ‘E’ is for ‘Engagement’ - engagement is all about hiring the right people, getting them to play to their strengths and doing what energises them. ‘B’ is for ‘Belonging’ diversity, inclusion and community. ‘I’ is for ‘Innovation’ - finding ways to differentiate and finding the time to play and explore. ‘T’ is for ‘Trust’ - building high quality connections and building relationships with people that are meaningful. ‘D’ is for ‘Dream’ - not just thinking about what’s next and in front of you but thinking about what’s on the horizon. What’s possible and what’s maybe possible with the challenges and opportunities in front of you. And finally a really important component to all of this is ‘A’ for ‘Accomplishment’ - make sure you’re smelling the roses along the way. Have ‘rituals’ within the business just as you would in a family such as birthdays and Christmas for example.

CB:

This has obviously resonated well within the community. Would you say that there are one or two of those that the accountants and bookkeepers really like to run with? And how do you measure the success of that ripple effect?

RP:

Well first of all, it’s a bit like the accounting equation, you can’t just say you’re going to pick that or pick this. It’s the combination of all. You just need to put your mind to it and care enough to do that. We measure it through various means and not all organisations have the luxury of the scale that we have to put in systems and processes to do those sorts of measures. We have a tool that measures engagement within our employee workforce. We knew that one thing we didn’t want to do,

which a lot of organisations do, is to do an engagement poll once every 12 or even 6 months. It needs to be a pulse check and not an annual health check.

HT:

Given that you have done a great job of turning the Xero Partners into an extension of the Xero family, do you use the same kind of principals for measuring that kind of engagement with your partners and prioritising the programs? How does that work?

RP:

That’s a fascinating question and that’s my next challenge! I’m starting to work on that. We’re constantly measuring Partners on NetPromoter Score. We sit very high in that space - in terms of best-in-class we’re up there on whether Partners would recommend Xero as a platform. What we’re now doing is helping the partners understand the relationship those small business clients have with them. The philosophical shift we’re made in Customer eXperience is a challenge to the team to say “we’re no longer a customer support function, we’re going to be a customer success function. To be a customer success function you can’t just simply react, you’ve got to be thinking about what it is these Partners are going to need next to be successful and to be able to engage with more small businesses so that we can reach our purpose. We can do that by helping them to identify, and we’ve started a pilot and it’s fascinating to see the results, whether the small business clients would recommend their Partner. What it’s showing us is that if we can show them those statistics, as they’re numbers people, they say “How do I compare to our peers?”. We have a responsibility then, which is all part of our culture of abundance - we will share whatever it is we’ve done internally to drive our success with whoever wants to use it. So it’s like this ‘EBITDA’ that I was talking about, we’re saying “take it!” because we want you to be successful. We will help them to improve their NetPromoter Score so their small business clients are recommending them.

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CB:

So finally, I’d like to hear a personal story from you where you’ve you’ve met someone in the wider community and you’ve heard the values reflected back or where they’ve shared something about how the product has changed their life?

HT:

That’s been one of the most exciting for me coming to Australia for the first time for Xerocon. We’ve been in the Australian market now for about 12 months, so we’re still really early in life. What’s been really satisfying is seeing, partners and customers coming up to me and telling me the same stories we’ve heard in the UK for many years. It’s almost the same - the value we’re bringing them “Our mission is and helping them is taking the pain really satisfying. One out of getting paid of the things that is so customers can really great, is that focus on what our mission is taking they do best.” the pain out of getting paid so our customers can focus on what they do best. They say things like “we love GoCardless because now I don’t have to chase all of my customers, I can focus on being an advisor or on serving more customers”. It’s that purpose being played back to us. I think for me, that is the best example of it.

RP:

There’s so many stories of people coming up to us, even in my social life - you go to a dinner party and they ask “who do you work for?”, I say “Xero” and they then say “I love Xero!”. They tell me then that one of their friends sells ice cream for dogs and say that Xero has changed their life. Or another friend runs a dance school or interior design company etc and it’s almost like when you say the word “Xero” that they’re like “We love Xero!”.

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more about GoCardless, please visit: > gocardless.com

Issue 21 / 27

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Issue 21 / 29

Ever thought about owning an alpaca?

@LinkSolutions

Will McTavish, Co-Founder, Link Reporting Will was the world’s first cloud integration specialist in the Xero Ecosystem. He’s a Co-Founder at Link, an alpaca farmer, a marathon runner, a yogi, and pretty good at backing a trailer.

The first thing you need to know is you need at least two. Alpaca’s are very social animals and need to be socialised with other alpacas. They are very intelligent, gentle creatures and are very easy to care for...

y alpacas are Betty and Edna. My brothers bought them for me last year as a surprise birthday present. I got a post on Facebook in the morning from Jack saying “Happy Birthday mate! I heard that Mum got you a kitten. Arthur and I thought we’d stick with the theme....”. I thought it was a joke, until I called Arthur. He could barely speak because he was giggling so much. Betty and Edna turned up that weekend. My immediate concern was that they would eat all the trees I had planted 12 months earlier, but Jack assured me that they are ‘grazers’ and not ‘browsers’. The next day we were down to from 180 to 177 Pittosporum. And so my journey as an alpaca farmer began... Here are some common questions about alpacas, and Xero Practice Manager:

30 / Issue 21

timesheets in seperate jobs. This often occurs when you have fixed price agreements and the billing is set to go from Xero to a ‘billing job’ in XPM. The problem this causes is when the jobs are closed, the job with the invoices incurs a massive write up, and the job with the timesheets incurs a massive write off - rendering most reports in XPM useless. What is difference between alpacas and llamas? The way I like to think of it, is alpacas are like sheep, whereas llamas are like goats. Alpacas are very easy to care for and just need grass and water. Llamas are much bigger and require roughage in their diet - branches etc. Llamas are bigger than alpacas, and have longer bananashaped ears, whereas alpaca have short ears.

Do alpacas eat trees? Alpacas do eat the leaves of some trees, but the real issue is they use them as scratching posts. If you are trying to establish new trees, you want to keep your alpacas away from them.

How should I set up my Job Categories? We recommend setting up Job Categories to match your engagement types. For example Fixed Price Agreement, and Billable. This will allow you to filter out the negative WIP from our fixed price agreements, allowing you to see what your Billable WIP is.

What is the biggest mistake people make with XPM? The biggest mistake is having invoices and

Are alpacas easy to care for? Very easy! Goldfish require more effort. You can head overseas for a couple

weeks and they will look after themselves. How do I link my recurring invoices to my jobs in XPM? The reference field in the recurring invoice must match either the Job Number, or the Client Order Number in the job. We recommend using the Client Order Number because it is easier to update when you start a new engagement. Do alpacas spit? It is very uncommon for an alpaca to spit at a human. Edna will spit at Betty when it’s feeding time to let her know she is the boss, but I have never been spat at. What is the best way to capture the job budget? If the work is for a one off job and has been quoted, it is best to raise a quote for the job, then bill from the quote. If the work is for an annual engagement, capture the budget in the Job Budget field and reference this when billing. How much space do I need for alpacas? Half an acre would be enough space for four alpacas. Betty and Edna live on half an acre and they can’t keep up with all the grass, so I need to mow every few weeks to help them out.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

What is the best way to setup jobs in XPM? Think of a job as an ‘engagement’ and the tasks as tasks you need to complete for the engagement. This means you want to be setting up jobs as annual engagements, which include everything you need to do for that year for that client. If something falls outside this annual engagement, such as a cashflow forecast, you can set up a new job to recognise this is a new engagement. This will also be billed separately. Do you sell the alpacas wool? Alpaca wool is very expensive once it is spun. It takes a lot of work to clean it and spin it however, due to how fine the fibres are. A sack of alpaca wool is only worth around $5, but a sack of alpaca yarn on the other hand, is almost worth its weight in gold. What mark up should I apply to my outsourcing fees in XPM? I recommend 200%. This is to align with internal margins once we consider unproductive time. Let’s say we have a cost rate of $50 per hour for a staff member, we’d set a billable rate at $200 per hour. At a target 75% productivity, we have an average billable rate of $150. This is a 200% markup. Remember your contractor markups affects your staff write offs and ROI, so make sure you get this right! What is the worst thing about owning an alpaca? The only negative I can think of is getting dissed by your neighbours who are real farmers with sheep or beef. If you can put up with the lighthearted jokes, you are well on your way to being a proud alpaca farmer.

FIND OUT MORE... Any Questions? If you have any questions about alpacas, running a lifestyle block, or getting better reports from WorkflowMax and Xero Practice Manager, feel free to get in touch with us at: > www.linkreporting.com

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Issue 21 / 31

New to the Xero Ecosystem

Bridging the communication gap between accountants and small business Presenting accounts in an engaging way can be challenging. Business owners don’t have hours to spend deciphering reports and they want seamless advice from their accountants. That’s where Zivora steps in. With in-built collaboration features, Zivora speaks small business language and presents financial stories in an intuitive and fun way.

ith 20 years consulting experience in the finance industry we’ve seen our fair share of friction. It’s been our mission to remove those friction points and lift performance, wherever we’ve been positioned. When we set up our own business, we needed answers to our questions instantly. One of our biggest pain points was not having the time we needed to analyse business financials

bookkeeper and accountant. So that’s why we created Zivora. co - a space to quickly analyse our own businesses growth opportunities and collaborate with our bookkeeper and accountant. What is Zivora? Zivora is a fun and seamless experience that gives a business its P&L, cashflow and key revenue driver story, and allows for multiple scenario planning (with instant key metric impact visuals). It also provides a collaborative forum where accountants and bookkeepers can provide strategic insights and advice to their clients, all without having to leave the visuals themselves. How does it work?

and effectively monitor cashflow, speed up receivables and grow our customer base. We were constantly to-ing and fro-ing via email to our

FIND OUT MORE... Start saving time. Try Zivora for free: > zivora.co 32 / Issue 21

Sign up with a few easy steps, add a Xero account, sync the data and within minutes see your full financial picture. Easily invite others as commenters or editors, with just a couple of clicks. The chat function is actually pinned to the parts of the visuals you comment on, so your collaborators easily know what item you are discussing. No more exporting, emailing and chasing with phone calls. With Zivora you can bring the discussion to the numbers.

@ZivoraApp

Prasanna Nagar, Co-founder, Zivora With 15 years on the cutting edge of data analytics, including leading Customer Engagement and Decision Science at CBA, Prasanna co-founded Simplio. co which designs bespoke customer-centric data solutions and consults to key Australian financial institutions. With co-founder Wayne Zwar, he has now set up Zivora.co to bring his know-how of data visualisation and relationship engagement to the accounting space.

In addition to viewing your income and expense stories, cashflow monitoring, and receivables and payable insights, Zivora actually makes budgeting fun, with seamless import of last year’s actuals upon which to base multiple scenarios. This lets you instantly see how those scenarios would impact your cashflow and key business metrics. With clear and accurate projections, it’s easy to set goals and move your business towards them. There’s no longer any excuse to avoid planning and tracking when it’s this simple. Multiple Organisations Zivora has different plans catering for the needs of business, as well as packages for accountants or bookkeepers to invite their clients. It’s easy to add multiple Xero organisations, then switch between them within the Zivora console. Availability Zivora is currently available in Australia and offers a 14 day free trial. Zivora’s NZ and UK release is scheduled for November 2019.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Your Business App

Your Business May Need to Speak with Xero B U T Y O U C E R TA I N LY SHOULDNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T BE THE MESSENGER (N O R A N Y OTH E R LIVI NG B E I NG FO R THAT MAT TE R )

Email us on start@maze.digital Or visit maze.digital/xu

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Issue 21 / 33

Interview

An interview with Caroline Plumb on entrepreneurship, AI and why it’s so hard for businesses to manage their cashflow @Fluidly

Caroline Plumb, Founder and CEO, Fluidly Caroline is Founder and CEO of Fluidly, a venture-backed business which uses machine learning to help small businesses manage their biggest painpoint - cashflow. Caroline is a Prime Minister’s Business Ambassador, and a non-executive director of AIM-listed Mercia Technologies. She previously co-founded FreshMinds, an innovation consultancy, and FreshMinds Talent, a recruiting business. Caroline has a First Class degree in Engineering, Economics and Management from Oxford University and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List in 2016.

We caught up with serial entrepreneur Caroline Plumb to understand her journey of “falling in love with the problem” of cashflow management for businesses...

he financial worries associated with being a small business owner After yet another sleepless night worrying about her business finances and a fruitless search for an effective cashflow forecasting tool, Caroline Plumb decided to do something about a problem that affects scores of small and mediumsized companies. “As a business owner, I was fed up of wondering whether I had enough cash to make payroll,” she says. “And sick of wondering how much VAT was going to be. I knew that cashflow management is the biggest pain point for small businesses. In fact, of all small business failure, 80% is due to poor cashflow management. But I couldn’t find any useful or practical 34 / Issue 21

solutions on the market.” A serial entrepreneur (Caroline cofounded consultancy FreshMinds), she set about establishing Fluidly to, as she explains, “take financial stress away from business owners and their accountants”. In just three years, the firm has been named in the Fintech 50 and won ‘Forecasting, Planning & Analysis Software of the Year’ in the Accounting Excellence awards, among other accolades. At Xerocon 2018, Fluidly was named ‘Emerging App Partner of the Year’. Using data to power a solution to the cashflow problem “When I began Fluidly, I was very clear that I wanted to create a solution for businesses that didn’t just answer the question of ‘what’

is going to happen in the financial future, but also ‘so what’ and ‘now what’ – showing what the next steps are to improve the forecast. I had a concept of an intelligence wrapper around businesses that would automatically inform business owners about what they should do next. Up until that point, the solutions in the cashflow space had been focused around modelling what was going to happen based on assumptions. None of it actually used historical financial data in an effective way. I thought there must be a way we could leverage data to shortcut the process.” And so Caroline got to work on developing what became Intelligent Cashflow, with the ultimate goal of helping business owners to sleep better at night by providing control, confidence and certainty around

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Interview cashflow. While her first business was funded with just £500, Fluidly began with £375,000 of angel investment, money which was used to establish a team, find customers and construct the product. A year after launch, the company secured a £2 million seed round led by Octopus Ventures, Anthemis and VC Nyca. Meanwhile, during her search for an experienced leader in the world of data science, Caroline met Johnnie Ball, Fluidly’s chief data scientist. Since then, Fluidly has provided Intelligent Cashflow for hundreds of accounting practices and thousands of businesses. But what does Intelligent Cashflow mean and it is different from everything else out there? A new category of Intelligent Cashflow “It’s a new category of cashflow management,” explains Caroline. “We see the space very broadly. It’s not just about producing a model that shows you what is going to happen, it’s a more holistic business solution. So it’s not just about forecasting but also about understanding what is affecting the forecast; the real things that are driving cash inflows and outflows, and specifically how business owners can improve their finances.” Caroline realised early on that the ability of artificial intelligence to handle big volumes of data in an intelligent way was the solution for the problems encountered by businesses. It meant that a forecast could be produced in minutes instead of hours, which freed up time for accountants and their clients. From the off, she was thinking about what problem she wanted to solve (“they say you need to fall in love with the problem, not the solution”) and, coming back from maternity leave after her third child, was keen to do something different and to build a new business. It was a good decision. Thanks to the hard work of Caroline and her

team, Intelligent Cashflow allows accountants to provide cashflow services to their small business clients at scale, by having regular and structured conversations about cashflow and what matters most. Fluidly’s cashflow forecast is generated instantly and updated live. Meanwhile, Caroline has been recognised for her endeavours. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List in 2016 for services to Business and Charity and was one of the Prime Minister’s Business Ambassadors, representing the Professional Services sector. As a kid who loved to take broken things apart (hoovers, microwaves, TVs, computers), in her adult life she continues to enjoy figuring out how things work and how to improve them. She studied Engineering at Oxford University and was a sponsored software engineer for GCHQ during her summer holidays.

of the Xero roadshows, and Gary Turner recently spoke at our third birthday party. Our engineering teams work closely on improving the integration between our two pieces of software. Due to the number of businesses we are helping, we’re dealing with very large volumes of data and this represents some technical challenges that we’ve worked together to overcome.” With that in mind, Fluidly is launching a host of new features at Xerocon 2019. “A few months ago, we announced our migration to Google Cloud Platform. One of the huge benefits of this is that we can now launch new features faster than ever, and I’m excited to show what we’ve built at Xerocon. We’re focusing our efforts on equipping accountants with the information they need to provide effective advice to help clients grow their businesses.”

A strong partnership with Xero As for the future, Caroline is looking forward to Xerocon. “We are great partners with Xero and love working with them. This year we’ve travelled the country with the team as headline apps

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FIND OUT MORE... Find out more at: > fluidly.com

Issue 21 / 35

Interview

John Connolly on Life as Chief Product Officer at Receipt Bank

@ReceiptBank

ABOUT RECEIPT BANK Receipt Bank is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading preaccounting tool for accountants, bookkeepers and small business-owners. We digitise receipts and invoices to track, process and manage financial data in real-time so you can work smarter, grow faster and go further.

36 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Interview

Receipt Bank is expanding fast and showing no signs of slowing. In September, they launched their most requested feature to date, Sales Invoices, alongside Line Item Extraction and Bank Match. We chat to John Connolly, Receipt Bank’s Chief Product Officer (CPO), to see what life is like inside the company changing the lives of bookkeepers and their clients for good...

“I

started my involvement with accounting during bookkeeping lessons at school, learning to write E&OE at the bottom of every page before I wrote a single figure. I confidently explained to my teacher that I’d never need to know any of this. I was going to be a scientist,” begins John. We speak on a rainy September morning in Shoreditch, where Receipt Bank is headquartered. “It surprised me perhaps more than most that I found my home in bookkeeping. There have been many clues in my family history; my great aunts used to run a school for comptometer operators. Bookkeeping is in the blood.” “Yet, I should say I came to this industry through scientific publishing. So I didn’t completely lie to my secondary school teacher (hello Miss Lester if you’re reading).” John joined Receipt Bank in February 2018 after spending almost two decades in the healthcare, travel and science industries; industries that John describes as those that “collectively help to keep you alive and make your life worth living”. Does Receipt Bank buck the trend? Quite the contrary. “There is a joy to doing something well. Pushing the boundaries. That’s what I want to do. It’s what I want you to do too.” “I’m happy to leave planes, trains and automobiles to somebody else. I also tend to joke that we are in healthcare…as true healthcare is about avoiding bad health, not curing the sick. I believe that

Receipt Bank, along with all of the advisors that use it, can do more for people’s mental health and free time than possibly anything else I could give value to.” “We cannot and should not underestimate the impact of financial insecurity, whether that’s the hours of lost sleep or stress it brings into our homes. When the majority of people work for small businesses, there’s a potential to change the lives of tens of millions of people. The megalomaniac in me wants to be a part of that.” And on Receipt Bank, John likens it to a “bridge between two people with very different needs, desires and areas of interests, a bridge that helps them love working together. It’s something that lets people focus on what they’re good at. Whether that’s being a physiotherapist, running a plumbing company or taking care of people’s books – maybe even giving them some great advice to boot.” Indeed, the way that we manage admin has been crying out for disruption for years. “I believe between one to three days a month are currently spoiled by doing, fearing or avoiding admin. I hope to at least take the sighs out of those three days, and maybe even fill them with smiles,” says John. “For instance, rather than having to pull invoices from suppliers manually, you can fetch them automatically with a tool like Invoice Fetch. “While this might seem incredibly self-serving, I’ve had more people at dinner parties smile when I say that I work at Receipt Bank than any other company I’ve worked at.”

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On the role of a Chief Product Officer John leads a team of more than sixty people worldwide, driving the development of products that meet the needs of everyone who works in and with small businesses. “As Receipt Bank’s CPO, I lead a ‘product’ team. If sales sell ‘it’, marketing market ‘it’ and engineering build ‘it’, product decides what ‘it’ is. We are the diplomat, the middle child. We try to bring everyone together so that when we finally launch, it’s to everyone’s benefit.” This collaboration and human centricity is reflected in John’s approach to leadership. “I was lucky early on to work with some genius people (borderline mad) who made me expect the best from work and great things from my career. This drove me to be ambitious and kind. Business is all about people. Even our machine learning is built by people. When you need to make tough decisions, you can still do them with an appreciation of everyone’s humanity. “In fact, the proudest moment in my career so far has been here. As you become more senior in the product space, the product you build shifts. It moves from the product in someone’s pocket to a team that can build those amazing products. I now look at my team and see that they work really well together. We’ve learned to grow together. “People really want to know that what they’re doing is good. That it is good for society, good versus competitors and good for using Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 37

Interview and growing their talents as part of a team and company. You need a culture that promotes great work rather than gets in the way of it.” On automation and machine learning Time-saving and efficiency is key to Receipt Bank’s popularity. With a care bordering on obsession over the details, Receipt Bank now turns everything from bank statements to receipts plus cost and sales invoices into accurate data. They process around ten million documents a month with an average turn-around time of just nine minutes. Yet, that’s just scratching the surface. “I love how Optimize, our most advanced product, takes the nagging out of a client partner relationship by helping you identify and obtain missing paperwork; or how you can automatically extract line items from digital receipts and invoices to offer clients a flexible, detail-focused service. It’s this level of automation that we’re striving for – the kind that makes your everyday interactions more meaningful.” “If we do this right, more people than ever can be supported by a brilliant advisor. And in turn, those advisors can truly shine,” says John. Does John see automation as a threat to the accounting and bookkeeping profession? “When we first invented the calculator, I’m sure we thought it would remove accountants altogether. Then came Excel, then came general ledger software. We often misunderstand where the true value is. That value is in the reassurance and the skills that another person can bring to bear. It’s in software recognising duplicate transactions before they appear, so you can publish

FIND OUT MORE... Find out more at: > receiptbank.com

38 / Issue 21

paperwork to coded transactions in just one click.” And he’s right. One thing that surprised him since joining Receipt Bank has been the love and care shown by accountants and bookkeepers. “It shines through every conference I go to and every interaction I have,” says John. “Accountants and bookkeepers look after an enormous segment of our economy. They help people who go into business not because they necessarily wanted to be in business, but because they wanted to practice their craft or follow a dream. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling that I never expected to have.” Developing a holistic one-stop solution Last month, Receipt Bank launched the first installment of Sales Invoices, a feature that brings the world-class data extraction of cost invoices to the world of sales invoices. Just four weeks into the launch, more than 100,000 sales invoices were submitted. Just over 30% of those were published to Xero.

“Long before launching something, we spend all of our time obsessing about what a bookkeeper and their client might love. What do they say they want, what do they need, what’s easy to adopt and what’s worth learning? This process involves nearly everyone in our company in a shared obsession. “It lines up with our desire to take care of all of your paperwork and become a more holistic, solution. We are also very lucky to live in an ecosystem of brilliant interconnected solutions. We benefit from the focus of other companies and vice versa.” Describing what’s next for Receipt Bank, John breaks the fourth wall. “You know that my own product team would beat me if I tipped our hat too early.” “What I can say is: more obsession with bookkeepers. More assistance with workflows. More ease of use for clients and yourselves. And greater help in freeing up even more time to focus on what you love doing.”

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Issue 21 / 39

Marketing is hard. (Warning—total BS) What does it actually take to be successful with your sales and marketing activity? These 9 pointers will extend beyond the work itself and far into your life... Y

ou need to understand that your sales & marketing activity is not always going to work. There will be campaigns you put effort and $$$’s into but will produce a big fat n0thing. But NOTHING shouldn’t stop you from taking the learning and powering on to build that cred, push that message and move that audience. When you’re stuck, remember this: 1) MARKETING will not work for you if you say it’s HARD. Hard is having to stay in a shitty money situation, hard is not fulfilling your desired business goals, HARD is watching all your competitors fly past while you’re just getting by. Choose that what you do will be easy. It won’t always happen with ease, but trials help you understand what WILL

work, and challenges help you expand and grow.

@HuntandHawk

Sonya Vanjicki, Director, Hunt & Hawk Sonya cultivates creativity and connection everywhere she goes. With 15 years in the industry, she’s developed a sixth sense for choosing the right messaging, branding and positioning to bring purpose and pleasure to professional services organisation all around the world. Having worked alongside some of the biggest names in the Accounting & FinTech industry, Sonya makes shit look cool, and combines theory with tech to harmonise and enhance brand experiences across all touchpoints.

the path that forms your character.

3) TEAMS won’t work for you if you’re not coming from a place of complete abundance, and letting go of desperation and scarcity. This isn’t ‘fake it till you make it’ it’s simply ‘let that shit go’ 2) SALES (and marketing) as it does not serve won’t happen for you Marketing you. Your team will be if you don’t become your GLUE, you must RESILIENT. On developed a choose consciously average it takes reputation as hard each and every day to 11 touch-points, 8 don’t be tainted by come from abundance hours of content and old ideas. and LEAD them (and 3 phone calls to get yourself ) to the same. some interest. Most When you focus too heavily people give up after just 1. on the output you forget about the Choose to be the business person input. But there’s always enough that bounces back and uses the resources, people, and opportunity. learnings to FUEL YOU. Marketing developed a reputation as hard—don’t be tainted by old ideas.

Steel yourself, this is not a drill—it’s

How you feel counts—your biggest influence is the actual state you’re in. 4) CLIENTS will not work for you if you’re not being SOLUTIONS FOCUSED. Staying in the problem zone won’t get you anywhere. If there is an issue, ask ‘what’s the solution?’. Then go and action it! Do not harp on and on about the problems. Your clients want solutions. And for the record, TIME is not an excuse, none of us have any time to waste, and there’s certainly no time for victim mentality. Cont. >

40 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 41

Getting sh#t done is good—getting problems solved is great.

impressions are mostly projections. Give customers time to fall in love with you.

5) BUSINESS won’t work for you People make business work—be if you compare yourself to others. the person who’s there to connect This is the all-time killer of dreams. Everyone starts somewhere, so give with. yourself a bloody break. Becoming 7) BORING but important—we’ve the influencer, the thought leader, all heard that one. Yaaawn. Boring the powerful figure—it starts with making a DECISION. Learn the ropes IS important. Every rockstar moment is the tip of and tools, hire great people an iceberg made of to help you, come from icy white boredom. service and impact Getting sh#t done Yoga students shape every day. People is good - getting up with patience for will thank you for the problems solved every little movement. work that you do in is great. Make work your yoga. the world—and you Stay with every little need to believe this. task. It’s all connected to the moment that you land Believe in yourself—then the big one. Then the next one. realise how many other people Then the next one. SAVOUR your believe in you. boredom, it’s precious and it’s the ticket price to success. 6) RELATIONSHIPS aren’t complicated, they’re beautiful, and Be present with boredom—every that’s what marketing is built on. great ride starts with shuffling in You’ve got a big heart, so use it. the queue. When you care what’s happening for people, it shines through. When 8) IDEAS are the only thing people you bring HONESTY into a room buy and sell, and the only thing (or a call, or a piece of writing), it worth communicating. Everything sparks connection. Don’t force it— else is logistics. Whatever your let business relationships be what business, get in touch with the they’ll be. And STAY OPEN—first ideas underneath. Learn how to share those ideas, or pay someone who can do it well. Then learn how those ideas LIGHT UP your FIND OUT MORE... customers. Ever seen a customer transform from dubious to zealous? Let’s have a brainstorm and An idea did that to them. Make it strategise over a refreshing one of yours. beverage together - no gimmicks - we’re in this with you: > huntandhawk.com/impact

runs on. 9) ENDINGS are often awkward— but if they are, you’re doing them WRONG. Don’t get so caught up valuing customers that you hold on too tight. Smother much? Let it GO. Hold your customers lightly, ready to happily move on—people love it, and those ex-customers become advocates out in the world. You know, the world FULL of your next customers. Trust the universe? The universe is business, baby! Endings open space in your business—fill that space with growth, not grief. So... Marketing isn’t hard. It’s simple: Do not complain, do not give up, do not forget to smile. Do what it takes for your goals to be bigger than your own BS. Hunt & Hawk has been helping Accountants, FinTech providers and other professional services organisations kick ass for almost a decade. We have worked with some of the biggest players and we get YOU. Whether you need an impactful new website or a solid sales process, we’ve got your back—and we’ll make you look shit hot in the process.

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Here’s why you should consider a digital-first business bank account People who run their own companies need propositions, products and a level of service that enables them to hit back at life’s inevitable curveballs and save time wherever possible. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to list the top four reasons why joining a digital bank might just be the best business decision you’ll ever make...

46 / Issue 21

o one starts a small business so they can spend time with their bank manager or their accountant. Britain’s 5.6 million small businesses make up 99.3% of all private sector firms in the UK and their output is vital to our economy. They are a thriving group, with the number of employing small businesses rising by 25% since 2000 and the number of sole traders up 82%. Despite the uncertainty of Brexit, this section of the business population is still largely optimistic about the future.

banking taking up the lion’s share of this time. Unsurprisingly, 55% of small firms said this negatively impacted their growth.

A persistent challenge, however, for businesses of this size is the burden of administrative tasks and the time and money that this eats up. According to a 2016 FSB study, the average small business owner spends more than 33 hours a month dealing with internal admin, with accounting, tax and business

READY, SET, SPEND

What respite is there in a financial world where paper forms still exist – as do clunky software integrations and application processes that take weeks to complete? The answer is simple: go with a digital-first bank. Chances are, you’ll save yourself time, energy and a whole lot of headache. Here are four reasons why.

Joining a digital-first bank tends to be a much faster, simpler process. It takes an average of 11 days to set up a business bank account with some of the traditional banks, according to the FCA. Now compare that to digital-first Starling Bank,

@StarlingBank

Anna Mitchell is Head of Marketplace at Starling Bank, leading the team to integrate third-party partners such as Xero, Free Agent, and Wealthify into the mobile app. Anna brings with her a wealth of experience in product development, having previously worked on OVO Energy’s entech product offering.

where applications take minutes – from a mobile – and your account could be up and running within a few days. In some cases, it can take a matter of hours. If you can’t wait for your card to arrive, then don’t – you can use Apple Pay and start spending the moment you’re approved. When your business hasn’t got weeks to wait around, a speedy application process like this can make a massive difference. (THIRD) PARTY LIKE IT’S 2019 As readers of XU Magazine, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the concept of a financial marketplace (looking at you, Xero). Many fintechs and digital banks have them, albeit with pretty widely varied product offerings. The Starling Marketplace was established in 2017. It puts

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

customers at the centre of a wider financial ecosystem, allowing them to choose from a range of third party products and services. There’s something for virtually everyone. If you’re in the market for better cyber security, you’ve got CyberSmart and Digital Risks to choose from. On the lending side, there’s GrowthLine – Growth Street’s flexible lending product, which allows you to unlock cash tied up in assets like stock and unpaid invoices. The list goes on – and by the end of 2023, Starling aims to have 48 Marketplace partners. We make sure you don’t pay more for products on the Starling Marketplace than you would by going direct to our partners. It’s what we call the Starling Promise. There’s no added markup, which isn’t the case for some challenger banks (naming no names). JOIN THE UNBUNDLING REVOLUTION Having plenty of partners to choose from is great – but not if that choice

comes with a bunch of ifs, buts and restrictions. The innovative thing about the Starling Marketplace is that you can pick and choose the products and services you want – and cancel them at any point. For example, you can integrate your business bank account with Xero, so your statements are automatically synced. Through the Marketplace, you can view, manage or cancel that integration at any time. Customers should be in control of their own banking experience – so, we designed the Marketplace to help them do just that. SAFE AND SOUND When you think of a digital-first bank, various words probably come to mind. Mobile. Fast. Real-time. But what about safe? It’s important to note that not all banking apps are associated with licensed banks, which does come with a certain amount of risk. A bit of an anomaly in the digital space, Starling Bank is a fully-licensed bank. Adding that extra level of security, we’re also a

member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means – should the worst happen and Starling folded – up to £85,000 of a customer’s deposits would be fully covered. Digital doesn’t have to come at the expense of security – and nor does a slick app have to come without the backing of a proper banking license. Always make sure you check how safe your money’s going to be, but know that there are lots of secure digital options out there. So, there you have it: four reasons why digital-first doesn’t necessarily mean everything-else-last. If you’re looking to save time, stress and the faff of applying for third party products to help your business run more smoothly, then opening a digital bank account might just be the answer.

FIND OUT MORE... Learn more about Starling Bank: > starlingbank.com

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Issue 21 / 49

New to the Xero Ecosystem

There are 150 architects in the room On the big screen in front of them is a simplified annual income statement and a summary of timesheet data for an imaginary 3 person architectural practice. The room is asked a simple question: “how much does 1 hour of the partner’s time cost?”

@ukfreshprojects

Simon Berry, Founder, Fresh Projects Fresh Projects was started by Simon Berry, who while working as a Commercial Director for a large consulting engineering firm was unable to find a simple software solution that could answer the 3 key questions : 1) Which projects are making money? 2) Which clients should we work for? and 3) Are employees working effectively? Simon is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, holds a Cambridge MBA and has worked in the construction industry for 20 years. His passion has always been using technology to remove inefficiencies in the industry.

hat should be a 5 minute exercise takes the room, working in teams, over 30 minutes. The event has been organised by Business of Architecture UK. There are expert guest speakers - come to impart their wisdom on running a financially sustainable practice. Even the experts are struggling. Eventually all the answers are submitted. The teams are also asked to provide a level of confidence in their answer. Their answers are plotted on the big screen (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

The results are staggering. This is a room full of professionals, who have each spent 7 years at

university and many of whom now run their own practices. They were given exactly the same financial data, yet the answers range from £5 per hour to £90 per hour. Even more worrying is that over 80% of the answers undercost their time,

most by more than half! The exercise has been run by Fresh Projects in collaboration with the Business of Architecture UK. They are on a joint mission to educate architects on the fundamentals of running a business - skills that most architects and engineers will admit they don’t typically have. Creative professionals are typically motivated by creating, designing and problem-solving - and often ignore the financial fundamentals that underpin any business. Architects and engineers are forever bemoaning the fact that their services are undervalued and their fees too low - yet, as the above exercise showed, they are typically unequipped to determine and manage their fees correctly in the first place. The size profile of engineering

50 / Issue 21

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New to the Xero Ecosystem and architectural practices is interesting. Over 80% of all firms employ less than 10 staff. As a consequence most firms typically do not have an in house financial expert - so the financial management typically falls on the technical directors, who rely on (often sparse) financial reporting provided by an external bookkeeper (who in turn relies on often sparse and sporadic input data from the firm’s staff ). The issue is further compounded by the fact that engineers and architects fundamentally sell time (hour by hour) on a project by project basis - yet traditional bookkeeping focuses on income and expenses (dominated by a single salaries journal) at a company level. So it is almost impossible to report comprehensive costs vs fees at a project level using traditional accounting tools. Fresh Projects solves this dilemma through a number of ways: • Focus on simplicity and ease of use - so that non-financial architects and engineers can

create budgets, fee proposals, invoices and track project profitability with minimal input. Given that creatives are usually allergic to administration, Fresh Projects aims to allow users to complete each of the above tasks in seconds. • Project based accounting - all timesheet entries, expenses and invoicing are always linked to a project (and a project stage) so that project profitability is automatically reported. Further dimensions (such as client, sector, region, etc) make financial reporting a breeze. • Powerful integration to Xero so that control of the statutory accounting is maintained by a financial professional - yet the project / practice finances are controlled by the business itself. • Affordable, pay-as-you-use subscription model suited to the cash-flow constraints of SME businesses. Fresh Projects is a niche offering aimed at the built environment sector (includes architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and

construction project managers). There are a number of peculiarities to the industry, like the way fees are calculated or the way that projects are split into stages, that off-theshelf offerings struggle to address. However, the single biggest benefit to the architectural and engineering owners who use Fresh Projects is that they don’t have to worry about the intricacies of financial calculations and reporting. They only need to provide a few minutes of their precious time per week to keep their practice’s finances under control - which frees them up to do more of the work they love doing : creating and designing. Fresh Projects automatically takes care of the boring details, like calculating how much an hour of their time costs - which as shown above, is probably a very good thing!

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Issue 21 / 51

Improve client onboarding and management using tech

@SuiteFiles

Andrew Sims, CEO, SuiteFiles Andrew is the CEO, or more accurately, the brains and muscles behind SuiteFiles and its growing success. With a background in cloud consultancy and an MBA under his belt, he’s dedicated to helping small businesses make the most of cloud technology.

It’s impossible to work in a silo when you’re working with clients or colleagues. Fostering communication and community in a digital workforce can at times be challenging. Working with people who are abroad, in different offices, at home or outsourced means we have to be more deliberate in how we share and request information. It’s difficult to catch someone for a quick chat across the desks when their desk is 100miles away. It’s why we created SuiteFiles Connect, to make it easy to share, sign and message colleagues and clients about anything you might be working together on...

uiteFiles Connect is our newest feature, and it’s designed to make communications clear and save time in the process by attaching tasks and messages to the document, email or request that they’re associated with. It will allow you to share, sign, approve and review documents and emails with your clients or colleagues. It removes the need to share via email, and makes it easy for clients to get access to their documents, as well as to the tasks that you need them to do. Clients can sign in easily with their Google, Xero or preferred credentials so everyone can access this platform without hassle. Connect is SuiteFiles first step to streamlining communication in the workplace. We wanted to go through some of the ways you can use SuiteFiles Connect to make working with clients simple, consistent and fast for all involved!

52 / Issue 21

Sharing End of Year Documentation Especially for clients who have a number of entities, sharing their end of year document packs with them can result in 100s of documents needing to be sent. Instead of doing this through a number of systems that are bolted together, Use SuiteFiles Connect to drop them all into a single collaborative folder, which you can then share with client. They can see all financial statements for all of their entities, trusts and individuals in a single place. You don’t have to set an expiry date on this content (although you can if you want to), so they’ll always have access to these important documents in a space that is completely secure. They don’t need to download these documents if they don’t want to, they can keep them secure by logging into Connect to access them instead.

Onboarding Clients Inevitably, onboarding clients requires a huge amount of documentation. So instead of trying to communicate through email, use SuiteFiles Connect to create a ‘task list’ that clients coming on board need to complete. They can upload the key financial information needed, sign contracts, review your policies and procedures and approve specific documents in one place. They can also complete a questionnaire about their goals. By making this process easily repeatable, we save ourselves time and also make it easier for the client. Clients are most likely to churn in the first 3 months of a new relationship. By starting with Connect and a process that will continue to be used throughout their engagement with you, clients know exactly what to expect in regards to how we communicate and the processes we’ll follow along the way. It also makes the process easier for them!

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Signing of key documents Digital signing isn’t new, but SuiteFiles Connect means that documents being signed stay within your document management system. The client receives them securely through Connect and can sign anything you send in 3 clicks. Once it’s been signed, the completed version is instantly uploaded to the relevant folder in our SuiteFiles site. The client also has access to anything they’ve signed for us in SuiteFiles Connect by clicking on the signed tab. Signatures can be made even more secure by enabling Two Factor Authentication. Regular task requests There is a huge number of things you request from clients that need to be done every month, or every quarter, or annually. You can use SuiteFiles Connect to request these tasks at these intervals, so that the process is consistent and our clients know what to expect.

This means you can request any documents you need from them, as well as any edits you might need on documents. You can get clients to review and approve what’s been prepared, and then set it up for them to sign, all through the same task list. Once it’s completed, You can send them a final task to review output, or simply place the completed work in a collaborative folder that they’ve got access to, so that they can see everything and access it without having to email you and ask for a copy! At SuiteFiles we’re continually looking for ways to streamline the

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way we work with our clients and our internal team. Each of these features are available through Connect on our Super Suite plan. If you’re heading to Xerocon London or Account.Tech Live in Melbourne, stop by and ask us for more information!

FIND OUT MORE... Want to know more now? Request a demo or a free 30 day trial here: > www.suitefiles.com

Issue 21 / 53

Lacking visibility from Xero Practice Manager?

54 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 55

A Day in the Life... Sarah, a Bookkeeper at Fast Bookkeeping It’s the start of Sarah’s day and she is already stressed over the amount of paperwork she is facing to meet her client’s deadlines. Sarah is a bookkeeper and owner of Fast Bookkeeping. Lately, Sarah has been finding it difficult to stay on top of things, the business is growing and the administrative time is quickly becoming overwhelming, and non-billable!

y mid-morning much of Sarah’s time has been spent dealing with clients who are behind on their own books. A client stops by in a mad rush to drop off a box of receipts. Of course, the receipts are not categorised so they all need to be sorted before entering. Their Accountant is pressuring her to get the books up to date so they can file the client’s overdue taxes.

her own client invoices. Sitting in front of the TV, she starts to enter her time and inventory items into her spreadsheet, and realises she forgot to log time for the previous week as well. She cusses at herself and wonders why she cannot remember to do such a simple and fundamental task. In frustration she calls on her somewhat okay memory and starts to fill in her spreadsheet.

While eating lunch she multi-tasks and enters her clients expenses into Xero, in an attempt to cross an item off of her daily ‘to do’ list. It was at that moment Sarah realised she was fighting a lost cause, she knew it was time to find a better approach before she drowned in administration.

By the time her head hits the pillow it’s late and when she finally falls asleep she dreams of invoices, expenses, cash flow and the things still staring at her on her ‘to do list’. She wakes up early, strangely fresh and full of energy. Sarah rolls out of bed, grabs a coffee and fires up her laptop to find a time tracking

@eBillity

Joe Daee, V.P. Business Development, eBillity Joe Daee brings 20 years of experience in software and technology to the eBillity team. He joined in March 2017 with a goal to expand the company’s global partnerships and channels into foreign markets – which we can say he has successfully done – launching Time Tracker in Australia, the UK, and Europe.

solution, a quick consult with Google and she is already feeling more in control. Sarah had been a long time user of Xero and most of her customers were too so she really did need a one-size fits all solution. A few clicks later she found herself staring at the answer to all of her problems. A free timekeeping account plus a 20% commission! Sarah had stumbled across a timekeeping and billing app that integrated with Xero payroll and accounting. The app would allow her to automate her time and expense tracking and simplify her invoicing. She found herself daydreaming about what she might

That afternoon Sarah finds herself trying to figure out and fix payroll errors for a client who is still using paper timesheets, post-it notes and emails to track employee time. With a sigh, she flicks through the information spending a detailed amount of time to ensure it is done correctly so there are no tax liabilities. When she looks up at the clock it is already 6pm and getting dark out. Sarah calls it a day and heads home for the night taking her laptop with her so she can work on 56 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

do with all her free time, but the good news was that it didn’t stop there. This product offered an Advisor Program which means she wins and so do her clients. The 20% commission was simply the icing on the cake. Sarah arrived at work with a bounce in her step. She had applied to the eBillity Advisor Program and had been given a free Time Tracker account, she couldn’t wait to get started. She got her account setup and connected to Xero in no time at all, to her surprise it was more simple than she thought. After only three weeks things had already started to improve. Sarah was finally feeling on top of things; her payroll was seamless and her invoices were all up to date including her timekeeping. She had no idea how much money she was losing and estimated a 20% increase in profitability by tracking her time more accurately. With that thought in mind she opened her email and started to write a message.

Dear Valued Clients, Over the past few weeks I have been trialing a new timekeeping and billing application that fully integrates with Xero. I have been using this successfully within my business and I am already starting to see the results. I wanted to share this with you as a valued client of Fast Bookkeeping so that you too can enjoy the benefits. The application is called Time Tracker by eBillity, they offer a free 14-day trial. I would be more than happy to show you how this can help you run your business more efficiently to save you time and improve your profitability. Visit www.ebillity.com and please call me should you want to learn more or talk to me about how this has made our lives more simple. Sincerely, Sarah Winchester Fast Bookkeeping

To Sarah’s delight, many of her clients responded, so she decided to run a live webinar. With the help of her eBillity Account Manager, she was able to facilitate a live product demonstration that resulted in several clients signing up for a free trial. Time keeps on slipping, slipping, into the future... A few months later and Sarah finds herself having lunch with a potential new client at a local cafe where she had always wanted to go. While she was waiting she found herself thinking... no more bland sandwiches over data entry for me.

FIND OUT MORE... Do you want to be more like Sarah? Become an eBillity Advisor today and start saving time and money with your free Time Tracker account, and earn a 20% commission when your clients subscribe too. Please visit: > www.ebillity.com/advisors

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Issue 21 / 57

Joined-up spending: The missing link Why real-time spend management is a real time saver Remove the final blocker in the bookkeeping logjam and learn how real-time spend management slots into your existing processes to streamline expenses...

little over a decade ago, cloud accounting sparked a seismic shift away from paperwork-heavy manual processes towards more efficient digital automation. Today, integrations reach all the way from the current account to project management tools, flowing valuable information into cloud accounting platforms to simplify financial management. It’s a win-win situation for businesses and their accountants, reducing manual work and delivering actionable insights in the moment. Administrators and advisers expect to be able to track and act on finances in real-time. So, it’s strange that spending and expense management has largely been kept in the dark ages. The banking bottleneck Though most banks have bank feeds into cloud accounting software (like Xero), many of the payments made by businesses don’t end up in the accounts for weeks, or even months. That’s because a large proportion of a business’ spending – by frequency, if not by volume – is not directly paid out of the business current account.

Current accounts are perfectly sufficient for fixed costs like rent and utility bills. But travel and entertainment expenses (T&E), and other incidental costs are paid for using petty cash, employee reimbursements and cash advances. Software subscriptions, online ads and other forms of variable spending are often paid for on company credit cards. Though neo banks like Monzo and Starling are working towards more capable business accounts, many companies still prefer to bank with age-old institutions, for good reason. Security and stability are crucial when handling money, and neo banks have so far focused on micro-entities, struggling to earn the perceived credibility needed to usurp incumbents. But the way traditional banks manage variable spending hasn’t changed for decades, meaning both businesses and their accountants are stuck with painful processes – right in the middle of bookkeeping workflows. At their best, these processes feel like compromises. At their worst, they suck time and money out of the business. The black hole of the status quo Here’s how most small businesses

58 / Issue 21

@soldo

Darren Upson, VP Small Business Europe, Soldo Darren is responsible for growing Soldo’s small business division across Europe. He has extensive experience scaling hypergrowth SaaS and Fintech companies that have defined their respective categories, including Xero and NetSuite. Darren is now establishing Soldo as Europe’s leading spend management solution, helping small businesses and accountants to banish the inefficiency of spending and expense management, and enabling business owners to focus on what they do best.

address the challenge of managing spending and expenses. • Low-level staff spend on personal cards, waiting for weeks (sometimes months) before reporting the costs they’ve incurred on the business’ behalf. • Management uses a mix of personal cards (with the same issues) and company credit cards, with statements taking weeks to arrive. • Departments lean on finance teams to pay for expenses, introducing unnecessary and time-consuming administrative hurdles. • Petty cash and advances only add to the confusion. And accountants have the unenviable task of bringing it all together in a system of record. Cue chaos. The truth is, the status quo has always been a nightmare that businesses (and employees) have accepted for lack of an alternative. And it’s resulted in symptoms that we’ve mistakenly considered an inescapable part of business. Poor visibility Reimbursement and petty cash processes hide costs from view. Waiting for statements and reporting can mean companies

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

lose 60+ days before identifying costs. And that’s a big deal. For small businesses, expenses are the second biggest outlay after salaries, so being in the dark about these costs has huge implications for decision making. Limited control In this fragmented system, it’s virtually impossible to assert any kind of control outside of an expense policy. The true limit is whatever the employee is willing to spend on their own debit and credit cards, or the upper limit of a company credit card. As a result, fraudulent expense claims cost British businesses £1.9 bn (yes, billion) per year. A time warp Expense management is a chore, taking businesses hours to report, and accountants hours to record. Shoeboxes full of receipts, manual statement uploads, nagging emails, tedious reconciliations… expense management is a broken, inefficient process that increases the likelihood of inaccuracies. Über-expensive: Why real-time visibility matters This year, a ride-sharing start-up found that an employee initiative had resulted in £165,000 being spent on balloons. Yes, it’s an overblown (sorry) issue, clearly impacted by scale. But that kind of flyaway (last one) spending can also affect small businesses. Without seeing all spending as it happens, businesses pour profits down the drain. Introducing Soldo – The missing link For visibility and control over spending, businesses need to connect everything between payment and reconciliation. It needs to happen in real-time, capturing business-wide spending at the moment of purchase. And it needs to integrate seamlessly with the business’ existing bank account and their accounting software.

Soldo does this by putting smart prepaid company cards in the hands of employees and departments. It means that all spending can be controlled proactively using builtin budgets and rules, but it also means spending can be seen in a centralised system, instantly. That smarter spending holds the key for simpler expenses. The Soldo mobile app prompts cardholders to take a photograph of the receipt the moment the payment is made. Adding receipts, tags and notes is as simple as a couple of clicks, right at the point of purchase. And a Xero direct bank feed and expense integration put the icing on the cake. Why the bank feed matters For many accountants and business owners, the most logical place to see spending is alongside other financial information. The power of a platform like Xero is that – when plugged into the right products – it can serve as a single source of truth. Soldo allows you to connect a direct bank feed to Xero that updates regularly, so accountants and business owners alike can get an up-to-date view of spending.

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When paired with its class-leading expense integration, Soldo automatically delivers everything an accountant needs to reconcile an expense in Xero. Transactions flow in on the left-hand side of Xero’s bank reconciliation; expense data – including tracking codes, VAT rates, notes, billable expenses and more – is sent to the right. It’s a major timesaver that substantially reduces the risk of data input inaccuracies. Practices like Farnell Clarke love the efficiency this brings to compliance tasks. Will Farnell, Founder of the practice, says they’re now providing bookkeeping services to their clients with an average of four minutes’ work per day. Extraordinary. But that live data truly comes into its own for the delivery of next-gen advisory services. Implement or implode Contrary to the dying cries of the traditionalists, implementing automation tools like Soldo and Xero has empowered accountants, rather than replacing them. Smart accountants, leading progressive practices, have turned the tide – transforming the efficiency of Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 59

compliance services and moving towards more profitable advisory roles. But, until now, there have always been caveats surrounding the delivery and profitability of advisory services. Truly accurate advice depends on live accounting data, with 30-day old advice offering an instantly dated perspective rather than fresh insights. But one piece of the puzzle has always been missing: it’s been virtually impossible to gain realtime visibility over T&E and variable spending. The processes just didn’t exist. Real-time spend and expense management changes everything. Your advice takes into account a complete view of the business,

FIND OUT MORE... Sign up for free today at: > soldo.com/partner

gained directly from Xero. And your clients get the most accurate view of their business as it stands, here and now. Why does that matter? Here’s what Will Farnell had to say: “With the right relationship and live data our clients come to us first with every business question. We might not currently be able to deliver the answer every time, but with live accounting, good planning and great client relationships, this can happen. And live data, which is as real-time as possible, is how it works.” – Will Farnell, Founder of Farnell Clarke It’s clear, with a complete set of live accounting data, accountants can deliver the most valuable services with greater accuracy and relevance. Relationships with clients thrive, meaning your clients stick with you, and the range of tasks they entrust to you grows. When it’s right it just fits

thinking accountants have been recognising and deploying technology that digitises and streamlines their processes. Bit by bit, the vision of a smarter, more profitable practice has been created. Today, for the first time, accountants can get a complete view of the entire business in one place – their online accounting platform. But the surprising thing about real-time spend and expense data is that it just makes sense. It fits into your and your clients’ existing workflows, as if it was always meant to be that way. We know the power of spend management, and soon your clients will too. Which is why it’s important to stay on the pulse of such an exciting and powerful tool. The easiest way to do that is to become a member of the Soldo Partner Programme. We give partners free access to Soldo for their own practice, so you can experience the benefits for yourself.

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What’s behind the World Computer? Demystifying cloud computing

@TidyInt

Donovan Jackson Originally from South Africa but now Whakatane-based, Donovan has written on various aspects of technology and business for the better part of two decades. He’s seen a lot of change, some of which has the feel of déjà vu about it.

Cast your mind back to the 1980s. PCs were a luxury. Business computing was basic at best. Today, things couldn’t be more different. Not only is computing ubiquitous, but every company enjoys equal access to top technology. It’s the era of the ‘world computer’, and whether you know it or not, you’re using it daily because that’s how Xero works...

enerally, though, we actually don’t call it the world computer, opting instead for the suitably amorphous title ‘the cloud’. In the simplest of terms, the cloud just means ‘someone else’s computers’ – but understanding the sheer magnitude of it means understanding who that ‘someone else’ is. A case in point is Microsoft, not only one of the world’s biggest and most successful companies, but also the operator of a major cloud platform. Microsoft Azure is a globally “Think of cloud computing distributed in the same way you think of data centre water or electricity. If everyone infrastructure, ran their own pumps and supporting generators, it wouldn’t make thousands of sense - complicated and very online computer expensive.” services out of Panos Patros more than 100 highly secure facilities worldwide. The computing (and, crucially security) Microsoft invests in is the very best available anywhere, says Kevin Mann, CEO of New Zealandbased company Tidy International. “With the cloud, you’re always getting the latest technology 62 / Issue 21

available. The data centre operator is economically incentivised to invest in the best, because it does more with less – less electricity, less cooling, less space for the same or a better outcome.” Kevin is well-placed to make those observations; his past role as Chief Technology Officer in the fund management sector involved him selecting and auditing mission critical data centres across Europe. When it came to making the final cloud platform decision for Tidy’s software as a service (SaaS) products in 2009, he met with US data centre experts at both Microsoft and Amazon. “We went with Microsoft Azure as it measured up best overall - and we’ve not been disappointed with that call,” he says. Tidy has made a point of only connecting to other pure cloud applications like Xero, Office 365 and Capsule CRM, to provide customers with modular and flexible ERP solutions. “Why use old technology?” Kevin states, “The future is cloud. We knew it a decade ago and global cloud momentum has validated the massive investment we made in Tidy.”

Multiple benefits Explaining the advantages of cloud computing, University of Waikato software engineering lecturer Panos Patros uses an analogy. “Think of cloud computing in the same way you think of water or electricity. If everyone ran their own pumps and generators, it wouldn’t make sense - complicated and very expensive,” he points out. It is, therefore, shared infrastructure. Just like settling your power bill, you pay monthly for the technology services required by your business. This has the financial advantage of eliminating capital expenditure, and a technological advantage because updates –inevitable in computing – are provided as part and parcel of the service. Panos, who also founded and heads the Oceania Researchers in Cloud and Adaptive-systems (ORCA-Lab) at the University, explains further: “It started with basic infrastructure – storage and compute - then moved on to what we call platform as a service (PaaS), where you have the infrastructure along with operating systems and other ‘supporting’ software. PaaS

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lets you write and run your own applications, or software, on the platform. Then there’s the highest level of cloud computing, SaaS. With this, you get the complete application, running on the cloud platform. All you need to access it is an Internet connection and a device.” Notably, cloud solutions are brought to market in much the same way that on-premise ones were. This is important because it means end-users receive the support required for the services their businesses depend upon. Known as the ‘channel model’, distributors like rhipe, a cloud service provider (CSP), provide support to resellers; resellers (often a local accounting or IT firm) engage with end-users, delivering the best solutions and services for efficient business operations. Providers like Tidy and Xero create their software on cloud platforms, on-selling through SaaS to thousands of users around the world. An end-user perspective One of those users is Bryan Holyoake, business development manager at Taranaki engineering solutions provider Armatec Environmental. “We’ve got a typical round-out of customer management, budgeting and forecasting, manufacturing and human resources management software.” His company also uses Xero, the popular cloud accounting application, for its financials. Under his guidance, the three decades-old company has moved ‘just about everything’ into the cloud; with 30 employees across four locations, Brian says the distributed nature of Armatec’s operations means cloud computing makes even more sense. “From any device, and from anywhere there’s an Internet connection, employees can access the information and services they need to get their jobs done.” As to why he’s gone with Xero and Tidy in the cloud, Brian says

the answer is quite simple. “Onpremise is obsolete. We could see systems categorically failing while there were far better ones available in the cloud and for which we wouldn’t have to make capital investments.” Cloud computing takes away the issues, costs and challenges of managing technology. “The uninitiated think network issues aren’t a big deal; trust me, they are. We don’t have the capacity to look after our own servers and other gear, in fact it’s stupid to even think we can. Cloud software as a service like Xero and Tidy is the obvious answer. We’d fail ourselves if we weren’t to use it, because cloud makes technology really easy.” Why the cloud is expanding rapidly There are multiple reasons for choosing someone else’s computers, particularly those of Microsoft, Amazon Web Services or Google; among them is quality. Kevin says delivery excellence is obligatory. “When you’re delivering equally to everyone, you just cannot get it wrong or you’ll have

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thousands of calls and emails complaining. Discipline is enforced and cowboys just don’t last because it’s easy to move from one provider to another.” Kevin adds that the cloud offers multiple benefits beyond easy access to reliable technology. “You can set up business systems anywhere in the world in as little as a few hours. This is enormously powerful, as it reduces the cost of expansion; previously, you’d have to invest in local expertise for set up and you’d need space to house not only people, but computers. You just don’t have to do that any longer.” Indeed, it is the way in which the world is moving; market watcher Gartner expects the worldwide public cloud services market to grow 17.5 percent in 2019 to total US$214.3 billion, up from US$182.4 billion in 2018. What’s more, the cloud delivers far better quality, reliability and availability, adds Panos, with data persistence that cannot be matched Cont. > Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 63

by even the best on site systems. Trusted advice But there is a caution; not all cloud providers are created equal. Both Kevin and Panos say any business testing the cloud waters should assess the selected provider carefully. “It is a serious discussion. Analyse your requirements with your team. Know what makes sense to outsource, when to outsource it, and crucially, to whom.” As more businesses rely on cloud technology – and in particular, SaaS applications handling sensitive financial information – absolute assurance of data security is necessary. After all, the paradigm is radically changed from data resident on a local hard drive or server.

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more about Tidy, visit: > tidyinternational.com

64 / Issue 21

“Serious attention should always be paid to the security of any computer network and the cloud is no exception,” says Kevin. “You should seek details from the vendors you work with and check them with a trusted advisor who is technically qualified and experienced. Know the risks, because everything has risk; with the cloud, accountants and other decision-makers need to understand where the data is hosted and the layers that protect your data. The factors include security, privacy, data integrity, contractual clarity and protections, business continuity, process and system reliability, and even compliance with cross-jurisdictional regulations.” Kevin adds, it is necessary to know the measures taken by the cloud platform providers, in depth. “For example, Microsoft spends over one billion US dollars a year on detecting cyber fraud, shutting down malicious schemes and educating and assisting authorities

in bringing cyber criminals to justice.” That’s far more than any single private company might allocate. “This doesn’t eliminate risk. But it goes a long way in mitigation.” Finally, Panos says there is no better way to get going in the cloud than by giving it a try. “As a regular consumer, you’re already using cloud. It might seem different for your business, but it isn’t – there are many services you can try at no cost. You’ll quickly discover how easy, dependable and affordable it is.” Kevin recommends checking a video overview of Microsoft’s Azure cloud. “Just search ‘Microsoft Global Datacenters and Network Infrastructure’ on YouTube. You’ll be amazed.”

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Your business has gone digital. But has your culture? With the speed of digital evolution, ever-changing customer demands and a widening skills gap - simply adopting technology solutions is not enough. Digital capability is constantly changing behaviours in work and life and it’s not slowing down. In order to innovate and thrive, organisations need to build highly adaptable, people-focused digital cultures...

hat is culture? It’s not your mission statement, Friday’s after-work drinks, or even your carefully selected ‘values’. It’s real results that come from shared methods and mindsets across your business. At a deeper level it’s each person’s purpose, attitude and way of thinking. As such, digital culture goes way beyond the technology you use - and even how you use it. It’s the hundreds of small ways you collectively approach work every day. The shared purpose behind each action, everyone’s attitude to opportunities and risk, and how you think when you solve problems. The methods and mindsets of a digital culture • Putting the customer at the heart of every decision This one should be embedded in your culture anyway! Beyond the obvious reasons for delivering on customer needs, solving real customer problems is where innovation comes from.

FIND OUT MORE... Sign up for a 30 day free trial at: > accountancymanager.co.uk

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• Working together in the most effective and efficient way Embrace collective knowledge and connect people in crossfunctional teams. This is more than just fast communication and feedback loops, it’s knowing who to collaborate with, when and how. • An eagerness to experiment, test and continually improve Foster an environment where risks and mistakes are allowed. Unless you try, you can’t move forward. Experimentation fuels innovation. • Adaptability and responsiveness Your ability to adapt to change at speed comes down to attitude, knowledge and skills (practical and soft). With this new ‘digital’ way of thinking more people will be on the lookout for new ways to connect with customers, improve your offering, promote your business and optimise operations. Accountants - the next digital innovators? This year, the shift to digital has gained significant momentum in the accountancy industry. With Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT arriving in April, attention is now turning to Self Assessments.

@accountancymgr

James Byrne, CEO, AccountancyManager During his time as a practising accountant, James identified a range of operational inefficiencies - which he knew the right software would solve. Thing was, it didn’t exist yet. Jump forward two years and AccountancyManager helps thousands of practices automate their onboarding, record requests and task lists every day.

In a current HMRC pilot, individuals or their accountants send regular updates - instead of an annual Self Assessment. All records must be kept digitally, in a system which can automatically transfer data to HMRC - or connect to one that can. This has led to huge numbers of accountancy practices and their clients exploring their software options. With new systems to navigate and more submission deadlines, businesses and the selfemployed are expected to turn to accountants in their droves. But not any accountants, only those that are MTD-compliant and offer quick and easy ways to record, update and submit data online. The digital era is here to stay. Resistance is futile. More than futile, resistance - or even a slow response - risks the future of your business. Even if your shift to digital isn’t mandated by a ‘higher power’, a more digital culture has overwhelming benefits that are impossible to ignore. But remember, it’s not just about the digital solutions themselves, it’s about people. Customers, colleagues, your talent pool everyone.

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Issue 21 / 67

Hitting deadlines without the headaches Top tips from the Senta support team With the end of the calendar year looming, and the busiest period in UK accounting fast approaching, many practitioners are keen to do things differently this time around to avoid an ugly bottleneck of last-minute tax returns...

enta has worked with hundreds of practices in 20 countries, and our support team has helped solve many of the biggest problems faced by accountants when it comes to managing deadlines. Here each member of the team reveals their top tips for practices who want a smoother journey towards their most-dreaded deadlines. Even though tax returns and other compliance are ultimately the client’s responsibility, they may blame the practice if things don’t get done on time – fairly or unfairly. So, what can you do differently right now to make sure you hit every client deadline?

Chase clients early and often Accountants are pretty unanimous in their dislike of having to chase clients for information. Start this process as early as possible – now, if you haven’t already – by sending out automatic emails via Senta to remind your clients of the deadline, outlining exactly what you need them to do. For greater impact you could enable auto-chase or send a followup text message, too. But with these fundamentals sorted, what does the Senta support team recommend for achieving greater success in hitting deadlines? Louise Sellars Head of support

Workflows make for an easier time Firstly, if you’re on top of your internal processes you will have identified all of the tasks that need to be done for your clients. You can offer a repeatable, consistent level of service by building these standard tasks into your Senta workflows. This makes your work much more efficient and manageable. Obviously there will be times when you need to set up special tasks on a per-client basis, and Senta caters for this. But, wherever possible, try to standardise your service... you and your clients will reap the rewards of greater ease, efficiency and consistency. 68 / Issue 21

Louise points to automation as a key tool for supporting timely tax returns. “Some practices have achieved great things using APIs and integrations to automate as much of their work as possible,” explains Louise. “Zapier, Microsoft Flow and Integromat are just a handful of the many tools out there that work well with Senta. We’ll be rolling out some extra support, as well as richer integrations, in the coming months, to help our clients harness the power of automation.”

@sentahq

James Kilford, CEO, Senta James is CEO at Senta and drives the company vision and product design. He is a techie by trade, not an accountant, but knows just how valuable a good accountant can be. James is chief advocate for Senta clients – he is always talking to practitioners, finding out where they are going, what they need and how Senta can do things better.

Laurence Chater Implementation specialist Laurence has noticed that some practices are making full use of production dates to help encourage their clients to return information in good time. “Practices can set a production date in Senta and automatically communicate this to a client so that they know when their deadlines are,” says Laurence. “It’s also easy to reschedule work when you need to by changing the production date for a job – which makes for a nicely organised task list.” Laurence’s tip is going to work especially well with Senta’s new Kanban features, which should help to highlight work bottlenecks, and scheduling features which will intelligently balance workload. Production dates and scheduling features “We’re about to roll out a couple of handy features around production dates, including a new Kanbanstyle job board that shows jobs in an intuitive way and lets practices drag them around to reschedule,” explains Phil Murphy, Senta’s CTO. “We’re also introducing automatic strategies that will distribute work sensibly so that production deadlines are achievable. This

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

should make the overall workload much more manageable. In the future, Senta will learn which clients need more attention earlier in order to hit their deadlines.” Kaya Sampson Client support adviser Kaya is interested in looking at how practices can support their clients in successfully meeting deadlines. “I think it’s really important for practices to use their onboarding process as an opportunity to explain to new clients how they work – and give them all the help they need to get into the swing of things,” says Kaya. “Clients need to be aware of the deadlines you need to meet, and how they can work with you to achieve them. You could send them a user-friendly compliance guide, or maybe send them a series of emails – just to walk them through the things they need to do. This gets the relationship off to a good start.” “You can also use the new Deadlines section in Senta’s client portal to show clients when things need to be done by. They can check this any time!”

Stergios Varelogiannis Client support adviser Stergios encourages practices to streamline the way they handle queries during compliance work. “Practices often have queries for clients, and getting answers to these can cause huge slowdowns in the amount of work that gets done,” says Stergios. “Rather than having questions and answers firing back and forth by email and phone, practices can use the new Q&A feature. You can ask and answer questions without leaving the job... and clients love the confidentiality of the secure client portal.” Get your clients invested in compliance Although getting your clients to provide information in good time is critical, it’s also important to cut clients a bit of slack. Clients outsource their compliance work because they aren’t equipped to do it themselves – whether it’s down to lack of time or know-how. Often clients don’t take action when you need them to simply because they’re not engaged with

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compliance. But as the experts, you can change that. A quick bit of advice can highlight the benefits of compliance and get clients more invested in it. By having a discussion about how to present their accounts more effectively, or how they might be able to save tax, they’re likely to become a lot more committed to the cause! Better yet, this type of conversation might open the door to future advisory work. Once you’re taking advantage of all the tools and features in Senta that support your practice’s processes, you should find that you have fewer job bottlenecks and that you and your clients meet deadlines more easily. There will always be a few clients who prove tricky to coax in the right direction, but if the majority are on track you will save yourself a lot of stress at the eleventh hour.

FIND OUT MORE... Try Senta free for 30 days: > senta.co/xu

Issue 21 / 69

New to the Xero Ecosystem

The clotted cream to your scone: How integrating Zoho Expense with Xero complements accounting As an accountant, you’re possibly a tireless superhero - you help your clients with tax filing, analyse financial reports, and ensure everything is accounted for in their books. Enter expense management, and you have something tiresome. When your clients don’t have a proper system to manage their expenses (say, expenses incurred by employees on behalf of the firm), it throws a wrench in your accounting process...

ost firms collect paper receipts from their employees, consolidate them and hand them over to the accountant at the end of the month. Any delay in submission would create a domino effect - the books of accounts would be inaccurate, the lack of real-time data will impact your client’s decision-making process and limit their visibility into the business finances.

Does it have to be this way? You need a system that would help your clients take care of both travel expense management and accounting needs. Here’s the solution - integrating the accounting software with an expense management system. Out

FIND OUT MORE... Let’s grow your business. Together. > zoho.com/expense

70 / Issue 21

Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, Director - product management and business development, Zoho Sivaramakrishnan has been associated with Zoho since its early days and he heads the division responsible for finance related products in the Zoho Suite. Zoho Expense is online expense reporting software, tailor-made for businesses worldwide to automate expense report creation, streamline approvals and make swift reimbursements. Zoho Expense caters to all business tiers and is loved by CFOs, business travellers, managers, and finance teams alike.

of the several hundred applications in the Xero App Marketplace, choosing Zoho Expense would be an outstanding move. It is an out-of-the-box travel expense management application that can be customised based on your client’s requirements.

parties, your client can simply export card feeds recorded in Zoho Expense to Xero in a few simple steps. It takes a massive burden off your shoulders and you can carry on with your accounting tasks.

Xero - Zoho Expense integration to the rescue!

The tracking categories from Xero are brought into Zoho Expense as tags to track expenses across multiple locations and cost centres. Using this, you can create reports to provide recommendations on areas to cut costs.

Capturing expenses the right way It all hits you at the month’s end when you scramble to fill in for lost receipts during reconciliation. This is just one example, the limitations of managing travel expenses manually don’t end here.

@Zoho

Around 80% of Zoho Expense users prefer the mobile application while they’re on the road. They no longer hold on to receipts but simply take pictures of them. The OCR pulls the necessary data needed for accounting purposes. No more worrying about missing receipts or missing codes which makes things harder for the employees and accountant alike. Mapped card feeds Reconciling corporate card expenses can get tricky. You would need receipts from your clients with the purpose stated for each expense. If these expenses date back to several weeks, there’s a possibility of lost receipts or forgotten expense information. To avoid wastage of time for both

Track expenses efficiently

When an expense is approved by your client in Zoho Expense, it is simultaneously updated in Xero and categorised under the correct expense account. This ensures that your client’s financial statements are generated correctly. Lastly, data is automatically synced between the applications once every day so you will always have a current picture of your client’s business finances. With Zoho Expense and Xero, you can focus on actual accounting work instead of chasing receipts and help your clients stay compliant and audit-ready.

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Make every moment count in your client journey – with Practice Ignition and Zapier Practice Ignition is proud to announce the latest addition to our integration with Zapier. This new addition allows for even more automation of your everyday accounting and bookkeeping workflows – triggered off key moments in your client’s journey...

@ignitionapp

Tom Maxwell, CCO, Practice Ignition Tom is passionate about helping practices of all sizes reach their full potential. Between dreaming up new ways PI’s clients can become serious innovators, you can find Tom outside on any kind of board, kicking a footy, or hiking with his dog.

t’s called the ‘Proposal State Changed’ trigger. This trigger means you can kick-off workflows from the moment you draft a new proposal, right through to completing your contract. All these workflows are driven by your engagement letter, which is the source of truth for every accountant-client relationship (and bookkeeper-client relationship!). But what does ‘Source of Truth’ even mean? Source of Truth As a Xero user, you’ve already put data, data integrity, and data flow at the centre of your practice. By its very nature, Xero becomes a source of truth for your clients’ financial data, and your own. Xero’s well-established app ecosystem presents the opportunity to easily connect to over 800 apps. Lucky for you, these apps mean you can draw from, or contribute to, the same source of truth! As Xero’s 2018 Small Business 72 / Issue 21

Insights report indicates, “there is a strong relationship between connected app use and better business performance”. A strong hypothesis for this finding is the aforementioned data integrity and data flow. You can make better decisions faster, because you can access the data where you need it, faster. Since you’ve already taken care of the financial source of truth, now’s the time to see how you connect your entire workflow into one source of truth. Your engagement letter is an incredible Source of Truth Practice Ignition allows you to establish and connect the source of truth regarding the services that you and your clients have agreed upon – the engagement letter. If you think about it, your engagement letter answers the following key questions about your relationship with your client:

1. What services are we providing? 2. Who are we providing these services for? 3. When (or how frequently) are we providing said services? 4. How much are charging for our services? 5. When (or how frequently) are we collecting payment for delivering services? 6. What limitations (aka scope and terms) have we put on our services? With these questions answered, your source of client truth can do some powerful things. Practice Ignition takes your quote (aka proposal) and your terms (aka your engagement letter) and turns them into a digital and connected workflow. The real automation power comes from the components that make up a proposal: • Your clients’ information populates the online engagement letter automatically. Once

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Issue 21 / 73

CRM and add the deal into your sales pipeline. Here is a diagram showing how this automation works (see fig. 1).

accepted, your clients are created (or matched, if they already exist) in your integrated systems. • You select one (or more) services from your library, which then turns into line items on your Xero invoices, and jobs and tasks in Xero Practice Manager. • You can even track the status of your proposal as it progresses from a new draft, right through to completion.

new client account in Receipt Bank! In fact, Practice Ignition’s Zapier integration is so powerful that Kim Hornsby from Singletrack Bookkeeping in Colorado, has created a single customer onboarding zap that has more than 50 steps, including all of the examples above. As a result, Kim reports saving 5 hours per new client. At 5-10 new clients a month, her practice is growing 30% YoY.

PI + Zapier The new PI + Zapier Trigger Zapier allows you to maintain data integrity and ensure optimal

The feedback provided by the hundreds of practices using PI and Zapier together, told us there were many more opportunities to automate work beyond new client onboarding. So, we created the “Proposal State Changed Trigger”.

Fig. 2

Just as the name implies, any time a proposal changes status in PI, you can trigger a workflow in your other apps. Let’s look at some ways you can automate these moments in your clients’ journey. data flow, all without the help of a developer. Practice Ignition’s partnership started back in early 2018, with two triggers that kicked off onboarding workflows in over 1500+ cloud apps as soon as a proposal was accepted by your client, or for more granular workflows, a trigger based on the services included in your proposal. You’ve also been able to add a new client to your PI account as an action step. When your proposal is accepted you can create client folders and sub-folders in Google Drive or ShareFile. You can Enrol your client into an onboarding email campaign in Mailchimp. You can even create a 74 / Issue 21

You have a brand new lead With the new trigger, whenever a brand new proposal is created, you can get automate the next steps in your sales workflow: • Send them a prospect survey in Typeform as well as a Calendly link to book in a meeting • Get a notification in Slack so you can reach out immediately • Add the prospect into a “lead nurture” audience in Mailchimp • Create the contact in PipeDrive

If you’d like a peer, partner, or manager to review the proposal gets sent to the client, as soon as a proposal moves from draft to “In Review” you can automatically notify the partner or manager with a direct link to the proposal (see fig. 2). Your proposal is ready to send! You’ve drafted (or reviewed your PI proposal, and you’re happy with it. It’s time to send it to the prospect. Do you want to guarantee that your clients see your proposal immediately? Given that text messages have a 98% open rate, why not send your proposal via text? You can do that with Zapier! See fig. 3. Congratulations! You have a new client. There’s nothing like winning a new client. You should celebrate it. From notifying the team in Slack (Growthwise in Australia automatically plays Celebrate by Kylie Minogue when a PI Proposal is accepted!) to kicking off your onboarding workflow and tasks, having a proposal accepted in Practice Ignition is an automation powerhouse! Actually...maybe you don’t have a new client after all If your client declines your services, In Practice Ignition you can mark your proposal as Lost. This way you keep a record of what you quoted. Now, let’s take this even further. When you mark a proposal as lost, you can let Zapier do the heavy lifting to update your CRM deal as lost. You can even subscribe them

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Fig. 3

Fig. 1

Your proposal is ready for review

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to a “reheat” campaign to keep you and your services top of mind for them in the future. Perhaps you want to send them a Typeform survey to learn more about their experience what you could do better. See fig. 4. You’ve completed the work

• Send an NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey to the client via Delighted • Send a thank you note or gift from Printfection to thank them

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more about Practice Ignition, please visit: > practiceignition.com

Fig. 4

Just because the engagement is done, doesn’t mean your job is done. If you are truly providing great customer experience, it’s time to thank your client, ask for more business, and find out how you did. Here’s some automation steps to do all of that instantly:

for your business. • Send your client an email asking for a referral Doing this is a fantastic way to end an engagement (or at least, celebrate a milestone in their journey with you) and win more business.

Summing up As you can see, when you look for the sources of truth in your practice, you can achieve unbelievable efficiencies. If you’d like help with automation or talk about ideas for how to streamline your workflow please email us at success@practiceignition.com

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business challenges solved with essential data insights

Having a full understanding of the types of data that exist in a business, as well as being aware of how intelligent analysis of this data helps drive business growth is vital. It’s through this analysis that successful trade contracting businesses generate the key insights needed to thrive...

nd as more and more trade contacting businesses start to understand the value that their data has in gaining an edge in very competitive industries, investing in a job management software solution that offers complete operational visibility is becoming increasingly important. We are living in an age where intelligent and innovative technology solutions provide the backbone to the running of day-today business activities of those in the trade contracting industries. And at the heart of all that is data information that can show you the who, what, when, where and why of things going wrong (or right!) within the business. Data is everything and anything. It’s the time it took a field engineer to get to the job site today, it’s the number of jobs that have been scheduled this week, it’s what equipment requires maintenance and more. However, job management is much more than just tracking engineers and jobs. Job management software has evolved to a stage where it now plays a central role in providing the key insights businesses need to realise the undeniable potential that their data has when it comes to improving cash flow and boosting productivity. Here, Mathew Wray, simPRO’s Partner Manager in the UK, 78 / Issue 21

@simprosoftware

Mathew Wray, Partner Manager, simPRO (UK team) Mathew Wray, is the Partner Manager for simPRO’s UK team. Since Mat joined simPRO three years ago, he has established strong connections with a number of strategic accountants, business advisors & cloud software integrators.

highlights 7 key areas that advisors should consider when looking to improve the cash flow and productivity their clients’ businesses.

order to further enhance this longterm cash flow position.

1) Where are losses being made?

For businesses that incur the majority of their material and labour costs upfront, it’s vital they get paid promptly.

Profit and loss analysis helps businesses assess their performance by reviewing the profit/loss status of invoiced jobs. A lack of insight into why a business’s cash flow is experiencing unexpected variations is one of the most common factors that contribute to poor business performance. By evaluating profit and loss, businesses can quickly identify and work on improving any patterns or processes that are repeatedly occurring in jobs reporting losses.

3) Which customer payments are overdue?

Being aware of all customers with overdue outstanding invoices, and the amount owing for each outstanding invoice for each customer is vital for businesses who want to improve their cash flow position. With this information, businesses can prioritise chasing the larger overdue invoices needed to improve their cash flow position further. 4) Are projects operating within budget?

2) Who are the best customers? Ranking customers by factors such as turnover, profit margin and average invoice value allows businesses to understand which customers are their most (and least) valuable. The success of these factors is underpinned by customer engagement. The more engaged a customer is, the more loyal they’re likely to be - which in turn improves a business’s cash flow position in the long-term. This analysis helps identify the customers that perhaps need to be engaged with more in

During a project, it’s important to be able to easily compare both original and revised estimate budgets to ensure the project remains within budget. With this information, businesses are in a better position to be able to make adjustments that positively affect cash flow. If it’s identified that a particular project is running significantly over budget, the project owner is in an informed position to decide on the next step. For example, if it’s found that materials are costing more than expected, it may be time to source a

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new supplier. 5) Is stock being appropriately managed? A major factor that contributes to job profitability is the mismanagement of stock in jobs. Good stock analysis enables those in the office and the field to quickly identify whether the right materials are stored in the right location (e.g. the engineer’s van) to complete the job. If he/she hasn’t got the right materials for the job, a solution must be found quickly. Relocating materials that sit elsewhere, or ordering new materials may be required to avoid significant damage to job profitability, productivity and cash flow.

information, ‘tidying up’ jobs and cash flow at the end of the week or month becomes infinitely easier for owners and operators. 7) Is contract profitability being tracked? The key to managing successful contracts is to track the actual costs and expected revenue for the duration of the contract. Measuring the profitability of a contract across different jobs gives businesses the opportunity to assess and act upon areas where costs are rising unexpectedly, or where revenues are falling behind the expected level.

6) Does the business have full visibility of work in progress? Having a system that offers full visibility of jobs that haven’t been invoiced in full, or archived, up to and including a specific date is an excellent way for businesses to monitor jobs with actual costs that are yet to be invoiced. With this

FIND OUT MORE... Are you working with a trade business who might benefit from a job management upgrade? > simpro.co.uk

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Using KPIs to demonstrate the value of advisory Advisory services can help your clients in such a broad number of ways that pinpointing precisely where you’ve made the most benefit can be tricky. John Horton, Unleashed Software’s UK Partner Manager, explains how KPIs can give absolute proof of where the apps you’ve recommended have delivered growth...

umbers sell.

For proof, look no further than the proliferation of “7 signs your...” headlines in almost any publication, online or offline. Chances are, there are one or two similar ones in these very pages. The notion of “statistical appeal”, meanwhile, has long been known by marketers. And accountants are all too aware of how much figures matter to business owners and decision-makers. Even when those figures mean relatively little, everyone wants to see them heading in the right direction. It’s perhaps surprising, then, that businesses around the globe aren’t using figures to track performance in sufficient depth. A recent survey of Unleashed AU customers found that fewer than 10% were using KPIs to track performance. You can’t grow what you can’t measure, so a large number of businesses are lacking information that’s fundamental to making the right choices. For advisory accountants, this presents a significant twofold opportunity. You can give businesses access to insights that help them make better decisions 80 / Issue 21

and get closer to their customers. And in doing so, you can prove the value of the cloud apps you’re recommending. Because “statistical appeal” is especially powerful when dealing in B2B services — enabling you to put the benefits of your service into hard figures, instead of notional benefits and improvements. Of course, accountants will already be aware of the top-line general KPIs that indicate how a business is performing: revenue growth, total sales orders, margins and more. Improving these general KPIs is going to show the benefits from your advisory service, but such

@unleashedteam

John Horton, Partner Manager UK, Unleashed Software John is the EMEA partner lead for Unleashed Software where he focuses on helping advisors support their manufacturing and wholesale clients move to the cloud. With over 15 years experience in cloud technology with big names like Intuit and Microsoft he’s no stranger to accounting and supporting businesses build efficient, scalable systems.

broad metrics can move according to various factors. To prove that you are adding value, you’ll need more depth in the form of some more specific KPIs. Happily, the cloud apps you’re recommending should provide access to this level of insight. Unleashed, for example, enables businesses to do much more with the products they sell. We can make your client’s work day-to-day significantly more manageable, and their processes more efficient. Which is all well and good — but becomes much better if you can prove it with some KPIs. For Unleashed, these might include:

Utilising KPIs with clients: 3 tips 1. Make accessing data as easy as possible The key to leveraging data is to make reviewing it simple and straightforward. Cloud apps should make data accessible — make sure that is the case. 2. Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark To show that your advisory service is driving growth across

multiple KPIs, you’ll need to ensure that comprehensive benchmarks are in place. 3. Always be reviewing The number of KPIs you can track is mind-boggling. So focusing on getting the right KPIs in front of the right people is imperative, from day one to day 1000.

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1) Days to sell Days to sell is a crucial metric for any product-based business, indicating how long a product is sitting in the warehouse before it goes out on a sales order. It’s the fastest way to identify overstocking, which wastes capital — capital which could be spent on marketing, staff or new equipment. If your client is having inventory issues, then you should be able to reduce their days to sell dramatically with cloud inventory management. 2) Average vs. anticipated lead times The core of any supply chain lies is in relationships with suppliers. And the most effective way of monitoring and tracking each supplier is through lead times: the average lead time of each supplier, or overall average lead times across all suppliers. If the app you’re recommending is helping build stronger supplier relationships, then your client

should see a reduction in lead times overall — and an increased ability to predict when goods will arrive. 3) Performance by salesperson Cloud software should empower salespeople. Unleashed, for example, comes with a Sales App to give sales teams access to product data on the road, as well as a B2B Store to eliminate manual data entry on wholesale orders. But for your client, these tools are only useful if they increase sales without increasing headcount. So to demonstrate that they are, you’ll want to break down the sales orders, revenue and margins generated by each salesperson. 4) Stock allocated to SOs and POs Like days to sell, these KPIs help keep stock levels as lean as possible — especially if they’re a manufacturer. Stock allocated to sales orders (SOs) and purchase orders (POs) tell your client what’s marked for sale, and what they’ll need to manufacture next. When combined

with the total value of the stock on hand, they indicate how much stock is currently free for sale, and how much is out of use — earning them nothing. 5) Return rate and backorder rate Inventory software should lower the number of returns from customers, by enabling them to reduce human errors and improve their processes. Lowering the return rate (the percentage of orders that customers send back) will, in turn, boost customer satisfaction, improve margins and reduce losses. It’s also worth keeping an eye on the backorder rate (the percentage of orders that cannot be delivered on time because the goods aren’t available). If the backorder rate starts to rise, then it’s a sign that your client isn’t keeping enough stock.

Find out more... See how Unleashed can help with your app advisory at: > unleashedsoftware.com/xu

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Case Study

A cloud technology success story: Leading the way with tech-driven advisory

@ApprovalMax

Helmut Heptner, 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.

Find out how Xero, ApprovalMax and a selection of Xeroconnected apps help deliver timely and comprehensive business advisory...

magine if time-poor entrepreneurs could reach into a toolbox of finance and accounting services and choose the ones they need help with the most. Talk about a game-changer. Well, that’s Finance Box in a nutshell: an integrated outsourced Finance Department for busy SME owners. It specialises in providing modern solutions to timeconsuming accounting work. Finance Box covers everything from the standard bookkeeping and account management challenges to payment and VAT solutions, forecasting and cash flow management, investment assistance, consultancy and advisory. Based in London and the South Coast, their clientele includes recruiters, courier and taxi companies, retailers, designers, self-employed people and freelancers, car rental firms, property managers, technology developers, charities, and many more. The list is endless and diverse. As per their mission, Finance Box has positioned itself at the very heart of emerging technology and aims to change the role of accountants from bookkeepers to 84 / Issue 21

business advisors. The pillars of success Finance Box is there day-to-day for their clients, operating as part of in-house customer finance and accounting teams and delivering a portfolio of business-oriented services. And with a team of just 15 people, Finance Box is serving around 300 happy clients. But how is that possible? Co-founder and CEO Steve Case sheds some light, “We try to use tools as much as possible to automate some of the more mundane tasks. This allows us to focus on advisory, which is more valuable for our clients.” Simple! But how can you really be working with your clients on a day-to-day basis, delivering such a diverse portfolio of services, and at the same time employ such a small team? The solution is two-fold. Efficiency maximisation: automation The shortest way to maximise efficiency is through the introduction of data and process automation. And this means you need apps.

Not just apps you’ve selected for yourself and your team, but apps that your clients will be using and that have been chosen for them by a clued-up advisor (i.e. you). Of course, automation cannot be achieved unless you employ a modern cloud platform that serves as a hub for all the connected apps and enables the easy assembly of a multi-functional solution tailored to your clients’ needs. “Xero is proud to be the platform of choice for its ecosystem partners and continues to deliver new capabilities aimed at efficiency maximisation. Among the latest ones is the Single Sign On/ Up feature, which involves ApprovalMax as well as a selection of other trusted apps that will be the firsts to support it,” says Andy Muir, Xero Partnerships Manager Business Platform (UK & EMEA). By embracing modern cloud technology and eradicating manual interventions, functions such as invoice submission, practice management, client management and approval management become streamlined, quicker, and less prone to error. Software adoption: an accountant, not a software salesman “I’m not trying to be a software

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Case Study different from the accounting job that you were trained for and hired to do.

Steve Case (MAAT), CEO, Founder and ‘Mechanic’ at Finance Box Being born between generation X and the millennials, Steve has seen technology change from cassettes, to CDs, to mini-discs and now MP3s. Steve applies this evolution into his daily thinking to find ways to constantly improve processes and outputs in his accounting business. Steve created Finance Box not just to do accounts for clients, but to streamline their processes too and use todays data today, not next month.

salesman – I’m trying to be the accountant and financial advisor that our clients have come looking for,” says Steve Case. “But sometimes the biggest barrier to being able to give really good and timely advice is that the client data is not up-to-date and their processes are slow.” How do we fix this? Steve has the answer: “The very first step of advisory is to get the systems that speed up data and processes, and allow you to start delivering advisory where you can actually make a difference.” This is the precise moment where the lines become blurred and you assume the role of a software salesman – a role significantly

So, how do you provide the necessary services and maintain maximum efficiency by having all the right apps in place (for you and your clients), but without the hassle of going into the pros and cons of each system - and all while trying to overcome the legacy mindset?

average being 1 to 10 – provided that vCFO and advisory services take the primary role in the partners’ portfolio,” says Andy Muir, Xero Partnerships Manager Business Platform (UK & EMEA).

Meet FABio! FABio stands for “Finance Automation Bot” and he performs all sorts of valuable automation. Practically, FABio lets you move away from talking about the granular functions and capabilities of each individual app, and instead start speaking in terms of the endto-end processes handled for your clients. Take ApprovalMax, for example. It’s the default and trusted app for taking care of approval automation, including multi-tiered and multirole authorisations, notifications and reporting on outstanding and completed approval requests, approval exceptions handling, and much more. But clients are often only interested in the surface-level benefits of such an app - and that’s where FABio delivers. “Xero’s platform-oriented approach as well as rich accounting capabilities powered up by data automation apps such as ApprovalMax allow achieving an exemplary 1 accountant to 20 clients ratio, with the industry

As Finance Box prove, the journey from bookkeeper to business advisor doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about finding the right mix of software automation to do the heavy lifting and to free up your time for more important things.

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more visit: > approvalmax.com

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Issue 21 / 85

No Xero Integration? No Problem! Xero integrations have proved critical in enabling businesses to grow and offload those time-consuming processes into apps. However, they are not always found readily available, and vendors at times have other priorities. But, is waiting for a vendor to integrate the only option?

was first introduced to Xero in 2015, shortly prior to officially creating Maze Digital, by a consultancy firm who was looking to use a Xero integration as a way to wiggle-out of a previous commitment of providing an ‘invoicing’ software to an Accounting Firm.

also had their own desktop-based accounting software, all he got was a resounding “No”.

By that point, I had already worked with numerous APIs, from the Googles, Facebooks and Twitters into some more proprietary APIs to build client portals of Asset Management firms. Hence working with a new API was to me nothing novel.

On the back of that very meeting, David reached out to the accounting partner in order to set up the first conversation, explain the challenge that was being faced by offering an incomplete solution and take it forward from there. Furthermore, he emphasised on the fact that Xero, being an international player, was also incomplete in markets where payroll was not yet available as an integrated option. Hence, any solution provided would need to be able to scale into other jurisdictions.

I’d dare say that back then, the cloud was much frowned upon in Malta. People wanted to purchase and own the software because that’s what they were used to. Fast forward a year from that date and I was approached by a Xero Partner, or rather, what today we call an integrator, who had worked with the accounting firm we had done a Xero integration for. His ask was interesting. He had approached the biggest payroll players in the Maltese market and asked if they could help him by integrating with Xero. That would have allowed him and other Xero partners to provide a seamless product that incorporates payroll. Given that some of these players 86 / Issue 21

Going back from these meetings, David Seisun, now CEO of Buddy, told himself, “No Xero Integration? No Problem. We will build our own Payroll Software.”

The making of Initial market research indicated that most people were scared of payroll. Even the best local solution was a scary matter for business owners and bureaus who did not have significant experience working payroll. Payroll, at least in Malta, had become very much its own beast. Our team set out to make payroll friendly and simple again, taking

@mazedigital

Jonathan Mifsud, CEO, Maze Digital Jonathan Mifsud is the CEO and XERO Integration Expert at Maze Digital. As Xero Developer Partners, Jonathan and his team help apps and businesses connect their processes, workflows and solutions to Xero. Having assisted apps in integrating and getting listed in the Xero marketplace, as well as building proprietary applications for businesses Jonathan knows the Xero API inside out.

away the scary stigma it had gathered. Additionally eliminating the stumbling blocks which were causing many business owners and accounting firms to prefer excel based solutions, against a more comprehensive software. Fast Forward to December 2017 and Buddy - the revolutionary payroll companion was born and available to start helping the very first Xero customers to get their payroll done and pushed into Xero, using an un-official and public version of their API. The learning As much as Buddy was not the first SaaS application that our team at Maze Digital had built, we equally had much to learn from user feedback. Working closely with our partners at Buddy, and their clientele we listened to suggestions that were put forward. From what they thought was great about the software, into what they found challenging or possibly sometimes lacking, in comparison to more established players. Over an ensuing couple of years, we helped prioritise and build new features, from integrations with third-party apps such as Deputy for T&A to an all-new and modular reporting engine. Enabling Buddy to move from attracting the

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micro-businesses which wanted something simple and fast. Into being a solution which also caters for larger businesses and franchises that headcount in excess of 500 people. Being flexible with Xero I’d have to admit that the initial integration with Xero was fairly simple. Each employee would have an ‘invoice’ created in Xero. With the wages being debited, and a credit for the respective payroll taxes which are deducted from the salary. The time we took to understand how our beta users wanted to use the Xero integration was invaluable. Today the integration is more robust, with data flowing and being linked across different points. From the option to post payments in bulk, so that a Xero authorised user cannot see the salaries of each employee, to the ability to link different allowances with different nominal codes, and departments with different tracking categories or

nominal codes. The depth of the integration now allows covering for more complex scenarios catering for a more diverse client base. Looking outwards Having grown a solid client base back home, and the team happy that Buddy has stood its ground given its growth. The Buddy team started discussions about international expansion. Although a number of ideal jurisdictions came up, one or two stood out. Where Xero has laid eyes upon for further expansion, yet seemingly have no plans to offer payroll.

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Equally keen to help expand our client’s and Xero’s coverage within new markets. We undertook the challenge and a soft-launch for this new jurisdiction is happening right during Xerocon London. I’m going to shy away from saying where this will be, as that’s not my story to tell. At least not yet - but if you’re curious enough we can give you a sneak peek on our stand.

FIND OUT MORE... Are you a vendor or a Xero powered business looking for a flawless Xero Integration? > maze.digital/xu

Issue 21 / 87

Add us to Xero, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll make sure you get paid GoCardless automatically collects payments for ad hoc and recurring invoices Easy for you, easy for your customers gocardless.com/xero

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How technology is helping to fight invoice fraud No company is safe from the risks of invoice fraud. It contributes to annual global business losses of $7 billion, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

@webexpenses

Oliver Pollard, Client Account Manager, Webexpenses Working alongside a growing number of companies that use Webexpenses software, Oliver is responsible for ensuring that each and every client is getting the best use of their system and has the support and training needed. He has regular review meetings to discuss the latest features and updates, and listen to any feedback from users to help improve their experience.

But as the methods used by fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, so are the tools and systems used to protect our companies against these criminal activities...

he uncomfortable truth about invoice fraud is that we only know about what’s detected. Court prosecutions represent the tip of a very large iceberg. The vast majority of invoice fraud remains undetected and unreported. It’s a problem that affects companies of all shapes and sizes and takes place across industry sectors. Recent high-profile victims include Google and Facebook, who were duped out of $100 million by a Lithuanian scammer. So if global corporations are failing to stop this problem, what hope do the accounts payable teams have within your average-sized SME? Thankfully, this is one area of financial administration that’s being transformed by digital tools and the combination of AI and automation. It’s fundamentally changing the way invoices can be managed and monitored. Weaknesses of a manual system What makes invoicing so susceptible to fraud, is that it’s one of the few remaining areas of finances where manual and paper-based processes are still commonplace. Typically, suppliers send their invoices as email 90 / Issue 21

attachments. In some sectors, invoices are still posted as paper documents. Either way, this requires the accounts payable team to manually check each submission and to transfer the relevant information across into the company’s accounting system. It’s a slow and error-prone task. The more invoices processed, the more of an administrative chore this becomes. With so much time and resources required to process these supplier payments, there’s very little time to carry out proper checks and protocols. The two most common methods of invoice fraud are brutally simple and effective:

any wrongdoing is detected, the transferred money is liable to have been moved on to multiple off-shore accounts. Criminals will often use information from hacked emails to monitor the frequency and timing of a supplier’s billing. This allows them to mimic the patterns and amounts, reducing the risks of illegitimate invoices being identified. 2. Invoices from new suppliers These are invoices received for products or services that haven’t been provided. Often, scammers will try to put pressure on a finance team by claiming that the invoice is overdue, with financial penalties imposed for further missed deadlines.

1. Changes to bank details This involves fraudsters spoofing the identity of a known supplier to request that their bank account details are updated or changed. The email message will appear to be legitimate, with the correct logo, the appropriate registry information and a link back to the company website. If the changes are made, any future payments will go to the fraudster’s account. By the time

Identifying these claims is particularly difficult for a growing business that is likely to be constantly working with legitimate new suppliers. Carrying out thorough checks can quickly become a drain on administrative resources. Companies find themselves having to strike a precarious balance between carrying out checks while not creating an invoicing workflow that is so

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slow, it risks damaging relations with legitimate suppliers. So the core challenge that finance teams face is one of administrative inefficiency. It’s the inefficiency of a manual process which makes it so vulnerable to the increasinglysophisticated fraudulent activities. This is why cloud-based invoice management, which combines an automated process with smart AI checks, is proving to be so effective in reducing the risks posed by invoice fraud. An automated invoice processing approach automatically scans submitted invoice attachments and extracts all of the relevant info in digital form. Invoices are then automatically matched to known suppliers in the system, and routed for approval. Finance teams then only have to deal with the ‘exceptions’ to ensure these are legitimate, and captured accurately. An effective solution will eliminate around 90% of the manual processing that’s normally required.

potential fraud - a spike in the frequency of a supplier’s invoices or costs in a particular category starting to spiral. • Smart AI checks

This automated invoice management has a two-way integration with Xero creating a fast and fluid invoice process. Once the invoice has been approved, the validated transaction and invoice are posted into Xero with the journal number retrieved for the full audit trail. Through smart, integrated tools - AP professionals now have the power to fight back against invoice fraud. The benefits include: • Improved visibility An automated process provides access to the type of accurate data that’s not available when relying on a traditional approach. Reporting tools bring powerful analysis - revealing irregular invoicing patterns and activities. The real-time nature of information handling allows finance teams to be proactive, searching for early signs of

An automated approach allows each invoice that’s received to be checked for inconsistencies and potential red flags. This includes AI checks for duplicate information and cross-checks to ensure that submitted information matches existing supplier details. If the system can’t match the submitted information against the verified details from a known supplier, it won’t create a match and the invoice is flagged for further checks from the accounts payable team. In this way, AI presents a powerful tool to help uncover those small discrepancies that are so easily missed when large numbers of invoices are being manually checked by an AP team. • Approvals management

being checked by employees with an appropriate level of knowledge and expertise is crucial. A cloud-based system provides simple ways to filter incoming invoices so that they receive the appropriate level of checks. An automated workflow can be created so that invoices are allocated to account managers based on the amount being requested or the category of the cost. This creates a digital audit of exactly who and when each check and approval is carried out. It’s the combined power of these features, together with the improved efficiency of a smooth and fluid workflow, which is helping finance professionals to start fighting back against invoice fraud.

FIND OUT MORE... For more information visit: > webexpenses.com

Making sure that invoices are

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Issue 21 / 91

Focus: Australia

SMSF admin and compliance – leveraging technology for a better way S

elf Managed Superannuation Funds (‘SMSFs’) have come a long way over the years, becoming the structure of choice for a significant portion of all superannuation fund members. The growth and changes of the SMSF industry present a number of challenges to all industry participants. One of those challenges was the 2017 Super Reforms and two years on we are seeing a change to the approach to how accountants and administrators of SMSFs attend to the fund’s administration and annual compliance requirements. And with the advancement in technology, this change is being made easier, with benefits to both those you attend to SMSF administration and those who rely on the information produced from administration. By leveraging technology, you: • can focus more on compliance monitoring and strategic advice; • will spend less time on document gathering and manual processing; • will have up to date information and figures to help you assist clients make better decisions; • will have a better chance of avoiding any SMSF penalty for breaches of the super rules; • will have better access to the total super balance at 30 June of the prior financial year which 92 / Issue 21

is important when it comes to contribution caps and other super tax offsets; • will provide a better service to your SMSF clients, which is turn will grow your firm, your revenue and your profit. Let’s briefly look at just two aspects of the reforms and why progressive processing is really the only choice. 1) Total Super Balance – a need to know An individual’s total superannuation balance (TSB)is relevant for determining eligibility to several concessions. Top of the list is the amount of a person’s nonconcessional cap and application of the catch-up concessional contribution rule. The critical date for determining a member’s Total Super Balance (TSB) is 30 June of the previous financial year. Consequently, before a member can make a decision about any of the above entitlements or concessions, they will need to know what their TSB is at 30 June of the prior financial year. For this current 2019/20 financial year, members and their advisers, need to know their TSB as at 30 June 2019 or at least have a good idea of the amount – Do your SMSF clients and their advisers have access to their 30 June 2019 TSB?

@SuperConceptsAU

Mark Ellem, Executive Manager, SMSF Technical Services, SuperConcepts Mark is a well-known figure in the SMSF community having recently been awarded the SMSFA CEO award 2019. Mark provides technical and compliance support on SMSFs to financial advisors and accountants as well ensuring that SuperConcepts’ leading SMSF administration and compliance platform, SuperMate, is compliant with the latest superannuation and taxation rules.

2) Events Based Reporting – obligations to report to the ATO Events based reporting requires superannuation funds, including SMSFs, to report certain events which impact on a person’s Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) from 1 July 2017. One common TBC strategy, already being applied by members who only have a retirement phase pension account, is to treat any withdrawal from a pension account above the required minimum, as a partial commutation of that pension as the commutation reduces the member’s transfer balance account – creates TBC space. Where this strategy is implemented, regular processing of fund data will enable the required reporting to be done in a timely manner, providing a better outcome for strategic TBC planning. Don’t let legislation be the driver It’s just not the changes to legislation and plethora of rulings, interpretative decisions and ATO website updates that is forcing SMSF accountants and administrators to rethink how they approach SMSF administration and compliance, it’s also the demands of the customer that uses their services – the SMSF trustee/ member and the adviser to SMSFs.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Focus: Australia

We are seeing an increase in demand for a daily service so that SMSF clients have access to up to date information, when they want it and access from the device of their choice. Offering a daily service to SMSF clients provides an opportunity to engage with them on a regular basis and ensure that your firm’s name is constantly in front of them. This reinforces client loyalty and encourages referrals. Use technology platforms to drive growth, efficiency and profit

in price, or even the same, but still retain or even improve profitability. Where you reduce time on administration by leveraging technology, you have the opportunity to talk to your client on a more regular basis as you now have something to talk about that your client is interested in – up to date figures. This allows you to provide insight into the future, rather than telling them what happened in the past. Partner with SuperConcepts

With a competitive market, technology can provide your firm with the edge to not only attract new SMSF clients, but importantly, retain existing clients. Using technology can enable you to either provide a more comprehensive service, like daily processing with online access, for not much more

SuperConcepts can partner with your firm to help you grow your SMSF business. We can provide assistance with: • Technology – our leading SMSF specialised admin and compliance platform, SuperMate;

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• Technical Advice – we have an award winning team of SMSF Technical Experts who can help out with compliance issues, including our stand alone SMSF Tech Assist service; • Education – Our SMSF Technical Experts provide SMSF education and training, both face to face and online, including our 30 module SMSF online course; • Admin – Need help with that backlog of SMSF admin work? We can take care of that for you using one of our SMSF admin services that best suits you.

FIND OUT MORE... For SMSF software, services and technical education, visit: > superconcepts.com.au

Issue 21 / 93

Loyalty won’t pay the bills @AutoEntry_OCREX

Brendan Woods is founder and CEO of AutoEntry Originally a software developer in the hedge fund space, he quit his job and started the company to automate data entry for accountants and bookkeepers.

The image of Bob Cratchit is one of Dickens’ most compelling. Standing at his lectern for long hours filling out ledgers by weak candlelight for his miserly boss Ebenezer Scrooge, Cratchit evoked sympathy in even the most hard-hearted of readers. The digital revolution is here and it is being televised...

he modern equivalent must be the auditor or accountant in a practice still using spreadsheets to manage accounts for clients. Manually entering figures and running trial balances over and over again while trying to hunt down the miscreant misposting may have been the stock in trade and lot in life for accountants 10 years ago, but there’s no excuse for it now. The digital revolution is here and is being televised. Accountancy and bookkeeping have been automated to the extent that manual entry is effectively a thing of the past. ‍ Customers are upping their game Take the example of a popular small business accounting software package. It is available on PCs and smartphones and the user can take a picture of a receipt with their phone, import it to the package 94 / Issue 21

which scans it and asks what expense category to post it under. Next time the user photographs a receipt from the same supplier the software will automatically post it to the correct expense category. No keystrokes whatsoever. The same software will do the double entry bookkeeping for the user. Long a dark art known only to the cognoscenti with professional accountancy qualifications, doubleentry booking had the capacity to mystify even the most numerate and highly skilled business people. Indeed, it may well continue to mystify them if they had to think about it at all. The availability of extremely low cost automated accounting packages has made such thinking redundant. All they have to do is take the pictures or record the income and expenditure and the software does the rest.

AutoEntry automates data entry of sales and purchase invoices, bank and credit card statements, expenses, receipts and more, providing significant time and cost savings to users. AutoEntry is a trusted supplier to over 2,500 accounting firms worldwide.

They can happily go from one end of the year to the other without giving any thought at all to arcane accounting rules or conventions. From time to time they may wish to click on a button to generate a cash flow report or a profit and loss account for a particular period with the software doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to the number crunching. And then they get to the end of the year when the accounts have to be audited. That’s where reality might bite, where shiny new automated accounting technologies meet the latter-day Bob Cratchits who haven’t moved beyond spreadsheets. Customers’ expectations are rising accordingly Audit firms still working on spreadsheets, and there are many of them out there, require their clients to delve into the innards

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of their accounting software in order to export files in various formats such as CSV which will be compatible with their systems. What a CSV format means to a painting and decorating contractor is anyone’s guess. They certainly won’t find it on the colour chart. That’s bad enough but having done part of the auditor’s work for them, the client then finds they are having to pay a higher fee for the pleasure of doing so. The fact that the auditor is not using the latest automation technologies makes the whole process that much more labour intensive and costly in terms of time spent. What if your competition makes it easier, cheaper, better, and faster? Imagine a different scenario. Consider the situation where the business becomes aware of a competing firm that lets them know that they take files electronically, in any format, and from any software package with no lengthy conversions and no potential for data corruptions

during the process. That’s going to be tempting enough but add to that the prospect of them offering a significant discount on current arrangements you’re really in nobrainer territory. Faster, more efficient, less prone to errors, and now cheaper – what’s not to like? There may be some slight loyalty inertia to overcome. If a company has been doing business with the same accountants for many years an overnight change is unlikely. However, any residual loyalty is likely to dissipate quite quickly if the accountancy firm doesn’t take steps to catch up on its competitors.

inefficiencies are long gone. The message is clear... Accountancy firms which don’t keep pace with their clients when it comes to technology will haemorrhage business to their competitors and may not stay in business for very much longer. Bob Cratchit may have been a likeable and wholesome fellow, but he belongs in the past with the dusty ledgers and the clunky spreadsheets. Businesses can no longer afford to pay for the inefficiency of others, nor should they be asked to.

The days when service providers could make customers pay for their

FIND OUT MORE... Automate manual data entry with AutoEntry. A free trial is available for all new users. Find AutoEntry in the Xero App store or via: > autoentry.com/integrations/xero

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Issue 21 / 95

Funding your business through uncertain times How to avoid the cash flow pitfalls A downturn in the economy can create a multitude of challenges for small businesses. When sales slump, income decreases and ready cash disappears from the kitty, it’s bad news for your working capital and your ability to trade and turn a profit. So, how do you fund your business in these uncertain times?

@MarketInvoice

Anil Stocker, CEO, MarketInvoice Anil Stocker is the CEO of MarketInvoice, the company he co-founded in 2011 to help small businesses raise funding and drive their businesses forward. His ambition is to use technology and data to completely reinvent how businesses go about financing their growth, and breathe fresh life into outdated financial products.

Anil Stocker, CEO and co-founder of MarketInvoice, explains how to overcome this economic uncertainty through good cash flow management and a solid funding strategy...

hen economic times get tough, it can be a big challenge for SMEs. With a global economic slowdown affecting international trade, and the impact of Brexit affecting the longterm planning of UK companies, business owners and CEOs find themselves trading under a cloud of uncertainty.

recently cut its forecast for GDP growth next year to just 1%1, down from 1.3%, and many UK industry sectors are showing signs of a slowdown. US economic growth fell to a 2.1% annual rate2 in the second quarter of 2019, highlighting that the future for small businesses, globally, is becoming highly uncertain.

The key to overcoming the precarious nature of the market is to understand which factors you have no control over – the economy, market forces, the political situation etc. – and to focus on those that you CAN change. By getting a tight grip on your company’s financial management, and focusing on areas such as cash flow, spending and financing, your business can be better prepared to weather the economic storms and come out safely on the other side.

Uncertainty is definitely the enemy of good planning and a business threat that’s very hard to predict and cater for. When the solid economic foundations you need as the bedrock of your planning are taken away, your strategy is left on very shaky ground.

Uncertainty as the enemy of good planning A robust business plan is critical to long-term success, giving you the foundations on which to build your trading strategy, growth and overall profitability. But when economic conditions are so unpredictable, planning can be extremely difficult. The British Chambers of Commerce 96 / Issue 21

The impact on cash flow and working capital If the road ahead is looking difficult to plan for, having a rock-solid grip on your finances and cash management becomes even more critical than in more stable times. For industries such as construction, manufacturing or heavy industry, cash flow sits on a knife-edge, even at the best of times. When overheads and operational costs are high, as a sector, keeping your cash flow in a positive position can be a real challenge. Any negative impact from economic factors, or

downturns in sales and revenue, can easily tip a small business into the red – without enough working capital to continue trading. To stay on top of cash flow and working capital, you need to get proactive. This means: • Having access to the best possible financial information – with detailed, real-time reporting of your cash position, you’re better equipped to understand your financial health, spot the big cash flow issues and take the necessary action. • Getting realistic with budgets and payment times – setting a realistic budget for each job, and then tracking spending against this allows you to measure performance and keep costs down. By making payment terms more clear, and chasing up late payments more effectively, you increase the flow of cash into your business. • A focus on spend management – any activity that reduces your cash outflows will have a positive effect on your cash flow, so getting proactive with 1) Brexit: UK growth tipped to slow as firms run down stockpiles – The Guardian 2) U.S. Economy Slows: Trump’s 3% Growth Pledge Now In Rearview Mirror – NPR (National Public Radio)

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

spend management is essential. Examples include negotiating better rates with suppliers, sourcing cheaper materials and getting a tighter grip on expenses and operational costs. • Being smart with your use of forecasting – having a workable view of future income and cash flow acts like a crystal ball for your business. So making use of cash forecasts, sales projections and detailed scenario-planning will be invaluable to your cash position. Having access to funding at the right time By increasing your insight and control over your own internal finance function, you can go a long way to boosting your cash flow position and increasing working capital in the business. But for most SMEs, there will come a time where additional finance is required to fill a funding gap. It can be daunting to find the right finance product for the job but the good news is that routes to funding are more varied and more plentiful than ever before. There’s an option for every business, from traditional lending products businesses are accustomed to getting from their bank to possibly less familiar

fintech solutions that provide fast and innovative sources of funding. Routes to funding can include: • Invoice finance – getting an advance against your outstanding invoices allows you to get that cash sooner, in some cases requesting and receiving funds on the same day. This makes invoice finance ideal for when there’s an unexpected cash flow gap, or your working capital is dropping to a point where you can’t trade effectively without a cash injection. The team at MarketInvoice have recently put together a short video that explains how invoice finance works in really easy-tounderstand terms. • Bank overdrafts – if you have an existing relationship with your business banking provider, extending your bank overdraft is another way to extend your cash runway a little. With that overdraft in place, you have access to increased working capital and can continue trading, bringing much-needed revenue into the business . • Business loans – when a large lump sum is required, a business loan is a good option for accessing the finance you need. Some form of security

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By getting a tight grip on your company’s financial management, and focusing on areas such as cash flow, spending and financing, your business can be better prepared to weather the economic storms and come out safely on the other side.

will be needed for larger loans but unsecured loans are readily available if your business meets the criteria being offered by the lender. • Private investment and equity funding – if you’re ready for fast growth or scaling up, you’ll almost certainly need to look at attracting private investment. Taking money from private investors can raise a large sum of cash, but you must also factor in that you’re selling shares to these investors and will lose an element of control over the longterm future of your business as a result of this. How Xero and MarketInvoice put you back in financial control Planning out the future funding needs of your business is a critical component in maintaining a healthy financial position. Fortunately for Xero users, it’s very easy to drill down into your numbers and get Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 97

the financial data, reporting and forecasting needed when applying for additional funding and finance products. As a platform, Xero gives you the best possible way to record, track and forecast performance. And with an ever-growing ecosystem of fintech apps and funding solutions in the Xero App Marketplace, you have the financial control to overcome business uncertainty . If you’re already a Xero user, you can add: • Cash flow forecasting – apps like Fluidly and Float are smart cash flow management tools that help you monitor your cash position on a day-to-day basis and create realistic forecasts of your future

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more, visit: > marketinvoice.com

98 / Issue 21

Even with the current unpredictable cash position. nature of the marketplace, with • Automated credit control the right planning, forecasting and – Xero’s own internal invoicefunding strategy, you can stay one chasing features, paired with an step ahead of the game. automated credit control app like Chaser, make it easier to The future may be uncertain, but collect payments on time and it needn’t be a barrier to your increase the flow of cash into the business success story. business. • Business intelligence dashboards – KPI dashboard apps like Futrli and Fathom give you a one-stop shop for monitoring your cash, budgeting, sales Xero gives you the best possible and financing way to record, track and forecast metrics. • Finance your business performance. providers And with an ever-growing – funding ecosystem of fintech apps and providers like funding solutions in the Xero MarketInvoice Marketplace, you have the App can integrate financial control to overcome with your core business uncertainty. Xero accounts to access all the financial information needed when assessing a funding application, speeding up the process to get you the funds faster.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

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Issue 21 / 99

How to supercharge your employee engagement & reap the rewards! Employee engagement is a hot topic in HR but it’s important for the bigger company picture too, with high employee engagement enabling you to save costs, increase customer satisfaction and even empower your employees to promote your business. Business2Community have even reported that “Organizations with high employee engagement outperform those with low employee engagement by 202%”...

learly employee engagement should be high on the agenda of any senior management team. But what is engagement really? Table football and bean bags are not cutting the mustard, and creating an employee engagement strategy can be easier said than done. Often there’s little time to implement even the more realistic ideas, especially for smaller businesses with stretched resources. Help is at hand! We’ve outlined 5 practical ways to supercharge your employee engagement and reap the rewards: 1) First impressions count Effective onboarding is critical to ensuring engagement with SilkRoad reporting that 53% of HR professionals say employee engagement rises when onboarding is improved. It’s your first chance to make a good impression with your new hire with the aim to retain them for the long-term. It helps to document a formal onboarding process in advance and automating what you can, which improves productivity for 100 / Issue 21

your HR teams and means that your new hire is provided access to all the company documents and information they need to feel welcome on their first day. Using HR Software with an onboarding portal included can optimise this process and provide consistency for all involved. 2) Show how your employees make an impact Often employees feel that their contributions go unnoticed. It is easy for your staff to get lost in the day to day tasks and “getting the job done” without seeing how they effect the bigger picture. If you share your company objectives with your workforce, and create objectives to show how they can make an impact to this you’re more likely to keep them consistently engaged, focussed and motivated. Using a modern performance strategy like Objective and Key Results (OKRs) can really change the way your employees feel about their job and keep them engaged with the overall objectives. According to IBM, 80% of employees felt more engaged when their work was consistent with the

@appogeehr Charlotte Brown, Business Operations Manager, Appogee HR Limited Charlotte has an excellent knowledge of the HR challenges companies may face, with a proven record in understanding their needs with the ability to find ways to overcome them. Having helped 100s of businesses move their HR and Leave Management to the Cloud, Charlotte is a fantastic source of innovative ideas to help organisations and their people.

core values and mission of their organization. 3) Encourage an open and transparent culture Some of the world’s most successful companies operate using an open approach to company objectives, direction and focus. 90% of jobseekers have stated that it is important to work in a transparent organisation, according to Glassdoor. When you adopt a transparent culture in your organisation, employees are immediately more trusting and feel comfortable in their roles. This can then lead to them providing feedback to others, even to those in senior positions. By encouraging opinions to be shared and most importantly, listened to, your employees will feel more valued and in turn truly care about the business success and staying in their roles. Using a method like the OKR model can support sharing the company aims with your employees and providing your workforce with the ability to contribute, comment and share ideas with colleagues. Not

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

only can your staff see the overall aims of the business but they also get to see how they fit and contribute to these goals.

you provide encouragement to a peer in seconds.

and even better if this can be done ad-hoc when events happen.

5) Invest in technology

4) Take the time to encourage each individual

If you are trying to implement a strategy to encourage increased employee engagement, it can be hard to know where to start. Finding yourself a good software tool to get started is the best first step.

Using a software solution which supports OKRs, will allow you to be transparent with goals, aims and expectations. Placing these alongside feedback and praise is a winning formula for engagement and business success.

Everyone is busy and it can feel like there is never enough time to complete all the required day to day tasks. As a result, feedback and discussion can fall to the bottom of the priorities list. This can leave employees feeling unmotivated and under appreciated. Working together and encouraging others can be the difference between getting a job done and transforming a business. As Michael Jordan stated “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Building feedback into your company culture and daily activities can help to make this process effortless. Once employees and managers start engaging with each other it breeds further engagement and improved success. If you have a solution in place to support this process, then even better. HR Software can offer options such as “shout-outs” and feedback to help

An ideal HR solution for engagement would include a great onboarding tool to encourage new starters to feel included and part of the team from before day one. The software must also be able to support feedback throughout the year and not just at annual review time. Having the ability to provide “performance feedback” and “shout-outs” immediately increases engagement between employees

It is clear to see that whatever industry you work in, employee engagement must be a priority for you going forward. A highly engaged team will produce you much better results then a team who do not communicate, do not feel valued and cannot share their ideas. Take a moment today to consider how engaged your workforce are and look at the ways in which you could improve this.

FIND OUT MORE... Find out more about how Appogee HR can support your employee engagement: > www.appogeehr.com/hr For 20% off exclusive to XU Magazine readers email sales@appogeehr.com and quote XU4-XERO21 (expires 29/02/2020)

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Issue 21 / 101

Financial Controls for accounts payable and accounts receivable Best-in-class approval automation for Xero

App of the month June 2018

Emerging App Partner of the year 2017

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Trusted by leading accounting firms 102 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 103

Industry Focus: Property

How to make your Property Clients less of an admin headache

@ArthurProperty

Patrick Caulfield ACA, Associate Director, Arthur Online After graduating from Durham University with a Masters in Economics, Patrick joined EY (London) where he became a chartered accountant. He then spent 3 years in M&A and investment banking with Citi Group and an early stage VC. Patrick now works at Arthur Online where he manages everything finance and investor related, from fundraising to shaping and rolling out Arthur Online’s ambitious growth plans.

There are so many different pieces of financial information clients with property can have, we know they can tip the scales when it comes to being admin heavy...

here are charges to raise, receipts to reconcile and statements to produce for tenants, property owners and contractors. And then there are payments to those tenants, owners and contractors too. And these financial transactions can relate to properties, or units within those properties so reporting gets another layer of complexity. Manually tracking finances for a portfolio of properties is highly time consuming as we’re sure you know and your clients may well complain about! So a typical response is to think about how to automate as much of this admin as possible. Automating often improves accuracy too, so if you can recommend better workflows and software to manage admin tasks, your accounting and reports will be more accurate and up to date too. Just the tenancy journey alone can have 60 or more touchpoints that involve accounting (we have a detailed infographic on this for the curious!).

involve promotional advertising expenses, subscriptions to portals, and sometimes application fees to process • New Tenants create more accounting admin - including rent deposits, and a deposit statement. You’ll need to set up opening balances on their rental account, and attribute that income to the property owner. • Current tenants need recurring rental charges, receipts and statements. And there will also be remittances to the property owners and any contractors undertaking maintenance work. • When Tenancies expire you’ll need to produce an end of tenancy statement • Ending a Tenancy will mean managing the admin of full or part refunds on deposits held and possibly some maintenance work... • And for past tenants who may need references in the future or request copies of their statements you need to make sure those are easy to produce And so on…

Here’s a few highlights... • Finding new tenants can 104 / Issue 21

property clients are giving you information from more than one source… there may be a selection of spreadsheets, print outs, notes, reports and statements from different places. If you have Property clients you know could manage and track all their financial data better, here’s a checklist to work from so that everything is covered every day, week, month and quarter to keep it up to date. Daily Checklist • Account for charges for any maintenance work and bill contractors quickly to keep records up to date (ideally daily but weekly at least) • Be alerted and respond quickly to rent underpayments and overpayments • Refund all/part of any deposit payments to tenants quickly and provide statements • Check when rent is due and set up and send reminders • Arrange viewings and communicate these with existing tenants

When you’re asked to compile accounts we expect most of your

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Industry Focus: Property

Weekly Checklist • Reconcile transactions (charges and receipts) on accounting software to keep up to date with cash flow (ideally daily but weekly at least) • Reconcile accounts with all associate expense payments often (monthly at least, ideally weekly or daily for a big portfolio) • Track and record deposit payments and refunds (Ideally daily but weekly at least) • Make payments to Contractors for maintenance work. Monthly Checklist • Ensure rent payments and bank statements are reconciled to match account balances • Enter monthly rent charges and send clients rent reminders • Account for any changes in rent charges • Calculate management fees percentages and subtract from gross as they are charged (Monthly but depends on agreed frequency of rent payments) • Generate reports to ensure no rent is outstanding/overdue • Generate P&L on accounting software to measure the financial position of the business

week to week, month to month and how it’s being done now. Do an audit of the way they are working and what software (or not) they are using. Make notes on where admin ends up and if it’s repeated in different places. Look out for where errors could happen, manual entry for example into spreadsheets can allow for mistakes. Map out clear workflows with them, and make a note where the financial data is handled. Think about what could be automated - use the admin checklist if you want a good place to start. And here’s some more ideas of what you can expect to be able to automate with property management software: • Tracking rent payments • Handling maintenance requests • Sending automatic rent reminders • Reconciling payments received • Automatic reminders for certificates expiring • Signing contracts online for new tenants

• Setting recurring rent charges • Auto-generating management fees • Remitting batch payments to property owners and contractors • Automated messages and tasks with embedded checklists so nothing is missed • Synchronisation of financial information with accounting software • Automatic actions on a to-do list or calendar • Reminders for required checks and certificates Like all clients, your Property clients value and want proactive advice on their expected cash flow, tax and business performance. If you’re able to also add value by recommending business software that simultaneously reduces your admin headaches along with their own, you’re heading into win win territory. Don’t be afraid to help those admin heavy clients map out a better way of working, to allow you to offer a better service at the same time.

Here’s how to recommend your clients choose property management software

FIND OUT MORE...

Start with systems.

To find more about how Arthur can help you gain more property clients, visit: > arthuronline.co.uk

Look at what happens day to day,

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Issue 21 / 105

During times of uncertainty, having trust in your accounts payable process is key W

e are in uncertain times. If you follow the news as diligently as I do, you’ll be aware of the stories dominating the headlines. Whether it’s socioeconomic, environmental or geopolitical, a general sense of uncertainty has been a consistent feeling this past year. Recently, in the UK, we’ve come to feel this all too starkly – although I hope by the time UK readers are absorbing this article, things are beginning to look a bit clearer! But the UK’s own problems aside, uncertainty is a universal problem that can be felt on an individual level. The factors that breed uncertainty are usually elements that are out of our individual control and this can add to the anxiety and stress of the situation. For accountants and finance professionals, this is no different and perhaps exacerbated, given the responsibilities of financial stewardship. Earlier this year, Accountex conducted a survey amongst UK accounting and finance professionals on their views of the political and economic landscape at the time. Of those surveyed, a staggering 96% of respondents revealed that they favoured various alternatives to the government’s then leading stance on Brexit at the time. This high response rate showing a common universal reaction is testament to how 106 / Issue 21

uncertainty is a significant concern amongst finance and accounting professionals. Despite this, accountancy is still one profession that can (and has) taken steps to gain and maintain control during uncertain times. Through management and monitoring of cash, customer satisfaction, project progress, supplier performance and more, accountants can make necessary preparations for challenges, introduce efficiencies ahead of time, and get relevant information to people quicker; allowing you to feel more in control. So, how can certainty be achieved? The good news is that there are key areas that accountants and finance professionals already manage that can help achieve certainty. All it takes a bit of awareness of these areas and how they can contribute to gaining more control. Many have already begun the transformation of key processes to leverage the power of digital automation and technology. For example, let’s take the accounts payable process. Within the AP team the first area to review is to assess how you are paying your suppliers. More suppliers are turning to digital sales invoicing software, like Xero, to help their customers pay them faster.

@compleatp2p

Rory Forbes, Chief Growth Officer, Compleat Software Rory has 30 years’ experience in the design, development, sales, deployment and support of multiple accounting and ERP solutions including Infor SunSystems, Agresso, IBM Concorde XAL, Exact and Omicron.

So, suppliers are already aware that technology can be leveraged to help them manage cash. However, there are some customers who intentionally withhold payment to their suppliers to control cash flow. In fact, CTMfile reports that 27% of invoices are intentionally paid late in the UK. This may seem like a traditional cash flow solution in the short term, but the reality is that this practice will be detrimental to your supplier relationships. Better relationships with suppliers can ensure better prices, service levels leading to a higher level of support when needed most by your operational teams. Ensuring that you never “miss” a supplier invoice for payment again has many benefits in the long term. New legislation is slowly coming into play to force certain, currently larger, organisations to report their supplier payment performance statistics. In effect, a public league table on who is a risk to trade with, regarding cash exposure. Looking closer to home. One of the biggest concerns for finance teams is ensuring that they have a degree of control over their company’s spending. A lack of spend visibility is a problem that grows as businesses do. Without visibility of spend, businesses are exposed to a higher risk of maverick spending, using unapproved suppliers, breaching delegated budgets and even suffering from fraud – from both external

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and internal sources. Having an accounts payable process, that gives real-time end-to-end visibility capturing spend requirements in advance, formalising these in purchase orders and leading to supplier invoice capture, matching and online approval delivers control to all participants within your organisation. Spend control means you can know the exact status of your company’s spending leaving little doubt about your company’s financial health, and you’ll be able to tackle the nasty surprises that our uncertain world may throw at you. Looking ahead through uncertainty So, now you see that although life can be uncertain at the best of times, accountants and finance professionals can ensure that their accounts payable process isn’t an area for concern. You just need the right tools to help maintain control of some of the areas that could leave your business or clients exposed to the risks uncertainty brings. Digital transformation is key to helping this. Empowering your finance function with automation and AI is now fundamental to ensuring your accounts payable process is in fighting form. With real-time supplier invoice management, purchase order, contract management, and purchase to pay solutions available, you can keep your suppliers happy and on-side so when uncertainty creates impact, you know you have a support network in place that you can trust. Not only will this enhance your supplier relationships, but it protects you from the risks of external and internal fraud.

Beyond this, simply being equipped with an accounts payable system that you can trust is transformative for your business, clients and suppliers. This is something that cannot be stressed enough and the beauty of it is, software solutions are readily available to help you achieve this.

Ultimately, the latter is key in helping your business and clients through and making the uncertain times, certain.

Two things are certain: (1) we are in uncertain times and (2) digital transformation is here to help.

FIND OUT MORE... Find out how Compleat can help streamline invoice processing, speed up approvals, get visibility of spend and control budgets: > compleatsoftware.com

Blast through the obstacles of a manual accounts payable process with automated ordering, invoice data capture and approval workflows.

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Issue 21 / 107

Is Work the New God? Over the summer, QX and industry expert Steve Pipe came together to conduct a survey on the state of the UK accounting profession – over 250 senior accountants participated giving us a precious glimpse into the raw interiors of accounting in the UK. Not surprisingly, adoption of technology and access to people are the biggest challenges!

ive thousand years ago, a business deal was struck in ancient Mesopotamia on a simple tablet made of clay. The tablet turned out to be the first example of a written account ever produced and was signed by the first person in the history of the world. Not a king, a chieftain or a poet – but a humble accountant called “Kushim”. This all happened in a time before Kings, Emperors or power-brokers of any kind; so most humans on earth were farmers, herders and artisans. They regarded their accountants – not as advisors– but as the link between their property and their written records, more like recordkeepers. It was a limited role with limited burdens. Today, accountants find themselves juggling between many roles ranging from trusted financial 108 / Issue 21

@QXLimited

Chris Robinson, Founder and Executive Chairman, QX Ltd Chris is the founder of QX Ltd. and an ICAEW-qualified chartered accountant. He is the flag bearer of secure outsourcing practices and his company, QX, is the first and only GDPR-Certified company in India. His company provides offshore outsourcing services to accountants across the UK and the USA. Chris started from scratch with just five staff members but now leads a “family” of over 1200 people across India, UK and the US.

advisors through to marketers and HR managers. The accounting profession has morphed into a culture that now measures success through a whole raft of specialty metrics ; seemingly setting itself up for anxiety, disappointment, and the inevitable burnout. The profession isn’t just limited to record-keeping anymore; it’s about concepts like finding a calling; pushing the boundaries of financial achievements and selfoptimisation.

us how our workstations have become our altars and our work has become our new god.

My intuitions were confirmed this summer, when QX teamed up with Steve Pipe to conduct a survey on the state of the accounting profession. Steve was the world’s most highly-rated accountant in 2015 and is also prolific business author. Steve is well-regarded in the accounting community as a fiercely passionate accountant. Together we put out some simple, common questions to every accountant out there, revolving around the same topic– ‘tell us how you feel about your work.’

According to the research: for most accountants, their jobs have become all-consuming with firms trying to squeeze higher profits out of fewer clients and clients doubling their expectations from their accountants while paying lower fees for these improvements.

We unearthed a plethora of alarming findings which Steve helped us put together into a compelling research report titled, “The Really Bad News for Accountancy Practices and What to do About it.” A sample pool of over 250 senior accountants, who participated in the survey, showed

The Cult of Overwork If I could sum up succinctly the conclusive findings of our research on the ‘state of accounting’ it would be “high-pressure”. It almost feels like we wouldn’t be able to hire therapists fast enough to help every burnt-out accountant in the world.

To make matters worse, London seems to be riddled with “workaholism” due to the proliferation of start-ups offering free food and ping-pong tables to encourage people to stay at the office and pull more and more latenighters. However, time isn’t a safe metric for how productive an accountant is. Grinding out hundred hours a week for years , trying to keep clients and the boss happy, is having some serious implications on the productivity and performance of

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accountants. According to the report, 50% of accountants said they were not happy with the progress of their firm; their worklife balance had not only stagnated but deteriorated. Signs of Self-Harm This “high-pressure” is evidently leading to high levels of burnout and we’ve now got the research to prove it. When asked to use a scale of 1-5 to rank how personally happy accountants are with their work, 88% could not bring themselves to give a “happy” score out of 5 out of 5– out of which 50% scored their happiness to be 3 or less! Adding insult to injury, 67% of accountants have seen their team enthusiasm decline significantly. Most of them don’t even feel motivated or supported to produce better work – against tight deadlines. It’s Still About People Beyond the workplace, we now live in a V.U.C.A world where markets seem volatile, our environment seems uncertain and society is complex and ambiguous. In the UK, Brexit has fuelled this anxiety significantly. It’s the sign of the times that as a profession, a society and an economy we need to find time to cope. Our unique research shows the same - 55% of accountants surveyed said that “doing some good in the world” was important to them personally. However, when we asked whether their firms also feel the same way – 81% of the accountants felt that the firms that they worked for don’t appear to care about having a positive effect on the world. It’s clear from the report that those accounting firms that work toward bridging this gap by taking action to prove to their people that they really do care about “doing some good in the world”, will unlock new levels of purpose, happiness, motivation and commitment from their teams.

How People and Technology can help Accountants say ‘no’ For most accountants, when their bodies and minds are saying stop; they can’t – either out of compulsion or because there is no one else to take over their work when they need a break. They need to be able to say “no”. They need to be able to say “I’ll get back to you on that”. A major cause of the problem is the shortage of good people with the right skills and experience. In an increasingly competitive market, many practices are struggling to find, recruit and retain staff. But instead of going out on an expensive search (agency fees are the second biggest recruitment challenge, behind the shortage of good people) to find a bunch of ‘right’ candidates, firms could delegate their non-core tasks to outsourcing providers and work on freeing up time to focus on things that would add more value to the firm and its clients. The staff could focus on long-term business strategies, develop themselves into trusted advisors or even take a holiday like normal people. There’s a lot of talk about how A.I and automation is going to replace jobs and in a few cases that’s true. However, most A.I is not even close to being at a stage where it can beat

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the sheer flexibility (or cost) of a human being. But what they can do is share your workload, especially the mundane and repetitive tasks. Besides, we’re never going to run the risk of the bots burning out as well! For me, it was a little hard to compute that these days “burnout” seems to connect one accountant to another, rather than a shared passion for numbers. Times must have changed but I’ve been an accountant for 30 years and I can tell you that overwork isn’t the centrepiece of an accountant’s identity. Isn’t it better that you sometimes leave work early to catch up with old friends, teach your kids to drive, or get a good night’s sleep? What matters is a great life, as well as a great accounting career... a better and healthier balance overall.

FIND OUT MORE... To download the report, visit: > qxas.co.uk

Issue 21 / 109

What is the future role of Excel in cloud accounting and business advisory, or is it already dead?

@DataDearApp

Carl Thompson, Global Partnerships Manager, DataDear Carl is a self-confessed tech geek & small business champion, that enjoys spending his time solving business data problems with forward thinking accountants.

Here Carl shares his thoughts on why finance teams should be embracing Microsoft’s software suite, and how connecting the most powerful accounting tools can make your practices and clients digital journey radically better every step of the way...

ver the last few years, we’ve all heard strong statements that “Excel is dead” or “will die soon”. Yet whenever I engage with finance teams or businesses struggling with their data, Excel is the heart and soul of the solution, along with the trusted whiteboard & pen. Some things may never change! It’s about using the right tools. In fact, problems typically arise when Excel is the only ‘accounting’ system, or is not implemented as an integrated solution. This is where inefficiencies and risks lie - I’m sure we can all recall horror moments with a spreadsheet such as spending the day building a report pack on old data or battling with messy CSVs and upload limits. Whilst unconnected, you’re just waiting to experience this pain. Finance teams are embracing the use of cutting edge technology, looking to avoid repeats of the

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more please visit: > datadear.com

110 / Issue 21

past, but sometimes they get across a group of consolidated caught up with all the shiny new companies. All this automation toys, forgetting what the client’s coming from just one app partner! needs. Such as usability of the tools or the best flexibility for I also believe cleaning, preparing, and advisory and data Over the last few consuming the data. should start with years, we’ve all what the users want, heard strong Once Excel is need and value. Not statements that connected, this will what the software “Excel is dead” or help you accelerate is restricted to. To “will die soon”. your move to the be clear, I’m a firm cloud, reducing training believer in using the and functionality gaps, right tool for the right job, I pleasing all types of users whilst just love the limitless opportunities helping you set up & onboard Microsoft’s suite offers to finance faster, and remain compliant under people, and enjoy showing people digital record keeping rules. how Excel data can be turned into beautiful, interactive visuals with just one beautiful click into Power Ongoing, it will enable you BI, the ultimate intelligence tool, to automate your accounting according to the folk in the know at tasks, think period end routines, Gartner at least. prepayments, accruals, tax and payroll journals, automated bespoke & practice wide reporting That’s why we’re partnering with - essential in remaining a real time finance teams and data experts that trusted advisor. are already superb in delivering solutions to individual client needs, showing them a more efficient, And finally, in a lot of automated way to increase their circumstances, it can keep you impact. working when a business grows beyond these prescribed limits; how do you analyse on 2 or more Is that the way it should be? I tracking categories or viewing welcome opposing views and reports & performance in multiple challenges but am still waiting to be different styles, instantly refreshed, convinced otherwise.

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Issue 21 / 111

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The rise of cradleto-grave systems for customer management From signup, through client document management all the way to ‘off-boarding’

@mydocsafe

Daniel Stachowiak, MD, MyDocSafe Daniel was previously an investment manager (private equity) at Jupiter Asset Management in London and a board director at JRNI.com. Daniel holds an MBA (Oxford), MA in Economics (CEU, Budapest), and BA in Computer Science.

Going 100% digital may give you “green creds” but it does not mean that you improve customer experience, security and compliance. It could be quite the opposite. In this article Daniel Stachowiak, the MD of MyDocSafe, shares some insights about why cradle-to-grave solutions can be the answer...

e hear a consistent story from our clients: if the sign-up process involves paper, and cannot be done on a mobile, it is likely that it will either not get done (you lose a client) or it will take longer than anticipated, delaying your “time to revenue”. Furthermore, a completed signup process is just the beginning of a new relationship – more documents will be shared, approved and requested. And once a client leaves or retires, a reverse process needs to happen – that of ‘off-boarding’ – transferring, deleting data or retaining data for compliance purposes. The only way to minimise risks and work involved is via cradle-to-grave solutions. Alternatives, even if 100% digital, might no longer cut it. Email Using email to ask for personal data and scanned passports is

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112 / Issue 21

digital but is neither seamless nor secure. It sends a signal that you are either reckless or unaware of the risks, and most importantly, do not respect your clients’ time. You could use encrypted email instead, but is still not optimal from the client’s perspective because of filing involved. Proposals software Proposals software automates sign-up. You can select services, fill forms and sign agreements. You might also be able to set up a direct debit mandate or take a credit card payment. However, you are likely to need separate systems for ID verification, client portals or digital signature. So from a client’s perspective the experience looks overcomplicated. It solves the initial problem but introduces complexity further down the line. MyDocSafe MyDocSafe has been designed as a ‘cradle-to-grave’ system that saves you time and money throughout the entire life cycle of your client relationship. Most importantly though, it helps you build a great customer experience.

Here is how: • New client signs up: Our Proposals module lets you configure your services, prices, engagement letters, and forms. You can decide to take credit card payments or create invoices in Xero. ID verification tools are available. • Client work begins: Our Portals module allow you to easily carve out designated and encrypted virtual spaces for document sharing, signing and data collection. Documents can be imported directly from Dropbox and can be used to file documents directly from Outlook, Word and Excel. • Client leaves or retires: Client off-boarding is easy – remove client access from your portal, transfer the portal’s data to the client seamlessly, turn on the auto-expiry tool that will automatically delete data after the required retention period. As a bonus we throw in a data mapping tool for your GDPR compliance through which you can use to document, audit and manage your data protection responsibilities.

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Issue 21 / 113

When business as usual is not an option Finding profitability just by boosting your productivity

@wolterskluweruk

Gareth Cram, Product & Strategy Director for Tax and Accounting, Wolters Kluwer Gareth is responsible for the strategy and direction of the tax and accounting software suite. He is an experienced commercial leader with a track record of delivering outstanding results over a 20-year period within international organisations.

Productivity and profitability growth are intrinsically linked. Finding productive internal processes is the first step to improving your bottom line. The true challenge for most practices though is to regularly take time away from business-as-usual to question if your current practice management is as efficient and profitable as possible.

stablishing productive processes, driving efficiency and boosting profitability is an age-old goal for every practice. However, the goalposts are shifting for many thanks to digitalisation. Simply working harder or not providing additional services wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cut it in a competitive landscape. Often, finding time in your internal processes is the first step to achieving these goals before you even begin to look at improving the compliance process or integrated software. However, these are both very important conversations to be considered further down the line. Whether you are unlocking time to secure new services or clients or looking to improve your cashflow, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an opportunity to look internally. Why you should work on your practice, rather than in Our business consultants have worked with thousands of practices on their internal processes. We have seen many practices reduce their non-profitable clients and still increase their profit over time. 114 / Issue 21

Liberated time and resource gives the practice the opportunity to offer value added services to the existing customer base. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, practices looking at boosting productivity in internal processes have been able to reduce workloads for their teams, improving their work life balance. This is particularly important given that research from CABA, the wellbeing charity for accountants, has shown that 41% of those in the industry have experienced stress, referencing being overworked as a key contributor. The result of optimised workloads is an engaged group of people working as a high performing team to do the same work in less time, providing great services to your clients. It is a virtuous cycle that ultimately benefits the practice. Advisory services will play a critical part in the evolution of the industry. Practices who have already begun thinking about an advisory model have seen first-hand the financial and professional rewards for their practices and their clients, as well as improved client and employee

retention. If this is also a route you are considering, the key question will be can you take on this work with your current workforce? If the answer is no, there is some work to be done. One action that could give you the biggest time saving is consistency. Consistency: the biggest time saver with the least input time needed Standardising and automating processes can be a huge time saver as well as a clear indication of what processes are taking place in reality. Here is a practical exercise to try in the practice today. Try a short workshop exercise with several members of the team, ideally from different levels within your organisation. Ask them on their own to write down the end-to-end process they follow to carry out an activity, for example process for recording time or client billing from beginning to end. Now compare the notes and answer the following questions: Is there process duplication? How much is manually managed by isolated spreadsheets across the team?

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How many systems do you use to keep track of the process? Is there enough control or visibility across the process without needing to email different staff, departments or offices? Is the process consistent? These are the conversations that will show you immediate time savings in removing duplication or manual processing and replacing it with standardised and automated systems. I’m sure, like me, you’ve all encountered that wonderful phrase ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’. Consistency is key for productive practice management, particularly when there are multiple teams or offices involved. Automated workflows, billing and paperless offices Another significant manual area to consider is workflow management. Software can be set to drive processes like billing across the solutions automatically, rather than updating spreadsheets or disparate products. Software alerts will ensure that projects are visible, controllable and consistent across teams and offices. Future-driven practices are moving their processes to paperless systems. Not only does a digital document management system solve the cost of storage and space issues within your office but significantly reduces the time required to carry out tasks, as all documents for every client are instantly available. Automating workflow, billing and document management will also ensure business continuity. Should one member take annual leave, fall ill, or need to work off site, business can continue as usual. These actions are not just about saving time. It’s about improving cash flow by billing as soon as the work is completed. And, most importantly, it’s about better serving your clients. Making the most of your investment in software Your investment in software should not stop there. Following

installation, it is important not to manipulate the software simply to fit old inefficient processes. Review the functionality of your software as well as your processes to identify key time savings you can gain from adopting the software. For example, if you can automate billing, be strict with how you amend your current process to suit this, not the other way around. It’s also worth considering how you will win the hearts and minds of your colleagues. A change in solution is a huge opportunity to recognise with colleagues that the way of doing things in the past that has enabled you to be hugely successful is not necessarily going to be the same as what you need as you look for continued growth for the future. Engage your colleagues and enlist the support of consultants that do this up and down the country every day. Beyond installation there is more work to be done. Your software releases could include updates which could include serious time savers. Ensure that you, or a dedicated member of your team, is aware of these updates, reviews your current processes and evolves them with the software. That said, the best way to make the most of your software is through consultancy beyond the initial product training. Business consultancy training on a frequent basis will help you use the software efficiently and review your processes to make sure these continue to improve. We have seen successful productive practices make regular use of our professional services consultants and see significant time savings with best practice tips for our software, as well as ongoing improvement of their internal processes.

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Managing your practice by exception Key performance indicators like timesheets or WIP are inherent in managing your productivity levels. If you are managing those KPI indicators manually, how useful are they to the business if they are a time drain to produce? Manual intervention or project management leaves room for human error and wasted time. Automated tools could do this for you, leaving your team free from manually running and distributing reports, chasing timesheets or checking information. Software such as our “virtual assistant” CCH KPI Monitoring makes this possible. This software monitors your systems and automatically notifies you if your predefined conditions are not met. These alerts could inform you when timesheets are overdue or when a WIP is about to go over the quoted time.

You can set ‘exception’ alerts, so you’re informed, by email or text, when something has happened, or is about to happen giving you the chance to deal with any issues before they become problems. Cont. > Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 115

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a much more effective use of your time to resolve abnormalities and alerts that will benefit you or your clients, than spending the time looking for them. Time savings in integrated practice management Generating and sending out bills can be almost as time consuming as producing the actual compliance work, particularly when there are many teams to produce the bill, post the bill, chase for payment and then match the bill to the outstanding debt once it has been paid. If your billing process is a very manual siloed process, calculate the time saved in having an integrated system. Integrated practice management software will take the bill from generation

through to payment via bank feeds without manual intervention. Solutions such as CCH Practice Management software can make bills awaiting approval appear as workflow items that can be tracked. From there, the system can automatically email or post the bill to CCH OneClick. Workflow tools also generate reminders to the client at certain intervals after posting until the bill has been paid. The credit control dashboards give direct access to information about debtors. With single-click tools you can drill-down to the underlying data and a full billing history. CCH Document Management automatically files bills on client records and identifies emails and documents that it can file against the correct contact with minimal

intervention. Once the payment has been made, the bank statement can be imported through the bank feeds within Twinfield and back into CCH Practice Management, automatically matched against the debt and the client. Taking the plunge Changes to internal processes and optimising software can seem daunting, especially when added to the day-to-day demands on your time and that of your colleagues. However, taking the time to define that change and its implementation will lead to growth and profitability long-term wins which will always outweigh the temporary inconvenience.

Find out more... You can find out more about Wolters Kluwerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fully integrated suite at: > wolterskluwer.co.uk/build-an-integrated-suite

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Issue 21 / 117

Superstar software to manage superstar projects (and clients!) When your clients include the likes of Netflix, BBC, HBO and ITV Studios, you come to expect that your day to day business is anything but typical. That’s exactly the world that Lexhag Visual Effects are operating in, and owner, Alexis Haggar, and business manager, Sara Hill, are no strangers...

creative problem-solving company for the Film and TV markets, Lexhag have a growing team who are highly experienced in creating visual effects work for long-form storydriven projects. In layman’s terms, they add things to shots that weren’t there before or take away things that were, and when they do it right, you don’t realise they’ve done anything at all. Part of the deep satisfaction is when someone doesn’t notice the VFX because it’s seamless. The team expands and contracts as needed with a trusted network of freelancers. “We’ve worked on all five series of the long-running popular BBC drama series Poldark,” says Sara. “Only last year at a conference a producer said to me ‘oh but there’s not many VFX in Poldark, it’s a period drama.’” It’s a testament to the work that we do, that they don’t notice the reconstructed 3D sets and cities, many CGI ships, crowd replication and not to mention the general clean-up of modern life. Our job is to make it look real and believable and we do it very well.” Despite their size, Lexhag is one of the best in the business. But success didn’t come overnight for Lexhag. Despite working on sets with superstars and outputting breathtaking visuals, the hard-and118 / Issue 21

fast-paced industry can be tough. And, starting off as a one man band when the industry was just finding its feet 10 years ago, Alexis is all too familiar with how tough it can be. Act 1: The Problem Being dumped in the middle of Iceland to find the perfect shot with only dried fish to eat for days on end? Easy. Reconstructing an enormous turn-of-the-century viaduct from scratch digitally with lasers and large plate cameras? No problem. Having to work off the cuff and invent new technologies to achieve what the director is after? Why not. So what’s so tough? “The challenging jobs are the ones that have low budgets and high ambitions, but they can also be the most fun. They are the kind of jobs where we need to think on our feet and work closely with the whole creative team to create magic.” says Alexis. With production varying highly from day-to-day and producers always watching the purse strings, it’s not uncommon for funds to run low and for projects to run askew. It’s important to have adequate software to manage your projects and keep a close eye on productivity, so that things don’t get out of hand.

@WorkflowMax

Natalie Prescott-Brann, Partner Channel Manager, WorkflowMax I love working with small business clients and the accounting channel to uncover the best solutions for success. It’s truly rewarding to build relationships and connect people with the perfect match of software, so they can spend more time on the important stuff!

It’s not that there’s a software shortage, there are in fact many industry-standard programs: Shotgun can do almost everything and is great for scheduling work and acting as a client review tool, but it doesn’t do finance. And according to Alexis that’s not unusual. After talking to large production houses to try and find what’s best practice, he found out that there isn’t actually a one-stop solution. “Finance seems to be a sore point that everyone shies away from,” says Alexis, “leaving many large productions heavily reliant on spreadsheets, which seemed archaic to me.” In the beginning several pain points quickly developed within the business. “Effectively our software and process at the time left us short and we didn’t have a handle on the realtime costs. We could have really got ourselves into a pickle,” says Alexis. “The software that we did have was nice for artists essentially. It looked good, was easy to use, but we had no overview of our jobs or our profitability, which made it harder to make on-the-fly decisions.” The technological shortfall didn’t stop there, and it may be something that you are all too familiar with. “We had horrendous experiences when various suppliers would send

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

us invoices months late, saying ‘Oh, sorry, I forgot to send this to you’, long after we’d sent out the last client invoices,” says Alexis. “We managed to work through it, but like many small-to-medium business it could have had a pretty catastrophic effect at times on cash flow and all sorts.” Act 2: The solution With a clear idea of the problem and no consensus from the industry, like his work, Alexis took finding the solution into his own hands. First up, getting the accounting side of things humming for Lexhag. How? Xero of course. “It was at that point I attempted to persuade our bookkeeper into Xero,” says Alexis. “She was aware of it but had been using an older non cloud-based tool for the best part of 40 years. Despite the initial hesitation, she was straight into it and took the bull by the horns and that was kind of where it started really.” “Then from Xero, I got fed up with our other job management app,” says Alexis. “On its own, it was a great piece of software and worked well but didn’t have the power and project management capability we needed. So I started looking around at all sorts of systems that were available. Eventually, I came across WorkflowMax and thought, oh, hold on a minute, it’s made by the same people that make Xero so surely they will work well together. After testing the integration and the flow of data, it all made complete sense and that’s where we settled.” Act 3: The outcome With Workflowmax and Xero working in perfect harmony, for almost three years, Alexis and the Lexhag team moved past most of their initial pain points. As the business grew, so did their reporting needs - they felt they still weren’t harnessing the full power of the software. At that point, they reached out to a local setup partner Maree Maxfield from Maxima. “Lexhag approached me to fine tune and check over some of their implementation along with building

Workflowmax helps us smooth over in some specific customisation. the discrepancies to give better There were items they wanted to service to our clients. be able to track and report on, however it was a little technical to “WorkflowMax has been a career get right. In the end the business changing tool for me,” says Sara. has benefited from one-on-one “As the business manager, I use support,” says Maree. “We spent it on a daily basis for tracking and a half day consulting together, managing our jobs, people and scoping and future-proofing their costs. It allows additional business “When I saw that us to see how requirements and then WorkflowMax was a Xero particular shots I produced a list of product, I knew our search for are tracking enhancements project management software against budget. they could make was over. With the two cloudWe can very to their setup based programs seamlessly quickly determine which would working together, productivity which shots are allow them to go and profit have never been more complex faster.’’ easier to manage.” and will absorb Alexis Haggar, Lexhag (London, UK) more time or if an The improvements artist is struggling with to processes and the time allocation. Using this simplification of workflows has information, we can assess what’s allowed Lexhag to continue to stick going on with the job and the best to their core business of producing way forward. On the other hand, if groundbreaking visual effects; all someone’s ahead of the game, we the while, still having a blast in the can see that and easily assign them business! to another task and fill out the gaps in the studio. WorkflowMax has “WorkflowMax has enabled us to drill into our jobs and see if they are made productivity easier to manage and helped us to keep track of all profitable,” says Alexis. “It gives chargeable time and costs. us power with our clients because everything in our sphere has to “We’ve just opened our first be flexible. One minute you can regional studio in Norfolk in the be working on the biggest shot in East of England and our first jobs the world and the next minute it’s include two high-end BBC drama been rained off. So it’s very difficult series. One scheduled to release to plan and predict anything. over the Christmas period and However, WorkflowMax enables us to carry across the same meticulous another series for the ITV network. We took the opportunity to review attention to detail we have on set, our systems and plan how we to our internal processes. would manage the work over two sites,” says Sara. We immediately “Through the use of real-time data, knew that we wanted to implement WorkflowMax enables us to be as WorkflowMax across the two sites concise with our clients as we can,” to keep on top of things and ahead says Alexis. “We love the visibility of the game. It’s working so well for the time tracking feature gives us. us.” If we’re over on a particular task or under on another, it’s clear to see. The coordinator simply works with the client to manage workflow and we can reallocate budget where it is most needed. Budgeting for VFX always has an element of guesswork, you can budget for the shot that’s planned, but it doesn’t always turn out that way on the FIND OUT MORE... day. Some shots can be achieved more quickly than anticipated and others can take much longer, some To find out more, please visit: shots are completely dropped > workflowmax.com and brand new ones can appear.

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Issue 21 / 119

GoCardless launches in the US For a long time now, Xero users around the world have been able to seamlessly take payments via Direct Debit using GoCardless. Our mission has always been a simple one - take the pain out of getting paid, so you can focus on doing what your business does best. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud of the impact weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to help businesses achieve - eliminating financial stress, cutting through unnecessary admin, and strengthening relationships with customers. Ultimately, putting business owners back in control of their cash flow...

120 / Issue 21

@GoCardless

Rachel Astall, SMB Partnerships, GoCardless Rachel heads up the global SMB Partnerships team at GoCardless. Since joining at the start of 2017, Rachel has spent time working closely with our accounting software partners to ensure that integrations run smoothly and add real value to our customers. As GoCardless has expanded these relationships globally, Rachel has been working closely with shared customers around the world, to ensure we continue to improve their customer experience.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

ut one thing’s been missing - being able to help businesses that serve customers in the largest market in the world. I’m thrilled to be able to share with XU magazine readers that GoCardless now supports Direct Debit payments in the US through the ACH network. Any Xero user worldwide, whether you’re based in the US or not, can now collect Direct Debit payments from USbased customers. Hiroki Takeuchi, GoCardless’ CEO, said “Over the last year our partnership with Xero has gone from strength to strength, bringing automated payments to thousands of businesses across the UK, Australasia and Canada. We’re delighted to now bring these capabilities to the US. As a market with a payment culture historically ingrained in card processing and paper checks, we’re excited to bring small businesses in the US a better way to collect their payments. With GoCardless, they can escape high fees, delayed payments, and that real pain of getting paid.” The opportunity for businesses in the US is exciting, with 60% of B2B payments there still taken by paper checks1. But now, with GoCardless, there’s a huge opportunity. Businesses can pull payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts, at a lower cost than credit cards and without the overhead and burden of cash and checks. And customers want this too. 13.4 billion Direct Debit payments took place in

the US in 20182 - a figure growing by more than a billion per year. And as many as 42% of US businesses are likely to make their next recurring payment by Direct Debit3 - another figure projected to grow, with Direct Debit expected to become the most widely used B2B payment method by 20204. Craig Walker, Co-founder and EGM Payments & Billing Solutions at Xero, said “Xero is committed to working with partners like GoCardless to help small businesses better manage their payments. GoCardless helps small businesses leverage the massive opportunity that recurring

1) Goldman Sachs, 2) Nacha, 3) Research conducted by YouGov, for GoCardless, 4) Nacha

“Can I make payroll?” Deliver the answer with cash flow forecasts your clients will LOVE.

payments presents, by collecting payments consistently and on time. Doing so means that small businesses can get paid more quickly, helping to manage their cash flow and unlock insights that they and their accountants can use to better understand what’s happening inside their business, and plan for long-term growth.”

FIND OUT MORE... If you’re serving US-based customers and you’d like to know more about the benefits GoCardless could bring you, head over to: > gocardless.com/xero

Dryrun is one of the best investments I’ve ever made in business – super valuable to have this kind of visibility. – Guy Bauer, guybauerproductions.com

Learn about our Partner Program at dryrun.com

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Issue 21 / 121

G-Accon and Business Intelligence: an Affordable Solution In the realm of business, one of the most important aspects of smoothly running a company is being able to analyze data and pinpoint areas that need improvement...

usiness Intelligence (BI) is a recently developed, technology-based method that allows executives and other decision-makers to compile their business data in a clear, effective way that concisely presents the findings. Using a variety of tools, applications, and programs, BI is able to present comprehensive reports and visuals.

G-Accon seamlessly works hand-inhand with other popular business tools such as Google Chart, Google Data Studio, Tableau, and Microsoft Power BI to provide your company with thorough business reports. G-Accon essentially acts as a bridge between your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial data and cohesive visualization tools that can be used to powerfully present your figures and statistics.

Business Intelligence is the next big trend in business data analysis, so how exactly can your company acquire these BI tools? Are these tools only available to large, established corporations? Are they costly? The answer is No. Business Intelligence is surprisingly affordable and attainable for all companies and G-Accon is a crucial asset that exists to help your business with it.

For example, your company can use G-Accon and Google Chart in tandem to produce compelling results. First, your company would generate financial reports by using the G-Accon Add-on from your Xero accounts. G-Accon would pull the financial data from your multiple Xero accounts. Then, you would have the ability to create a visual representation of the data by using Google Chart. Next, you would be

@G_AcconServices

Andrey Kustarnikov, Co-Founder & CEO, G-Accon Andrey Kustarnikov is the Co-Founder & CEO of G-Accon. He has over 20 years of technical expertise in software development, microservices architecture, and cloud integration in the financial and banking sectors. He received an MBA degree and an MS in physics, and using these skills, he was able to build the tool, G-Accon. G-Accon has proved incredibly helpful to clients in solving their various issues, and Andrey is excited to see where G-Accon will go next.

able to publish this chart as an embedded object on your website and. Finally, G-Accon for Xero would be able to offer numerous reports in the historical layout that perfectly fit the Chart functionality. A notable function is that the data in the chart gets manually or automatically refreshed, which allows your company to utilize these dynamically generated reports and charts. Another BI tool that merges well with G-Accon is Google Data Studio. Google Data Studio is a free online data visualization tool that allows companies to crisply present the G-Accon generated financial data to your team, customers, and upper management. Data can be manually refreshed or set to automatically refresh in 15 minutes, 4 hours, or 12-hour increments. Other companies might be wondering what other tools, if any, are available for my company to use? A third business tool that works will with G-Accon is Tableau. Tableau Public is another free tool that can be used to visually present your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial data. Similarly to Google Data Studio, Tableau is able to interactively showcase the data that G-Accon produces for your company. It also has the ability to automatically update data.

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XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

The final option available for use in conjunction with G-Accon is Microsoft Power BI Desktop. It is also free and can be downloaded onto Windows OS. Power BI hosts a wide array of business analytics tools that can be used to develop, analyze, and present your company’s data. Using the G-Accon Add-on for your Xero accounts makes it simple to move your data for your Power BI tools.

To summarize, there are many affordable, or free, tools that exist to visualize your company’s financial data, including Google Data Studio, Google Chart, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and more. These applications allow you to present your information in a very rich, aesthetically-pleasing way. G-Accon is the perfect liaison between your data and presentation that allows you to spend less time focusing on data

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and formatting, and more time focusing on what really matters — the success of your company.

FIND OUT MORE... Please visit our website at: > www.accon.services

Issue 21 / 123

Introducing: Xavier Focus Xavier are delighted to be launching a new feature that will revolutionise the way accountants can manage their Xero data health; Xavier Focus will provide a customisable process for checking data quality that will work for every practice, providing accountability and value for their clients...

t Xavier we’re all about increasing productivity, both for ourselves and the accountancy practices we work with. We all strive to make sure we spend our time in the most effective way that we can however, in both our working and personal lives, this is becoming increasingly difficult. With so many distractions, from email and Slack notifications to news articles popping up on your phone, finding time to get the job done is becoming harder and harder. Recently we took some inspiration from Xavier team member Simon’s summer holiday reading, after he stumbled across the book ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport. In ‘Deep Work’, Cal explains how in an everdistracted world we need to create an environment where we have the opportunity to be able to focus on a single task - he argues that being able to nurture this environment for focus can give you the competitive advantage to get things done. With that in mind, we revisited our mission at Xavier; to provide accounting practices with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age. We wanted to help our users increase their productivity and the value that they provide to their clients amongst the perfect storm 124 / Issue 21

of ever-increasing apps, data, and compliance requirements. Many of the practices we speak to are also being pulled in different directions at once, bombarded with questions and requests from clients. This makes it difficult to focus on the core work and jobs that need to be done.

@xavieranalytics

Helen Lloyd, Co Founder, Xavier Analytics Helen’s on a mission to prove that working with lots of data really can be an enjoyable, beautiful experience for accountants. She gets the “envious” task of figuring out how to make this come true for all the technical tools the Xavier team devises. With her neuroscience education and design background, we think she’s up to the challenge.

time. Working with our accountancy partners we have developed a more streamlined way to use Xavier that meets their needs for all client types and practices, and which will include oversight for Managers on what work has been done, and by whom. A Distraction-Free Space

As more data moves onto the cloud there is a real need to maintain quality across the work accountants and bookkeepers do as part of the process, rather than reactively correcting it. By developing a consistent way to ensure quality in the first instance, we can reduce the time spent fixing, auditing and preparing reports further down the line. This is why we have created our new feature: Xavier Focus. Introducing Focus Until now, Xavier was no exception to the information overload issue. Over the last year Xavier has grown to include a lot of different tools that each provide value, but injecting these into existing processes has been a challenge for some accountancies. For maximum efficiency, accountants and bookkeepers need to know when to use the right tools, at the right

The new Focus feature allows you to complete a clear list of Xavier checks and tools in a simple workflow template, towards a specific purpose. Separate from the main app interface and it’s distractions, this allows you to focus on the task at hand, see the progress you have made, and the time taken to complete it. For example, you may have a workflow for carrying out VAT Returns. Depending on how your business operates, you could include checks on Multi-Coded Contacts to highlight miscodings and incorrect VAT rates, see Unreconciled Transactions, and some checks for high value transactions. The checks are presented in a single page feed, all you need to do is scroll down. Once they have been evaluated or actioned, each of the checks can then be marked as ‘complete’.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

To get started, simply choose a Client and a template, select a due date, and assign to a team member. The assigned user can then start, mark progress through, and complete this workflow. A Process that Works for You Xavier Focus launches with a premade set of workflow templates, but you can edit and create your own bespoke workflows that work with your processes and clients. You can use Xavierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s library of checks to compile a template for any process, with drag-anddrop reordering, and write your own explanations as guidance for whoever is completing the workflow. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to hear what you build in Xavier Focus!

Be recognised for the work you do

This is just the beginning

We think everyone deserves to be recognised for their hard work. Completed workflows remain in Xavier with a timeline of what checks were completed, when they were completed, and by whom. This information can be used to provide assurance to your clients that work has been done, and managers can have oversight on the workload of their Xavier team.

We are really excited to be able to launch Focus, but this is just the beginning; we want to continue to improve, add more functionality and make it even more useful. Better scheduling, tracking and integrations will be on the way...

Find out more... If you would like to try introducing the best Xero data quality processes into your practice, head to: > xavier-analytics.com for a 30 day free trial.

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Issue 21 / 125

Apps Compared

Compared:

Reporting Fathom

Float

FUTRLI

ProfitSee

Spotlight

Unlimited Formulas

Drill Down to Account Level Detail

Consolidate Multiple Companies

Multi-curreny consolidation

Eliminations

Customisable Dashboards

Graphs - Online View

Graphs - Print View

Core Reporting Functionality

Drill Down to Transaction Level Detail

Consolidation Functionality

Dashboards

Progress Bars tracking Actual vs Budget

Dashboards per User

P&L Budget

Balance Sheet Budget

Coming soon

Import budgets via CSV/XLS

Imports budget from Xero Budget Manager

Budget vs actual reporting

Direct Forecasting

Automatic Import of Invoices & Bills from Xero

Set Expected Payment Dates on Invoices & Bills

Actuals + Invoices & Bills Track Against Budgets Daily

P&L Forecasting

Cash budgets against P&L accounts

3-Way Forecasting

Cash budgets against balance sheet accounts

Budgeting

Cash Flow Forecasting

126 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Apps Compared

For more information, please visit: Fathom - fathomhq.com Float - floatapp.com FUTRLI - futrli.com ProfitSee - myprofitsee.com Spotlight - spotlightreporting.com

Fathom

Float

FUTRLI

ProfitSee

Spotlight

What If Scenarios

Actuals automatically update

Set multiple forecasts per account line

Automatic daily sync with accounting software

Formula builder for custom KPIs

Set and Monitor Key Financial KPIs

Set and Monitor Non-Financial KPIs

Benchmarking

Quick Start Templates

Create and Save Own Reports / Report Builder

White Labelling - Online View

White Labelling - Print

Custom domain

Export Reports as PDF

Export Reports as XLS

Email alerts

SMS alerts

Xero

Quickbooks Online

MYOB

Coming soon

KPI Reporting & Benchmarking

Divisional Reporting Tracking category analytics

Branding & Customisation

Alerts & Reminders

In app alerts

Accounting Integrations

FreeAgent

Continued > Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

Issue 21 / 127

Apps Compared Cont. Fathom

Float

FUTRLI

ProfitSee

Spotlight

User & Permissions Detailed User Rights

Unlimited Users

Unlimited staff

Client Access View

iOS - iPhone and iPad

Android - Google Play

Client app

Help Centre

Email Support

Phone Support

Training Webinars

Mobile App

Support

Compiled by Matt Flanagan, Director, BlueHub (Web: bluehub.co.uk, Twitter: @Blue_Hub) This information was true and correct at the time of publishing. Releases happen all the time. Please contact the App for the latest release information.

Xero App Partners of the month September 2019

Xero’s app marketplace has over 700 apps which help small businesses and their advisors reach their goals. Each month Xero celebrates an app partner who stands out for helping small businesses thrive... founders Paul Grey and Ashley Schroder have been in the position you’re in now. It was through solving this accounting problem for themselves, A2X was born.

2X is thrilled to be announced as Xero’s app of the month. A2X connects Shopify stores and Amazon marketplaces to Xero, seamlessly automating accounting for ecommerce businesses.

Find out more at: > a2xaccounting.com 128 / Issue 21

From the Xero Community, A2X has earned a 5-star rating from 126 reviews. The team at A2X believe accurate financials should be available to every ecommerce business. We understand the frustrations you have with doing your Shopify and Amazon clients accounting with download files and spreadsheets. With over 10 years of experience selling on Amazon,

A2X has been developed hand in hand with e-commerce accountants to exacting standards and is trusted by leading e-commerce accounting firms globally to deliver reliable, accurate financials. A2X has been helping thousands of Amazon businesses thrive since launching A2X for Amazon on the Xero Marketplace in 2015. In June of 2019, A2X broadened its reach into the e-commerce sector by offering a much needed Shopify accounting solution. The A2X team took everything they had learned about accounting for Amazon, focussing on accuracy and reconciliation and ensured the A2X for Shopify integration is just as bulletproof.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

October 2019

App Partners of the Month and is the start of our journey make collaborating on documents and tasks effortless for Xero Accountants.

e were incredibly excited to win App Partner of the month in October.

November 2019

Find out more at: > suitefiles.com

We’ve been working closely with Xero to build their new single sign on and sign up options into SuiteFiles Connect, which is our newest product offering. This partnership has allowed us to solve one of the biggest problems faced with a client portal ‘how do we get clients to actually log in?’ by allowing them to use existing credentials. This feature allows us to help foster global communities, makes it easier for accountants and small businesses to work together,

larity is the global advisory platform; making business simple. Powered by blockchain and AI, the Clarity app helps small business owners around the world understand their numbers and how to make them better, develop a plan to build a better business through step-by-step guides and, access the cash, funding and investment they need to grow and scale profitably.

Find out more at: > clarity-hq.com

Becoming an official Xero app partner in July 2019, Clarity has been selected as Xero’s November App Partner of the Month due to promising growth at such an early

We really want to thank our customers who’ve been along for the ride over the years. SuiteFiles Connect, and this nomination, would not have happened without their constant support and feedback!

stage in the app ecosystem and for aligning themselves with the Xero ethos. The founding team, Aynsley Damery and Steven Briginshaw, have also been recognised for their unwavering support of the Xero partners, and are looking forward to this relationship going from strength to strength. SMEs are leaning more and more on their accountants - looking for a trusted advisor 24/7. The Clarity platform provides accountants with the tools to offer business advisory that is scalable and appropriate for both the client and the fee involved. By making business simple, Clarity is the conversation starter that empowers all of your team to introduce business advisory to all of your clients.

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Issue 21 / 129

What next for accounting? Everyone knows that the accounting industry is changing rapidly. But the pace of change in recent years has taken many by surprise. We take a look at how different players across the accounting value chain are responding to technological innovation – and what it means for their clients...

pend money to make money

Top-tier accounting firms have been investing heavily in technology. They’ve thrown money at building out their AI and blockchain capabilities, acquiring innovative startups, launching JVs and developing in-house tech talent. Their size and scale makes them “antifragile” – able to profit from disruption by integrating whatever’s thrown at them by smaller competitors. The Big Four already account for 75% of fee income across the industry. The opportunity to drive growth, create new revenue lines and slash costs by leveraging cutting edge technologies is simply too good to miss. The order of the day seems to be horizontal expansion, leveraging brand equity to cross-sell new services to existing customers, as well as enter new markets like legal services and marketing. The rise of the challenger brand At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve seen a wave of startups who are out to disrupt the natural order. A new breed of accounting firm is emerging – tech-enabled challenger brands focused on niche 130 / Issue 21

@shield_pay

Tom Clementson, Director of Consumer & SMB, Shieldpay Tom is a founding partner here at Shieldpay – making online payments more streamlined and more secure - for everyone. As an alum of giants PayPal and eBay, Tom is an expert in all things payments. Tom is particularly well known for scaling businesses, working alongside platforms and marketplaces to create new revenue streams and business opportunities - powered by payments.

niche providers, the mid-market has found it harder to adapt. An estimated 22,000 registered accountancy firms operate in the UK and mid-tier firms are an important component of the overall landscape. They’re also the most vulnerable to change, since they By leveraging cloud-based lack the innovation accounting software such of challenger as Xero to provide low “Time-based brands and the cost, high quality billing is becoming deep pockets of services to SMEs, increasingly top-tier firms. After smaller accounting redundant and all, they’re not fullfirms can drive fixed-fee accounting service, and they’re profitability and is becoming the not specialists. accelerate their The future of the growth. Key to this predominant accounting industry is a change in the way model.” as we know it will accounting services are depend on the ability and sold. willingness of mid-tier firms to embrace technology and adapt in Time-based billing is becoming order to protect their portion of the increasingly redundant and fixedaccounting value chain. fee accounting is becoming the predominant model. This is great To do this, a shift in mindset is for clients, because they can get required. The proliferation of full visibility on their costs and lock technology in our personal and them in from the get-go. And it’s professional lives has changed great for accounting firms, as they consumer expectations. Technology can start building more scalable saves us time, gives us greater enterprises by productizing their choice, lowers prices. In the same services. way, accountancy clients expect more for less. But rather than What about the mid-market? seeing this as a threat to their business, mid tier accounting firms Of course, not all firms are willing should welcome the opportunity. or able to embrace change. Outside of the big players and the industry verticals. Specialisation is key, enabling firms are able to offer customer experiences which are better and, in many cases, cheaper. And in doing so, they are raising the bar across the accounting industry.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

An industry in good health Thought leaders and media commentators are constantly foretelling the end of the accountant. But, in reality, the opposite is happening and the accountancy profession as a whole is thriving.

third parties, such as Xero, creates opportunities for accountants to diversify their services and help clients on a deeper level. Increasingly, it looks like we’re heading for a “centaur” model whereby technology compliments and empowers accountants to help clients achieve their goals.

“Like any

Technology isn’t transformation, destroying Like any it takes time for accountancy – it’s transformation, reshaping it for it takes time for people to see the the better. Despite people to see benefits of new talk of automation, the benefits of technology and membership of UK new technology embrace it.” accountancy bodies and embrace it. continues to grow. Seven Accountants need to go bodies have over 530,000 beyond number-crunching members worldwide, with an and reinvent themselves as trusted annual growth rate from 2013 to advisors who provide holistic 2017 of 3.2% worldwide. And the guidance to clients. For those increase in total fee income for the forward-looking enough to make Big Four audit firms in the same the transition, the future is bright. period was 6%, compared with 4.2% for firms outside the Big Four. The bottom line? The automation of core accounting processes by

FIND OUT MORE... Please visit our website at: > shieldpay.com/xero

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Issue 21 / 131

Integrations: The Key to Modern Restaurant Management When it comes to restaurant management systems, consumers are spoilt for choice. In the ever-changing market, choosing the right system is more than looking at its current features. As your restaurant grows, the needs of your business will change. And the best way to ensure that the system you choose will meet every need, both current and upcoming, is to look at its integrations...

hroughout the decade, businesses have taken a noticeable shift in their approach. Gone are the days when a company can release a product with x, y, and z features, and move on. As a restaurant owner, you’re no longer impressed with what a system can do. Rather, you’re more interested in what it can do for you. The Customer Is Always Right... At the Top Arguably, very few industries have excelled in the customer-centric approach longer than the restaurant sector. At a time when Amazon was just a jungle and Apple was just your second favourite pie filling, restaurants were already experts

at putting the needs and wants of their customers as their top priority. And so, for the software built for restaurants—from point-of-sale (POS) to management systems—it was important to share the same values in order to succeed. With the customer-first strategy, restaurant systems are built with features that streamline every process a restaurant could require from table management to inventory, delivery, online ordering, kitchen, and more. Yet running a restaurant requires more than offering loyalty points and billing out customers. Payrolls have to be tracked, suppliers have to be paid, and accounts need to be balanced.

@SapaadPOS

Stephanie Te is a Product Specialist at Sapaad, a leading cloud-based POS and restaurant management system that empowers restaurateurs worldwide to drive business growth and enhance customer experience with the power of the Cloud.

But if one system attempts to meet every requirement, including operations such as accounting and staff management, it risks sacrificing the quality of its features for mere quantity. It also risks its overall usability by overwhelming customers with too many choices. Instead of spreading itself too thin, restaurant systems meet the demand with a smarter alternative: third-party integrations. All-round Business Solution Third-party integrations seamlessly connect applications to share data with one another. With this, systems can focus on independently improving the features they specialize in, such as restaurant operations or accounting, and connect with each other to offer customers a total endto-end solution. Without integrations, you’d either have to settle for a setup comparable to an as-seen-ontv multi-purpose kitchen tool that can do a hundred different things mediocrely, or ten great applications working independently while you manually input data between them. Not only would the latter be a waste of time, resources, and money, you’d also end up puzzling over inaccurate reports riddled with human errors. But by integrating the applications, the data is seamlessly shared and transformed into meaningful information, error-free.

132 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

The beauty of third-party integrations is that you can have the best restaurant POS system and the best accounting software working together instead of a sub-par application that attempts to do both. By integrating your POS system to Xero, you can take advantage of streamlined reports generated in a matter of seconds to give you a real-time and accurate overview of your restaurant’s performance. After punching in the last order, you can immediately log-in to Xero to track the day’s sales, view outstanding invoices to suppliers, and calculate the month’s payroll. By seeing your sales, expenses, and payroll in one place, you’re able to easily manage your restaurant and make informed business decisions. Built For Now and Built to Last

For restaurants in 2010, no amount of research could have led them to foresee that, by the end of the decade, online orders from thirdparty platforms would make up a significant chunk of their profits. And while the best POS systems would have also been unable to predict the trend, they easily adapted by integrating with the platforms. With an integrated setup, you’re able to receive orders from various online delivery platforms to your POS and straight to your kitchen. You can also manage your online store—from orders to deliveries— while simultaneously handling your in-house operations in one system. Most importantly, the integration seamlessly consolidates the data between platforms—from menu items to customers to sales reports. Third-party integrations simplify the need for new software as your business grows and as market

trends happen. When you choose systems that value integrations as much as features, you’re able to address a wider array of painpoints, both current and upcoming. You can cherry-pick the systems excelling in each of their categories and reap all the benefits. And even if an unexpected trend pops up out of nowhere accompanied by new software that deals with it, you could easily add it to your existing setup with just a few clicks. Integrations are the best way to ensure that the various needs of your restaurant business are met. It’s a way for restaurant systems to say, “We offer x, y, and z features. But in case you also need 1, 2, or 3, we’ve got you covered.”

FIND OUT MORE... To find out more about Sapaad cloud POS & complete restaurant management solution, visit us at: > sapaad.com

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Integrations also give restaurants the flexibility to adapt to future trends. While you may have systems in place that meet your current requirements, you can’t be

sure of the features you’ll end up needing later on.

From Cape Town to Cairo, the PaySpace built-in legislation will automatically ensure that your small or medium sized business remains tax compliant 100% of the time across 40 countries in Africa. Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

Issue 21 / 133

Reasons a charity needs Xero and infoodle

All charities need accounting and accountability. They need to do it in a way that satisfies the requirements of all stakeholders who are legal, professional and often volunteers. With xero providing the accounting and infoodle providing the management and integrating with xero, the two products combined can deliver whats needed...

nfoodle is a Xero add-on designed to manage the charity, its donors, its donations, and volunteers. It uses Xero to augment its CRM data to include a donors financial contributions and thereby generate tax receipts, Gift Aid claims, donor statements etc. 1) It’s Easy and well supported Usually there is a limited supply of technical people in a charity so it’s important to not only ensure the products are intuitive, but there is also sufficient ‘handholding’ to ensure users get the most out of the efficiencies that can be leveraged by using specific solutions over a paper based (or Excel based) solution. With no software to install, update or backup because both products are hosted on the internet it removes what can be a huge headache and ensures all parties are using the same version, supported and managed the same way. They are easy to get around. With clear navigation and simple search methods to find information. They both have easy help systems and videos if you get stuck - or your can contact a human on the phone or email if you get stuck. 134 / Issue 21

@infoodle

Richard Smith, Founder and CEO, Infoodle Richard is the founder and technical lead for infoodle, a Xero Add-On for the Charity sector. With experience in NGOs in Europe, Africa and New Zealand, he brings his technical expertise and software skills to this important sector to organisations around the world. He is one of those geeks who can translate tech into English!

2) It’s quick and accurate

4) Anyone can use the data

Most charities are time-poor. They need the tools to do as much work for them as possible.

The data collected by charities, be it about the finances, donors, volunteers or members of your community and key stakeholders is valuable data and can be powerful when made available to your organisation as a whole - with relevant permissions of course. Think of a directory, centrally managed and up to date in realtime; think of the committee wanting to review financial progress without waiting for the quarterly meeting; what about your volunteer coordinator needing the same contact details the volunteer phones into the office. Centralising a database is a massive benefit - one contact record managed by everyone (permission dependent) but available to everyone (permission dependent). This removes the issue of multiple lists on various computers in various formats. You are all singing from the same hymn sheet!

Xero automates the process of getting data from the bank, infoodle automates the process of getting data out of (and back into) xero. This reduces human errors. Xero has bank rules, bulk data entry and repeating invoices to improve reliability and reduce workload. infoodle has automatic reconciling of xero data; workflows to trigger changes, emails, tasks, work queues automatically based on other actions; schedule reports, emails, texts and app notifications to ensure your work is being done even when you’re not around. 3) Easily report on and re-use data Xero can easily produce your financial reports to see how your organisation is tracking financially. infoodle has reports to enable you to generate lists for emailing or address labels for instance. It can report on combinations of the CRM and financial data held to provide understanding of your donors, and donations along with many other aspects of your organisation and its community.

Being cloud systems means the data can be accessed from anywhere there is internet, you no longer need access to the office computer to check on someones details!

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

5) Manage everything, in 2 places In general only a small number of people would access Xero. Xero has limited control over what people can see and so limits the ability to share this resource with more people. infoodle can manage fine-grain control over who and what data people can see and what they can do with it. Separating the donor data out from Xero but keep it all syncâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ed means you can safely enable more people to manage more data but from a single software solution. With infoodle you can enable your CRM, data collection, communications, calendars, rosters, event and service planning, checkin, attendance, document management and so much more, all managed safely and securely centrally.

FIND OUT MORE... For more information contact: > infoodle.com

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Issue 21 / 135

Payroll

Why payroll is a function all SMEs should outsource? Many small to medium-sized enterprise owners are looking for easier ways to manage their finances, and a good place to start is through managing payroll. As a non-core, non-profitable function, you can gain access to all the necessary resources, know how, and latest technology through PaySpace Outsourced service. The PaySpace service is designed to take the administrative burden of your shoulders, offer secure employee information exchange and accurate data processing...

egardless of your area of business activity or company size, dealing with employment issues may prove to be demanding task that requires ongoing attention and additional internal resources according to Sandra Crous, managing director of PaySpace, an award-winning provider of cloud-based payroll software in South-Africa.

@PaySpace

Sandra Crous (Swanepoel), Managing Director, PaySpace Prior to joining PaySpace as Managing Director, Sandra Crous’s commercial acumen and industry expertise were critical in leading Sage’s business development across Africa. And with three decades under her belt at the large corporate, Sandra was able to apply her skills and knowledge in many different roles including Vice-President Midmarket, Africa & Middle East. Sandra’s passion for HR and payroll is clear and her leadership skill set will be immeasurable in growing PaySpace while ensuring that the digital business remains a people-focused business.

all the necessary resources, know how, or the latest technology through our Outsourced service. Our service is designed to take the administrative burden off your shoulder, offer secure employee information exchange and accurate data processing.

Many small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are looking for easier ways to manage their finances, and a good place to start is through managing their payroll.

She says by outsourcing, instead of having a specialist individual handling the payroll function, the company now has a team of experts who will ensure the payroll is processed on time and will scale as your business grows without adding additional headcount to your business.

As a non-core, non-profitable function, you can gain access to

It will simplify your life as a business owner and take the hassle

out of this important function. Allowing employees to access their electronic Payslips through employee Self-service. “Essentially, outsourcing helps SMEs to achieve three goals. Firstly, it frees up resources to help them focus on their core business activities that help to boost the bottom line. It gives these smaller entities access to the latest technologies as well as the expertise that comes with having specialists managing this function. It also lowers risk by helping them remain compliant, and in the long run, helps them save money on expensive resources as well.” If it is not done properly, payroll

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Payroll can land businesses in a lot of hot water, says Crous. “Organisations of every type and size need to comply with numerous laws when it comes to their employees, and this takes a significant amount of time and effort. If you consider the number of declarations that payroll administrators need to manage, including tax, statutory deductions, deductions for medical aid or medical insurance, contributions towards an unemployment fund such as UIF in South Africa, or social security and other important statutory contributions for those in Africa, many companies might find it too time consuming. These contributions and declarations are not only time consuming but also challenging to comply with all these different rules and declaration deadlines to do themselves.”

reporting to be done, more forms to be completed, and with this, a greater need to keep all that data safe,” she explains.

Crous explains that payroll is a function that demands time and attention to detail. “There are legal requirements in terms of remittance and tax reporting, managing pro-rata payments and bonuses, as well making sure the payroll is processed in time. Payroll administrators also need to be up to date with the local labour laws and be able to know how much leave is due and under what circumstances, as well as whether they are obliged to pay out leave or not. In most countries, wage and working hours legislation is complex or not readily available like in Africa, and there is no room for error.”

Today’s employees also want technology to make their lives easier. “A business’s employees are essentially its internal customers and delivering a good experience to them is as important as servicing external customers well. They want to have the option of selfservice access to their payroll data and companies who don’t offer that could find themselves at a disadvantage.” The final benefit of outsourcing payroll is lowering costs and reducing risks, she says. “In an increasingly stringent regulatory environment, businesses large and small need comply with a slew of rules and regulations to remain compliant.

Then there’s the question of access to specialist skills and the latest technologies. “All companies depend on technology to operate more efficiently, and as the organisation grows, there are more staff records to be kept, more

“When it comes to SMEs, this would include the data of past and present employees and third-party suppliers, as well as customers, and any other individual’s data, including the way it is processed, collected, stored and used.

“Outsourcing this function would mean that the provider, who has both the tools and expertise, manages this function to ensure the business remains fully compliant and that all the different declarations are completed, compiled and declared in time.” In terms of risk, all areas of the business carry a certain amount of risk - competitors, regulations, financial environment, and technologies all evolve constantly and can change very rapidly. Crous says outsourcing providers take on, and manage this risk for the business, and understand how to avoid danger in their specific areas of skill. The bottom line: As Payroll specialists we guide you through all the compliance requirements with a simple process that will suit your business.

FIND OUT MORE... By visiting our website: > payspace.com

Blast through the obstacles of a manual accounts payable process with automated ordering, invoice data capture and approval workflows.

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Issue 21 / 137

Mistakes to Avoid in Your Cash Flow Advisory

Choosing the right client to see great value in Xero-enabled cash flow advisory is as easy as avoiding some common mistakes while rolling out the service to new or existing clients. Here we explain our insight into four common mistakes that steer new advisory practices off-course...

Blaine Bertsch, Co-Founder & CEO, Dryrun Blaine Bertsch is Co-Founder and CEO at Dryrun which offers fast, flexible, beautiful and cloudenabled cash flow forecasts for bookkeepers, accountants and CFOs. He’s also the author of Pandemic Cash Flow – the mustread book of 2019 to help your clients’ business avoid a painful death by cash flow and instead, grow their enterprises.

istake #1 - Your clients aren’t full-cloud

A tight app-stack revolving around Xero frees your time for the highvalue work that can really change business outcomes for your clients. Consider data entry, POS solutions, payroll, and other tools that will help you streamline your workflow, saving you and clients time. Help your client see the value of a full-cloud app stack If your client Long intervals is resistant to between touchpoints change, consider default to reactivity performing a full and your futurecost-analysis oriented advisory to help them conjunction with value takes a understand the client revenue. nosedive. return on their While it’s important investment into a suite that everyone manage of cloud tools. their cash flow, it’s critical that the practitioner get paid fairly Mistake #2 - You didn’t set a for the services they undertake. revenue minimum to trigger this Establishing a revenue benchmark service below which this service is not offered is critical to your success as Our research shows that the an advisor. majority of professionals discern client need based on how the Mistake #3 - You didn’t plan for the client communicates a sense of weekly touchpoint urgency, rather than client need in You need to communicate those realistic and proactive ‘what-ifs’ based on real-time data and your FIND OUT MORE... clients’ business position weekly Find out more about Dryrun’s to drive action and value. Long Partner program for Xero intervals between touchpoints Advisors here: defaults the conversations to > dryrun.com/partners reactivity and your forward-looking advisory value nosedives. 138 / Issue 21

@mydryrun

Mistake #4 - You didn’t identify their biggest cash flow pain point ...and therefore you can’t offer a frank and helpful solution. Conduct a pre-evaluation of the client file to analyze the following ‘red flags’ that can signal cash flow challenges in context with other client-specific factors. Check for: • Disordered or aging AP/AR • Bank overdrafts and bank fees • Credit card usage • Line of credit usage • Shareholder loans or investments Grab a client list and prepare yourself for a series of important conversations around correcting these four mistakes, and continue refining your advisory offerings to suit your clients and your practice.

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Issue 21 / 139

Why And How To Become A Vital Accountant As the accounting landscape changes, it is important that accountants and practice owners change with it. Marketing expert Amanda C. Watts explains why you can’t simply be a technician that relies on referrals to grow anymore, you need to become VITAL to survive and thrive...

ecoming a Vital Accountant is something that is going to take you away from working “in” your accounting firm, and have you working “on” it. You will need to put some thought into your reputation, your brand and your marketing. But when you do, the rewards will flow towards you. When you are a VITAL accountant opportunities will show up and friction will be removed from your firm. You will attract better clients, great staff and business partnerships.

It takes time, effort and may incur an investment of money but if you commit to becoming VITAL you will achieve 5 things: 1. You will be recognised for your VALUE 2. You will make an IMPACT on the world 3. You will build relationships of TRUST 4. You will adopt an AGILE approach to innovation 5. You will develop LUCRATIVE businesses If you want to eradicate the pricing objection and attract A Grade clients and staff then there is no

@amandacwatts

Amanda C. Watts, Founder, TwentyTwo Amanda C. Watts is a coach and trainer for accountants and accounting firm owners. In the last 3 years Amanda has helped over 500 firms to launch or grow their business. Her clients have won awards, increased their turnover by up to 500%, have been booking 3-5 sales calls a week in the diary and have been on-boarding clients at £10K, £20K and even £30K a year or more.

situation where being VITAL isn’t an option. In this article I am going to share with you some essential ideas that you will need to commit to working on as you become a Vital Accountant/Firm. 1) Be recognised for your VALUE It is not enough that you tell people you are “unlike traditional accountants” and therefore more valuable. You need to show people. You will be perceived as valuable when other people say you are. Part of positioning yourself as valuable involves being featured in the traditional media (newspapers, magazines, radio and TV) as well as speaking at your own events and as a guest on other peoples stages. A great example of a valuable accountant is our client Alastair Barlow from flinder. He has won numerous awards including Accounting Excellence Awards for New Firm 2019 & Innovative Firm 2019 and most recently British Accountancy Awards Independant London firm of the year 2019. It is clear that he is bringing excellent value to the accounting profession and because of this he is attracting outstanding staff and clients. 2) Make an IMPACT on the world When I ask an accountant “who do you help and how do you help

140 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 141

them?” the majority of the time the answer is everyone and with everything. Unfortunately this does mean that as a firm it is harder to impact change in the world, or to an industry sector/person. The easiest way to make an impact is to find a particular audience, with a particular problem that you can reach in droves. Carl Reader is a great example of an accountant changing the world. He runs D&T Financial Advisors and through his firm he impacts the Franchising, Retail and Tuition sectors. With each of these niche sectors he provides a specific service that changes the life of the people/ businesses he works with. The only reason his firm is able to have such an impact is because his systems and understanding of these sectors maximise results for his clients.

knowledge. Content marketing can prove you are the right accountant/ firm for your clients and potential staff members. It is known that 70% of the buyer’s journey is completed before even reaching out to a potential vendor. Which means that you must create content and build partnerships with people better and more prolifically than your competitors.

3) Build relationships of TRUST

4) Adopt an AGILE approach to innovation

Trust is built by being consistent. Your online content, your brand image and what other people are saying about you all builds trust. Organic content marketing in the form of blogs, videos, podcasts and social media postings are all perfect ways to share your insights and

FIND OUT MORE... To discover more about Amanda C. Watts and how she helps new and established accounting firms to grow visit: > www.twentytwo.agency

Our client Daniel Crowther (Practice Pioneer of the year 2019) is prolific across LinkedIn - sharing his insights, award winnings, and his partnerships with Xero and ACCA. If you were to visit his social media profiles as a potential client or staff member you would grow to trust his advice. If you visit his website his blog is updated weekly. It is easy to see that he is THE Accountant.

Agility is about being able to move quickly and easily. Agile innovation is about adapting and thriving on a relentless and ongoing basis. Innovation is no longer a choice but a necessity to stay ahead of the competition. Three things you will need to be focusing on, on a daily basis are: • A campaign approach to your business strategies. (Focus on 90 day sprints as opposed to 5-10 year goals). • The right mindset to break the mould, try new things and step way outside traditional comfort zones. • A hunger for personal and

business development. Working on your mindset and health plus business, marketing, operations and sales. 5) Develop LUCRATIVE Businesses According to Forbes accounting is the number one most profitable industry. I truly believe this is because an accounting firm can provide such invaluable insights into a businesses strengths and weaknesses. Without an accountant translating your cash in/cash out how is a business meant to know which opportunities and pitfalls lie ahead? An accountant will develop lucrative businesses for their clients and, when they have unpacked their intellectual property, have priced services with added value factored in, and know how to sell, they will create a lucrative business for themselves too. Your job as a new or established accountant/firm is to keep your eye on the prize. Positioning yourself as a VITAL accountant will make you more money, give you more meaning and set you up for more freedom. If you don’t become a VITAL accountant you will spend too much time selling on price, attracting mediocre staff and missing out on opportunities.

trusted Xero App Integrators for Xero app stacks

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Issue 21 / 143

When did it become a late payment culture? Taking a closer look at why late payments are such an issue for small business

@LimeCloudLtd / @LimePaula

Paula Byers, Founder & Director, LimeCloud She has been involved in various businesses for more than 27 years, increasingly working with tech & business systems over the last 16 years. Moving into the Cloud 7 years ago precipitated the re-brand to LimeCloud in 2016. A STEM Ambassador, Business Mentor, local Chamber of Commerce President & Chair of DigitalND; she is passionate about supporting business and not-for-profits to develop, using creative and innovative cloud tech solutions.

Paula Byers looks at the late payment culture, how it has become such an issue for small business and what can be done about it using a Xero App Stack...

aving spent considerable time on the road with Xero for their UK & Ireland Roadshow tour earlier this year, we couldn’t fail to notice cashflow being their key theme. Looking at their forthcoming program for Xerocon London, it looks set to continue as a hot topic, with many cashflow and payment Apps in their Marketplace as event sponsors. We were also digital trainers for Enterprise Nation’s HeadsUp! program this summer, with cashflow being one of several topics we covered. As it was oversubscribed, it was one of the sessions we were

asked to run repeatedly, showing just what a concern it is for many businesses. What’s cashflow got to do with it? Johnny Cash once said, “Sometimes I am two people. Jonny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.” Ok, so I’m pretty sure Mr Cash wasn’t referring to cashflow, but he could have been. Cashflow can seem like a fight in business if you are that are constantly chasing invoices overdue. Raising more invoices doesn’t help if you are not getting

Figure 1 - Xero Small Business Insights chart showing: Percentage of businesses in positive cashflow vs Average days late paying invoices

paid on time, as poor cashflow can cripple a business. You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is king’. Businesses of any size or from any sector can, and have, fallen prey to this issue over many periods of recession. During difficult times of trading, those with ample cash reserves weather the storm better than those with poor cash management. Company turnover figures are great to flaunt, but don’t mean much if your cashflow isn’t, well... flowing. Profit can bring peace of mind, but doesn’t indicate a sound business, without a stable reliable cashflow as part of the recipe for success. So how big is the late payment problem? The scale of the problem can be seen in figure 1 with data taken from Xero’s Small Business Insights for the year to July 20191. Astoundingly, only around 50% of businesses are cashflow positive, with the average days to pay invoices average just below 40 days. Significantly, as cashflow positive businesses dip further over the Christmas/New Year period, so

144 / Issue 21

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the average days to pay rises to 42. According to direct debit payment provider, GoCardless, late payments cost business globally £500bn per year in cash management and 80% of that is borne by small businesses. With 52% of B2B payments still made by manual Bank Transfer and UK Businesses spending 10% of their working day chasing payments, this represents a significant cost to small business. The government see the priority, appointing a Small Business Commissioner2 in December 2017 to ensure fair payment practices, support resolving payment disputes and facilitate culture change. They state late payment culture change ensuring small businesses were paid on time could boost the economy by an estimated £2.5bn annually. However, nearly 2 years on and it is clear it still isn’t working, so more needs to be done. Top tips for staying cashflow positive

day payment terms for trading with them), just ask the question – you may get those terms down to something more manageable for your business. We had a Client who did just that, with one of their key suppliers, negotiating down from 90 days to just 21 day settlement terms instead, still not their ideal, but the opportunity was important enough to them to accept it. • Use tech to help you – with the right Xero AppStack in place (see below), you can automate a lot of the process to avoid late payment issues. Do make sure you retain the human element to keep it personal, lest the machines producing standard letters become ignored. • Monitor your cashflow – be flexible; if you notice repeat offenders, adjust your processes accordingly. Keep a regular eye on your overall cash position to make sure it stays king in your business and help to spot problems early. Apps to keep the cash flowing

The key is to ensure you lay the groundwork. Here are our top tips to help iron out cashflow issues, or better still to head them off before they become an issue: • Manage Client expectations – ensure you have terms and conditions that are clear and fair and issued to new Clients at the outset of your relationship. • Communicate with your Clients early – so you can identify late payment issues early on and don’t be afraid to have the awkward conversations to resolve issues promptly. • Don’t fear a negotiation – if you have existing relationships, or new ones, where the payment terms are unfathomably long (you know the ones that impose 90

The good news is Apps can help, as long as they are connected to your Xero AppStack and working on real time data. What you might need may vary from business to business, as it depends on a number of factors such as how and what you trade and your business style. There are a plethora of Apps out there, so we’ve summarised a few App options which could help: • Payment solutions – your first line of defence; make it as easy as possible for customers or clients to pay you through card payments online or in person, with services such as Stripe, Square and iZettle. Direct debit options through GoCardless can also be especially helpful in

ongoing relationships • Invoice financing – Apps such as MarketInvoice advance money against invoices raised, which can help ease cashflow • Debtor chasing – again Xero has automation that can work, or consider Chaser for specialist invoice chasing • Reporting options – Xero’s own tools, alongside specialist reporting apps such as Futurli, Spotlight can help you to spot trends in your data, useful to help you prepare for known poor cashflow periods, such as winter months for seasonal businesses in the tourism sector • Cashflow forecasting – Apps such as Float can help to spot issues on the horizon to help you plan and Fluidly is intelligent cashflow management software, using AI (artificial intelligence) to predict the future of your cashflow Breaking the cycle After nearly 30 years in business, we’ve seen time and again how cashflow issues create a knock-on effect and indeed have experienced this ourselves. There are many instances where slow payers impact negatively on cashflow in a business, who in turn are then slow paying their own suppliers. Consequently it can be a vicious circle, but it doesn’t have to be. Cash needs to flow in a successful business but the good news is there are Apps to assist. Set up correctly, alongside terms and conditions and clear processes, will help ensure invoices get paid on time. In short, let’s stop the late payment culture and create a prompt payment revolution!

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Issue 21 / 147

Don’t take it offline! Anyone who has ever advised small and medium business will have encountered business owners with concerning mental health problems like anxiety or depression. At the time, we’re often so focussed on the “business” that we side-step the issue by “taking it offline”, “parking” it, or finding another convenient reason to not confront our client’s mental health well-being...

ut what if your client suddenly went into cardiac arrest over the conference table? You’d call an ambulance, commence CPR and deal with the situation as best you can, right? How do you do that for a mental health emergency? How do you deliver mental health first aid? First, deal with it right here, right now. Park the strategy, drop the cash flow analysis, put the marketing collateral on hold and start talking with your client about their mental health.

Fourth, provide your client with information. There is an abundance of online information available to help people like you and people like your client deal with their mental health issues. You’ve just got to know where to look! Right here, right now! With mental health first aid, acting swiftly is everything:

@timhoopmann

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.

• If they tell you they are feeling suicidal, don’t leave them alone, unless you are concerned for your own safety. - If you are in an emergency, or at immediate risk of harm to yourself or others, just call 000. • If on the other hand you are sensing something troubling but you just can’t quite put your finger on it, early interventions is still essential so you’ve

Second, try to understand what’s wrong. Get a handle on what kind of mental health issues your client is facing. This will both help your client start to work through his or her issues, and make it easier for your when you call for help. Third, get help. Many organisations like Beyond Blue and Lifeline have real trained people you or your client can call to get immediate help. It’s like having the dispatch telephonist coach you through how many compressions to deliver each minute while the ambulance is on its way.

148 / Issue 21

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Issue 21 / 149

got to know how to start the conversation. - Go with what you feel comfortable with, but “RUOK?” is as good a place to start as any! - Listen, be empathetic and positive - Validate their concerns - Above all, listen! - Keep your body language positive and attentive, maintain eye contact - Without sounding like a recently trained call centre telephonist, repeating back to the person your understanding of their issues can also be a great way to reinforce that you are listening and they are being heard. Get a handle This is not time to go looking for a convenient leather couch! You are not a bush psychologist. But there are resources available that can help you and your client work through the nature of their mental health issues. For example – and I’d highly recommend using this one – the

Beyond Blue “K10” Anxiety and Depression Checklist can help you quickly assess whether your client is suffering from depression or anxiety. Ten quick questions can make a world of difference for you and the person you are helping. That done, you are now in a better position to decide both how to plan future discussions with your client (about anything), and what your options are for referring him or her to a professional.

continuing talking. There is power in a sympathetic ear. Beyond that, you could suggest to your client they might like to review Actions for small business owners to improve their mental health and then set up set up a Personal Wellbeing Plan and a Workplace Wellbeing Plan. These plans can help whether you are a sole trading stuck in the trenches, or running a business with employees and all the challenges that presents. Final Word

Get Help! If you feel the situation is beyond your skills to rectify by yourself, put your client in touch with services who do it for a living. You can call or contact Lifeline, Beyond Blue, SANE or the Suicide Call Back Service.

The first thing St John’s Ambulance teaches you about physical first aid? Preserve your own safety. Look both ways before you rush to help someone lying on the road. Watch out for live electric wires, sharp objects and wild animals! Same goes for mental health first aid. Look after yourself first!

Provide Information Here are some helpful guidelines: I could give you a long list of handy materials I’ve stocked away over the years, but we’re all busy, so the single most useful source of information available today is Beyond Blue’s Supporting small business owners to improve their mental health and wellbeing at work guide. If you’ve got that in your back pocket, you really are giving your clients the best available information about how to take the needed long term steps to confront and overcome their mental health problems. It is part of the Supporting small business resources available from Beyond Blue to help guide you . What else? Now that you’ve dealt with the crisis head on, it’s time to think about the medium to long term – for your client and you!

• Help the person find a way forward, but know your boundaries – you are not a psychologist! • Don’t put undue pressure on yourself to find a solution • Get help whenever you need it • Take steps to preserve and increase your own well-being: - identify your own stress factors and develop ways to reduce them - exercise regularly - try not to self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs - try relaxation exercises - get enough good quality sleep - eat well - stay socially connected (with real people, not just online) - get professional help when you need it. Good luck! You’ve only to talk to one person, one time, to make a world of difference for a lifetime.

Allowing for where your relationship is on the work-topersonal spectrum, I’d definitely recommend 150 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

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Issue 21 / 151

Marketing for Accountants - Part 3

Getting in touch & staying in touch: Email, Follow up, and Blogging

@karenlreyburn

Karen Reyburn, Owner, The Profitable Firm Karen is a creative individual who qualified in accounting and uses these two skills in The Profitable Firm (PF), a creative agency working exclusively for and with accountants. Karen is a writer, a photographer, a sketchnoter, and a voracious reader. She is fueled by copious amounts of black coffee.

PF helps accountants understand and love marketing. To help them on this journey, they’ve developed a 12 week Accelerator marketing course to help accountants understand why and how great content will attract the type of clients they want. These sketchnotes highlight the next three sections in our series on content marketing...

hen the initial enthusiasm of marketing fades, there are three marketing elements which will help see you through the dark days, bringing you through to the place where leads trickle in almost like magic.

Sketchnotes created by PF’s Graphic Designer Chryzia Itay.

These three are email, follow up, and blogging.

Email marketing Despite all the enthusiasm of social media and live videos and everything flashing past in an instant, email is still one of the most solid ways to stay connected with people. Access to people’s inboxes is a serious thing, and is to be treated

with great respect. You want to: • Keep it real, and human. The more interesting and easy to read it is, the better. Salesy promotional emails don’t do much: ones written as if to one single person do a lot. • Send what you promise (and not more). If they sign up for a newsletter, don’t send sixteen sales emails in the following few weeks. • Don’t over-email. It’s okay to email every day, if that’s what they’re expecting and what they want. But it’s not okay to do do that if they’re thinking it’s once a month. • Don’t under-email, either. If you only send an email every few months, they might forget who you are or why they signed up, and unsubscribe. • Stay on brand. Anything that doesn’t match will look like spam and you can get people unsubscribing who really don’t want to unsubscribe. Follow up One of the biggest areas of opportunity for your accounting

152 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

“A real eye-opener and opportunity to realise just how rapidly our industry is changing!” – Michael Roohan, MJR Accountants

“No excuse not to be there. It’s an amazing event – nothing else like it” – Kylie Parker, Lotus Accountants

Stay on top of the developments redefining the way you work. Discover what’s new in accounting, tax, auditing, SMSFs, pricing, finance, HR, business development and cloud solutions for your business, staff and customers. The #1 event to experience it all in one place! Register for FREE before 25 March 2020 and Save $60 | AccountingBusiness.com.au | ICC Sydney Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

Issue 21 / 153

Marketing for Accountants - Part 3 It doesn’t have to be complicated: a quick one liner to check in is enough. And you don’t even have to mention the proposal (otherwise it could feel salesy and annoying). Send a new article, share a video, ask a question. Stay in touch! Blogging This is where your long content goes. Your blog keeps your website content fresh, and helps Google to send buyers to your site when they are looking for your services (or looking for answers to the problems which will be solved by your services).

firm is the list of people who enquired with you months or years ago, but they never got back to you. This can include: • Emails asking for a call (but then they never replied to anything further) • Enquiries about services that went back and forth and then slowed to nothing • Proposals sent (with no response, either yes or no or maybe)

FIND OUT MORE... To learn more, visit: > wearepf.com

154 / Issue 21

• Clients who signed up, but never completed onboarding It’s tempting to presume that because you didn’t hear back, they’re not interested. But you don’t know that for sure until they say they’re not interested. There could be business issues or family issues or health issues or any kinds of reasons they let it slide.

You’ll get a lot more business when you prepare a system for follow up with a long term timeline (one week, two weeks, one month, three months, six months, twelve months).

Things you can include in blog content are: • “They ask you answer” content: Questions your clients ask which you keep answering over and over. Turn it into a blog post and help them see your authority and get their question answered at the same time. (Plus, it saves you time because you only have to send a link to a blog the next time you get that question!) • Pricing content: How much does this service cost? Why? How is it different from that service? What are management accounts? Do I need bookkeeping as well? How much does that cost? You don’t have to give specific quotes on a blog post: this is your opportunity to explain your pricing methodology. The principles by which you prepare a proposal, so they don’t feel confused or lost. • Comparisons, best of, reviews: This compared to that. Which is the best accounting software? Your review of the new app for their industry. You’ll need to share an opinion, which shows your authority and helps prospects get a sense of what it’s like to work with you. Combine these three, and over time you’ll bring in the clients who would have otherwise drifted away. Join us next issue for the final three: Events, Campaigns, and Social Media!

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Hello, we’re Starling Bank. We want to make life easier for accountants. Happy and organised clients mean plainer sailing for you. With Starling Bank’s award-winning business account, they’ll enjoy no monthly fees, 24/7 support, categorised spending and instant payment alerts. Plus handy integrations with Xero and FreeAgent (which keeps everyone happy). Find out how to become one of our accountancy partners by calling 0203 985 1408 or emailing: accountancypartnerships@starlingbank.com.

Starling Bank is registered in England and Wales as Starling Bank Limited (No. 09092149), 3rd floor, 2 Finsbury Avenue, London EC2M 2PP. We are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 730166.

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Issue 21 / 155

New Xero Connected Apps

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

BI4Cloud bi4cloud.com BI4Cloud is business analysis on-demand. Plug-in to Xero and out of the box you are empowered to discover trends and fix issues immediately and easily. CyberBUND cyberbund.com CyberBUND stops criminals impersonating your clients and suppliers to steal your money. It is free to all as they believe everyone should be protected. Discover Childcare discoverchildcare.co.nz/xeropartner Discover Childcare help facilitate aspects of childcare management in a one stop shop from marketing to invoicing and funding. EasyStore easystore.co EasyStore is an easy-to-use tool for sellers to create a store and sell products online. Equityspace A proud participant of a past Xero Dev Challenge! Manage your company’s equity and ASIC compliance plus much more while syncing your corporate actions with Xero for an accurate set of financials. Facturante facturante.com

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

156 / Issue 21

Facturante is Xero’s first app partner based in South America! Automate e-invoicing syncing to ensure government compliance with the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos.

Fresh Projects freshprojects.co.za

Practice Management for Architects and Engineers www.freshprojects.cloud

Fresh Projects is an easy to use financial management solution for small and medium architectural and engineering practices. Nonfinancial users can easily create project budgets, calculate fees, track time and expenses and bill their clients. Invoices and expenses are pushed to or pulled from Xero with a few clicks - allowing the architects and engineers to focus on delivering their projects, while their accountant stays in control of the books. Gojee gojeeapp.com.au Gojee simplifies operations with its powerful end-to-end business administration and accounting - a powerful ERP linked to Xero. hospoIQ hospoiq.com hospoIQ provides real-time, historical and predictive sales, wage cost and financial information by plugging into your POS and Xero. miStable mistable.zendesk.com

NatWest Rapid Cash rapidcash.natwest.com NatWest Rapid Cash is a flexible overdraft alternative for UK businesses that connects seamlessly to Xero. Orderhive orderhive.com Orderhive integrates seamlessly with Xero and can transfer information to and from Xero in realtime. You can now setup automated invoicing and bookkeeping by integrating Orderhive with Xero. OrderTron ordertron.com OrderTron allows quick and easy sync on all customer, product and invoice information captured in OrderTron directly into Xero providing access to reporting and invoice payment reconciliation. Profitdiagnostix profitdiagnostix.com Profitdiagnostix delivers specialised reports for service professionals like veterinarians and dentists. Reconciler reconciler.io Reconciler has powerful integrations to automate transactions and sync your Stripe activity with Xero. Teamwork Projects teamwork.com Teamwork is project management software that lets you own the big picture.

The world’s simplest horse management system now offers an integrated invoicing solution. Spend more time with the horses and less time in the office.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Upcoming Events Zoho Expense zoho.com

Expense

Effortless expense reporting, guaranteed.

XU Magazine regularly exhibits at FinTech and accounting industry trade shows and exhibitions. If you’re in the area, come say “hello”.

www.zoho.com/expense

Zivora allows a business to manage its finances with confidence and frees up accountants’ time to focus on their advisory role. Zivora’s simple, playful and insightful visualisations speak clearly to small business. Cashflow forecasting and multiple scenario budgeting, with key metric visuals, lets businesses easily stay on track. All this, with the benefit of an in-built chat function, means accountants and their clients can collaborate instantly without leaving the application.

Upcoming Events

Zoho Expense is online expense reporting software, tailor-made for businesses to automate expense management. It accelerates expense report creation, streamlines approvals, and helps make swift reimbursements. Thanks to its tight integration with Xero, all the approved expenses will be synchronized from Zoho Expense to your accounting system. Simply put, Zoho Expense is the perfect solution for employees, managers, and finance teams alike.

Looking for back issues?

12th - 13th November 2019 Accountech.Live (Melbourne) accountech.live

12-13 Nov 2019 Melbourne www.accountech.live

= meet the XU Magazine team at these events

Zivora zivora.co

13th - 14th November 2019 Xerocon London xero.com/events/xerocon/london 25th - 26th March 2020 Accounting Business Expo accountingbusiness.com.au 26th March 2020 Digital Accountancy Show digitalaccountancyshow.co.uk 13th - 14th May 2020 Accountex accountex.co.uk/london

Issues

1-21 available for download

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14th - 15th July 2020 Accounting & Finance Show NY terrapinn.com 29th - 30th May 2020 Accounting & Finance Show LA terrapinn.com 9th - 10th September 2020 Xerocon Sydney Register your interest at xero.com 22nd September 2020 Accountex Summit North accountex.co.uk/summitnorth Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 21 / 157

Explore all the opportunities to a digital future 26th March 2020 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Digital Partner - the independent Official Business Accountfor Partner 158 Official / Issue 21 Transformation XU Magazine magazine Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

Make sure your firm is not left behind The Digital Accountancy Show will help the profession explore itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredible potential and understand how best to adopt and implement these exciting new technologies. It will bring together leading tech companies, accounting industry leaders and innovators and provide a unique platform for learning, discovery and networking.

Attend for free

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The event is open to all, with the expo and theatres being free to attend.

Discover how live data can add value and generate significant new streams of income.

Digital firms grow four times faster than non cloud based practices, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get left behind.

Explore the apps and software available to help you automate every step of your workflow.

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Issue 21 / 159

New Releases

Updates and new releases from the Xero App Marketplace New feature shout-out Are you a Xeroconnected App? Got a new feature or update you’d like to share with the Xero User community? Email alex@ xumagazine.com

Accountancy Manager accountancymanager.co.uk AccountancyManager can now track the profitability of each client. Simply set your hourly charge and actual hourly cost for each member of your team. Then use your team’s logged time to track your budgeted and actual profit. • See the profitability of each client • Identify areas of opportunity and growth • Develop more accurate budgets • Increase accounting integrity Appogee HR appogeehr.com We’ve made loads of enhancements to our Onboarding Portal to assist the full employee lifecycle from job offer and to make life easier for all involved in the hiring process. View all your new starters in one place and keep an eye on their employment activity before their first day. In our Leave Module, we’ve added options for rounding of Leave for New Starters pro-rata. DataDear datadear.com We’ve been working hard to provide finance teams with an automation partner to deliver exceptional client experiences. Our recent updates include data copy, the ability to bring all data and attachments down from Xero when the subscription is no longer required. Along with adding WorkFlowMax, Projects and Payroll access, beefing up the data driven solutions our clients can automate. Our new partner pricing is worth a look too. DryRun dryrun.com Have clients with multiple international ledgers? Dryrun has the ability to adjust to a base

160 / Issue 21

currency and to forecast from live rates or manually forecasted rates, making it easier than ever to manage business in today’s global economy. Futrli futrli.com Futrli Platform, the all-new collection of products designed to help your firm engage those clients that traditional advisory simply doesn’t fit. Created bespoke for small businesses, Futrli Platform is the perfect small business engagement and protection tool. The first product, Flow, is cash flow management, made simple. Flow empowers your clients to keep on top of everything that keeps their daily cash flowing - customers and suppliers, invoices and bills. And you can jump in whenever they need you. G-Accon accon.services Recently we introduced the features that G-Accon’s users were impatiently waiting: • Schedule Automatic Data Uploads. This functionality allows to schedule an automatic data upload process to customer’s Xero account(s) and eliminate or reduce manual process. • Currency Conversion (MultiCurrency). This powerful enhancement is highly expected by all small accounting firms and businesses who are supporting clients from different parts of the world. We have also created reports/ features based on our users requests: • Income by Contacts • Statement of Cash Flows • Account Receivable Summary • Aged Payable Summary • Account Transactions Report

• Historical Layout (feature) infoodle infoodle.com It has been a busy time for infoodle. We have launched a new SCA compliant billing platform for our own billing and will be releasing this to our partners. • Integration with GoCardless • Data importing tools have been made available to clients to upload their own data • App tools, adding more features available to the phone app such as adding people, adding attendance, send emails, view your personal settings plus more Maze Digital maze.digital Maze Digital has already completed a number of oAuth 2.0 Integrations with Xero. We are now looking to onboard an app which is not yet integrated into Xero to help them acquire more customers through a Xero oAuth 2.0 Integration. Furthermore, we are looking for Xero users who have ideas to bring to the market and are looking for a technical partner to make their App a reality. ProfitSee myprofitsee.com/startup Tools For Start-Ups: From dreaming up the idea in a garage, to pushing the business to market, start-ups have many unique needs. ProfitSee’s Start-Up tools will allow for: • Better calculated risk management • Smart budgeting • Scenario building • Cash flow forecasting • Strategic business planning • And more from day one!

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

New Releases By using real-time data, these businesses will have an easier path for driving growth and presenting to investors and funding groups. Sapaad sapaad.com Sapaad cloud POS & complete restaurant management solution is thrilled to announce Sapaad.Connect, a total integration solution connecting leading thirdparty online delivery platforms worldwide to Sapaad.

Portal, SuiteFiles Connect, has launched and is making sharing documents and requesting information from clients even easier. We’ve made updates to our Outlook email integration, allowing you to automatically file emails. We’ve also updated the interface to make it easier to navigate. We’ve also made some improvements to search, showing results even faster!

users the ability to combine separate invoices into one before being sent out to a customer. 3. MS Project Online Add-In (to work with Microsoft Office 365)

SuperConcepts SMSF Accounting Solutions superconcepts.com.au

Unleashed Software unleashedsoftware.com

With Sapaad.Connect, restaurants can get orders from multiple online channels to Sapaad POS and straight to their kitchen, requiring no manual re-entry on separate tablets. What’s more, the entire in-house and online business can be effectively run from a central platform.

SuperConcepts is a leader in SMSF software, administration and education. SuperMate, our SMSF accounting software comes with over 200+ data feeds enabling automatic processing of transactions, share registry data and contract notes; saving you time and increasing productivity.

Upcoming partner integrations include Zomato, UberEats, Deliveroo, HungerStation, and more.

Our smart EOFY workflow, guides you step by step through SMSF tax preparation; increasing efficiency and quality.

Senta senta.co

SuperMate’s latest feature, Tax Statement Automation, supercharges processing significantly reducing time spent and manual data entry.

Senta has a new improved Xero integration, with better client data analysis and client syncing. Plus you can also see your practice’s invoices and receipts directly on Senta client records. And we’ve introduced Kanban-style job views, production dates and automatic scheduling – everything you need to effortlessly organise your practice workload. We’ve also added a new secure Q&A feature, so you can raise client queries without even leaving the job. SuiteFiles suitefiles.com New in SuiteFiles – Our Client

Tidy tidyinternational.com Tidy is committed to continuously improving our software. Our team has made new developments in our product to ensure that it meets your needs. Here are some of Tidy’s latest features: 1. Catalogue Pricing The Catalogue Price field allows you to enter a price from your supplier that will be used when creating a Purchase Order. 2. Combined Project Invoices Combined project invoices give

For additional information on Tidy’s continuous development and innovation, please visit: tidyinternational.com/support/ release

Introducing the Unleashed Sales App for Android... At Unleashed, we’re dedicated to helping product businesses make, manage and move their products — no matter where they are. We’ve released the Android version of our Unleashed Sales App to help our customers manage and grow sales on the go. A mobile-enhanced sales team keeps businesses one step ahead of their competition, helping them maximise sales opportunities and deepen customer relationships. Wolters Kluwer wolterskluwer.co.uk Open Integration, via CCH OneClick, enables the efficient transfer of financial data to and from our CCH Central suite - giving the practice the ability to make a permanent connection between a client’s business in CCH Central. This means that live transactional data can be made available on a 24/7 basis. Open Integration allows for adjustments to be made within CCH Accounts Production and then automatically synchronised back to Xero.

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Issue 21 / 161

App/Service Directory

UPDATED WITH

NEW APPS

To advertise, please email the team at: advertising@xumagazine.com Compleat | @CompleatP2P

Banks

compleatsoftware.com

theslideapp.com Starling Bank | @StarlingBank starlingbank.com/business-account

Hello, we’re Starling Bank. We want to make life easier for accountants.

Order, invoice, approve. Anytime, anywhere.

shoeboxed.com soldo.com

www.icompleat.com Curve | @imaginecurve imaginecurve.com Datamolino | @datamolino datamolino.com

Get started at soldo.com Spendesk | @Spendesk spendesk.com

Expend | @expend

Tripcatcher | @Tripcatcher tripcatcherapp.com

ExpenseTron | @expensetronhq expensetron.com use.expensify.com/xero

webexpenses.com

trusted Xero App Integrators

Hubdoc | @Hubdoc

Webexpenses Invoice Processing for Xero

hubdoc.com hurdlr.com Lightyear | @lightyearco

AutoEntry.com

ApprovalMax | @ApprovalMax approvalmax.com/xero

limecloud.tech

webexpenses | @webexpenses

Hurdlr | @hurdlr

TRY FOR FREE TODAY!

authorisedcloudintegrator.com.au LimeCloud | @LimeCloudLtd

trippeo.com/xero

Expensify | @expensify

ezzybills.com

Automated Data Entry for Accountants, Bookkeepers and Business Owners

Invisible Business Solutions | @invizbiz

Trippeo | @trippeo

EzzyBills | @EzzyBills

BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY

bluehub.co.uk cloudintegration.partners

expend.io/xero

autoentry.com

BlueHub | @Blue_Hub Cloud Integration Partners | @ci_partners

entryrocket.com

AutoEntry | @OCRexSoftware

Advance Track | @AdvanceTrack

Soldo | @soldo

entryless.com

Bills & Expenses

Cloud Integration/Outsourcing

Be smart, be Compleat.

EntryRocket | @entryrocket

tide.co

advancetrack.com

Entryless | @Entryless

Tide | @TideBanking

7AP0PS0

Shoeboxed | @Shoeboxed

Revolut | @RevolutApp revolut.com

scan2invoice.com senddr.com

aptimise.com/xero

Slide | @theslideapp

Scan2Invoice | @Scan2Invoice senddr | @senddirect

APtimise | @aptimise

NOW OVER

lightyear.cloud

Maze Digital

MileIQ | @MileIQ

maze.digital

mileiq.com Nexonia | @nexonia nexonia.com/xero

Webrecs | @Webrecs

Pleo| @pleo

webrecs.com.au/xero

www.pleo.io

Xpenditure | @Xpenditure

Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank receipt-bank.com

xpenditure.com/en/xero Zahara | @ZaharaSoftware zaharasoftware.com

™

World-class automation at your ﬁngertips Basecone | @Basecone get.basecone.com/xero

ReceiptBank.com

Zoho | @Zoho zoho.com/expenses

Expense

Effortless expense reporting, guaranteed.

CitrusHR | @citrusHRconsult citrushr.com/xero

TOA Global | @TOAGlobal theoutsourcedaccountant.com Waypoint | @We_Are_Waypoint wearewaypoint.com

Conversions Click 2 Convert | @C2Convert c2convert.com

Receipt Stash | @ReceiptStash receipt-stash.com

www.zoho.com/expense

cloudconvert | @CloudconvertSa cloudconvert.co.za

162 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

App Directory ConvertworX | @ConvertworX convertworx.com.au/xero-conversion FITmyBooks fitmybooks.co.za Jet Convert | @JetConvert jetconvert.com.au Movemybooks | @movemybooks movemybooks.co.uk MMC Convert | @mmcconvert mmcconvert.com XpressConvert xpressconvert.com.au

CRM 24SevenOffice | @24SOSupport 24sevenoffice.com Accelo | @accelo www.accelo.com AccountancyManager | @accountancymgr accountancymanager.co.uk

Custom Integration 3Bit Solutions 3bit.com/xero_solutions.aspx Axis Direct | @NZAxisDirect axisdirect.nz BlueHub | @Blue_Hub bluehub.co.uk Custom D | @customdhq customd.com Coherent | @CoherentSoft coherent.net Databuzz | @databuzz databuzz.com.au Defsys | @defsys defsys.com.au Digital Fusion teamdf.com Dynamic Solutions Ltd dynamic-solutions.co.nz/xero EndGame | @GoEndGame end-game.com/xero Infopower customintegration.co.nz Interlockit.com interlockit.com iSOS | @isos_uk

Agile CRM | @agilecrm agilecrm.com CallPro CRM | @callprocrm

Practice management that integrates with you

Macbusiness

Try Senta now, free for 30 days

NetEngine | @Net_Engine

Totally unlimited use with no obligation. No credit card required.

www.senta.co/xerouser

connectably.com commonsku | @commonsku commonsku.com CRM Online crmonline.com.au CustomerSure | @CustomerSure customersure.com/xero Exsalerate | @exsalerate exsalerate.com/xerointegration

Numernet numernet.com

Open Sauce Systems | @

capsulecrm.com/addons/xero

Connectably | @connectably

netengine.com.au/xero-integrations

nusoftware.com

CapsuleCRM | @CapsuleCRM

collabspot.com

macbusiness.co.nz/xero-integration

nuSoftware | @nu_Software

callprocrm.com

Collabspot | @collabspot

isos.com

Infoodle | @infoodle

Workato | @Workato

infoodle.com/xero

workato.com/xero WORK[etc] CRM | @WORKetc_support worketc.com Xact | @Xactsoftware xactsoftware.co.nz Xploite | @xploiteapp xploite.com Zendesk by Cloud Elements | @CloudElements cloud-elements.com Zendesk by Zapier zapier.com/zapbook/xero/zendesk

creditorwatch.com.au Debtograph | @Debtograph debtograph.com Debtor Daddy | @debtordaddy debtordaddy.com/xero Debtze| @DebtzeCollect debtze.com/xero Ezi Debt Collection ezidebtcollection.com.au EzyCollect | @ezyCollect ezycollect.com.au InvoiceSherpa | @invoicesherpa invoicesherpa.com IODM | @IODM_Software iodm.com.au Late Fee Manager | @LateFeeManager1 latefeemanager.com/xero LedgerLive ledgerlive.com/xero Mentio | @mentiohq mentio.ca/xero SMS My Debtors | @smsmydebtors smsmydebtors.com Vision6 | @vision6 vision6.com.au XO Cashflow | @xocashflow xocashflow.com/Xero-Integration

webindustries.co.nz Zynk zynk.com/solutions/xero-integration/

Debtor Tracking Armatic | @armaticio partners.armatic.io/xero Chaser | @chaser_hq chaserhq.com Check Business check-business.co.uk/xero CollBox | @CollBox collbox.co

Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

CreditorWatch | @creditorwatch

Office 365 | @Office365 xero.com/uk/office-365

Issue 21 / 163

App Directory Handshake | @handshake

PandaDoc | @pandadoc

handshake.com/integration/xero

pandadoc.com/integrations/xero

Intellibook | @intellibookapp

Proposify| @Proposify

intellibook.co/features/Xero

proposify.com

Loaded Commerce by Carry The One

Qwilr | @Qwilr

carrytheone.co.uk

qwilr.com

Magento by OneSaas | @onesaas

Synkle | @SynkSimple

onesaas.com

synkle.com

Magento by Unleashed | @unleashedteam

Webrecs | @Webrecs webrecs.com.au/xero

unleashedsoftware.com Magento by Zapier | @zapier

eCommerce

zapier.com Magento Integration (Fooman) | @foomanNZ

A2X Accounting | @a2xaccounting a2xaccounting.com/xero

xero.fooman.co.nz

SHOPIFY ACCOUNTING

ACCURATE, AUTOMATED AND RECONCILED

2 month free trial of A2X for Shopify for XU readers

onesaas.com

a2xaccounting.com/xu-magazine-oﬀer

XU_A2X

orderspace.com/integrations/xero osCommerce by Carry The One

airsquare.com Amazon.com by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs

zapier.com

Bigcommerce by Carry The One

Pepperi

carrytheone.co.uk

pepperi.com

Bigcommerce by OneSaas | @onesaas

PrestaShop by Carry The One

onesaas.com Bigcommerce by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs

164 / Issue 21

carrytheone.co.uk/xero PayPal by Zapier | @zapier

stitchlabs.com

Opencart by Carry The One Order Space | @orderspace

Airsquare | @airsquare

Carry The One

onesaas.com carrytheone.co.uk/xero

Or use code:

veeqo.com/integrations/xero Vextras - Kiwi | @vextras vextras.com Volusion by Vextras | @vextras vextras.com Web Widgets websitebuilder.nz Website Builder websitebuilder.nz onesaas.com

OneSaas for WooCommerce | @onesaas

Scott Scharf, Co-Founder of Catching Clouds - Leading E-commerce Accounting Firm

tradevine.com Veeqo | @Veeqo

WooCommerce

neto.com.au

that we can trust.”

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partner.mindbodyonline.com

OneSaas for Opencart | @onesaas

accurate Shopify accounting connection

tradegecko.com

MINDBODY | @mindbodyonline Neto | @netoecommerce

“A2X for Shopify provides us with a fast and

TradeGecko | @tradegecko

carrytheone.co.uk Rocketspark | @Rocketspark rocketspark.com/nz/xero/ Sendle | @sendle sendle.com Shopify | @Shopify shopify.com Shopify by Carry The One carrytheone.co.uk Shopify byonesaas | @onesaas onesaas.com Shopify by Pipemonk | @pipe_monk pipemonk.com Shopify By Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs stitchlabs.com Shopify By Tradevine | @TradevineTeam tradevine.com

Zapier | @zapier zapier.com/apps/xero Zen Cart by Carry The One carrytheone.co.uk

Moula | @MoulaMoney moula.com.au OFX xero.com/uk/financial-services/ofx SmartBiz Loans | @SmartBizLoans smartbizloans.com TradeLock | @TradelockCover tradelock.co.uk Validus validus.sg Waddle | @getwaddle waddle.com.au

Squarespace | @squarespace

TidyBuild | @TidyInt tidyinternational.com TidyStock | @TidyInt tidyinternational.com

squarespace.com Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs stitchlabs.com Stock&Buy | @StockAndBuy stockandbuy.com Storbie | @storbiecommerce storbie.com Synergy 8 | @SynergyEight synergy8.com

BUSINESS FINANCE MADE EASY marketinvoice.com

tidystock com

TaxJar | @TaxJar taxjar.com

STOCK MANAGEMENT

MoolahSense | @MoolahSense moolahsense.com

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

App Directory TradeGecko | @tradegecko tradegecko.com Unleashed Software | @unleashedteam unleashedsoftware.com

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Become a Partner

unleashedsoftware.com/xu

commonsku.com Commusoft | @Commusoft commusoft.co.uk ConnectWise by Wise-Sync | @wisesync

Veeqo | @Veeqo veeqo.com Vend xero.com/uk/marketplace/app/vend Viberent | @viberenthq

wise-sync.com Copper | @copperproject copperproject.com Corecon corecon.com

ActionStep | @Actionstep actionstep.com/xero Active Collab By Trio | @Trio_Tech

CLOUD-BASED CONSTRUCTION

SOFTWARE www.corecon.com

acuityscheduling.com AffinityLive | @affinitylive affinitylive.com Apparelmagic | @ApparelMagic apparelmagic.com ApprovalMax | @ApprovalMax approvalmax.com/xero AppsForOps | @AppsForOps appsforops.com AroFlo | @aro_flo aroflo.com Ascora | @ascoraapp ascora.com.au Autotask by My Accounting Toolbox myaccountingtoolbox.com aXcelerate | @aXcelerate axcelerate.com B2BGateway | @B2BGateway b2bgateway.net BookingBug | @bookingbug bookingbug.com/xero briefcase getbriefcase.net BriteBiz | @britebiz britebiz.com/xero-crm-integration BuilderTREND | @BuilderTREND buildertrend.com/xero BuildXact buildxact.com.au CarVue | @CarVue carvue.com/xero

getharvest.com i2B | @i2B_Limited i2b-online.com iCOS LIVE | @iCOSLIVE icoslive.com InvoiceTracker by eBillity | @eBillity invoicetracker.com iTrade

itrade.net JobAdder | @jobadder jobadder.com JobPro Central | @JobProCentral jobprocentral.com JobReady | @JobReadyNSW jobready.com.au

kickserv.com/xero LEAP | @LEAP4LawFirms leap.co.uk Loc8 | @Loc8com loc8.com MechanicDesk | @mechanicdesk mechanicdesk.com.au/addon-xero

MinuteDock | @minutedock

triotech.co.nz Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin

goproposal.com Harvest | @harvest

Kickserv | @kickserv

vinsight.net

www.accelo.com

GoProposal | @GoProposal

jobsheetapp.com/xero

Vinsight | @VinsightSW

Accelo | @accelo

geoop.com

Jobsheet | @jobsheet

viberenthq.com

Invoicing & Jobs

GeoOp | @GeoOp

minutedock.com MyConstruct | @myconstructapp myconstruct.com MyTrucking | @MyTrucking mytrucking.com/integrations/xero NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp nextminute.com Okappy | @ok_appy

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT tidybuild com

okappy.com Order Space | @orderspace orderspace.com/integrations/xero Patchability time.patchability.com pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY payrightaway.com.au Preno | @prenohq

TidyEnterprise | @TidyInt tidyenterprise.com TidyWork | @TidyInt tidywork.com TimeTracker by eBillity | @eBillity ebillity.com

prenohq.com/xero ProWorkflow | @ProWorkflow proworkflow.com Quotient | @QuotientApp quotientapp.com/integrations/xero

fieldaware.com Fleetmatics WORK | @fleetmatics fleetmatics.com.au Foodstorm | @FoodStorm foodstorm.com Formitize | @Formitize formitize.com FreshBooks | @freshbooks onesaas.com/integrate/xero Friendly manager

Total Synergy | @totalsynergy totalsynergy.com Tradify | @tradifyhq tradifyhq.com

friendlymanager.com

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Issue 21 / 165

App Directory ezyVet | @ezyvet

aider | @AskAider

Traffic Live

aider.ai/partners/xero

deltek.com

ezyvet.com/xero-accounting/ Farmflo | @farmflo

TriggerApp | @triggerapp

farmflo.com

triggerapp.com/xero

flowrev.com/xero

triotech.co.nz/xero Tsheets | @tsheets

Help your clients make smarter business decisions with real-time data.

tsheets.com/xero Union Square | @unionsquareltd deltek.com Vinsight | @VinsightSW

The digital assistant for small business

vinsight.net Vintrace | @vinx2 vinx2.com

Arlo

vWork | @vWorkApp

arlo.co

vworkapp.com

Fresh Projects | @ukfreshprojects freshprojects.co.uk

arthuronline.co.uk

RDvault | @rdvault rdvault.co.uk Re-leased | @re_leased re-leased.com Re-View | @Re_viewsoftware re-view.com Real Estate Investar | @reiaustraila

Practice Management for Architects and Engineers

realestateinvestar.com.au Rerun | @Rerunapp rerunapp.com Sharesight | @Sharesight sharesight.com/xero

Arthur Online | @ArthurProperty

WHMCS for Xero | @edgehosting

progressclaim.com PropertyTree | @PropertyTree propertytree.com

Flowrev | @flowrev

Trio Technology | @Trio_Tech

Progressclaim.com | @progressclaim

www.freshprojects.cloud

Sharesight Pro | @Sharesight pro.sharesight.com.au

edgehosting.uk/whmcs-xero-addon

Synergy 8 | @SynergyEight

Work[etc] CRM | @WORKetc_support worketc.com/new_landing/xero

G-Accon | @G_AcconServices

WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax

www.accon.services

synergy8.com Tax1099 | @efile1099 tax1099.com

workflowmax.com

G-Accon Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a match made in heaven.

Track1099 | @Track_1099 track1099.com TransferMate | @TransferMate transfermateonline.com Vinosmith | @thevinosmith

Google Sheets Add-On

Avalara | @avalara trustfile.avalara.com

Start your FREE trial: workflowmax.com/xero

Backupmybooks | @backupmybooks

Workshop Software | @workshoponline XEDI | @xediLtd xedi.com

Manufacturing AroFlo | @aro_flo aroflo.com Tidy Enterprise | @TidyInt tidyenterprise.com

PROJECT & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT tidyenterprise com

clubhub.co.nz Controlc control-c.com/landing-xero CoverKit by NZI nzi.co.nz Cradle | @letscradlenz cradle.io/integration/xero

Other A2X Accounting | @a2xaccounting a2xaccounting.com/xero Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin acuityscheduling.com Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au

166 / Issue 21

Curve | @imaginecurve imaginecurve.com Customer Lobby | @CustomerLobby customerlobby.com EntryRocket | @entryrocket entryrocket.com Expense Check | @expensecheck expensecheck.com.au

wisenet.co Workato | @Workato workato.com/xero

backupmybooks.com BizEquity | @BizEquity

workshopsoftware.com.au

http://www.accon.services

vinosmith.com Wise.NET | @WisenetLRM

Google Calender By Zapier | @zapier zapier.com Imporex imporex.com.au InView inviewapp.com JobReady | @JobReadyNSW jobready.com.au Kitomba | @Kitomba kitomba.com LEAP | @LEAP4LawFirms leap.co.uk LeaveCal finlert.com/leavecal-xero.html Office 365 | @Office365 xero.com/uk/office-365 OneSaas | @onesaas onesaas.com Onsight | @Onsight_App onsightapp.com OzBiz Solutions | @OzBizSolutions ozbizsolutions.com.au PennyPipe | @PennyPipe pennypipe.com/info/xero pensionsync | @pensionsync pensionsync.com Podio by Phases podio.com Podio by Zapier | @zapier zapier.com

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

App Directory Directli | @Directli directli.co.uk

Shieldpay | @shield_pay shieldpay.com

employmenthero.com enableHR | @enableHR

DPS Payment Express | @PaymentExpress

eazycollect.co.uk ezycollect.com.au eWay | @eWAY_ eway.io Ezidebit | @Ezidebit ezidebit.com.au

Perfect for dealing with tradespeople, invoicing for manufacturing or contracts with long lead times. shieldpay.com/xero

gocardless.com

gocardless.com/xero

commercesync.com Square | @SquareUK

integrapay.com.au InvoiceSherpa | @invoicesherpa invoicesherpa.com iZettle | @iZettle izettle.com Kwanji | @KwanjiX

workforceguardian.com.au

gpayroll.com

ZUUS Workforce | @zuusworkforce zuusworkforce.com

happyhr.com hrassured.com.au

transfermateonline.com TransferWise | @TransferWise transferwise.com ucollect.biz/xero business.worldpay.com

Payroll & HR appogeeHR | @AppogeeHR appogeehr.com

imspayroll.co.nz

clickpos.com

Intertec TimePro

Deputy | @deputyapp

timesheets.com.au

deputy.com/gb

iPayroll

iZettle | @iZettle

ipayroll.co.nz

izettle.com Kounta | @kounta

keypay.co.uk

kounta.com

Microkeeper | @Microkeeper microkeeper.com.au

Possboss | @posbosshq

mypaye.co.uk

posbosshq.com

parolla.ie

OFX

Payescape | @PayescapeUK

payrightaway.com.au

payescape.com

Payoneer | @Payoneer

PaysOnline | @paysonline

paymentexpress.com/xero

PayPal by Zapier | @zapier zapier.com

citrusHR | @citrusHR

paysonline.com.au

citrushr.com/xero

PaySpace | @PaySpace payspace.com

CloudPayroll cloudpayroll.com.au

PennyPipe | @PennyPipe

CLOUD-BASE PAYROLL SOFTWARE AND SERVICE FOR AFRICA

pennypipe.com/info/xero Pin Payments | @PinPayments pin.net.au Plooto | @PlootoInc app.plooto.co

sapaad.com/lp/xero

paymentevolution.com

Payment Express | @PaymentExpress

paypal.com

WWW.PAYSPACE.COM

New Zealand

Shopify | @Shopify

ipayroll.co.nz

shopify.com

POLi Payments | @POLiPayments

Square | @SquareUK

polipayments.com

squareup.com/gb

Receivabl | @receivabl_es receivabl.es Rerun | @Rerunapp rerunapp.com SAT FXOnline | @satworldwide satfxonline.co.uk

retailexpress.com.au Sapaad | @SapaadPOS

Payment Evolution | @payevo

PayPal | @PayPal

Retail Express | @RetailExpress01

pages.paychex.com/xero

Pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY

Redcat | @RedCatPOS redcat.com.au/xero

Paychex | @Paychex

xero.com/uk/financial-services/ofx

Preno | @prenohq prenohq.com/xero

Parolla | @ParollaPayroll

midpoint.com

Nobly | @NoblyPOS noblypos.com/xero

MyPAYE | @MyPAYE

onpay.com

Midpoint | @MidpointLtd

CIN7 | @Cin7online ClickPOS | @ClickPOS_Online

OnPay | @onpay_payroll

kwanji.com

Airsquare | @airsquare

cin7.com

IMS Payroll

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Worldpay

Point of Sale airsquare.com

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squareup.com Transfer Mate | @TransferMate

uCollect | @ucollect_biz IntegraPay | @IntegraPay

Workforce Guardian | @workforceguard

HR Assured | @HRAssured

@commercesync

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flexitime.co.nz Gpayroll

Happy HR | @happyhraus

Stripe by Commerce Sync |

The Payroll Site | @ThePayrollSite thepayrollsite.co.uk

epayroll.com.au Flexitime | @FlexiTimeTeam

zenpayroll.com

Stripe | @stripe stripe.com

Make sure you get paid on time, every time with the GoCardless for Xero app

thankyoupayroll.co.nz

ento.com ePayroll | @ePayrollAus

Gusto | @GustoHQ

GoCardless | @GoCardless

talenox.com Tanda | @TandaHQ Thankyou Payroll | @ThankyouPayroll

Ento | @entohq

Protect your payments

Talenox | @Talenox

tanda.co

enablehr.com.au

paymentexpress.co.uk EazyCollect | @eazyCollect EzyCollect | @ezyCollect

Employment Hero | @EmploymentHero

The Good Till Company | @TheGoodTillco Australia

cloudpayroll.com.au Crystal Payroll crystalpayroll.com Deputy | @deputyapp deputy.com

thegoodtill.com Simplepay.ca | @simplepaycanada simplepay.ca Smart Payroll | @smartpayroll smartpayroll.com.au SurePayroll | @SurePayroll lps.surepayroll.com

Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

Tower Systems | @TowerSystems towersystems.com.au Vend | @vendhq vendhq.com Zilch Consulting | @zilchconsulting zilchconsulting.com

Issue 21 / 167

App Directory Professional Services AppsForOps | @AppsForOps appsforops.com BGL Corporate Solutions | @BGLdot bglcorp.com BGL Corporate Solutions | @BGLdot bglcorp.com Hunt & Hawk | @HuntandHawk huntandhawk.com

Btc | @BTCSoftwareUK

Futrli | @Futrli

btcsoftware.co.uk

futrli.com

Businessbackbone | @BiznizBackbone businessbackbone.co.uk

savvyreports.com

Calxa | @calxa

SeederBoard | @seederboard

calxa.com

seederboard.com

Carbon Analytics | @co2analytics

Simple Numbers | @gregcrabtreecpa

co2analytics.com/xero

simplenumbers.me

Castaway | @CAforecasting

Simply Cashflow | @simplycashflow

castawayforecasting.com

simplycashflow.com/xero StatX | @StatXapp

checkmybooks.co.uk

statx.io

Clear jelly

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep

app.clearjelly.net DataDear | @DataDearApp datadear.com Debtze| @DebtzeCollect debtze.com/xero DiGA | @BiznizBackbone

HUNTANDHAWK.COMMIMPACT

businessbackbone.co.uk DonkeyBean

Inform Direct | @InformDirect informdirect.co.uk instafile | @InstafileApp

donkeybean.com/xero Dryrun | @Mydryrun dryrun.com/xero

linksolutions.co.nz SuperConcepts | @SuperConceptsAU superconcepts.com.au

Infoodle | @infoodle infoodle.com/xero joiin | @joiinreporting

Cash ďŹ&#x201A;ow forecasts your clients will LOVE

spotlightreporting.com Thomson Reuters | @TaxAccountingUK tax.thomsonreuters.co.uk Unleash

joiin.co Klipfolio Dashboard | @klipfolio klipfolio.com Maus | @MAUS_Software maus.com.au Momentum atsora.com/xero My Cash Flow app | @MyCashFlowAppSa mycashflowapp.co.za

instafile.co.uk Link Solutions | @LinkSolutions

sageworks.com Savvy Reports

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SAY GOODBYE TO BS, CONFUSING, STRESSFUL MARKETING.

Sageworks | @SageworksInst

My work papers | @myworkpapers myworkpapers.com My Own CFO | @myown_cfo

myown-cfo.com Neatly | @go_neatly neatly.io/integrations/xero Numerable | @NumerableSW

A N A LY T I C S

numerable.io Onestop reporting | @OneStopReports onestopreporting.com/xero Excel Int. Tools - QWD | @quickwindev quickwindevelopment.com Fathom | @fathomhq fathomhq.com

Panalitix | @panalitix panalitix.com ProfitSee | @MyProfitSee myprofitsee.com/xero

Figured | @figuredapp

Reporting Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au Angeloop | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au Asset Guru | @Asset_Guru asset.guru/xero Benchmarking.com.au

Effective Accounting Starts With Accurate Data

xavier-analytics.com Zenflow

figured.com

zenflow.me

Financial Driver | @FinancialDriver

Zivora | @ZivoraApp

financialdriver.com

Advisory services made simple

Float | @FloatApp floatapp.com

zivora.co

Flowrev | @flowrev flowrev.com/xero Fluidly | @Fluidly fluidly.com/xero

www.MyProfitSee.com

benchmarking.com.au Bizeo | @bizeo

Quick win development | @quickwindev

bizeo.com.au BizEquity | @BizEquity bizequity.com/xero Blink Reports blinkreports.com BPM bpmglobal.com Brightgauge | @BrightGauge brightgauge.com/xero Bstar | @BstarAustralia bstar.com.au

168 / Issue 21

quickwindevelopment.com

Intelligent Cashflow fluidly.com Rated on the Xero marketplace

QVinci | @Qvinci qvinci.com/xero Recount recount.com/xero-homepage-uk Ranqx | @ranqxHQ ranqx.com Report Amigo | @reportamigo reportamigo.com/xero Saasabi | @Saasabi saasabi.com/xero

Zoho | @Zoho zoho.eu

Time Tracking ActionStep | @Actionstep actionstep.com/xero Active.collab | @activecollab activecollab.com/add-ons/xero

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

App Directory AppsForOps | @AppsForOps appsforops.com AroFlo | @aro_flo aroflo.com Chrometa | @Chrometa chrometa.com/xero Copper | @copperproject

Quick Win Development | @quickwindev quickwindevelopment.com rollhq.com/xero

Fergus | @FergusApp fergusapp.com

quickwindevelopment.com

smartbiller.co.nz

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ebillity.com

Quick Win Development | @quickwindev Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank

Synergist | @Synerg1st

Deputy | @deputyapp

receipt-bank.com Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep spotlightreporting.com

tanda.co Temponia | @temponia temponia.com/xero

300+ five star reviews

Time Tracker by EndGame | @GoEndGame

flexitime.co.nz

Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank receipt-bank.com

freshdesk.com/xero

spotlightreporting.com

geoop.com

Suitefiles | @SuiteFiles

JOB MANAGEMENT

Google Calender by Zapier | @zapier zapier.com Harvest | @harvest

tidywork com

getharvest.com iCOS LIVE - Online Transport

TimeTracker by eBillity | @eBillity

gettimely.com/timely-xero timestamp.io/add-ons/xero Total Synergy | @totalsynergy totalsynergy.com.au Tradify | @tradifyhq tradifyhq.com TriggerApp | @triggerapp triggerapp.com/xero Total Synergy | @totalsynergy totalsynergy.com tsheets.com/xero Tymwise | @kapaitymwise tymwise.com WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax workflowmax.com ZeroTime zerotime.io ZUUS Workforce | @zuusworkforce zuusworkforce.com

nexonia.com/xero NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp nextminute.com Outlook Int.Tools - QWD | @quickwindev quickwindevelopment.com Patchability time.patchability.com ProWorkflow | @ProWorkflow proworkflow.com

File management for accountants Xero add-on marketplace

Free 30 day trial www.suitefiles.com

Timestamp | @timestampio

Tsheets | @tsheets

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Year End Wolters Kluwer | @wolterskluweruk

TimeCamp | @timecamp Timely

trustworks.co.nz Xero Workpapers | @Xero xero.com

suitefiles.com

ebillity.com timecamp.com

end-game.com Trustworks | @trustworksnz

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep

GeoOp | @GeoOp

IMS Service Track

stryke.com.au suitefiles.com

tidywork.com

Freshdesk | @freshdesk

icoslive.com

Stryke Tax | @stryketax Suitefiles | @SuiteFiles

TidyWork | @TidyInt

Flexitime | @FlexiTimeTeam

Management | @iCOSLIVE

Practice Ignition | @ignitionapp practiceignition.com

practiceignition.com

SmartBiller | @smartbiller

synergist.co.uk

deputy.com

nowinfinity.com.au

hubdoc.com Practice Ignition | @ignitionapp

Roll | @rollhq

copperproject.com

eBillity | @eBillity

NowInfinity | @Now_Infinity

Hubdoc | @Hubdoc

Xero Practise Manager

cchoneclick.co.uk

CCH OneClick Tools to digitalise your practice cchoneclick.co.uk

futrli.com

Subscribe for FREE: Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com

Issue 21 / 169

Highlights from Xerocon Brisbane 2019

@AccountingBExpo

Sholto Macpherson is an awardwinning journalist who has spent the past eight years researching SME accounting technology and its impact on the accounting profession. He is the editor of accounting tech blog DigitalFirst.com and is the head of content for the Accounting Business Expo and Accountech. Live expos. He also contributes to In The Black and Acuity magazines, among other publications.

If we know anything, it’s that accounting and finance events certainly pack a punch. As the market continues to evolve there is never a more important time than now to get face-to-face with the product experts... One of the keynote highlights was connection with enterprise a very emotional monologue suppliers, known as Xero Connect. by Craig Hudson, Xero’s All up, it shows that Xero general manager for is moving towards a New Zealand about bigger plan and that the his struggle with accounting software is depression. It was a front end for its data one of several talks platform. on the morning ai of the first day that Read on for summaries i g ac Hu dso &P Z focused heavily on of the main releases. n, M D - N culture and leadership, two favourite topics of the Xero CEO, AutoPay Steve Vamos. The biggest announcement by a There wasn’t the usual blizzard mile was the addition of autopay for of “next 90 days” feature sales invoices via a deep integration announcements in the accounting with Stripe. A business can turn software. Xero talked much more on autopay to receive recurring about the power of its data platform card payments for repeat billing and how it will deliver commercially customers directly through Xero. valuable insights to small business users. Xero says that Xero businesses are sending over 1.6 million There were only three repeating invoices in announcements Xero every month. relating to the “Imagine if all those accounting software; invoices that are recurring payments automatically sent, and bank feed with could automatically Stripe, a pilot of be paid.” e ,X cashflow forecasting EO S te v e Va m o s, C that won’t launch until A native way to take early 2020, and better processing recurring payments is a fantastic in HubDoc. addition. The implementation looks excellent and, as an accountant Plus a formalisation of Xero’s who was involved in the beta said fi c

(The ramp was made on site by a skate ramp designer – who knew there was enough demand to justify a whole trade?!)

Isl

ero approaches conferences with the same thirst for innovation as it does its software. The expo floor this year ditched the plastic ball pit for decorateyour-own skateboard decks with a resident artist, and a plywood half-pipe skate ramp.

ds, X ero

170 / Issue 21

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

in the Xero blog post, it means you don’t need to use third-party apps.

card payment was automatically reconciled in Xero.

Stripe data feed

The new feed automatically recognises payment transaction data made via Stripe anywhere, whether on an invoice or in an e-commerce store. That means it will split out the Stripe fee from the payment for the product or service.

Back in 2017 Xero announced it had automated Stripe reconciliation for online invoices. When a Xero business added Stripe as a payment gateway and sent an online invoice to a customer, the customer’s credit

f fi

c er , X ero

It’s only a pilot and a very basic implementation – more a guideline An uc na od r Cur P than a useful tool for zo n, C hief forecasting. And it won’t launch officially until “early 2020”. tO

Xero has added a new data feed from Stripe – a globally exclusive feature, no other accounting platform has invested the time and money with Stripe to do it, apparently. As a Stripe user I’m very happy about this one.

at work. It visually projects the user’s bank balance 30 days into the future, showing the impact of existing bills and invoices that are paid on their due dates.

Cashflow Cashflow forecasting is one of the first exhibits in the cloud ledger of the Xero platform benchmarking

The question is how far Xero will take this? Product manager Anna Curzon said that Xero is only the beginning of the functionality it will build. Certainly Xero could do more powerful forecasting than anyone else in the ecosystem because it has the most data. I interviewed Colin Hewitt from Float, a cashflow forecasting app, at Xerocon (story coming soon), and he welcomed the addition as an excellent way to raise awareness of cashflow forecasting. A better HubDoc Since the acquisition a year ago, Xero has doubled the processing rate of HubDoc by improving the way in which it reads numbers from printed invoices and receipts. Anna Curzon highlighted the

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Xero has been building connections with these suppliers to automatically ingest supplier invoices into Xero by attaching each to a purchase order or job number. Instead of building individual connections, Xero has an API platform that enterprises can connect to. These networks exist in the enterprise world and are called an electronic data interchange, or EDI network. Xero is building a small business version. This should accelerate the number of enterprises globally that send bills through Xero. At Xerocon Brisbane Curzon announced the addition of global information that HubDoc collects and automatically adds to invoices. Supplier name, due date, amount, GST (tax), date, invoice number – all of which appears in Xero’s SMB Insights report as a benchmark for debtor days for all businesses. HubDoc is an app and not part of the cloud ledger, its technology is appearing in other parts of Xero, says Curzon. “As we continue to automate the most laborious parts of the accounting workflow, we’re working towards enabling 100 percent of all data extraction to be powered by machine learning technology, as well as leveraging these capabilities in other areas of the Xero platform.” Xero Connect I hadn’t heard of Xero Connect before. This is Xero’s name for the data interface that connects to enterprises that have thousands or millions of business customers. Suppliers in trades materials, stationery, fuel and so on.

Or in marketing speak: “Xero Connect automates the flow of external invoices into Xero, saving small businesses time, eliminating manual data entry, and increasing the accuracy of their invoicing and bill payments.”

petrochemical company BP. The BP (Plus) Fuel card in Australia and New Zealand. This works like an e-invoicing solution that sends an invoice from BP’s billing system to the customer’s Xero file, which is linked to a BP customer ID.

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...and finally

Make it seamless Sign in with Xero Sign in with Xero

As we continue to build more connections and tools that add value to the Xero platform, we’re also very focused on ensuring quality, security and a beautiful customer experience...

en years ago I was a small business owner taking my first trial of Xero. When I saw the dashboard for the first time a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. When I connected my bank account and data started flowing automatically, that was a real ‘aha’ moment. However, when I found a workflow tool in Xero’s app marketplace that allowed me to track time, and automatically send invoices from Xero, it really blew my mind. And it led to a change in career. I started working for Xero in 2017 because I’m passionate about helping small businesses and their advisors use cloud technology to make it seamless, simple and smarter to collect data, create workflows and make sound financial decisions.

@Xero

Nick Houldsworth, Executive General Manager, Xero Ecosystem

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The Xero platform is an everexpanding ecosystem of innovation partners and apps connected by the power of data and driven by transformational shifts in technology. And the best part is the data flows both ways, from connected banks

to productivity tools to over 800 marketplace apps allowing you and your clients to do more in the cloud. As we continue to build more connections that add value to our platform, we’re also very focused on ensuring quality, security and a beautiful customer experience. We already have a certification process and a team of developer evangelists who review every app in our marketplace but we wanted to go one step further in delivering a seamless experience, so we launched “Sign in with Xero”.

experience for you and your small business clients. Sign in with Xero is secure, removes friction and allows our app partners to demonstrate the end-toend on-boarding process at the point of sign up, and makes it easier for customers to connect their Xero to apps.

The power of Xero’s small business platform really comes to life when our entire ecosystem works together, from financial services to the third-party apps you can use every day to grow the business.

It means our app partners can leverage our investment in security, reliability and things like two factor authentication, and its one less password for you to remember.

Sign in with Xero makes it easier for developers to create seamless experiences for their customers, and for you to help your clients find the right apps to suit their needs.

Login credentials are a massive pain point for companies building integrations to platforms. Sign in with Xero removes that barrier to use by providing a seamless flow from awareness to acquisition for our app partners, and a smoother

We will be adding our beautiful button to many more of our app partners in a bid to help make small business owner’s lives better. Stay tuned!

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EXPAND YOUR SERVICE OFFERING TO HIGH VALUE ADVISORY? Financial advisory is the logical next step from accounting as it builds on the data and capabilities this function provides. However, from an operational and delivery point of view – they differ substantially. Read the full story and get insights on building the foundation for advisory services leveraging best-in-class Xero-connected technology. You’ll ﬁnd out more on: APPROVALMAX.COM/XU21

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