XU Magazine - Issue 25

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

ISSUE

25

magazine 85%

COVER STORY

17% ISSN 2054-7226

25

9 772054 722009

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

Feature Focus: The Xavier HealthscoreÂŽ see page 8

+

Plus lots more from Xero connected Apps

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Issue 25 / 1

UPDATED DAILY Check out the XU Hub! Visit xumagazine.com

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Issue 25 / 3

Xero News October 2020

Welcome to issue 25...

latest in product, ecosystem, partnerships and business at Xero

STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

magazine

Join our newsletter for regular updates and also be one of the first to know when a new issue of XU Magazine is released.

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What we’ve been 8 working 34on

obal

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

Issue 25 Main Contacts CEO: David Hassall (Co-Founder) Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell (Co-Founder) Director of Strategic Partnerships: Alex Newson

COVER STORY Xavier Analytics Future Focus: The Xavier Healthscore®

HR Partner 7 Reasons You Need to do Performance Reviews

12

Xero Updates from Xero (Oct/ Nov 2020)

36

CASE STUDY Tidy Engineering change through changing times

40

G-Accon Boost efficiency with Google Sheets and G-Accon

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

42

Re-Leased Why now is the right time to harness your clients’ data to power growth

Advertising: advertising@xumagazine.com

12

E: hello@xumagazine.com W: www.xumagazine.com

18

44

MinuteDock Why You Should Be Tracking All of Your Time - Whether You Plan to Bill for it or Not!

‘Xero’ is a trademark of Xero Limited (New GoCardless Zealand). XU Magazine is collaboratively Part 2: How small produced by an independent group of businesses need to be using fintech Xero users and is not affiliated in any way in 2020 Xero. All other trademarks are the ptember wewith hosted Xero on Air, a free online content Improved insights tools property of their respective owners.

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46 50

26

54

32

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AdvanceTrack Emerging from the storm

Wolters Kluwer Xero Projects has a new profitability that provides Agilitydashboard and efficiency TUTORIAL ccountant © and partners small businesses withthrough an easier way to seedata andentry manage the XU bookkeeper Magazine Ltd 2014-2020.

Alland rightssmall business ApprovalMax automated reserved.

No part Here of this magazine may omers around the world. are some of the highlights: profitability of each project.

Thepractice dashboard shows - How one made it allthe total How to set up spend control for be used or reproduced without the possible schools profit margin, all work invoiced and costs associated with the written permission of the publisher. XU ch up on Xero on Air by XU Magazine project, and highlights any outstanding invoices.

Magazine is published INTERVIEW simPRO Ltd (08811842), registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 12 Jordan Street, its existing insights Xero Xero will also extend availability Is of it Time For Your Field tools plans for new and L1 smaller businesses Liverpool, 0BP, United Kingdom. All Q & A with Garethto Cronin, EGM Service Clients to Upgrade Their all business edition customers to help them manage cash contained in this magazine cognition ofinformation the current challenges and opportunities Practice, Xero Software?

Four key flow at crucial times. The short-term cashsigns flow job tool allows is for information only and is, as far e of the smallest businesses are facing right now, we’ve management software is needed businesses to forecast their bank balance for the next 30 as we are aware, correct at the time of AccountancyManager signed our Starter planXU (orMagazine Early plan in the US), which going to press. cannot days based on their existing bills and invoices, while business CASE STUDY accept any responsibility for errors or lored for new businesses and sole traders.

This includes 4 ways to cure your Self snapshot gives accountants and bookkeepers high-level inaccuracies in such information. If Assessment headache WorkflowMax ving the limits on bank reconciliation and increasing the insights into critical business metrics at a glance. you submit unsolicited material to us, Finding the silver linings during ce limit to 20 month. grant That’s approximately one per youper automatically XU Magazine lockdown ness day. The new plan willyour include the same powerful a licence to publish submission in whole orXero in partStarter in all/anyplan editions of enjoy every res that existing users SuiteFiles the magazine, including in any physical including Hubdoc for automated document collection or digital format, throughout the world.

Perfecting cloud-based management.

Any material you submit is sent at your communication and collaboration

s made to connect, inspire and share information with

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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 25

with SuiteFiles

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INTERVIEW Scoro Q & A - Unlocking the Door to XE RO with N E WSLive — OData C TOB E R Business Success

2020 1

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Interviews with...

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Satago Fintech and the second wave - How technology can help businesses survive the challenges ahead

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VIRTUAL EVENT ICB Global Xero’s Gary Turner’s star turn at the Bookkeepers Summit - 1000 bookkeepers convene for the first ever virtual Bookkeepers Summit!

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APPS COMPARED Compared: Integrated Forecasting

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Spotlight Reporting Delivering the Ultimate Advisory Session

86

CASE STUDY Practice Ignition Taking control of your receivables when cash flow matters most

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Appogee HR Limited Your Top Must Haves: Run HR & Payroll from Anywhere

Gareth Cronin EGM - Practice, Xero

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World First Managing international growth and currency risk hand in hand

90

70 132

Evangeline Hassall MD, PayrollBee

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Compleat Software Prepare at home for the new post-COVID-19 dawn Leveraging technology to enable teams to prepare for the future

Spend control via approval automation for a large residential property group Read more in our blog!

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Issue 25 / 5

Emersion Cracking the IT&C Code - Emersion offers an easy way to manage usage and subscription billing

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108

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CloudPayroll Payroll – Value or Cost?

NextMinute Run Cost Plus Contracts Like a Champ - Teach Builders and Tradies how Cost Plus Invoicing should be done with NextMinute

CASE STUDY ApprovalMax Invoice automation for multinational tech start-ups in Africa

MarketFinance Brexit is coming: Time to up your game

114

AutoEntry Changing the conversation: How accountants can help their clients

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

Arthur How accounting software can help with high tenant turnover and uncertainty

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NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS New to the Xero App Marketplace

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READ EVERY ISSUE ONLINE Celebrating 25 issues of XU Magazine

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NEW RELEASES Updates and new releases from the Xero App Marketplace

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Online & Delivery Business with the Power of Integration

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FOCUS: MENTAL HEALTH Tim Hoopmann World Mental Health Day and Self Care

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infoodle Coastguard Lake Taupo & infoodle: A Perfect Match - How infoodle and Xero help charities with membership management & financial operations

130 132

Xero App Partners of the month

INTERVIEW PayrollBee Q & A with Evangeline Hassall, MD, PayrollBee

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APP DIRECTORY Over 700 Xero connected Apps

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...and finally Fuel your motivation and aspirations for 2021

Sapaad Automating your

www.xumagazine.com 6 / Issue 25

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Before we started using TidyWork and Xero we used a software program to help us keep track of costs, but that soon got old, so we wanted something more modern and user friendly. With a cloud-based system, you always have access to the latest version. And it’s handy to have a quick look at what’s going on if you’re travelling overseas.

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Issue 25 / 7

Cover Story

Feature Focus: ÂŽ The Xavier HealthScore

85%

17% @xavieranalytics

Helen Lloyd, Co-Founder and Head of Design & Marketing, Xavier Analytics

8 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine XU Magazine for Xero - the users, independent

by Xero users. magazine Find us foronline Xero users, at: xumagazine.com

by Xero users.

Cover Story

Three Perspectives on Staying Productive Three leading accountants tell us how they use Xavier to assess workload and manage scope creep...

O

ver the last year, many advisors’ workloads have increased exponentially. Helping businesses navigate economic uncertainty, apply for new support schemes and better understand their cash flow has pushed projects beyond their original scope, often with no uplift on fees.

As accountants - the people on the frontline for many small businesses - having a deep understanding of our clients’ data not only protects them. It helps us prepare for the road ahead.

We spoke with 150 accountant advisors this year to understand key barriers to growth and one message came back resoundingly.

The complexity of work involved in a new project was often underestimated. One in three advisors (29%) said that this was an issue, followed by inaccurate client data (22%) and scope creep (18%).

Engagement letters, service level agreements and pricing reviews are all useful ways to tackle scope creep. Yet, perhaps the best way to price a project is to first know what you’re getting into - assessing data complexity and accuracy first.

The Xavier HealthScore® lets you see the accuracy of your client’s books in a fraction of the time.

It can help you plan resourcing

for data checking, prepare management reports and help motivate the team.

What is Xavier?

Xavier is the essential toolkit to support better billable advisory services. By combining cleanup and insight metrics, Xavier provides a unique HealthScore® percentage that you can share with clients.

Co-founder and Operations Director of Xavier, Rich Nicolson and I asked three of the leading accounting and bookkeeping firms how they counter widening scopes and accurately price work while protecting their team’s productivity.

Here are the top three insights. And yes - the first unsurprisingly is to

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

use a HealthScore tool!

1) RUN THE XAVIER HEALTHSCORE® SCORE BEFORE YOU START CLIENT WORK. USE IT TO INFORM YOUR PRICING. Before Xavier, Kendons - one of Australia’s leading accounting firms - would manually check their clients’ Xero files to ensure the data was accurate and up to date. When they introduced Xavier in January 2020, it was an instant hit with the team and saved time from the get-go.

“The HealthScore® is the lynchpin for every job. If you have a tidy file, you know that your clients are good at submitting paperwork. If you’ve got a messy Xero file, you know to allocate the job to someone Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 9

Cover Story more senior and price the services accordingly,” says Kate Bennett, Kendons’ Head of Business Advisory.

In the UK, Emma Fox - founder of award-winning bookkeeping firm, Fresh Financials - runs a thorough health check with a potential client to understand three things. First, what technology the client will need; second, how much work is expected to maintain the daily

and improve over time.

“Our team can see their own mistakes and correct them by themselves. Because of the way the team works with their normal clients, they’re always wanting to beat each others’ internal HealthScores,” says Fox. For Kendons, they also see the HealthScore® as an efficient way to highlight recurring errors and personalise training plans. Xavier

business data that they wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Once they addressed this, they used Xavier to add regular dashboard reporting, ongoing advisory conversations and tax planning to the client’s GST model.

By pivoting or filtering on values, you can see which clients would benefit most from additional app services such as Receipt Bank or debt recovery tools.

“Our client told us that she’s had more help with her business in the last four months than she had in the last four years with her previous accountant. We owe so much of that to Xavier,” says Griffiths.

bookkeeping; and third, what the client will be like to work with.

“Xavier is then used to prove our work quality and reiterate our values of clean up-to-date data to our clients. We used to do a health check report at the end of the VAT period, which our clients rarely looked at. Now we share the Xavier HealthScore® with the client in a way that they understand and appreciate,” says Fox. As a result, Fresh Financials can give their clients up-to-date Xero accounts and feel more in control of their cash flow.

2) TRACK HOW YOUR TEAM IS PERFORMING. The Xavier HealthScore® is an essential productivity tool. Both Kendons and Fresh Financials use it to track their teams’ performance

10 / Issue 25

has encouraged staff who were just focused on compliance to ask questions on what the data means for their clients.

“It opened their eyes to something they wouldn’t ordinarily be focused on”, says Kate Griffiths, the Head of App Advisory at Kendons.

3) GROW ADVISORY WORK WITH BETTER DATA AND INSIGHT TOOLS. When combined with the Xavier data toolkit and Practice Dashboard, the Xavier HealthScore® opens up more opportunities for better advisory.

Since using Xavier in January 2020, Kendons have grown their advisory work by 25%. Just before lockdown, they ran a HealthScore® for a new client as a test case. This surfaced all kinds of issues with their

The benefits don’t stop there.

Andy Sullivan, the Director of CompleteHQ in the UK, had just started working with a new business. As a standard check, he ran their Xero data through Xavier.

Xavier flagged an issue, which he investigated and found just under £39,000 missed tax claims in the past 20 months.

The Xavier HealthScore® is the first step to getting your clients’ data in good shape and delivering the brilliant business advice they need to succeed.

Xavier is currently available to all Xero users in the UK and Australia.

With more countries being added soon.

FIND OUT MORE...

Start your 30-day free trial: > xavier-analytics.com/trial

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Access your files from anywhere.

30 Day Free Trial ¡ www.suitefiles.com

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Issue 25 / 11

Updates from Xero

Updates from Xero Oct/Nov 2020

Steve Vamos, CEO, Xero 12 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine XU Magazine for Xero - the users, independent

by Xero users. magazine Find us foronline Xero users, at: xumagazine.com

by Xero users.

Updates from Xero What we’ve been working on

What we’ve been working on...

Global

I

n September we hosted outstanding invoices.

In September we hosted Xero on Air, a free online content

Advisor Director, Improved insights tools

a freeinspire onlineand share Xero will also extend onboard with series Xero madeon to Air, connect, information with availabilityXero Projects hasclients a new profitability dashboard that provides content series made to connect, partners of its insights tools to all customised templates, our accountant and bookkeeper andexisting small business small businesses with an easier sign way to see and manage the inspire and share information with business edition customers to help documents and automatically customers around the world. Here are some of the highlights: profitability of each project.

The dashboard shows the total our accountant and bookkeeper them manage cash flow at crucial synchronise data between profit margin, all work invoiced andXero costs associated with the partners and small business times.

The short-term cash flow tool and Xero Practice Manager.

Catch up on Xero on Air project, and highlights any outstanding invoices. customers around the world. Here allows businesses to forecast their are some of the highlights: bank balance for the next 30 days can sign up Xero willXero alsopartners extend availability ofto itsnext existing insights tools New plans for new and smaller businesses based on their existing bills andto all business gen practice insiders today find edition customers to to help them manage cash In recognition of the current challengesinvoices, and opportunities New plans for new and smaller while business snapshot out more and get access to the flow at crucial times. The short-term cash flow tool allows businesses some of the smallest businesses are facing now, we’ve givesright accountants and bookkeepers newest features on the platform. businesses to forecast their bank balance for the next 30 high-level insights into critical redesigned our Starter plan (or Early plan in the US), which days based on their existing bills and invoices, while business Inisrecognition thebusinesses current and sole business metrics at a glance.

Xero Tax gets more powerful in tailored forof new traders. This includes snapshot gives accountants and bookkeepers high-level challenges and opportunities the UK removing the limits on bank reconciliation and increasing the insights into critical business metrics at a glance. some of the smallest businesses Unveiling our next generation invoice limit to 20 per month. That’s approximately one per are facing right now, we’ve practice vision We’ve announced major business day. The new plan will include the same powerful redesigned our Starter plan (or improvements to Xero Tax in the features that existing Xero Starter plan users enjoy every Early plan in the US), which is At Xero On Air, we unveiled our UK, a cloud-based tax and accounts day, including Hubdoc for automated document collection tailored for new businesses and next generation practice vision, production solution we launched and management. sole traders. This includes removing a reimagining of the practice six months ago, to increase the limits on bank reconciliation toolkit that gives accounts and visibility and efficiency when filing and increasing the invoice limit to bookkeepers a unified experience for clients.

20 per month. That’s approximately to onboard, collaborate and one per business day. The new plan manage client work in the cloud.

Enhancements include new filing will include the same powerful options to support corporation tax X E RO N E WS — O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 features that existing Xero Starter Under this vision, Xero HQ will and accounts production for small plan users enjoy every day, transform into a powerful, purposecompanies, for abridged and full including Hubdoc for automated built Customer Relationship accounts. Accountants will also be document collection and Management system for able to manage multiple filings at management. accountants and bookkeepers. It the same time under a new feature will collect and integrate all relevant called session storage. We are also Improved insights tools client information in one place, launching an open beta for our next making it easier to find information Xero Tax module, personal tax, next Xero Projects has a new profitability and get client work done. We’re also year. dashboard that provides small bringing our tools into a single businesses with an easier way to interface, removing the need The feedback so far from our see and manage the profitability for multiple logins. accounting partners using Xero Tax of each project. The dashboard has been phenomenal, so we are shows the total profit margin, all In the short term, we’re releasing really excited about what the future work invoiced and costs associated new features that make it easier holds as we continue to redefine tax with the project, and highlights any to win new clients through the and compliance in the UK. Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 13

1

Updates from Xero

Other Xero updates...

We’ve made a number of other updates on the Xero platform over the past month, including:

Global Syncing client lists across Xero HQ and XPM When advisors create a new client in Xero HQ, basic information (name, email, date of birth, phone number and address) is now automatically synced to Xero Practice Manager (XPM).

Information for existing clients is synced when their records are edited in Xero HQ or XPM. Customising client lists in Xero HQ The client list in Xero HQ will soon have a new look. Advisors will be able to sort, filter, group, export and customise the data they want to see. There’ll also be new columns, including trading/legal name, Xero organisation name, business name and financial year end date.

Shortly after the rollout, we’ll add connected banks and unreconciled bank items, and UK partners will be able to access bank feed expiry dates.

Transferring a WorkflowMax or XPM account between users We’ve made it easier to identify who owns WorkflowMax and Xero Practice Manager accounts, and streamline the process of transferring ownership. Now advisors can ‘request transfer’ to another user in Xero, without needing to raise a case with our Customer Experience team. This is currently available to small business customers and will be rolled out to our partners soon.

Paying invoices with Stripe and GoCardless Enhancements to the Stripe set-up experience now make it faster and easier for any small business to create an account and accept 14 / Issue 25

card payments from Xero online invoices. We are also building a deeper integration with GoCardless, to create a more seamless experience for small businesses to accept direct debit payments. The enhanced integration will be live later this year.

Australia Paying JobKeeper to employees The Australian Government announced it is extending the JobKeeper payment until 28 March 2021. Eligibility is now based on actual turnover and payments will be stepped down and paid at two rates. To help small businesses and advisors claim and report JobKeeper over the extension period, we have made changes to Xero Payroll that allows them to capture and edit a tier for each employee and file through Single Touch Payroll.

Calculating PAYG installments Small businesses that are required to pay PAYG installments in their company tax return can now do calculations directly in Xero. The worksheet is available in the 2020 Company Tax Form, with an explanation as to how it is calculated, so businesses can save time on tax and ensure their calculations are accurate.

Viewing the sign status of Document Packs Tax returns sent to a client via Document Packs will now show the e-sign status in the tax return list view, as well as the company’s tax return history. This makes it easier to identify which tax returns have been sent, returned or declined.

This feature is available across Xero Tax, WorkflowMax and Document Packs.

Managing tax returns for foreign residents We’ve made a number of changes to Xero Tax, to ensure it closely matches changes to the way interest and unfranked dividends are treated by the Australian Tax Office for foreign residents. The calculation and estimate of the Notice of Assessment and Notice of Withholding Tax will now be accurate, making it faster and easier for advisors to get tax returns signed and lodged.

New Zealand Connecting with the right client or advisor Small businesses want to work with advisors who understand their needs. That’s why we’ve made enhancements to our Advisor Directory. Small businesses without an advisor in Xero can now tell us about their business and are sent three personalised matches for consideration. We’re currently piloting this feature in New Zealand, with plans to roll it out globally.

Aus/NZ Planning 2022 public holidays We’ve added the official public holidays in 2022 across Australia and New Zealand into Xero Payroll, to make it easy to create leave requests and pay runs. We’ve also updated the Victorian AFL Grand Final public holiday date for 2020.

This means any new leave requests that include a public holiday will automatically take this into consideration when calculating the leave.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Xero business update

Updates from Xero

Xero business update...

Global

Xero Small Business Insights shows the current state of global business

At Xero On Air, we released our Xero Small Business Insights special report, Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience. The findings

of the report are based on a sample of over 300,000 Xero subscribers’ anonymised and aggregated records, and show the effect of Xero Small Business Insights shows the current state COVID-19 on small business revenues and jobs in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Some of the insights found from the include: of globalreport business

A

The trading and border restrictions needed to tackle the

t Xero On Air, we released Once restrictions were eased, health crisis had a significant impact on small business our XeroSmall Small Business small business started to show business revenues fell sharply as social distancing Insights specialmeasures report, came Pandemic signs of recovery into effect. In New Zealand and the UK, small Insights: Smallbusiness Business revenues fell by around a third in April compared to a Experience. Theyear findings the July, was revenues all three earlier. of In Australia, theBy impact smaller,across as lockdown report are based on a sample of countries were higher than their measures were less severe. over 300,000 Xero subscribers’ crisis-troughs. There were also anonymised and aggregated early signs of rehiring in Australia records, and show the effect and New Zealand, although this of COVID-19 on small business lagged the revenue recovery. revenues and jobs in New Zealand, However, it is clear that the health Government support cushioned the downturn and is aiding Australia and the United Kingdom. and the economic crises are closely the recovery Some of the insights found from which makes These early signs of recoveryconnected, have been supported by for a the report include: bumpy road to recovery.

Already, government stimuli designed to support jobs and cash flow there are signs that the recovery during the crisis, with more than half of firms receiving wage The trading andsubsidy border restrictions stalled where second waves support in the threehas countries. needed to tackle the health crisis have forced areas to reinstate had a significant impact on small lockdowns. business With the right tools, some Small business revenues fell businesses have been able to adapt to new trading environments sharply as social distancing Once restrictions were eased, small business started to show measures camesigns into of effect.

In New recovery Zealand and theByUK, small business small businesses July, revenues across all Many three countries were higherwere than hard revenues fell bytheir around a third in hit by COVID-19, but some found crisis-troughs. There were also early signs of rehiring in April comparedAustralia to a yearand earlier.

In ways to adapt and thrive.

Digitally New Zealand, although this lagged the revenue recovery.

However, it is clearenabled that the health and the economic Australia, the impact was smaller, firms that could pivot to crises arewere closely connected,working which makes a bumpy road to as lockdown measures less fromfor home, grow online recovery. Already, there are sales signs that the recovery stalled app severe. or make use ofhas business where second waves have forced reinstate lockdowns. toolsareas weretomore resilient.

They saw Government support cushioned the their revenues fall by less, and were downturn and is aiding able to better retain staff. the recovery With the right tools, some businesses have been able to See the full report adapt to new trading environments These early signs of recovery have Many small businesses were hard hit by COVID-19, but some been supportedfound by government > www.xero.com/resources/ ways to adapt and thrive.

Digitally enabled firms that could pivot to working home, grow online sales or make stimuli designed to support jobs from small-business-insights use of business appwith tools were more resilient. They saw their and cash flow during the crisis, fall by less, and were able to better retain staff. more than half revenues of firms receiving wage subsidy support in the three countries.

Get the report XERO N EWS — O C TOB ER 2020 5

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

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Issue 25 / 15

Accounting is much more than just number crunching.

That’s why we partner with accountants to provide their clients with fast, flexible and hassle-free funding.

APPROACHING BUSINESS FINANCE DIFFERENTLY

Hassle-free referral

Personal service

Quick decision

It takes just a few minutes

From your dedicated relationship manager

So your clients get funds faster

16 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

A SOLUTION TO SUIT EVERY CLIENT There’s no denying that 2020’s been anything but business as usual.

Whether your clients need funding to pick up the slack or keep up with demand, we’ve got a solution to suit their needs. Help them access flexible invoice finance or hassle-free business loans to get back on track and beyond.

FIND OUT MORE marketfinance.com / accountants@marketfinance.com / @marketfinance Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 17

Part 2:

How small businesses need to be using fintech in 2020 C

ash, confidence, peace of mind - how often do you have these?

business?

- And are you still stressing or struggling from day-to-day?

If it’s not as often as you’d like, you’re not alone. Small businesses around the world face the same three existential threats:

Cash, confidence, peace of mind.

That’s the goal, and it shouldn’t feel unreachable, because it isn’t.

1. Not getting paid on time (or at all).

2. Not knowing the financial health of your business.

3. Being stressed, wasting time, or eating into your personal life in order to keep things running.

These threats to small businesses have always existed, but the COVID-19 situation is undoubtedly making them worse.

As readers of XU Magazine, you’re more fintech-savvy than most small businesses. But are you really eliminating as many of the problems in your business that you could be?

- Are you still dealing with late payments?

- Are you still ever unsure about the financial health of your 18 / Issue 25

How to start - Identifying the problem Never start with a solution and look for a problem to fit it to. Start by identifying problems first. There’s a helpful lens for small businesses to look through to find the problems holding them back from cash, confidence, and peace of mind.

The order-to-cash process.

This is the end-to-end series of events that begins with you receiving an order from your customer, all the way through to seeing the cash arrive in your bank account. Key steps in this process are: pricing, invoicing, payment collection, forecasting, financing, and banking.

Last issue of XU Magazine, I explored the biggest problems small businesses face with pricing, invoicing, and payment collection - along with how to fix them with fintech. For this issue, I’ll be exploring the problems in the remaining parts of the process, and

@GoCardless

Rachel Astall, Head of Global SMB Platform Partnerships, GoCardless Rachel works with global platforms that enable SMBs to better manage their business.

This includes accountancy software such as Xero, alongside a host of invoicing and membership platforms.

By improving the ecosystem of GoCardless’ bank debit solution, Rachel is working to ensure that small businesses can take the pain out of getting paid.

Ultimately, so they can spend less time chasing payments and more time doing what they love.

Some of our experts...

Pranav Sood VP Small Business, GoCardless

Philip King UK Small Business Commissioner

Zoe Newman Head of Int. Expansion, Capital on Tap

Amit Kahana MD of Tide Capital and VP of Credit, Tide

how fintech can help.

The experts behind the advice The advice this article brings together isn’t just from the

XU Magazine - the independent magazine XU Magazine for Xero - the users, independent

by Xero users. magazine Find us foronline Xero users, at: xumagazine.com

by Xero users.

payments experts at GoCardless.

It’s sourced from a number of great minds across the industry financing experts Capital on Tap, banking experts Tide, the UK’s Small Business Commissioner, and more.

Together, these organisations have helped more than 250,000 small businesses around the world.

Forecasting - Biggest problems and how to solve them What would you say is the biggest problem small businesses face with forecasting?

One fintech provider interviewed its users and was surprised to learn that it had nothing to do with technology or process - most didn’t have time to do it at all. Forecasting was a luxury they didn’t have time for.

If you’re doing some amount of forecasting, you’re already ahead of the pack. But that doesn’t make your business problem-free. If you’re still doing your forecasting in Excel - even if you’re a spreadsheet wizard - you’re wasting unnecessary time on a manual process that is prone to human error.

Float, Fluidly, and Futrli are just a few of the great forecasting apps that integrate with Xero, helping you better understand the financial health of your business, regain that confidence, and reduce your stress from uncertainty.

Financing - Biggest problems and how to solve them There are a lot of ways for small businesses to inject in financing today. Overdrafts, credit cards, long term loans, asset-based finance the list goes on. And there are many reasons businesses might need this finance - start up costs, balancing out an unexpected dip in cash flow, or growth plans, and more.

Amit Kahana, MD of Tide Capital and VP of Credit at Tide, suggests that the problem small businesses face isn’t what you might think.

It’s not that the traditional routes

to funding such as the incumbent banks are unfit for purpose.

It’s that they cannot adapt as quickly to the specific and changing needs of modern small businesses as newer, fintech companies can.

What you should take away from that is that you shouldn’t just accept the problems you see with accessing finance.

These problems aren’t just “facts of life” that have to be put up with - where banks may fail to offer you the best product for your needs, fintech companies may succeed.

financing.

Banking - Biggest problems and how to solve them

Zoe Newman, Head of International Expansion at Capital on Tap, agrees with Amit, suggesting that the days are over where small businesses need to choose from what their bank has to offer. Instead, you can shop around various fintech suppliers to pick and choose a tailored set of solutions to best fit your exact needs.

Despite working for a challenger bank, Amit doesn’t believe the incumbent banks are doing a bad job. Instead, he suggests their large size and relatively older age means adapting to the needs of modern small businesses is difficult for them.

The abundance of fintech companies in the market now means high competition, and high competition means the best deals for your business. Couple this with how easy-to-start (and easy-tocancel) fintech solutions tend to be relative to banks’, and your business is in the best place it’s ever been to find the ideal solutions to its problems.

This is evident in Tide’s own features - namely, the ability to invoice. Traditionally, bank accounts provide transactional services for your business. But Tide heard from small businesses that they wanted to be able to invoice too.

So Tide made it happen. Being able to quickly and effectively respond to market needs like this is how challenger banks can solve small business problems that the incumbent banks can’t.

Before leaping into looking at what’s available in the fintech market, Philip King - the UK’s Small Business Commissioner - has a great bit of financing advice. Always take a look at your own books first, and see what outstanding money you’re owed from your customers. Keeping on top of your accounts receivable and ensuring you get paid on time could solve your problems without needing

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Another problem Amit highlights is the barrier to opening and testing whether an account is right for you. With the rise of challenger banks, though - particularly in the UK - small businesses are more empowered than ever to try different providers, get started very quickly and easily, and learn firsthand which bank is best for them. That could even Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 19

be banks, plural - Amit notes a relatively new behaviour of small businesses opening and using multiple different bank accounts concurrently.

GoCardless, for example, to bring its users the ability to easily collect their invoice payments via Direct Debit.

What to take away from this

Both Amit and Zoe highlighted another legacy problem with banking, and indeed financing as well. That is, a lack of interconnectivity. Xero’s own cloud accounting ecosystem has shown small businesses that software today should integrate easily and work well together. Challenger banks like Tide are leading the charge, bringing this world of interconnectivity to banking for small businesses. Tide recently launched an integration with

20 / Issue 25

Philip summarises the opportunity of fintech solutions well, suggesting that business owners don’t become business owners because they love the admin of running a business.

They want to do the thing they love - the admin just comes hand-inhand with it.

More and more, though, fintech solutions are eliminating that admin - helping you get paid sooner, be more confident in the health

of your business, and get rid of unnecessary stress.

So take some time and plot out the order-to-cash process at your business. Identify where the problems are. Then take advantage of the fintech boom and get the best solutions for you.

FIND OUT MORE...

GoCardless is made for recurring payments. See how we can help at: > gocardless.com/xero

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Issue 25 / 21

Cover Tutorial Story

How to set up spend control for schools There is a huge variety in school systems around the world. Each country has its own approach to general education, from national curriculum to funding. However, if we step down to the level of each individual institution, we can see that they have a lot in common regarding finance administration; and establishing spend control is a common need.

W

hy spend control is critical for schools

All schools are accountable to their funding sources, so they have strict compliance rules and multi-level spend control workflows. Their budgets are usually rigid and limited and keeping within the budget is a challenge, especially with multiple requesters and decision makers. Educational institutions generally don’t have that many dedicated accounting staff, which basically means that a few people do a lot of work.

To top it all, financial reporting requirements are even stricter than in other industries because of the external funding, which calls for very high transparency across all processes.

How to set up proper financial controls Financial services outsourcing practices serving schools need to go well beyond common compliance services and get deeply involved in defining and enforcing financial controls across their client’s operations. At the very least this involves: • Identifying how the money is spent to get a real-life picture of who spends what, when and why • Setting up formal authorisation 22 / Issue 25

processes that make sure all spending is properly authorised by the appropriate people within and outside of the institution • Providing detailed audit trails to document that the approval process has been duly followed • Moving to a digital environment to ensure transparency and time efficiency Spend control options: proactive, reactive, hybrid There are several options for controlling spending, with each one focusing on a specific spend stage.

Proactive spend control works well when there is a formal buying process, e.g. with purchase orders.

By setting up controls around purchase orders (who is authorised to raise them, what goods can be ordered, which suppliers can be selected, etc.) and establishing a robust review and authorisation process, proactive spend control can indeed eliminate, or at least significantly reduce, unwanted spending before it occurs.

Introducing proactive spend control is the right choice for organisations that have many people engaged in similar, regular purchasing activities either in one or multiple locations, which is typical for educational facilities.

@ApprovalMax

Konstantin Bredyuk, Director, Product, 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.

Reactive spend control ensures that incoming bills are actually correct and to be paid by the organisation. This is achieved by establishing a transparent review and authorisation process for all invoices to verify details like the amount, supplier payment account, etc. before any money is paid. It also serves as an additional fraud control layer by allowing to filter out fraudulent or erroneous bills.

The hybrid approach combines these two options and serves as a comprehensive spend control framework. It enables to check the details of finance documents, to compare what had been ordered in a proactively controlled process with what is being billed and confirms that the ordered goods or services have actually been received. This cross-reference capability is called X-way matching.

Spend management app stack for schools Establishing proper financial controls may seem tricky. But it just requires the right tools.

A powerful app stack contains three essential components that make spend management effective, efficient and fully digital:

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Tutorial The cloud accounting platform Xero is at the core of the app stack, it also serves as the system of records for all pre-integrated apps.

A cloud accounting platform can be accessed from anywhere, any time. This provides a clear financial overview in real time and enables not only informed decision-making but also simplifies collaboration within the organisation as all people involved see the same figures.

Tools for digital data capture automate the manual data entry from paper into the accounting system. Document data is captured by simply taking a photo or by forwarding receipts to a dedicated email address. The tool then extracts the relevant information from the submitted document and allows its review before publishing it to the cloud accounting system.

The process automation tool ApprovalMax moves the approval process outside of the accounting platform to keep external stakeholders away from it. Noone who approves a particular

expense needs to see all the finance data. With ApprovalMax it’s easy to set up multi-layered bill and purchase order approval processes, which keep a detailed record of who approved what. This eliminates the need to carry paper documents around or wait for someone’s approval via email.

ApprovalMax is also very useful for audit purposes because it automatically creates searchable reports with a complete record of all approval-related details to provide a good aggregated view and also the ability to easily drill down for any low-level details needed to perform analyses.

Implementing such an app stack automates time-consuming manual procedures and delivers all data in real time – giving a major boost to efficiency and traceability. It ensures a fully paperless, webbased and mobile spend control solution that increases overall efficiency considerably and provides decision makers and purchasers with a convenient tool for acting on the go. It eliminates

manual work so that the school staff can focus on their intended tasks.

FIND OUT MORE...

Find out more about spend control for schools in the ApprovalMax playbook: > www.approvalmax.com/solutions/education

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Issue 25 / 23

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24 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Automated Data Entry for Accountants, Bookkeepers and Business Owners

NEVER MANUALLY ENTER A BANK STATEMENT AGAIN!

BANK STATEMENTS

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Issue 25 / 25

BANK STATEMENTS

Interview

Gareth Cronin EGM - Practice, Xero 26 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine XU Magazine for Xero - the users, independent

by Xero users. magazine Find us foronline Xero users, at: xumagazine.com

by Xero users.

Interview Could you tell us a little about your role with Xero - what you did before and what led you here?

XU:

That’s a good explanation of everything! Can you tell us about the next-gen practice in a nutshell?

GC:

GC:

Well I’ll start with what it is now, which is looking after product portfolios.

The way we organise products at Xero is with a series of Executive General Managers and each one has a product portfolio, which is a group of the products. The products that I’m looking after are the practice ones, which you know as Xero HQ, Xero Practice Manager and the associated things around that. We have a whole load of extra features we’ve packed into Xero HQ now, like Ask, Document Packs & Xero Sign. It’s basically the things accountants and bookkeepers use to manage their own practices, clients, staff etc. An important part of it is the practice ecosystem. We have a group of partners who have integrations with Xero Practice Manager and Xero HQ, who we have a lot to do with as well.

I’ve been doing that in my most recent run for the last 6 months or so, but before that I spent a year doing a slightly different role at Xero because I was looking after my own software startup as well.

Before that I spent a couple of years at what became Xero Learn, the education version of Xero. We kicked that one off and it was great fun because it was all about what that was going to be and how to create it. Then an opportunity came up to look after the practice tools.

Xero keeps on growing and we have a lot of people working for us these days, so we’ve carved what used to be Practice & Compliance.

My colleague Levi has got the compliance side, as there are so many people and products now... so many features. It makes sense to spread it out a little which means I can really focus on the needs of the accountants and bookkeepers.

I spend all my time thinking about how I can make those work flows really efficient, take out any repeated drudgery that comes along with a job and get them to create space to focus on clients.

XU:

Absolutely. We’ve got quite a collection of practice applications. As I’m sure you know, Xero Practice Manager started life as WorkflowMax, then it was acquired by Xero quite a long time ago now. Xero Practice Manager is really a re-branded version of WorkflowMax. Under the hood, we’ve started the process of making Xero Practice Manager and WorkflowMax individual products. This means we can take Xero Practice Manager in it’s own direction and develop features specifically for accountants and bookkeepers, and the new WorkflowMax product team can focus on the features small businesses need and want. So now, we’ve set up bright futures for both products and they can go in their own directions which is exciting.

That’s one important precursor to what becomes next gen practice, which was an acquisition. Then we built Xero HQ, which started life as a client staff management tool. It was really hard to explain where Xero HQ sat next to Xero Practice Manager and we knew we needed to do something about it, so we built these things over here, we bought these things over there...

The tax tools are heavily integrated into them as well. We wanted to pull them all together, as the feedback we always get and want to solve is that people don’t want to have to put data in more than one time across the applications, because that doesn’t make sense. If you’re an accountant or bookkeeper and you’re using Xero, you’d just be asking “Why are they making me put this in more than once?”.

Those sort of double ups can cause all sorts of inconsistencies and it’s laborious, so we really wanted to bring all of that together.

It’s not just that of course, that’s the practice part. The thing about Xero and our application ecosystem is that you have buckets of really useful data on the clients of a practice scattered around the

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place. Xero Business is an amazing source of rich data that’s about the clients, all of their transactions and that sort of thing. Then you have the tax applications, which also have really useful information in them and you have our addons like payroll, expenses, projects etc.

Then you have the ecosystem so there are all these partners who have repositories of data.

With next gen practice we’re hoping to pull all of this together in a way that gives an accountant easy access, aerial view over all those bits of data that are scattered around the system. Beyond that they can also look across all of their clients and see which ones need the most attention. You can see at a glance all those little bits of data that are really important, whether it might be something simple like a financial period end, or a whole lot of unreconciled transactions, or an overdue payroll return...

Bringing together all of that information means that the next gen practice is giving you a customer relationship management tool, like a CRM. A lot of industries take this for granted. If you’re a corporate software sales rep then you have these really great tools where you can pull up a client and see everything that’s ever happened, everything they’ve sent or received, any relevant pieces of information. That’s quite hard to achieve for accounting and bookkeeping practices at the moment, so we want to do that all in the Xero universe where you have the power of the Xero Business applications, the Xero ecosystem and so on. Next gen practice is really having all the data in one place when you need it and making it flow the whole way through, for those unique needs of the very client-centric business that is accounting and bookkeeping.

XU:

It sounds a bit like Practice Management 2.0, on steroids.

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Issue 25 / 27

Interview

GC: XU:

It is!

What happens for those accounting and bookkeeping partners that have 90-95% of their client base working within Xero, but might have a couple of fringe ones that are using spreadsheets or QBR etc. Will they be able to use it?

GC:

Absolutely. That’s a cornerstone of the vision, to make sure it applies to not only clients on Xero, but all of the other clients too. Today, Xero HQ supports this notion and Xero Practice Manager does as well. You can have all of your clients on there, even the ones that are sitting on different kinds of ledgers or don’t have any software at all. That goes for filing taxes with Xero Tax, too.

That will continue to be the case and there will be some amazing opportunities as time goes by to join Xero ecosystem members with clients who aren’t sitting on Xero yet. We obviously hope they’ll all be using Xero eventually, but we recognise there are all sorts of reasons why you might have clients who are not on Xero at the moment, or they have other needs.

Supporting that and still being able to gather together as much of the information as possible is a really important part of it.

XU:

Within the ecosystem and various apps you’ve got linking in at the moment, will some start to fizzle out? For example, I’m thinking you’ve got other practice management software out there that currently integrates. Is there still a place for them?

GC:

Absolutely. One of the principles we’ve operated under for a long time that I really believe in is the idea of an open platform where you have choice. The problem with insisting on everyone using the same application for everything is that it fails to take account of the fact every business is different.

Accounting businesses are as different to each other as any other

28 / Issue 25

kind of business.

My background is all in creating software and I’ve worked in lots of different domains. I’ve worked in health, manufacturing… You see these different patterns again and again where someone comes along and brings a monolithic application that is very prescribed in the way that it’s designed to be worked.

That means 10% of the businesses are going to love it, it’s the best thing ever and nothing will ever come near it. But for 90% they’re going to be really frustrated and they’re not going to have choices, so they’ll have to do lots of nasty workarounds to make things happen.

We believe what works instead is having that choice from the very beginning so that you can compose the system that will meet your needs. It’s the same with the client base. Some clients need really sophisticated expense or inventory management software and some don’t, they need something lighter.

You really want to be able to plug all of those things together in the way that best suits them so you’ve got that flexibility. If it’s all locked down then that’s just going to be a real constraint for growth for most of the businesses. To make this happen we also hold the same principle for the way we work with apps, which is why we publicly launched our open platform principles to enable our app partners to have confidence in this too.

XU:

That makes sense.

What is the pathway for rolling out this vision? What can people expect to see coming out next?

GC:

The things that have just started rolling out now…

We’ve got a lot of work going on in that client list space, so what we call Practice Client Insights. Inside Xero HQ today, you’ve always had a basic list of clients with simple information, but we’re turning that into a much more dynamic experience. Now, you can add data points alongside that client information such as the number of

reconciled transactions. Soon there will be the type of bank feeds.

We’re going to be adding open banking information, which has become really important in the UK in terms of making sure the connections are working and are renewed when they’re meant to be.

There’s industry codes, subscription types, contact information and as we go we’re slowly adding things like better filtering and data export.

Again, it’s that flexibility. Yes, we’re trying to make this all singing and dancing, but at the end of the day we know that accountants and bookkeepers are power users of spreadsheets and there is always going to be times when you want to get the data out, into Excel to mess around with and then bring data back into the system. The idea of the client insights (that aerial view level) is very actively being worked on at the moment.

Document Packs are steadily rolling out. We had a pilot with our Australian customers, working with tax. We’ve added the ability now for Document Packs to include reports out of Xero and those get signed with Xero Sign, which is powered

by Adobe Sign. It’s the idea of that compilation pain point, not making our users enter data twice and bringing all of those documents into one place. Your clients don’t want to receive 15 different emails with 15 different things to sign, they need all of it in one bundle. That’s really exciting stuff that’s going on there.

We’re working really closely at the moment with one of our document management partners, but again we’re keeping that choice there.

There’s a range of document management applications for Xero. We’ve been working with FYI Docs on a closer integration with document management, really bringing it together with the other features of the practice platform, so we have a document management experience that links up with the rest of the things I’ve been talking about. Going back to the CRM pattern, one of the important things you really want is the communication element to be

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Interview tracked as well, so it’s easy to get to those kinds of communications. It’s a steady process.

One of the things we’re often asked about is Xero Practice Manager and how that fits into the equation.

If we’ve got this all singing and dancing portal of Xero HQ bringing the data together, what does that mean for Xero Practice Manager?

It stays very important and Xero Practice Manager users don’t need to worry because it’s still there.

We’re trying to make sure the user experiences that happen around recording time, manipulating jobs, assignment of tasks and that sort of thing are brought forward so they can still be accessed from that same central location. Under the hood it will still be Xero Practice Manager as the engine, but we’ll try and make that accessible from many places, so it’s really easy to record time regardless of what task you happen to be doing at the time.

XU:

So over time people would start to lose contact directly with Xero Practice Manager?

GC:

We definitely won’t be making anything harder for our users. When we’re doing the product development we engage users and partners and do a lot of research first. We’ve just run a big project we called ‘A day in the life of an Accountant’. We did really in depth interviews with a lot of different practices around the world to try and understand what a typical workflow looks like, right down to the first thing you do in the morning when you get to the office, or when you’re setting up in your home office. What is the variety of work?

How does it change over the day?

What keeps you up at night? What do you get really excited about?

We start with those kinds of activities and then we reach a point where we were like ‘Hmm… wouldn’t it be interesting if this workflow over here that you’re doing today with Xero Practice Manager was actually introduced through Xero HQ instead?’. We’ll prototype that up and take it out to a group of partners and test it out.

It’s a really interesting experience because the prototype is a clickable one so we’ll actually give it to them, record them and ask them to do tasks and watch to see what happens with the prototype. It means we haven’t had to build and ship the software yet, so we’re not spending millions on the software development, but we can test it and see if it makes any sense. It’s amazing the things that you learn that way. As a software developer, you can convince yourself you’ve created this amazing user experience and everyone is going to love it, you put it in front of a few different accountants and then they can’t find things or it doesn’t make sense and they hate it or they preferred something being somewhere else. So we use that as input to decide what to do. It may be that Xero Practice Manager plays less of a part directly, or it might be, as it is today, that Xero Practice Manager plays a hugely important part and we just improve that experience in Xero HQ. It’s just not something we can figure out until we’re out there testing.

in the Xero ecosystem who do corporate secretarial. One of the things I think will work from a workflow perspective is taking our app partners who are operating in areas such as engagement and onboarding, and integrating between Xero Practice Manager and out again to things like corporate secretarial applications. If you imagine an onboarding workflow, getting that key information upfront digitally from the new client, taking it through to the middle, creating some new jobs from it and going out to the corporate secretarial to prepare some of the returns and things that are required to be filed, and then using the document management and Document Packs.

That’s the kind of thing we’re envisaging. We really value the things our app partners do and corporate secretarial is one of those places where it’s really important to have owned by someone who knows the space really deepy and would integrate with the likes of Companies House in the UK, or Companies Office in Australia and New Zealand and so on.

XU:

That said, we do have integrations with Companies House in our tax products and we would imagine we’ll have similar sorts of things going on as those APIs open up.

The UK is a fascinating space right now in terms of making tax digital, you’ve really got that innovation and opening up of the data. There are some quite well managed development experiences. I was pleasantly surprised. I’m signed up to all the developer programmes in New Zealand and the UK so I can

That makes a lot of sense. One of the things I hear asked about a lot, especially in the UK, is related to companies secretarial activities.

If we’re entering changes into the single source of data this side, is there going to be the ability to pass that on to external bodies, such as Company House in the UK and it’s equivalents elsewhere?

GC:

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We have a number of partners already

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Issue 25 / 29

Interview hard to work out.

get all of the communications as they build that stuff. It’s a really well managed programme. On the surface it looks like what you’d expect from APIs with a nice piece of Silicon Valley technology, so I think if they keep on churning out quality pieces of technology like that it will make it a lot easier for Xero and our ecosystem to integrate with them.

XU:

A lot of accountants are using it as a good excuse to say to their clients that they’ve actually got to give you all of their data now because you’ve got to submit it all, you can’t just fill in boxes.

GC: XU:

Exactly! You can’t just hand me a wad of paper.

Is this rolling out the same speed globally and what are the challenges you’ve faced from different countries you’re in?

GC:

It is a challenge having to cater to a lot of different jurisdictions. One of the nice things about my portfolio is that it’s actually a lot more similar than you might think within different regions and countries.

Tax authorities and the way clients do business vary dramatically across regions, but in the end when servicing clients to do compliance and advisory, their workflows are pretty similar. This has helped us speed up the process for entering new markets, as well as solving complex challenges that arise with regulatory change.

30 / Issue 25

The variation tends to be more the mix of apps and integrations, like the things you mentioned with Companies House. It’s those places where those variations happen. In terms of the actual practice itself and what next-gen practice looks like, that’s a reasonably universal concept. As we’ve been talking about, it’s that ability to compose bits of an ecosystem together, that’s what gives us a lot of flexibility to do that. We’re focusing on the core and making that a really strong platform and then let that choice happen around the edges. It actually takes away what could be a really painful experience. We’re helping cater to a million different authorities and workflows all on one platform.

XU:

Today, I feel like we spend a lot of time reflecting things that for 90% of the time the accountant or bookkeeper will go “Yeah, yeah I already know. it’s good to have it there, I can see the trusted information, but I’ve got a pretty good feel of where my clients are at.” When we get into the real data insights where we’re actually making predictions and pulling together things that are at a really large scale in terms of benchmarking and so on, then we can start to surface insights that are new information.

If you imagine you sit down, you’re looking at Xero HQ and your list of clients, you’re doing work on this client and then- “Oh wow, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that there’s a new piece of tax legislation which is coming out that wasn’t going to affect this client, but now it is. Oh, and by the way it looks like they’ll be getting into a little bit of cash flow difficulty in three months and we need to do something about it”. It’s when we get into that really amazing future world of bringing those insights together with basic business information, but presenting it all in one place so advisors and businesses can act on the most important insights. That’s when it gets really interesting.

Is there anything you’re really looking forward to over the next few years? A new direction or features you can see will come into place, or will you wait for the feedback and see how it goes?

Do you think there are any apps now, or over the next 12 months, that could really help on the journey of what you’re releasing? Any new, different styles or forward thinking apps?

GC:

GC:

That’s definitely part of it. In the background we have a big data team who are working away, bringing really interesting insights into the data that we hold. We’ve done a lot of work on cash flow forecasting for example. So it’s applying the techniques of data science and machine learning to those sorts of things with the scale of data we have these days. If you bring one of those little insights forward for a list of clients, suddenly you’ve got these really interesting indicators that tell you things which are very

XU:

Well, we have many great apps but one that is interesting and part of this next gen practice is FYI, from a document management perspective. It’s one we’ve had a lot of good feedback on from partners who are already using it. Document management is traditionally tough, it’s hard. It’s one of those areas that can be a real source of inefficiency for practices and clients alike. That’s one of the places that could make a really big difference.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Interview

XU: GC: XU:

They’re a good team too, they’re nice guys.

Yeah, Rob’s lovely.

What are you doing to fit in with the new ways of working whilst people are more remote and not in the same office?

GC:

I can only imagine what it must have been like to be the practices which are still looking, waiting and watching to see if they should be on the cloud and realising that their server is in the cupboard and they’re not in the office, so they’ve got a real problem there. We do know there was a fantastic survey done where the findings were that unsurprisingly the practices who reported finding things were going okay for them through Covid were the ones who were already well and truly on that cloud journey. I think if you’re caught short with that kind of thing and everyone else is at home as well, it’s pretty difficult to get a digital transformation project going and get stuff onto the cloud. There’s

an awful lot of questions about how that will work and steps to take.

We also know from our customer and small business perspective, the ones that are already ahead in terms of ecommerce and inventory are able to get their businesses pivoting and moving way faster. If they’re got advisors who are already using cloud software then their staff are at home, inactive. One of the things we always tell people is that for a small business, an accountant is not just an accountant. They’re a port of call for all business advice because they’re the first relationship and anytime anything interesting happens they’re the ones they have to go to.

As the governments rolled out their various assistant packages then there are obviously going to be a lot of questions like whether you’re going to be eligible to apply, how do you get these numbers together, what do you do… There was a tremendous volume of work just in that for the advisors. For those practices that are already on the cloud and using Xero, there’s no problem. The ledgers are already

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there on the cloud which means the practices can focus on running their practices and the small businesses can focus on running their small businesses. They’re not spending all their time focusing on what happens next in terms of the rapidly changing world. It’s hard, but it’s considerably easier when you’ve got those things taken care of.

XU:

Are there a few next easy steps you can suggest in terms of next gen practice?

GC:

There are two Xero On Air episodes you can watch on YouTube- the first episode goes through the vision for our Xero partners and the second episode goes through some recent enhancements we’ve made to specific workflows.

The call to action at the end of those episodes is joining our Xero Insiders Programme, for our existing partners who want really early access to things like features we’ll be rolling out as next gen practice, and they can be part of the feedback.

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Issue 25 / 31

4

ways to cure your Self Assessment headache

Every New Year hails the annual scramble to gather Self Assessment information. Millions of people, calculating their expenses, income, interest… as their bookkeepers and accountants send increasingly urgent requests.

@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 three years and AccountancyManager helps thousands of practices automate their onboarding, record requests and task lists every day.

T

his year, businesses have been turning to their accountants for more information and advice than ever before.

With this level of support likely to continue for some time, we’re facing a busy season like no other.

Let AccountancyManager take care of Self Assessment preparation AccountancyManager was designed by an accountant to eradicate his practice’s most time-consuming tasks. As you’d expect, a key area he focused on was the lead up to the Self Assessment deadline.

1) Online Self Assessment forms for every type of client Gather exactly what you need from each client with custom forms.

We’ve gone ahead and saved a default Self Assessment form in AccountancyManager, but you can tweak it, duplicate it to make different versions or start one from scratch.

Instead of emailing forms to clients, simply publish them to the secure, GDPR-compliant portal. You’ll get a notification in AccountancyManager when your client has filled in a form - or partly completed one. Then you can move on to your next task in preparing the submission. Until your clients complete their form, AM will continue to chase them with automated emails and/or texts.

32 / Issue 25

2) Automated record requests & reminders At the heart of AccountancyManager lies automated record requests for every service you offer. These emails and texts ask your clients to supply the records you need to complete and/or file their: Accounts, Self Assessment, VAT, Management Accounts, Bookkeeping, Confirmation Statement, Payroll and SA8OO. The integration between AccountancyManager and Companies House pulls through your clients’ accounting period end dates and deadlines to control when these requests are sent.

Simply choose how often you’d like to remind your clients that you’re waiting on their records by adding the number of days after the period end you’d like the reminders to be sent.

3) Online approvals and updates for your team

It couldn’t be easier for your clients to approve their Self Assessment submission. They simply log into their portal to review and e-sign the documents. You can track approvals and completed forms in your client timeline.

You don’t need to keep track of which clients have responded, AccountancyManager will alert you.

Confirm that you’ve received the required approval, then filter your task list to see which submissions you can complete.

4) Tax payment reminders for your clients Make sure your clients pay their tax on time by setting up automatic email and text reminders. They’ll appreciate the nudge and you don’t need to lift a finger.

FIND OUT MORE...

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at: > accountancymanager.co.uk

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Issue 25 / 33

7

Reasons You Need to do Performance Reviews

They’re way more important than you think (and don’t need to be difficult!)

P

erformance reviews are one of the most underused and misunderstood management tools available. Particularly in small businesses, performance reviews tend to be postponed or neglected in favour of more urgent matters. This is especially true as often, neither the manager nor the employee seems motivated to have the review! But the truth is, performance reviews are far more important than you might think.

They also don’t need to be difficult to do (especially once you’ve got the right performance review templates in place).

If you’re not yet in the habit of conducting regular performance appraisals, you’re doing your employees and your company a huge disservice. Here’s why performance reviews should not be missed - even for small and medium companies; 1) Demonstrate You Value Employees While most employees might say they dislike performance reviews, in reality, companies that implement regular employee reviews have lower turnover rates than companies that do not provide 34 / Issue 25

@HRPartner

Fiona Adler, Director, HR Partner Fiona is passionate about helping small and medium businesses get the tools and know-how to grow and streamline their operations.

She has worked with SMB’s for over 20 years - creating and building online solutions that help them operate in the best ways possible. With a background in business consulting and an MBA, Fiona knows there is nothing more important than the Human Resources function.

regular feedback. Even if done poorly, the mere fact that you’re doing them sends a signal that your employees are important.

2) Strengthen Relationships Performance reviews create a greater bond between managers and employees.

When there’s a regular, honest discussion taking place, any issues are surfaced and each party has a greater understanding of each other. In order to build strong relationships with employees, managers must continuously build their skills in providing feedback, and make scheduling performance reviews a top priority.

3) Clarify Roles & Expectations It’s likely that some of your employees have very different ideas about their position than what was intended. Having regular performance reviews get everyone aligned and on the same page. It’s a great opportunity to clarify the roles and most workers want to know where they stand regarding their job performance and are interested to see how they can help

the company.

4) Help Keep Remuneration Fair Compensation and promotion decisions are difficult to get right but having a regular interval where you stop and evaluate each employees’ package can help you keep in line internally, and with market rates. (Otherwise, you can easily be faced with having salary and promotion discussions all year long!) This can also mean that the squeaky wheels are the ones that will get attention – meaning that you can easily overlook more deserving, but less demanding employees.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

5) Recognise Top Performers It’s easy to take great team members for granted, but having regular performance reviews ensures that you’ll actually realise which employees are going above and beyond. This gives you an opportunity to give them the appropriate recognition – whether that be verbal appreciation or increased remuneration. (Do this before they realise their own value and decide to go elsewhere!)

6) Face Performance Issues Likewise, having regular performance reviews forces you to confront any issues with performance and decide on a plan of action. Most of us dislike confrontation and awkward conversations, but in many cases, these are the most important discussions to have. Dealing with poor performance is one of the most important things you can do for your company.

7) Set Motivating Goals Performance appraisals are the ideal time to take a step back

and discuss the big picture – both for the organisation, and for each employee.

Otherwise it can be easy to get caught up in day-to-day business without anyone thinking ahead and with a more strategic lens.

Inspiring goals are a great way to get employees motivated and excited for the impact they can have on your organization, and their career.

For the vast majority of businesses, performance reviews are an essential management tool for all of these reasons and more.

Free Performance Review Templates To make it easier for small and medium businesses to conduct regular performance appraisals, we’ve prepared 4 commonly used types of performance reviews.

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Downloadable and editable versions of these are available totally free of charge. Just go to: hrpartner.io/templates

FIND OUT MORE...

Start a free trial today or request a no-obligation demo: > www.hrpartner.io

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Issue 25 / 35

Case Study

Engineering change through changing times

@TidyInt

Michelle Nicol, writer, Wordstruck writing and training Michelle is a copywriter, trainer and brand storyteller who helps businesses tell their story through words that attract attention. A former BBC journalist, she loves nosing out a great story and sharing her writing expertise through training and workshops.

Investment in technology and skills is key to survival in the everchanging world of business. We spoke to family-owned engineering company F.V. Evans & Sons about how it has adapted to changing markets throughout its history and how always looking in new directions will help ensure future success.

T

here’s an unmistakable note of pride as General Manager, Peter Evans spoke of his company’s history. This family-owned design and build engineering company, based in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, was started by his grandfather, father, and uncle after the Second World War. Over the years, the business has gone from blacksmithing to mechanical engineering, making jigs for vehicle manufacturers, to today, manufacturing specialised equipment for the expanding recycling industry.

Using a skilled workforce, some of whom have over 20 years’ experience, F.V. Evans & Sons take on projects large and small and have built foot bridges, locomotive inspection platforms, logging equipment, radial saws and more, which are used around the world.

Technology for changing times Peter explains how the company has always looked to the future and invested in technology to meet the changing demands of the engineering industry. “We were one of the first to have computerised machines in our workshop, way back in the 80s. It seemed like a 36 / Issue 25

lot of money at the time, but we did it and we haven’t looked back.

When economic policies meant that we needed to look beyond vehicle jigs to other work, we got into the business of making industrial shredders. Now we do a lot of CAD work for our drawings, so technology is always changing.”

focused economy has also meant investing in business software. F.V. Evans & Sons uses TidyWork to keep track of engineering projects and links it to Xero for invoicing.

Peter explains: “It can take 6 weeks to build one of our Eva-Shred shredders. They’re made to order, with every one slightly different, With New Zealand’s with different relatively low labour “It helps us keep an eye cutters, hoppers, and material on materials and labour stands, blades costs, companies costs, mark-up and things and so on, so we across the world like that and then we don’t hold lots of turn to F.V. invoice through Xero, so stock. TidyWork Evans & Sons for that’s a really good feature, is our project engineering skills that saves a lot of double management tool. and expertise handling.”

We use it mainly at a competitive for billing and time price. You’ll find one management. It helps us of their shredders working keep an eye on materials and in a flower farm in Kenya where labour costs, mark-up and things it helps recycle old rose stems, like that and then we invoice bushes and roots into compost for through Xero, so that’s a really good the next generation in the plant’s lifecycle. They are currently working feature, that saves a lot of double handling.” on a huge wash down tank for New Zealand’s rail company which will From lockdown to pick up clean locomotives and recycle the water used.

Peter says Coronavirus has made international business more Software for a modern business challenging: “Covid-19 has made freight more difficult. It’s a lot Managing high-quality engineering more expensive now to send our projects in today’s technologyXU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Case Study shredders overseas, the cost has effectively doubled in the last 6 months and we’ve had to airfreight some projects. We’ve also had delays in getting supplies of raw materials too.”

When the New Zealand government imposed a country-wide lockdown to tackle Covid-19, F.V. Evans & Sons was shut down for 4 weeks.

Peter smiles wryly as he says: “We’re a mechanical engineering company, we can’t work from home!

It was hard then, but after that, things started picking up. We had a short sharp shock and then were able to get back into it.”

The benefit of cloud-based software Although most of F.V. Evans & Sons’ engineering work is based in their workshop, they do benefit from using cloud-based software to manage projects and billing.

Peter explains: “Before we started using TidyWork and Xero, we used a software program to help us keep track of costs, but that soon got old, so we wanted something more modern and user friendly. With a cloud-based system, you always have access to the latest version.

And it’s handy to have a quick look at what’s going on if you’re travelling overseas.”

Peter also points to TidyWork’s flexibility and local New Zealand based support as a factor in choosing it as the software that helps him manage his engineering business. “There’s not many decent software programs out there that serve our market,” he says, “so Tidy’s quite unique. We got a couple of extra reports to get the information we needed, in the form we needed. We’re just happy

from tyres to computer waste, offering added security to the destruction of hard drives, cell phones and confidential data.

because it’s easy to use, and it gives us the information we want, but it’s great to have local support if you need it. They’re very quick to get back to you.”

With engineers currently working on a new machine that will shred and sterilise medical waste, F.V. Evans & Sons continues to look in new directions. By investing in innovative products, and training people in engineering skills, this is one company that ensures it is well equipped for the future, whatever challenges the world faces.

Always looking in new directions Peter continues to be optimistic about the future and says his business plans haven’t changed.

F.V. Evans & Sons regularly add to their pool of skills and experience by taking on apprentices to learn mechanical engineering and they will have one more starting next year.

As a family-owned engineering business for more than 60 years, F.V. Evans & Sons has gone from making machines that help make things, to creating machines that break things down to help ensure a greener future. As Peter explains, shredding is often the first stage in recycling and reducing waste that goes into landfill. Their Eva-Shred shredders eat through anything

The Management Team at F.V. Evans & Sons Stewart Homan (Workshop Manager), Peter Evans (General Manager), Neil Rees, (Sales Manager)

FIND OUT MORE...

To find out more about how you can make your business Tidy, visit: > tidyinternational.com/solutions

Mobile spend control for a hospitality business Read more in our blog!

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Issue 25 / 37

38 / Issue 25

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Issue 25 / 39

Boost efficiency with Google Sheets and G-Accon S

preadsheets are the pillars of our modern-day society. They are useful for work, record-keeping, collaborating, or just personal organization. In the world of spreadsheets, there are two main contenders – Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. We would like to take a moment to talk more about these two formats to highlight their differences and to explain which you should use in various situations that you may encounter with your business.

Here’s what you need to know about what makes Sheets and Excel different.

Pricing Google Sheets is available for free to use with no installation required.

On the other hand, Excel requires a one-time payment to Microsoft Office or a subscription to Office 365. Google Sheets is the clear winner here in terms of pricing.

Collaboration Collaboration is made incredibly simple with Google Sheets. As the owner of a spreadsheet, you can decide how much or how little access everyone has (view vs edit) to it. Furthermore, you can also collaborate in real-time with your team. In real-time collaboration, multiple users can interact with the same document at the same time.

40 / Issue 25

This is an incredibly advantageous feature for team projects and documents that require input from multiple parties. Clearly, collaboration is built into Google Sheets. Any modifications or comments made can be seen in real-time and you can quickly see what cells other users are on. You can also keep track of every single change made by clicking the “last edit” text at the top of the toolbar.

Microsoft Excel Online also has features for collaboration built in: users can see others’ work as well as who made which particular change. Unfortunately, users of the standalone Excel application (as opposed to Excel online) cannot host a co-authoring session. Yet again, Google Sheets is the winner here.

Sharing Simple sharing is a huge benefit of Google Sheets. If you are trying to share your spreadsheet with anybody within your organization, Google Sheets’ “Share” feature is easy to find and use. Additionally, It automatically sends a notification to the email that you have shared the spreadsheet with.

Cloud and Synchronization Cloud storage allows you to access files from anywhere without having to have a program downloaded.

Google Sheets was actually built

@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.

as a cloud-based alternative to Microsoft Excel. Everything is accessible from your Google account and you are able to see and open all of your files from Google Drive. Synchronization is another unique Google Sheets feature because it is all done automatically.

If you create a file, it is saved on your Google Drive, which instantly makes it accessible from anywhere.

Google Sheets autosaves every change you make, so you never have to worry about losing new data if your computer crashes. If you’re using Excel on Office 2019 or an earlier version, a special setting is required for synchronization.

Evidently, this is another area where Google Sheets comes out ahead.

Why Do Some People Prefer Google Sheets?

While a lot of people stick with Excel, many more have switched over to Google Sheets. There are multiple reasons why people prefer Sheets over Excel: • Easier to learn • Accessible through different web browsers • Cleaner interface • Real-time collaboration feature • Simple collaboration with convenient document sharing • Free • You are able to collaborate on the same document from anywhere in

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

the world • Cloud storage eliminates the need to back up files on a shared drive or a portable hard drive.

• Built-in revision history Why Do Accountants and Bookkeepers Prefer G-Accon?

First of all, we can truly say that G-Accon is a Cloud-based application built on Google technology and is a platform that enables Google Sheets to connect with your business.

Cloud and Synchronization in G-Accon With G-Accon, you have the ability to...

• Seamlessly integrate Google Sheets with Xero and synchronize data in both directions.

• Easily connect to multiple Xero companies/clients and pull realtime reports & data into Google spreadsheets.

• Make changes to your data in Google Sheets and push it back to Xero automatically or with one click. No messy CSV files and no hassle.

• Automatically generate and

export data & reports to Excel, PDF, Google Sheets or CSV files.

• Auto-email updated reports to multiple recipients.

• Connect to multiple Xero organizations, consolidate data, build custom reports and publish live charts to a website.

• Connect to Google Data Studio, Tableau or Power BI to build interactive BI dashboards.

Of course, you can save your custom reports and query templates in the Cloud, re-use them, share with your team and clients, and have the opportunity to focus more on global business tasks.

Collaboration and sharing in G-Accon You can also use other teams’ templates as the basis for your own because the system uniquely allows you to download various shared/ saved templates and modify them.

A key benefit of shared templates is their reusability and consistency.

These templates allow development investments from one team to be reused and shared with another.

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This makes your work consistent and replicable across various teams and departments within your company, highlighting your company’s reliability.

You can also collaborate in Google Drive with your team, colleagues, and clients.

G-Accon for Xero is a great tool for accountants, advisors, bookkeepers, and business owners to extract, review, and cleanup Xero data, customize and automate reporting, consolidate data, import data in bulk, build charts, and manipulate data using the power and convenience of Google Sheets. Our users report increased productivity and enormous time savings on everyday tasks such as reporting, data entry, and reconciliation workflows.

FIND OUT MORE...

To learn more about how G-Accon integrates with Xero by visiting G-Accon website: > www.accon.services/ gacconforxero.html

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Issue 25 / 41

Why now is the right time to harness your clients’ data to power growth

@re_leased

Grace Thomson, Partnerships Manager, Re-Leased Grace partners with progressive accounting firms who want to leverage modern technology to scale their practices and transform their client relationships.

The COVID-19 crisis has stressed the importance of using integrated property management software to gain insight into how the market and your clients’ portfolios are performing so you can become a valued advisor, not just statutory compliance.

W

Steven Kühn, Head of Software, Azets

hy now is the time to grow

“I’m going to say something controversial, I think any time of recession can be a time of growth,” said Steven Kuhn, Head of Software at Azets, during the latest ReLeased Webinar Turning data into your most valuable asset. The webinar was hosted by Re-Leased, a property management software platform designed for commercial and mixed portfolios.

“When things are too easy for too long, we become complacent and it effectively causes wastage in any form of business,” says Steven.

Tom Wallace, CEO and Founder, Re-Leased

As many countries head into a second or third lockdown and the World Bank forecasts a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP in 2020, now is a great time to reflect on Steven’s message, that we need to become more efficient. Operating environments are fundamentally changing, making financial clarity and control more important than ever. Accountants have a valuable opportunity to help clients operate efficiently and set them up for success by ensuring they have access to the data they need.

Why data is your most valuable asset “What gets measured, gets

42 / Issue 25

managed,” is Peter Drucker’s famous quote, and in the current environment, measuring the right things is more important than ever.

Businesses need to do all they can to manage the widespread uncertainty and volatility from the COVID-19 crisis.

“Relying on gut-feel and instinct doesn’t really work too well if you are in a situation that hasn’t happened before,” says Tom Wallace, CEO and Founder of ReLeased.

Data has the power to better inform your clients’ key decisions, and give you the insights needed to establish trends. The only way you can see a short or long-term trend is by looking at data daily, weekly, and monthly.

“You need to know the rhythm of your business,” says Steven.

“When there is any variance in data or trends, you need to know what caused that spike. If you know what caused that spike it is very easy to know whether it is short or long term.”

You can establish the importance of data by asking your property clients the following: • Do you understand how your portfolio is performing at all

times?

• How do you compare to the market?

• Can you easily share results and insights with those who matter most?

If your clients are not sure of the answers to your questions, you have identified a huge opportunity for adding value and solidifying your position as a key business advisor.

To help answer some of these questions, Re-Leased recently launched CREDIA, a free to access intelligence and analytics platform designed to provide greater transparency and insight into the health of the commercial real estate market. The CREDIA Index shares statistics on occupier performance, leasing trends, and national averages to benchmark against the wider market and asset classes.

How to use data to grow There is a lot of work to be done between having access to data and being able to use data to make decisions. This boils down to two critical steps: 1. What do your clients want to achieve: This allows you to determine required outputs by focusing on measures that will be

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

the most influential in allowing your clients to achieve their goals.

2. What do your clients need to input: In order to create a report, you need to standardise the way you and your clients input data that will be used in the report.

Setting up good data reporting systems is time-consuming.

However, thanks to the connected cloud a lot of this work has already been done. Accountants who implement fully-integrated vertical solutions for their clients can fast-track their ability to provide data-led advice. Industry-specific, integrated apps that plug directly into Xero give you access to well thought out fields and inputs that work to standardise clients data, creating measurable KPIs that are accessible for decision-makers. ReLeased provides this functionality by connecting with Xero.

“The benefit of Re-Leased is that it does a lot of the heavy lifting for

you already,” says Steven.

“So it allows you to standardise within this vertical, how data is input, how you do maintenance, how you upload costs and jobs on repairs to a cloud platform, and then it gives you tangible KPIs on the output without having to go through a lot of that work because it is already set.”

“Instead of wasting your brainpower reading excel spreadsheets, you can actually look at 10,000 items that have been analysed and make far better decisions,” says John Geoghegan, Re-Leased and Xero customer.

The number of real estate businesses adopting new technology and using data to manage their businesses has been growing rapidly. This is evidenced by the 45% increase in the number of tenancies managed on the ReLeased platform since 1st January 2020.

“It is no longer just ‘nice to have’ technology to run your business safely, securely, and remotely. It is now a ‘must-have’,” says Tom. Accountants should not miss this important opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive impact on their client’s businesses by taking ownership of the numbers to become a trusted business advisor.

Businesses need advice when finding the right technology stacks and leveraging the data made available, and accountants are perfectly placed to provide this.

FIND OUT MORE...

Add value to your property clients, find out more about Re-Leased property management software: > re-leased.com/en-gb/partnerprogram

CONNECTED APP

Powerful & intuitive management software infoodle helps you streamline your finance processes manage donations & Gift Aid filing release time focus on your mission

Charities, Churches & Community groups

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Issue 25 / 43

Why You Should Be Tracking All of Your Time Whether You Plan to Bill for it or Not!

@minutedock

Bryce Armstrong, Customer Success Manager, MinuteDock Bryce is dipping his toes into the cloud-based accounting ecosystem after recently partnering up with his brother Jared, founder of MinuteDock: time management software for professional services.

The team from MinuteDock put forward an argument for tracking billable and non-billable time to get the most out of your time tracking service...

I

t’s a common misconception when people start using time tracking software: the idea that we should only bother tracking the hours we mean to actually charge the client for. But it’s important to consider whether keeping track of your non-billable hours might be worthwhile. In fact, you might well discover that tracking all of your work hours during a given day is highly worthwhile.

Understanding how much of your workday is getting used for certain non-billable tasks, such as staff meetings, will let you identify areas where you might be using an inefficient process.

It’s hugely valuable to gain an in-depth understanding of which parts of your workday are actually generating income for your business. Knowing how you are spending billable and non-billable time is the first step to streamlining your work processes and making every moment count towards your business success.

Knowing how many non-billable hours are being put towards clients will allow you to identify the kinds of clients who require more of that time, allowing you to make prudent decisions around the value of a given product to your business. You might find that a particular type of project would be better billed at a fixed price to better reflect the 44 / Issue 25

overall work and effort put in by your team.

also digitize your documentation whenever possible to make finding what you need as easy as possible.

Recording all the hours you work, whether you bill them or not, will let But why track time at all? Your key performance indicators in many you identify work hours which you industries will perhaps should be billing include meeting for, but currently aren’t. deadlines, It’s important to the “Ultimately, regardless making sure all long-term health of your profession, the hours are billed, of any business time you spend working and identifying to make sure is a valuable and finite profitable that your resource. Don’t make the service areas. work is being Time tracking appropriately mistake of wasting it by increases compensated. not knowing exactly where productivity by it is being spent!” making it clear Keeping good track where time is being of your time will help spent throughout the day. you to figure out where The identification of time spent you may be wasting it! You will be on non-billable work is massively able to identify those non-billable valuable for determining what tasks tasks which might be taking up more of your time than they should, can be outsourced. and make appropriate changes to Ultimately, regardless of your streamline those processes. profession, the time you spend working is a valuable and finite It’s only natural to prefer to be resource. Don’t make the mistake spending your time on work which of wasting it by not knowing exactly you will actually charge for. So where it is being spent! how do we try to minimize the number of non-billable hours we accumulate, without sacrificing the benefits that those hours can provide? One good trick is to try to use as much automation in your FIND OUT MORE... non-billable processes as you can. Reducing the administrative Check out other MinuteDock workload, for example by making stories at: payment reminders automated, > minutedock.com/academy can be a huge time saver. You can XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Billing & Payment Automation Do your clients sell complex subscription or usage products?

Emersion makes it easy for your team to handle high volumes of complicated accounts receivable work while improving your clients cash flow and profit margins.

We can automate the entire billing and payment process for MSPs, Telcos, Wholesalers and Utility Providers and synchronise the data back to Xero in real time.

Reduce your workload Free up your team’s time with automatic invoice generation, dispatch, payment processing.

Streamline billing operations Usage and pro-rata charges are automatically calculated and applied to every invoice.

Collections notifications

Send automated collections notifications for overdue invoices, payment failures and expiring credit cards.

Payment integrations Emersion integrates to local banks and payment gateways enabling multiple payment methods and lower fees than commonly used providers.

Real-time synchronisation Synchronise account, transaction, payment and invoice data from Emersion to Xero in real time.

Online customer portals Empower customers to update their account details, view invoices and make payments online with our online customer portals.

Accounting practices in Australia and New Zealand – join our partner program an you'll receive a referral bonus when a client of yours signs up with Emersion.

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Issue 25 / 45

Emerging from the storm While living in a Covid world has been turbulent for people and their businesses, it has also provided an opportunity for accountants to get closer than ever to clients. Phil Shohet (Senior Consultant, Foulger Underwood) reveals how accountancy partners and owners must now take steps to improve their service offering, be more efficient and better manage their operations to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... @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. Quality is certified to ISO9001:2015 and Business Continuity certified to ISO22301:2019.

46 / Issue 25

F

or many practice owners and partners, this period of time is crystallising their future plans, ambitions and prosperity.

But they may not be controlling their destiny.

While Covid-19, and its huge impact is key to this disruption, it piggybacks other big changes in recent months and years: HMRC’s digitisation project through Making Tax Digital; the huge increase in automation of accounting, tax and client data collection tasks; and online/digital-focused accountancy practices have all made changes to the landscape.

Practice owners and partners, certainly in firms focused on compliance services, can find themselves in a quandary about adapting and evolving. Their

vision only reaches out to the next wave of tax return and accounting deadlines – setting out a path for future prosperity and the impact on services and your people can be hard to undertake when the day job is of comfort. Covid has, understandably, seen practitioners undertaking emergency support for their client base but spending even less time on their practice’s own direction.

So, this is a starting point for what accountants must focus on to service their client base, how that will impact on a practice’s structure and then expectations upon partners and owners to deliver.

What your clients want from you Fundamentally there are five key areas that clients seek support on

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

The hallmarks of a model firm What does Foulger Underwood senior consultant Phil Shohet FCA see as hallmarks of a firm that is structured in a modern, fit and efficient way?

• In excess of 50% of its work is ‘advisory’, and includes financial services/wealth management • Some 20% of clients produce in excess of 70% of fees • Some audit work - but not dominating the practice • Business services and noncomplex tax work is outsourced, with exacting IT and processing specification determined by

from their accountant: • Compliance services; • Wealth management/protection; • Tax mitigation/planning; • Consultancy/business advisory services; and • An opportunity to have access to virtual information and forecasting.

This can be distilled even further.

Ultimately, you’re helping people and their companies make (more) money, keeping tax liabilities to a legal minimum and protecting their gained wealth – whether for the business or family.

Unfortunately, there is historically a dramatic underservicing of clients.

And this is not just in the so-called ‘valued-added’ services, but more generally. Why? Because so few practitioners actively ask their clients how they are and what they might be able to do to help.

the practice. Client contact and relationship will stay with the practice • More complex tax and payroll work managed in-house. This also includes audit • Close relationship with clients and family members Even if this model isn’t suitable for all firms, there is always an argument to make advisory services a significant proportion of the overall practice.

Have you the vision, ownership, and responsibility for the changed model?

Correspondingly there is an overservicing of compliance technical processing, for example on small audits where the external reviews often praise the compliance detail and box ticking, but ignore the additional advisory level services.

There is not an overly-complicated way in which to bill more advisory fees compared to compliance. The compliance services themselves often create an opportunity to provide advisory – unfortunately, so often the tail wags the dog.

Self-assessment is a perfect example. Practices receive SArelated information so late from clients that it creates the huge overload of work in December and January. This creates a vicious, not virtuous, circle. It means there isn’t time to then get to know clients better.

So, the cycle needs to be broken:

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How do you get information in earlier? Rather than send passive emails to clients asking them to file earlier (which doesn’t work), instead call or email them personally and ask what they are doing, and how that impacts the direction of travel for their income and subsequent tax bill. This may give an opportunity to provide them with extra support – but on the proviso that their income information comes in earlier for processing. The practice should be looking at a real-time information flow between itself and clients and encourage the use of apps for client data delivery. You may then be able to bill more for supplementary tax support, mitigate their tax bill further, and all the while reducing your January workload.

The beauty of working this way is that you are using your combined technical knowledge and experience to better help your clients. It doesn’t need to be something you feel is out of your comfort zone.

Crucially, success in this area will be conditional on outsourcing some of your work to create a lower cost base and a more efficient processing system. MTD is pushing the need for a more regular flow of information between yourself and the client. A combination of automation and a dedicated third party managing/checking the flow of data is now crucial for the survival of a profitable and Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 47

Making such considerations is crucial. For example, is audit a viable service for smaller firms?

There’s no longevity necessarily there: audit thresholds creep up and clients will inevitably move to bigger auditors when they seek funding and grow in scale.

“The last 6

sustainable accounting practice.

However, outsourcing doesn’t mean losing control of your clients; to the contrary, outsourced processes should help you better understand and communicate more frequently with clients.

So, think about the systems you and months… has, for Entrepreneurs your clients use. many practices, can be a difficult Uniformity and required flexibility and client base to ease of flow of swift decision-making handle: they often accurate data are to adapt workflows, make excessive key. And while processes and demands. But if accountants are satisfied they will ruled by deadline communications.” be lucrative in terms of set by lawmakers and both direct fee income and enforcement agencies, their willingness to promote your they should work with clients firm through referrals. towards the practice’s own, most optimal, timescale.

But it is no good understanding who you want to serve – and how Creating a firm of the future if your partners are unable to help adequately support existing clients While calling more clients more and bring new ones on board. often is, in itself relatively simple to conceive, there are broader Leading in a new direction considerations about how a practice will operate in the future.

Partners must want to develop In essence: business, and that must sit alongside their desire to steer • Fees will be earned on the basis current clients. On the latter, too of value for money; many partners spend too much time • Firms will be organised into processing compliance work rather specialist departments along than understanding the client to service lines; drive more fees.

• Statutory requirements will become a ‘smaller’ part of the Small teams, or units, must support firm’s work; the partner in providing the client • More competition will come from service. The partner can remain outside the profession; and close, but not undertake the grunt • The firm will be, in essence, a work themselves. provider of business services.

Practices that are more proactive with clients, use technology to automate input-heavy processes, and look to support clients across a broad range of needs, will need to take the above points into account.

There are a large number of diversification opportunities that exist for accountancy firms, for which the level and extent is driven by the market the firm wishes to service, but more importantly the business development acumen of the partners and their desire to operate in a structure as suggested above.

48 / Issue 25

For many firms it is a lot of change, whether measured by client service provision, processes or operational management.

pragmatism is carried forward in the future to encourage questioning of the status quo, provide channels for new ideas from internal and external sources and take action to change where deemed justified.

An ongoing questioning of comfort zones by all partners and a commitment to adopt change agreed.

This is, in some ways, the toughest aspect of change – where practices and their people have operated in a certain way for a long period of time. But leaders must lead, using their gravitas and persuasion to bring partners on board to start turning the ship. This means the most senior people must be flexible: client-facing but not number-crunching; and playing a part in setting a strategy or plan to drive up profits.

Covid has driven clients into the arms of their accountant, but if these closer relationships fail to be nurtured then other providers will come in to fill the gap: be they accountants or broader business support organisations.

You may be left with just compliance work, in a world where that offering will be commoditised and the price driven down. And, as such, you make your own retirement or exit route a more difficult and certainly less profitable one to tread.

Ultimately, an efficient practice with strong processes, using technology to automate and support your people, with partners closely aligned with the needs of clients, improves its value.

But while accountants are good technicians, the owner/s and partners have to improve their focus on running a business and supporting clients; moving away from the coal-face of computations.

Over the last 6 months Covid-19 management has, for many practices, required flexibility and swift decision-making to adapt workflows, processes and communications. It is essential that

FIND OUT MORE...

Discuss your Outsourcing or Dedicated Offshoring Requirements with an expert: > advancetrack.com/start-here

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Issue 25 / 49

Agility and efficiency through automated data entry How one practice made it all possible

Ormerod Rutter Chartered Accountants Ormerod Rutter was founded over 35 years ago by Peter Ormerod and Garry Rutter. Since then the firm has expanded from a single office in Droitwich to six locations across Worcestershire and the Midlands, becoming one of the region’s leading independent accountancy firms.

Ormerod Rutter has seen steady organic growth, across all areas of accounting from compliance to more specific advisory services.

Its aim is to combine big firm capability with a family firm personality.

For practices who wish to be fit for the future, the need to have the right tools is paramount. Ormerod Rutter, show you how they have leveraged one tool to make their offering more efficient and profitable.

T

he way that practices operate has fundamentally shifted. Historically, colleagues worked in an office together with the occasional opportunity to work from home. In recent months, this has turned on its head and most of the UK workforce has been working from home.

Agility and business continuity in the face of change has been paramount for practices in 2020. As practices accelerated their move to remote working, they have turned to technology and tools to continue operating as close to ‘business as usual’ as possible, while still adding value to their clients.

Wolters Kluwer has seen our own customers assess their people and processes with a new lens, leveraging the tools and functionality of their software to steer through the change and create a practice ready for agility and business continuity as well as taking on new services. This has been particularly important given the increased reliance on their expertise and advisory services to support their clients.

Practices will continue to be the experts that business owners seek advice from, such as compliance 50 / Issue 25

and cashflow to retirement planning and education. To manage the increase in demand for advisory and opportunities to take on new more profitable services, automating manual tasks like data entry will be key.

For practices who wish to be fit for the future, the need to have the right tools is paramount - to ensure visibility, to meet client deadlines and to guarantee that they are running a profitable and efficient business themselves.

But instead of telling you this, Ormerod Rutter Chartered Accountants can show you how they have leveraged one tool to make their offering more efficient and profitable.

Ormerod Rutter increases bookkeeping and accounting efficiency with Basecone A key priority for the firm has been making sure a reliable technology foundation is in place to support the efficient operation of resources.

Over 220 members of staff across a range of disciplines extensively use Wolters Kluwer’s CCH Central suite of software, enabling Ormerod Rutter to push out efficiency gains in management reporting,

KPI measurement and workflow management to all departments.

To further increase efficiency and free resources for higher value work, the firm sought a solution to eliminate the manual entry of data around clients’ business documents, such as receipts and invoices.

Workflow Supervisor Sam Batkin explains why this was becoming a pressing requirement: “Our bookkeeping team was stretched to full capacity. We’d reached the point where we needed either to expand the team by recruiting another two bookkeepers or to find a way of digitally processing the classic shoe-box of receipts.”

A clear and transparent pricing model Sam went out to the market for a solution that would automatically scan transactional documents for processing into the client’s bookkeeping software. The firm had taken on a number of clients using Xero accounting software and needed a solution that would work smoothly with the package.

He was quite far down the line in reviewing a couple of alternative

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solutions before deciding to adopt the Basecone web application, having been struck by its immediacy: “Basecone is instantaneous. As soon as you scan a document, it’s processed into the Basecone web app in realtime. With the other solutions we considered, there was a time lag.”

This delay would have had an impact on the speed with which the team can respond to clients: “Due to the real-time nature and speed of Basecone, it was the only solution for last-minute VAT jobs. With the alternatives, whenever clients brought in their documents at the last minute, which is not a rare occurrence, we would have had to revert to entering the data manually to get the job done in time.”

Furthermore, the Basecone pricing model, with a fixed per-client fee, offered a no-risk route to adoption: “With one shortlisted solution, there was an astonishingly high upfront fee, whether we managed to bring clients’ work on board or not! Basecone removed the risk of this massive initial investment.”

Having selected Basecone, Sam was pleased when Wolters Kluwer gave him the opportunity to become actively involved in future enhancements to the solution: “It’s good to know our feedback is welcomed.”

Flexibility to match clients’ preferences Ormerod Rutter has a very broad client base, ranging from small lifestyle businesses to companies with an eight-figure annual turnover. One of the many things Sam likes about Basecone is that it works for all clients, however they choose to submit their business documents.

Clients can hand over the original documents for the Ormerod Rutter bookkeeping team to load into bookkeeping software via the Basecone Spenser receipt scanner app, by taking photos of receipts on a mobile phone. Clients can also scan in their receipts and invoices and email them on to a customisable Basecone email address, or forward on receipts and

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invoices received by email from their suppliers.

Sam thinks the Basecone Spenser receipt scanner app has exciting possibilities in empowering clients to handle their own data entry: “The app is very easy to use. It’s basically a camera app and anyone can take a picture. You simply snap and forget; you don’t have to do anything. Also, you don’t have to remember to retain physical receipts as you go about your day.

That’s especially appealing to the next generation of business owner.”

For those clients who wish to continue working in the traditional way, the speed with the bookkeeping team can work through a pile of paperwork using Basecone Spenser means that the firm intends to offer a ‘while you wait’ service, enabling clients to take their documents home with them.

However, the original document is sent, Basecone displays the extracted data (date, amount and code) on the right of the screen, for Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 51

checking by the bookkeeping team before posting, with the image of the original document on the left.

Basecone ‘learns’ over time, remembering to automatically code receipts for the same item from the same supplier in the same way.

This saves time while improving accuracy. Sam says, “It’s quite fascinating to watch Basecone in action. I love it!”

Releasing space and time Basecone should also help the firm to operate in a more sustainable way. To date, Ormerod Rutter has stored client receipts and invoices in the office for a year, in case the accounts team needs to refer to the original. As a cloud solution, Basecone is not only always available online from any location, it stores all documents in the cloud for ten years. Particularly important in the current times.

Sam explains the benefits this brings: “Office space is at a premium, and the goal is to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the large volumes of paper associated

with clients’ compliance work.

Basecone attaches the image to the transaction, so the accountant can check back to the source. As a result, we don’t need to retain the paper document ‘just in case’.”

The whole Ormerod Rutter team takes a pride in offering big firm capability while retaining a family firm personality. Although Basecone has been in place only for a few months, it is already freeing valuable time for the firm’s accounts team, time that can be redirected to client care.

team spends on getting everything organised to pull a trial balance out of the client’s bookkeeping package. Just reconciling data across multiple spreadsheets, for example, can take over an hour.

This time-saving has never been more valuable than at the moment when we are helping clients to navigate a whole new world of government grants, loans and tax deferrals.”

Practice efficiency and growth is obvious for any business but automated tools are changing the landscape.

Sam says, “Basecone can more than halve the time the accounts

Find out more...

To find out more about Basecone and how you can also benefit from automated data entry, register for one of our weekly webinars today: > www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/solutions/basecone/webinars

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Issue 25 / 53

Is it Time For Your Field Service Clients to Upgrade Their Software?

Four key signs job management software is needed

@simprosoftware

Mat Wray, UK Partner Manager, simPRO (UK Team) Mat is the Partner Manager for the simPRO UK team. Joining simPRO five years ago, Mat has established successful relationships with several strategic accountants, business advisors & cloud software integrators.

Are your field service business clients struggling to track and manage administrative processes? It may be time for a software upgrade! Discover the signs to look out for that can help you determine if your clients need new software...

A

s an accountant working with field service businesses, keeping finances organised is no doubt at the top of your list. As you work to help your field service clients manage their finances and make datadriven business decisions, it’s important to ensure that they have the right software in place to stay organised. A single, cloud-based software solution will not only ease the process of managing a business, but it will also make your life easier as you analyse and manage their financial data.

If your field service clients are using software, but do not have efficient processes in place or are often losing information, it is probably time for an upgrade. A good field service management software solution will help trade contractors easily manage jobs, projects and maintenance contracts, and will help them keep track of all administrative processes.

As your clients prepare to enter 2021, do you think an upgrade should be considered? Here are four signs to help you identify whether or not your field service clients need new software.

54 / Issue 25

1) Too much time is spent generating customer invoices Once your client completes a job, are they able to quickly and easily invoice the customer? Or, are they frantically tracking down labour hours, change orders, materials purchased and other important job details? If your client is logging into multiple platforms to find this key information or if they are inaccurately entering this information, it is definitely time for a software upgrade.

system spend much less time generating customer invoices because they are not wasting time searching for information. Also, it is easy to email the invoice to a customer and track when it has been paid or when additional follow up is needed.

2) There is a lack of documentation of key actions

Can your field service clients tell exactly when a quote was sent to a customer, how much was spent on materials in the last week or how many invoices are currently With a single field service outstanding? A properly-functioning management platform, all software platform information about a job should provide is housed in one “Field service easy access to database and then businesses using all of this key can easily be e information converted into an a comprehensiv and more. invoice with items software system Documentation of broken down spend much less time actions, financial comprehensively. generating customer numbers and other There is no concern invoices…” key information is of inaccuracy in the vital to run a successful transfer of information, business. Any decent because once the labour software platform, especially one hours, materials and other details that is created with the field service are entered into the system, they industry in mind, should make do not need to be entered again elsewhere. Field service businesses it easy for users to quickly view the details they need. It should using a comprehensive software XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

also be easy for software users to share necessary information with stakeholders. When documents are housed in one place, with streamlined and easy-to-read templates, sending a form or report to stakeholders is simple.

helpful information, it’s time to make the switch to a different software platform. A bonus tip is to look out for software that offers customisation or business intelligence reporting in addition to standard reports.

3) Information in reports is limited

4) There is no integration with an accounting platform

Many software platforms claim to have reporting capabilities.

However, the types of reports that can be generated are limited.

It is important for field service businesses not to settle for any reporting software, but rather to invest in reporting tools that provide a clear visualisation of everything they need to stay on top of business status.

Reporting is not a “nice to have” feature. It is a vital function of decision making. The more details and insight that field service professionals have into their business, the better informed they are when it comes time to make major decisions. And, the better informed you are when guiding those financial decisions.

If your clients’ software doesn’t allow them to clearly and easily view estimated costs versus actual costs, project profitability or other

A strong accounting software, like Xero, is an important piece of keeping accounts payable and accounts receivable organised in any business. At the same time, not all of the functions of a field service business can be managed from an accounting platform. Field service management software is necessary to keep projects running smoothly, manage stocktakes, schedule engineers to a job site and perform many other administrative functions. Keep in mind, though, that it is absolutely vital that the job management software used can integrate with their accounting platform.

If your clients’ software doesn’t provide a streamlined and wellfunctioning integration, it is time to look at new options. Your field service clients shouldn’t waste time transferring information from one platform to another. Again,

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streamlining processes is key in running an efficient business and saving time.

Determining whether or not your field service clients need to upgrade their current software solution is fairly simple. If they are wasting time on administrative tasks and struggling to document and track information, choosing a new field service management software should be at the top of their list of preparations for the new year.

If you want to recommend new software to your field service clients, but aren’t sure where to start, speak to a dedicated simPRO Partner Manager. The simPRO Partner Programme will help you discover the perfect solution and help your clients make the transition.

FIND OUT MORE...

To sign up for the new simPRO Partner Programme and become a simPRO accounting partner, visit: > www.simprogroup.com/uk/partners/becomeaccounting-partner

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Issue 25 / 57

Cover Case Study Story

Finding the silver linings during lockdown Moving to a new software system can be daunting at the best of times, but two new WorkflowMax customers found the transition to be straightforward even during lockdown.

T

he quick move to remote working wasn’t something any of us expected this year.

Including Rocket Science and Design Activity – two UK companies that were getting their transitions to WorkflowMax underway as lockdown began.

As service businesses, good job and project management is key to success so complications or challenges with setting up or using the software wasn’t an option.

Here’s how both companies, and their implementation partners, made the best of the situation.

Rocket Science and Gingersnap Consulting – “Liz just got us”

A day out for the Rocket Science London team

58 / Issue 25

Rocket Science is a policy, research and grant management consultancy with offices in Edinburgh, London and Newcastle. Before COVID-19, project managers would meet clients face-to-face and consultants would conduct face-to-face interviews. Now they make use of Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

In regards to their project management system, they used a mixture of spreadsheets and a legacy system that was written for them 15 years ago. Irene Kinroy, Head of Finance and Operations at Rocket Science, says, “The data in the legacy system was great but we couldn’t easily extract it. It wasn’t

@WorkflowMax

Natalie Prescott-Brann, Head of Northern Hemisphere Sales, 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!

flexible and we had to have reports written by the developer. It wasn’t very good for a modern, agile business.”

Irene says she found WorkflowMax through a simple Google search.

And since they had recently moved their accounting to Xero, using a project management system that fully integrated with Xero made sense.

After an extended trial with a small team, Irene was happy with what she saw and recommended WorkflowMax to Rocket Science’s management team. She enlisted the help of Liz Tobin at Gingersnap Consulting because, as she says, “You don’t know what you don’t know and during our trial we stumbled around a bit. A partner like Liz allows you to be focused and you can also bounce ideas off them. She knows WorkflowMax and advised us on how to best adapt our business processes to use the system effectively. Out of the three consultants that the WorkflowMax team suggested to us, we went with Liz because she understood our business best and just seemed to ‘get us’.”

Liz Tobin is a small business systems expert and a certified WorkflowMax consultant. She helps business owners and their teams apply the right technology and get the best processes in place to save time and be more productive.

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Case Study What to think about before changing job and project management software We asked Irene and Andrew for their advice to other businesses who are thinking about moving to a new project management system: • Be sure about what you want to achieve with your new software • Fully map your business processes • Get key users to try the software extensively during the free trial • If you do use an implementation partner, make sure you give them a really thorough understanding of your business requirements in relation to the software • Get the implementation partner to set up the basics so when they train your wider team, there are live and relevant examples to process Setting up during lockdown Liz worked with Irene and the Rocket Science team completely over Zoom. Irene gave Liz a list of things they wanted from WorkflowMax so Liz could factor those into her business process analysis. “We did four Zoom sessions together – looking at the teams and who I’d need to train, what tasks need to be included in each project, the types of custom data they want to access, reporting requirements, and of course how everything ties in with Xero.”

Remote training sessions included scheduling and quoting, timesheets, change control, purchase orders and month-end processes. Irene says, “Liz has a very flexible training approach and offered us one-to-one and taskspecific training, including report writing for project managers.”

Liz thinks the remote way of working is easier than face-to-face in a number of ways that save time and money. “If someone needs help with raising an invoice, a 10-minute Zoom meeting and a screen share

Andrew Stroud, Managing Director of Design Activity is all it takes,” she says. Neither the staff member nor Liz have to book out portions of their days so they’re more efficient.

The benefits of a cloud-based project management system The Rocket Science team has been managing their projects with WorkflowMax since 1 September 2020 and they’re going to roll out lead management soon. Irene says, “The system is more intuitive than our old one. Report writing is easier and the user interface is a more pleasant experience.” She’s looking forward to having end-to-end management of client relationships and projects all in one place.

Liz adds, “When you’ve got a less than optimal project management system but you’re all working together in an office, you can make do because it’s easy to catch up and discuss how jobs are going. But the moment you’re not in the same space, that system becomes a headache. Because it’s cloud-based, WorkflowMax gives everyone the same information wherever they are, which is so valuable.”

Design Activity and Valued – “David’s approach was exemplary” For Design Activity, an awardwinning branding and packaging design agency based in Bristol, lockdown began one week before their migration to WorkflowMax was

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supposed to start.

Andrew Stroud, Managing Director of Design Activity, was looking for a new job and project management solution because the system they’d been using for years was expensive, not very user-friendly, and too complicated for their needs. He says, “We’d also been looking for a new financial accounts platform and chose Xero, so it was important that our new job management system was compatible.”

After researching options and doing due diligence, they set up a WorkflowMax trial and found it to be intuitive. The fact that it completely integrates with Xero helped of course. Andrew recognised that with their limited resources, they’d need some outside help with implementation.

“If you have a dedicated IT project manager, I’m sure you could set things up yourself, using WorkflowMax’s support centre and resources. We needed to be operational quickly so the WorkflowMax team directed me to their setup partner directory which lists people who could provide support. After talking to three companies, we decided to go with David Oliver at Valued because he seemed totally aligned to our needs and expectations,” Andrew says.

Andrew had booked David to begin WorkflowMax set up and training at the Design Activity office on 24 Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 59

Cover Case Study Story

An example of Design Activity’s packaging

and 25 March 2020. But because of lockdown, Design Activity closed its office on 23 March which meant the whole company went to remote working before any WorkflowMax work could begin.

Remote implementation has been surprisingly positive David Oliver is a certified WorkflowMax Consultant and the solutions lead at Valued.

They’ve worked hand-in-hand with WorkflowMax for the last 7 years and have implemented it for hundreds of businesses up and down the UK and further afield.

David says they always offered both remote and on-site set up and training. Now that they’re working purely remotely, it’s been surprisingly positive. “We can now be more flexible in terms of our delivery to clients, giving them time to consider our plan and go away to collect data. They get a top rate experience and benefit from the fact that there are no additional expenses – no travel or accommodation costs

for spending days on-site. From an environmental view, remote working is far less impactful as well.”

Taking that positive attitude into Design Activity’s implementation, David worked with the team via Zoom for the entire process. Andrew says, “We gave David our client and job lists and work in progress.

He used that data to set up our workflow as job templates and also set up our invoicing and quotation templates. And he provided different training for different employees depending on how they need to use WorkflowMax.” David also created a series of screenshot sequences which was a great memory aid for everyone using WorkflowMax from home.

“By the end of June, we were getting very good at using WorkflowMax so even though we could go to David for support, we didn’t need to very often because he trained us so well in the first place. I have to say that David’s approach, methodology and conversational training style was exemplary and helped us massively

in terms of an easy transition to WorkflowMax,” says Andrew.

Design Activity is now doing all their job and project management in WorkflowMax. Andrew says, “It’s helping us streamline our efficiencies in terms of time capture, reporting and invoicing and giving us all the information we need without making it complicated.”

FIND OUT MORE...

See how WorkflowMax can improve your project management and profitability: > workflowmax.com

Financial controls enable start-ups to get to the next level with investors Read more in our blog!

60 / Issue 25

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Perfecting cloudbased communication and collaboration with SuiteFiles

@SuiteFiles

Jemmah Revell, Marketing Coordinator, SuiteFiles She began her SuiteFiles journey as an intern in early 2019, jump forward a year and a half and she has graduated University and become our Marketing Coordinator. She is passionate about all things digital marketing and runs our Australia and New Zealand digital campaigns.

Be prepared to collaborate and communicate with your clients completely online...

O

ur customers are grateful to have systems in place that let them both collaborate with clients in-person and online.

During the Covid-19 lockdown period, this proved invaluable to their practice and their clients.

Many of our customers prefer to create in-person relationships with each of their clients, but love having the ability for their clients to upload and amend documents within SuiteFiles!

Features made for collaboration Connect lets you create shareable folders with your clients and colleagues. Clients sign in with their Xero, Google, or custom credentials for a client-based view of SuiteFiles.

You can move any documents you want them to see into here or remove any documents you want to hide from their view. You can also create documents where they may need to fill in information and create a task for this to be completed.

Our tasks feature is a sub-feature of Connect and this gives you the ability to set tasks for your clients with an easy follow-up process.

Receive notifications when a task is completed and chat within the tasks feature to give more information.

Digital Signing with SuiteFiles means once a document is signed, 62 / Issue 25

it’s saved directly back to your client folder. When you request a signature, clients receive an email asking for them to sign the document. They can either login to Connect or click the link to sign in the browser, reducing the need for more credentials. They simply click the fields you have created and then click done.

Emails with clients are automatically saved back to their client folder to ensure all correspondence is saved which adds to the ability to go completely online - should a practice need to.

Many of our customers choose to spend some of their week (or their whole week) working remotely, this is sometimes quite far from Completely cloudWhen faced with the where their clients based Covid-19 lockdown, are based. Having the ability to work When faced with many businesses solely online and in the Covid-19 chose to begin the cloud has given lockdown, many their transition to our customers the businesses chose to SuiteFiles ability to work remotely begin their transition without struggling to get to SuiteFiles so they could documents to their clients and operate throughout the rest of receive any correspondence they the lockdown and be prepared may need. for a second, should it arrive.

Their transition involved a few Withers Tsang is a customer of ours conversations with our team and and has staff working remotely from a weekend migration to pull their the Cook Islands, remote work can data across. have its challenges, but this also meant that Withers Tsang were Because of our online training, prepared from the get-go. they were able to quickly set their team up for success when using “Having all of our data in the cloud.

SuiteFiles and teach their clients We were very lucky we did that back the ins and outs of our Connect at the start of 2019. At the time of feature. Our integration with course, we couldn’t have known Microsoft 365 meant their team that we’d be working remotely for were used to the interface, they long stretches of 2020. It has made could edit Word, PowerPoint, and all the difference in keeping our Excel documents as they always practice running as close to normal have. as possible in this environment.”

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Document Management in the remote environment SuiteFiles lets you store, manage, and edit all file types in the cloud.

Office file types can be created and edited with real-time collaboration.

When one or two team members are working remote, it can be useful to have the option of editing a document at the same time as a coworker. SuiteFiles lets you share documents and set tasks within your team. When a business has remote workers, this reduces the number of emails or messages that need to be sent about certain correspondence.

When considering whether remote work is right for your practice and team, it’s important to check out all the technology and features available that can create simple processes for those who are out of office. If you already have a remote worker, or team, reviewing those processes that are creating hardship and checking out the new technology that can create simplified working could ease those

typical issues. We’re advocates for improving your app stack wherever you may need, so you can spend less time on manual tasks and more on what matters.

1. View a demo 2. Book a demo 3. Trial 4. Migration 5. Training 6. You’re good to go!

Getting started: If you’re wanting to give SuiteFiles a go, getting started is easy. Begin by viewing a short demo to learn about each of our features, then book in for a 1-on-1 with our team so you have all your questions answered!

FIND OUT MORE...

Sign up for a demo or free trial: > suitefiles.com

I’ll get my teams hours to you tonight...

Are your tradie clients too slow getting paperwork to you?

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Issue 25 / 63 www.nextminute.com

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Q&A

Interview

Unlocking the Door to Business Success with Live Data

From internal business processes to customer experience, access to actionable and relevant data can be the difference between winning and losing for accountancy firms.

However, making the change to ensure real-time data is available and utilised effectively can feel like a big leap for many businesses.

We spoke to Will Farnell, founder of accountancy firm Farnell Clarke and Simon Chapman, Head of Solution Engineering at business management software provider Scoro, to find out more about the need for real-time data, the challenges facing accountancy firms in implementing it, and the future-proofing value it brings.

XU:

What challenges do accountancy firms face in getting access to real-time data?

WF:

Most accountancy firms don’t yet have systems and processes designed to deliver real-time data, which is often down to mindset.

Accountants’ established working practices are largely backward looking, with records often collected six months after year end meaning the information within them is up to 18 months old and useless for informing business decisions.

Accountancy firms must realise we can now access data to help businesses make decisions with some degree of certainty. They must shift not only their own mindset but that of their clients, encouraging them to provide information in a timely manner to turn it into meaningful insight. They also need the right technology in place to support this.

SC: 64 / Issue 25

One challenge accountancy firms

face is achieving a single source of truth as most struggle with data held in multiple systems and spreadsheets. As well as using tools that deliver better quality data they must also rationalise systems and integrate tools to bring together multiple data points and look for trends. While it’s important for data to be timely this isn’t the only consideration. Data also needs to be actionable, especially in these challenging times.

XU:

How does real-time data reflect the quality of data accountants should have access to?

WF:

In reality, genuine real-time financial data is overly ambitious. We can’t present information when money is spent, but we can present it the next day. This is as close as it gets to real time and we call it ‘live’ data.

Live data allows accountants and clients to make decisions based on insight rather than gut instinct, and to validate decisions with powerful, factual information. Objectives such as ‘value-add’ and ‘trusted

@ScoroSoftware

Simon Chapman, Head Of Solution Engineering, Scoro Simon Chapman has over 20 years experience working at KPMG, Salesforce, SugarCRM, and Acquia with international organisations specialising in CRM, digital transformation, and business process management.

He leads the Solution Engineering team at Scoro delivering highvalue solutions across many verticals, specialising in creative agencies, education, government, and accountancy.

@farnellclarke

Will Farnell, Founder and Director, Farnell Clarke Ltd Will Farnell is the founder and a director of Farnell Clarke Ltd, an innovative and pioneering accounting firm based in East Anglia and London, UK offering a fresh approach to SME accountancy and business advisory services. Farnell Clarke was one of the first firms globally to fully adopt cloud accounting technology back in 2009 and remains one of the most innovative firms in the UK.

advisor’ are achievable through access to quality, timely data. And, to qualify as quality and timely data that can make a real difference to businesses, the data needs to be less than seven days old.

SC:

Timely data can be represented in dashboards that enable businesses to see what they couldn’t previously see and produce reports that allow users to identify patterns of behaviour and take action. This live data enables businesses to synchronise with productivity solutions from the likes of Google and Microsoft. As a result they can integrate with tools they are already familiar with and truly understand what’s happening with their business.

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Interview

XU:

How can companies ensure they have good quality data that powers their dashboards and reports?

WF:

Dashboards and reports are a new concept for most accountants.

Until recently we didn’t have accurate enough data to inform dashboards for business decision making. Even my firm, which I’d consider forward-thinking in this area, has only developed a single source of truth in the last few years. For those beginning to use data to power dashboards, the role of the individual accountant is key. It’s down to them to ensure bookkeeping data is well managed, and is of sufficient quality to feed these new outputs.

SC:

The key to ensuring quality is good data governance, which must be embedded as part of the capture and management process. First, companies should do an audit to understand what data sources they have access to. Next they must determine which pieces of data are mandatory to get the quality required for reporting and dashboards. As part of this they must understand what KPIs they want and what success looks like.

Data management is imperative and companies mustn’t go into it aimlessly. Garbage in equals garbage out, and if poor data goes in, with a lack of data governance

and understanding of expectations, companies will get very little out.

XU:

How can companies ensure they have good quality data that powers their dashboards and reports?

WF:

Dashboards and reports are a new concept for most accountants.

Until recently we didn’t have accurate enough data to inform dashboards for business decision making. Even my firm, which I’d consider forward-thinking in this area, has only developed a single source of truth in the last few years. For those beginning to use data to power dashboards, the role of the individual accountant is key. It’s down to them to ensure bookkeeping data is well managed, and is of sufficient quality to feed these new outputs.

SC:

The key to ensuring quality is good data governance, which must be embedded as part of the capture and management process. First, companies should do an audit to understand what data sources they have access to. Next they must determine which pieces of data are mandatory to get the quality required for reporting and dashboards. As part of this they must understand what KPIs they want and what success looks like.

Data management is imperative and companies mustn’t go into

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it aimlessly. Garbage in equals garbage out, and if poor data goes in, with a lack of data governance and understanding of expectations, companies will get very little out.

XU:

What are the commonalities you see in accountants getting wrong with the management of data/collection of data?

WF:

Accountants must realise collecting and presenting real-time data relates directly to the client experience, which is fundamental in the age of Amazon and high expectations.

There’s a direct correlation between regularly communicating data and delivering better experiences for clients, so it’s important for accountants to shift their mindset and recognise these connections.

SC:

In my experience accountants fall into two types. There are those that record what is needed immediately, without thinking what might be needed in the future, resulting in insufficient data. Then there are those that record too much information and ask too many mandatory questions, discouraging adoption of any solution. A trade-off between what is needed and what is realistic will encourage and foster adoption and produce quality, actionable data. >

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Issue 25 / 65

Interview

XU:

From the first hello to the final invoice, how do businesses future proof through integrations their ability to see ahead?

WF:

Each touchpoint throughout a client’s lifetime is critical. People won’t wait three days for the answer to a question when they can find it elsewhere. From the point of onboarding a client through the entire journey, data and technology are vital to building and maintaining relationships. They allow businesses to make good decisions based on up-to-date, accurate information. If businesses get this right there shouldn’t need to be a final invoice.

They must start with the data they have and decide what they need going forward. They can then examine existing workflows for areas to optimise, for instance where manual data entry can be replaced with automation or integration.

Furthermore they can look at client liaison and ensure consistency in how clients are being engaged with.

SC:

66 / Issue 25

Finally, they can tie this into setting realistic goals that can be measured and managed and represent continuous improvement.

XU:

How are businesses doing things differently, by using new tools and new solutions to deal with significant milestones in the calendar year?

deliver growth during challenging times. As well as clear and defined processes, they want data that is pushed through dashboards and reports rather than pulled.

Accountants need pushed data to tell them what they don’t know, in as near to real time as possible.

WF:

The majority of accountancy businesses aren’t yet doing this which creates a huge opportunity for those that are. We’re still in the early adopter phase and most people don’t realise this tech is available. Any small business can now build a technology stack to deliver the same as a traditional ERP via an SaaS subscription. Those that do grasp this opportunity have a huge competitive advantage.

SC:

While accountancy firms may not be fully adopting technology solutions they are looking for advice around metrics, tools and best practice to drive businesses forward and

FIND OUT MORE...

Visit: > scoro.com/businesssoftware-for-accountancies

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Issue 25 / 67

Fintech and the second wave How technology can help businesses survive the challenges ahead

@SatagoHQ

Sinead McHale, CEO, Satago Sinead McHale is the CEO of Satago, the award winning cash management app that integrates with Xero to provide risk insights, automated credit control and invoice finance. Sinead has held senior management roles in New York, Dublin and London across a variety of industries including banking, investment funds, and alternative business finance. She holds a master’s degree in Strategic Management Accounting.

The burden of late payments on small businesses stands at a staggering £23.4 billion, according to Government figures. Satago CEO, Sinead McHale explains why fintech has the solution...

T

he Government recently outlined plans to protect small businesses from late payments by giving additional powers to the Small Business Commissioner.

This action follows mounting pressure from organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), as the burden of late payments on small businesses rose to a staggering £23.4 billion, according to Government figures.

Whilst any acknowledgment from the Government of the burgeoning cost of late payments on our economy feels like a step in the right direction, it’s hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu. Haven’t we been here before? Didn’t the previous chancellor promise last year and the year before to take definitive action against poor payment practices?

And yet today, late payments remain one of the biggest threats to small businesses in the UK. The pandemic has, of course, accelerated the issue. The FSB estimates that 62% of UK businesses have suffered late or frozen payments as a direct result of COVID-19.

As businesses feel the pressure and up to three million people 68 / Issue 25

face unemployment, one thing for certain is that we cannot rely on Government policy to reverse this trend. Instead, businesses must use the resources available to them to protect themselves from risk and improve their cashflow.

If they do not, they could face serious consequences.

you do business. Especially in the current climate, when even wellestablished companies are feeling the strain. If your business secures a new customer, make sure they have the ability and the willingness to pay their invoices when the time comes. If they don’t, don’t offer them sale on credit, even if it means losing the job.

The last time the UK faced a recession of this severity was after the 2008 financial crash. Back then, with cloud accounting still in its infancy, it was harder for small businesses to get an overview of their clients’ payment practices.

For many businesses, assessments were made through word of mouth, if at all.

These are tough decisions to make, especially at a time when work is scarce and securing a contract, any contract, can feel like a lifeline.

The decision to supply goods and services to another business on credit should be taken with the utmost care and with all available information to hand. If your business hasn’t used risk insight technology before, now might be a good time to invest.

Fast forward 12 years and open banking, accounting software and sophisticated credit checkers have integrated to ensure that any business, no matter how small, can access client information at the touch of a button. And yet, surprisingly many still fail to do their due diligence before agreeing payment terms.

Modern risk tools give you more than just a credit score. They will integrate with your accounting software and dig deep into a client’s payment history, telling you about their average days beyond terms, offering you a suggested credit limit and notifying you when an invoice becomes overdue or a customer breaches their credit limit.

If there’s one lesson to be learned from the situation we find ourselves in, it’s to be careful with whom

This level of insight is invaluable to business owners and could prove crucial in the months to come.

Assessing risk

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Accessing finance The second concern for any business during a recession is the lending market. As a rule, recessions cause banks to tighten their restrictions, leaving start-ups unable to access the funds they need to grow. The Government backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme (CBILs) and the Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLs) have served to delay the inevitable belt-tightening, but with these schemes ending imminently, entrepreneurs and small business owners may feel a sense of foreboding.

Here again, tech can help. Following the 2008 recession an explosion in alternative lending, facilitated by open banking, led to a shift in the lending market. Where once there was only one route to accessing finance, now there are several.

From peer-to-peer lending schemes to invoice finance, alternative lenders will play a crucial role in levelling the playing field for businesses looking to obtain

finance in the months to come, especially as Government schemes wind down.

As well as making finance more accessible, tech can make it more efficient. Online credit and risk checks make it easier for lenders to determine the eligibility of their clients fast, making drawdown times that much shorter. During a crisis period, when time is of the essence, these efficiencies will prove essential.

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There are tough times ahead, but for anyone looking for a silver lining, recent advancements in finance technology mean we are better positioned than we have ever been to face the coming challenges.

FIND OUT MORE...

To try two weeks of Satago free, visit: > satago.com/xumag

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Issue 25 / 69

Virtual Event

Xero’s Gary Turner’s star turn at the Bookkeepers Summit 1000 bookkeepers convene for the first ever virtual Bookkeepers Summit! ‘

I first found out about Xero at the Bookkeepers Summit – if I hadn’t gone to that event I’d still be a little old dinosaur bookkeeper,’ says Lynn Watson a Certified Bookkeeper from Romford who’s living the remote-working dream and relocating to sunnier Italy this year. ‘Everything’s digital so you can work anywhere.’

The Bookkeepers Summit has gone digital this year too and takes place

£o1ff!5 100 coupons available for XU Magazine readers Simply enter coupon code XUMAG at checkout.

Tues 17th - Weds 18th November 70 / Issue 25

entirely online on 17th and 18th November in the middle of Global Bookkeeping Week. Bookkeepers from all over the world are coming together online to socialise, learn, look to the future and have fun.

Organisers at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), who’ve been hosting the Bookkeepers Summit for the last ten years, spent four months selecting the perfect virtual event platform.

‘This is not your typical accounting conference! In fact it’s more like a week-long festival,’ says ICB director of communications, Ami Copeland. ‘We knew we wanted to do something really special to celebrate the incredible amount of support bookkeepers have been offering businesses this year.’

Having sold the first 500 tickets within hours of releasing them, Ami is convinced bookkeepers are desperate to reconnect. ‘I think bookkeepers are uniquely supportive and welcoming as a community. That’s why we’ve made sure our virtual event platform enables real connections. Tickets to the online Bookkeepers Summit 2020 give access to over 20 hours of CPD content being streamed on Tuesday 17th and 18th November. In addition to that, ticket holders get a week’s worth of networking on the virtual event platform and access to

@ICBUK

Ami Copeland, Director of Communications, ICB Global My mission is to help ICB and its members grow their influence, impact and reputation. Having spent the last two years driving change at ICB I’m interested in the future of the profession, digital transformation, organisational efficiency, customer-centricity, and diversity.

At ICB, we’re committed to upholding the standards of the bookkeeping profession, passionate about helping businesses succeed and determined to operate for the benefit of the many, not the few.

the recorded sessions on-demand for three months.

Tickets are still available: use coupon code XUMAG at checkout to save £15. https://www. bookkeeperssummit.com Gary Turner and Xero - headlining Gary Turner, MD of Xero UK and EMEA, is hosting one of the opening sessions of the event and explains, ‘At this year’s Bookkeepers Summit I’m going to talk about some of the immediate opportunities and challenges this climate presents and what I believe this means for the future of the industry.

‘It’s been a difficult year for many businesses, with huge challenges around new ways of working and maintaining resilience. We know that small businesses have depended more on their bookkeeper to manage this change.

By focusing on the right support for your clients, for right now, you revalidate the role bookkeepers play in the small business economy.’

Inspiring keynotes, Regulatory Updates and Brexit Joining Gary Turner on the virtual stage will be a diverse roster of speakers including Emma Jones MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Virtual Event and Danetha Doe, an American ‘Money, Sex and Power Educator’.

There will also be Certified Bookkeepers sharing their insights, and speakers from HMRC, the Office of Tax Simplification and the Home Office.

Technical workshops will cover the latest updates to Tax, VAT, Payroll, CIS, IR35 and MTD. An education track will be dedicated to helping bookkeeping students pass exams and supporting AATQB graduates who want to level up to Certified Bookkeeper status to start their own businesses.

‘Our fantastic keynote speakers will be sharing big ideas on running a business, hiring staff, harnessing tech, delighting clients and achieving your own financial wellbeing,’ says ICB’s head of partnerships Sobi Hariharan.

Looking to the future, together ‘Thought leaders like Nick Levine ACA and Starling Bank’s head of product will be discussing disruption, resilience, and the future of bookkeeping.

‘There’s a mixture of live-streamed and pre-recorded content and you can interact with every session, see who else is watching with you, send chat messages and post questions.

You can watch on your desktop or download the app to watch sessions and network whilst you’re out and about visiting clients or just getting on with your life.’

The 2020 Bookkeepers Summit offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with brilliant

bookkeepers and industry thought leaders to uncover tactical advice and proven strategies for your bookkeeping career.

Join the community online for TED-style talks, live panel discussions, speed networking, social gatherings, competitions, technology exhibitors, and a whole lot of mind-blowing, life-affirming fun.

So many bookkeepers together at last! After a challenging year, don’t let anything stop you from getting upfront and social with your peers.​​ You can enjoy this year’s Bookkeepers Summit on your own terms, from the comfort of your own computer, tablet or smartphone.

During Global Bookkeeping Week what better way to learn, mingle and have fun and share the joy of bookkeeping no matter what stage of the journey you’re at.

Don’t forget to use the coupon code XUMAG at checkout (case sensitive) to receive £15 off your ticket.

(Hurry, only 100 coupons available).

Global Bookkeeping Week - Get involved Use the hashtags #BookkeepersSummit and #GlobalBookkeepingWeek to stay up to date and connect throughout Global Bookkeeping Week. You can also download our toolkit with social media graphics and ideas for getting involved. Don’t forget to share them with your clients and employer!

Download Toolkit: www.bookkeeperssummit.com/ global-bookkeeping-week

FIND OUT MORE...

For more information, visit: > bookkeeperssummit.com

Best practices for going digital: how Fresh Accounting moves AP to the cloud Read more in our blog!

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Issue 25 / 71

Prepare at home for the new postCOVID-19 dawn Leveraging technology to enable teams to prepare for the future

@compleatp2p

Neil Robertson, Executive Chairman, Compleat Software Neil is the Executive Chairman of Compleat Software, having previously held the role of CEO at Compleat since April 2008. A 40+ year veteran of the accounting software industry, Neil has a long track record of building and growing global finance application businesses and with new disruptive technologies bringing these to market.

Neil Robertson has steered many organisations through difficult periods and uses his experience to highlight the help that is available to navigate the current difficult times with minimal disruption.

T

here are now glimmers of light on the horizon as we slowly start to exit lockdown and each and every business is hard at work making plans for the brave new world that awaits us which may or may not include repeated further restrictions as our economies reset to sustainable future levels.

In the immediate future, much of global senior managements’ focus is either on how and when they will be able to re-open their businesses for trading and for all of us, it’s planning how we reopen our offices, shops and hospitality venues whilst addressing social distancing. Equally, how we cope with the likelihood of further lockdowns either locally, regionally or nationally will be challenging and foremost in all of our contingency planning.

managing who is going to be in each day, where they will sit and how you can sanitise every desk each evening – there is also the issue of who will be prepared to travel in.

off the only alternative) when working from home is a viable option with a little investment?

Technology has enabled remote communications during lockdown, with connectivity to every home office, dining room table and There is, understandably, a high sofa now a standard fixture of level of concern from those that team interaction have to use public transport using the now (trains and the tube in ubiquitous online particular) to get to To retain talent, video conferencing. work. For anyone that every business must Virtually all business commutes this way, include the option functions that we know it can be for staff to work from involve recorddensely populated home. keeping and and, for most people, communication can this represents too now be carried out online much of a risk to even and for small investments per contemplate. It is equally hard employee. to see how this will change in the foreseeable future until there is We often consider that not being a vaccine or infection levels have declined substantially.

Working from home post-COVID-19

There is also the challenge of working with our employees to aid their return to the workplace.

Each individual is different as the level of vulnerability to COVID-19 is not just dependent on them as an individual, but also those they live with.

Also, whilst social separation at the offices has its challenges – 72 / Issue 25

In this new world order, for businesses to be fully operational, working from home is going to be essential for some time to come.

What employer wants to be held up to the social media spotlight by forcing vulnerable staff to risk their lives (or those of the loved ones they are living with) by demanding office attendance (with being laid XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

able to monitor employees at their desks as being damaging to productivity, however, for staff that have been working from home over the past months – with no lapse in their business’ operations – the experience has changed opinions.

Many staff have concluded that it is a far better lifestyle. It gives back all of the time commuting in favour of more enjoyable activities, saves a fortune in fares, is less stressful, they are less tired at the end of day and for a significant number of them, it actually increases their productivity. That is not to say that they never want to go to an office, but they do want the choice of when and why they do it. Technology gives that choice to every organisation and every employee.

Looking to the future, every business is going to have to include the option for staff to work from home if they want to recruit the best talent available because, for many, it is going to be close to the top of their agenda for their next role. If your business is unable to facilitate this, you really need to start looking at how it can be achieved.

Looking ahead – how are businesses preparing for postCOVID-19?

The new dawn does not herald clear blue skies either; the storm clouds of recession are already upon us, long before many businesses are even able to trade. We have all seen the stats with 8.4 million people in the UK having been furloughed and the rapidly growing number of unemployed. Unfortunately, this is only going to increase as government funding for furloughed

staff is systematically introduced and withdrawn to support further periods of restriction over the coming months.

Most businesses are battening down the hatches in preparation for the storm ahead, and almost all CFOs are totally focused on retaining cash, whether through cutting costs, reducing spend, getting better prices on what they must buy, whilst looking for ways to increase productivity to achieve more with less.

Whilst all of this does seem like doom and gloom, it is the reality of where we find ourselves and every business must take all of the available and necessary steps to survive and then prosper.

In time, the economy will recover and those businesses that successfully navigate the storm will enjoy the growth that comes with it.

So, if you are looking for ways to help your people and business through this storm by enabling remote working, controlling spend, reducing costs and increasing

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productivity, the tech industry is here to help.

Online services manage bookkeeping, supply chain interaction, buying of supplies for home offices, enable meetings, provide reporting on productivity, allow reporting, scheduling and planning etc all without leaving your desk (other than for regular breaks) or your home.

If you’re not sure where to start you only have to ask any provider of a technology solution and we’ll point you to the best providers of all the services you need.

FIND OUT MORE...

Take Neil’s advice and ask how we can help enable home working: > www.compleatsoftware.com

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Issue 25 / 73

Apps Compared

Compared:

Integrated Forecasting Brought to you by

+ Fluidly

Float

Futrli Predict

Type

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P&L Only

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3-Way

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ü

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24 Month

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36 Month

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Set End Date

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Include/ignore existing A/R & A/P invoices

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Amend expected payment dates for existing A/R & A/P invoices

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Set expected payment dates for A/R & A/P invoices

ü

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Foreign currency transactions

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Forecast Period Custom Periods 12 Month

Forecast View Period

Forecast Transaction Frequency

Weekly

Forecast Transaction Options

This information was true and correct at the time of publishing. New releases happen all the time. Please contact the app for the latest release information.

74 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Apps Compared

For more information, please visit: Calxa - calxa.com Spotlight - spotlightreporting.com Futrli Advisor - futrli.com/advisor Castaway - castawayforecasting.com

Fluidly - fluidly.com Float - floatapp.com Futrli Predict - futrli.com/predict Fathom - fathomhq.com Syft - syftanalytics.com

Fathom

Syft

Calxa

Spotlight

Futrli Advisor

Castaway

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 75

Apps Compared Fluidly

Float

Futrli Predict

Rules (inc corp tax)

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--

Create bespoke formulas using account data

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Tracking forecasting - Xero

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Tracking forecasting - QBO Class

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Tracking forecasting - Sage Analysis

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Drivers

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Repeat transaction with increasing value % / £

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Units x Price

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% Sales

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% Wages

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Import invoices

Automatic Predictions Automatic cash flow predictions based on historical data - Account level

Accounting Integration

ü

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Import draft invoices

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Import recurring invoices (in advance of being raised) - Xero

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Import recurring invoices (in advance of being raised) - QBO

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Journals

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Xero tracking

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Xero Integration

76 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Apps Compared Fathom

Syft

Calxa

Spotlight

Futrli Advisor

Castaway

ü

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Using formula

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Using formula

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Using formula

Using formula

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Using formula & drivers

Using formula & non-financial data

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 77

Apps Compared Fluidly

Float

Futrli Predict

-

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Manual

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Daily

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Twice-Daily

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Amend order of display

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Group

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Create from scratch

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Include forecasts from other scenarios in new scenario - Include a single scenario

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Include forecasts from other scenarios in new scenario - Include multiple scenarios

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Add scenario to base forecast

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PDF

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CSV

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Xero HQ

Integration Sync

Hourly

Chart of Accounts

Add new accounts

Scenarios Create from pre-built templates Quickly adjust overall base forecast (i.e. increase sales/cos by X%)

Comparisons Forecast vs actual Scenario vs Scenario

Export Forecast

Dynamic datalinks to excel

www.xumagazine.com 78 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Apps Compared Fathom

Syft

Calxa

Spotlight

Futrli Advisor

Castaway

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 79

How much time do you spend checking your client’s data in Xero?

Imagine knowing the accuracy of your client’s books without even looking through them.

Use the Xavier HealthScore® to: 1

Price work effectively, based on complexity and data quality

2

See how your team’s performing on their clients’ books

3

Grow advisory work with accurate data and insight tools

80 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

85%

17%

“

Just started working with a new business. I ran their Xero date through@xavieranalytics to check for any weird things. (Do that for most new clients). It spotted something. Dug into it. Just under £39,000 of missed tax claimsin the past 20 months ” Andy Sullivan - CompleteHQ Twitter

Start your 30 day no-obligation trial

www.xavier-analytics.com/trial Book before 31/12/2020 to get 10 free HealthScores® as part of your 30 day trial.

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Issue 25 / 81

Delivering the Ultimate Advisory Session

@spotlightrep

Richard Francis CA, CEO, Spotlight Reporting Richard is a CA and trusted advisor with 20+ years of advisory experience. As the director of a boutique professional practice, Richard saw a need to improve analysis and forecasting for his clients that led to him founding Spotlight Reporting – a global company and also the #1 Reporting and Forecasting app in the Xero ecosystem. Richard was also GM of Workpapers for Xero.

When done right, advisory has the power to grow a business, help achieve important goals or save a struggling enterprise. Despite the powerful impact of the advisory mindset and service offerings, many accounting firms struggle to transition from just doing core compliance. They may feel that the leap is too hard, or not worth it, or simply may not know where to begin.

I

recently hosted a webinar on How to Deliver the Ultimate Advisory Session with Steph Hinds, Founder of Growthwise, and Sam Musgrave, Founder of Nine Advisory. Here are our golden tips and what we believe it takes to create advisory gold. The full webinar is well worth listening to, and can be accessed here.

1) Advisory is all about translating the numbers into meaning and action Have you ever presented a client with a spreadsheet you were proud of, only to watch their eyes glaze over as you talked them through it?

This is where a trusted advisor can make all the difference, not just by explaining what the numbers mean, but by translating their meaning in a way clients can understand.

From there, better decisions can be made.

While Spotlight Reporting’s colourful, engaging, and eyecatching charts and graphs can alleviate the Excel glaze-over, the real power rests with you. What 82 / Issue 25

does your client need to know, in real terms, so they can get their business to that next level? What insight needs to be shared and what conversations will this trigger?

exactly the same, advisory sessions can differ in approach. Steph, Sam and I all structure our advisory work in different ways, but we’re all effective because we employ the same key principles:

It’s important to remember that in the world of advisory, you’re the • Active listening: you can’t solve guide, not the hero. Don’t assume an issue or help reach a goal that you have all the answers, if you don’t know what they or that you know exactly what are. Listen to what your clients their goals are. The best way to have to say, ask questions that make sure you’re providing the encourage confidence, and don’t most value is by putting the client be afraid of going on a tangent. at the heart of the session, and • Regular, consistent meetings: asking the right questions. it’s important Now is exactly the that you and your time to exercise clients meet and There is no one-sizeyour intellectual interact often, so fits-all approach to curiosity—get to that you’re always advisory. As long as grips with their across anything you’re consistent, business, be that might arise. progress should be across all aspects Try to see all your made. of the financial and clients monthly, non-financial data, and although you may need discuss, listen and find to hold a few ad hoc crisis the solutions to their problems and sessions as well. jump on opportunities.

• Meet the needs of your clients and their community: while high 2) Key Principles, Flexible advisory fees are a part of the Structure work, be mindful of the needs of your potential client pool. Steph Because no two advisors are created her L-Platers program to XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

cater to startups who couldn’t afford full advisory services and found that once they found their feet, many of them retained Growthwise’s full services, and stayed on as loyal, high value customers.

• Get your team invested in your clients’ success: advisory shouldn’t be the domain of a few specialists. Get your whole team on board.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to advisory. As long as you’re consistent in your methods, progress should be made.

3) Tangible Benefits Are Easier to Sell “Half the time we win clients because I tell them, ‘our best performing electrician (as an example) has a net profit of 24%.

What’s yours?’” says Steph. “They say ‘wow, I’d like that as well’.”

One of the biggest worries accountants have when implementing advisory services is that no one will want what they have to offer, or the value will be hard to demonstrate. The best solution to this problem is to get people interested by showing them the concrete benefits of engaging your services.

Sam suggests that you begin by thinking about the industry your client works in, and factoring in all the different inflows and outflows they may have. Then calculate exactly how much of every dollar they earn as a margin, what needs to be paid out and how much could be retained as profit.

“If that operating margin is anywhere below where you think it should be… that is your tangible demonstration of the value you can add,” says Sam. “So you say, ‘you’re at 15% margin, and you should be at 30%. If you’re turning over a million bucks, you’re leaving $115k dollars on the table. You pay me 30, 40, 50k, and we’ll get that money for you.’” That, says Sam, is a much easier sell than the general, sometimes ‘woolly’ benefits of advisory services.

Benefits don’t always have to be that tangible, though. Sam believes that if you give people information for free, they’ll pay for the implementation. Do you have internal resources that could benefit your clients if you made them public? Why not share the knowledge, and sell your help in putting it into practice?

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

4) Just Get Started At the end of the day, the best thing you can do to begin your journey with advisory is to just get started!

“Sit down with a client who is a friend, or someone who you’ve done a lot of work with, who you feel most comfortable with to start with,” says Steph. “...don’t worry about what you’re going to charge, or what tools you’re going to use, or anything else. Just sit down, have a conversation with them, and ask them great questions.”

Remember: the ultimate advisory succession is one that helps your clients succeed. It might not happen as you envision it, and you may not be a perfect advisor to begin with.

But at the end of the day, if you’re saving your clients time, money, and giving them peace of mind, that’s advisory success.

FIND OUT MORE...

Our integrated reporting and forecasting creates insights that inform better business outcomes: > spotlightreporting.com

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 83

Basecone now seamlessly integrates with Xero Basecone is a 100% cloud solution for automated, real-time data entry.

Smart processing, scanning and matching, approving and booking of documents with the easiest automated workflow around.

Upload & Expense App Take a picture of your invoices and receipts, process them immediately in Xero

84 / Issue 25

Authorisation App Pre-selected authorisers can review documents on the go - with a single swipe

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

When you have to be right.

The Xero Integration...

Connect your Xero account with Basecone

With Basecone and Xero, you can:

Automate data entry, updated in real-time

Take full control over your document flows

Prevent invoices from being paid without approval

Experience real-time optical character recognition

Create a flawless booking process with saved booking rules

Approve or reject you supplier invoices anywhere, anytime

And of course everything is in the cloud…

“Basecone can more than halve the time the accounts team spends on getting everything organised to pull a trial balance out of the client’s bookkeeping package.

Just reconciling data across multiple spreadsheets, for example, can take over an hour. This time-saving has never been more valuable than at the moment when we are helping clients to navigate a whole new world of government grants, loans and tax deferrals.”

Sam Batkin, Workflow Supervisor, Ormerod Rutter Chartered Accountants

To find out more about Basecone, register for one of our weekly webinars today!

Visit www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/solutions/basecone, call 0344 561 8181, or email cchsoftware@wolterskluwer.co.uk © Visit Woltersthe Kluwer Limited All Rights Reserved.

XU(UK) Hub: Go10/2020. to www.xumagazine.com

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Issue 25 / 85

Case Study

Taking control of your receivables when cash flow matters most Learn how Jeffery Davidson & Associates dropped receivables by 80% and saved 30 hours per month with Practice Ignition

@ignitionapp

Matthew Kanas, Head of Americas, Practice Ignition Matt is responsible for the company’s market and customer growth in the US and Canada.

With over 15 years in the cloudaccounting software industry, Matt was most recently with Intuit Canada, pioneering its ecosystem and lending partnerships business. He is passionate about the small business and cloud accounting ecosystem and brings a strong customer mindset to all he does. When not working, he and his wife are busy living vicariously through their two young boys.

When Jeffery Davidson approached Practice Ignition, he was desperate for a solution that would “give his team their lives back.” Administrative tasks were killing the firm’s billable hours, and stealing time from team members who should have been focusing on client work or attracting and closing new leads.

J

effery Davidson & Associates CPA, helps business owners, executives, and independent professionals in the agribusiness, construction, and energy sectors with a wide range of business, tax, and individual services.

and closing new leads. The most egregious included...

Labor-intensive onboarding. Every engagement letter needed to be built from scratch in Word—a tedious and time-consuming process.

Lack of standardized rates. They billed by the hour on a bi-monthly schedule but lacked clear “rules of engagement.”

Sometimes, they When Jeffery Davidson “My only goal was to didn’t realize that approached Practice automate the billing. The engagements were Ignition, he was return I got was far greater unprofitable until desperate for than I expected. Nobody they tallied up a solution that manages engagement their hours during would “give his proposals better, or invoicing. team their lives integrates with Xero as back.” seamlessly.”

Cumbersome billing process. Manual billing Administrative tasks was admin-intensive and were killing the firm’s billable took days. Even after invoices were hours, and stealing time from team sent the team would spend extra members who should have been focusing on client work or attracting hours fielding questions (15–20 The Challenge Losing billable hours to administrative tasks

86 / Issue 25

every month).

Jeff needed a change that would save time, reduce administrative headaches, and ultimately improve his business’s cash flow.

“The administrative burden of invoicing clients on an hourly basis was becoming very difficult.

It would take literally four to five days. My billable time was suffering; it felt like I was spending more time on admin work than on meaningful billable work for my clients.”

The Solution Hassle-free engagement & billing processes Jeff implemented Practice Ignition alongside Xero Practice Manager to improve his firm’s workflows.

Getting up and running was “painless,” he says, thanks to the support and resources provided by

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Case Study

both solutions.

He immediately noticed the difference.

Practice Ignition’s team helped him set up customized template proposals for new clients—and just like that, the engagement process that used to take hours for each new client could now be accomplished within minutes.

Proposals and engagement letters clearly lay out the terms of service.

When a new client signs, they know exactly what they’re getting.

This inspired Jeff to switch to fixed fees, which are easier for clients to understand and clearly delineate responsibilities for him and his team.

Better yet, Practice Ignition integrates with Xero to create a seamless end-to-end workflow.

When clients sign a proposal in Practice Ignition, billing is entirely automated. If Jeff ever needs to add a service or adjust a proposal, those changes are automatically reflected in invoices.

“I was impressed with Practice Ignition’s ability to help us standardize and quickly assemble engagement letters. That led to us introducing fixed-fee billing, which sounded like an incredible idea compared to the nightmare I was going through every month.”

The Result Improved cash flow & 30+ hours saved/month Before Practice Ignition, it took two to three hours to create a single engagement letter. With Practice Ignition, it takes five minutes.

He’s now created over 700 engagement letters in Practice Ignition. With Xero giving him more visibility into fees, hours, and services provided, he generated a profitability report in order to ensure appropriate pricing.

Best of all, replacing the manual billing process with an automated system saves his team 30–40 hours every month. They’re no longer agonizing over time sheet

inaccuracies or fielding endless phone calls; in fact, calls about billing have been “almost 100% eliminated,” Jeff says.

Even the firm’s cash flow has improved. With clients paying monthly through Practice Ignition, most invoices are now paid within two days instead of the 15 (or sometimes 30+) days it used to take. As a result, aged receivables have dropped by a stunning 80%.

“My clients love it. It’s made my services predictable. Walking into an engagement, they know how much it’s going to cost to get a return prepared or a compilation done.”

FIND OUT MORE...

To learn more, visit: > practiceignition.com

School finance administration in New Zealand at a new level Read more in our blog!

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Issue 25 / 87

Your Top Must Haves: Run HR & Payroll from Anywhere I think we can all agree that as we navigate our way through the Covid-19 pandemic it can be hard to keep up with the continuous changes to guidance...

W

ith lockdown guidelines and restrictions changing on a regular basis, it is more crucial than ever that not only do you have core businesses processes in place for working from home, but also that they are flexible and ready to change from one day to the next. All of that is before you even consider how to support your employees and keep them engaged, all whilst considering individual mental health and wellbeing.

Charlotte Brown, Head of Business Operations, Appogee HR Limited Charlotte has excellent knowledge of the HR challenges small businesses face, with a proven track record of understanding their needs and providing innovative solutions to any people management issues. Having helped 100s of businesses move their HR and Leave Management to the cloud, Charlotte is a fantastic source for the latest in HR technology.

basic make up of any company but control. This provides employees are you putting them to the top of with a quick and easy way to your priorities and considering how update their personal information. they could work together Without this level of when evaluating your access, it is almost “It’s more new working set up? impossible for you important than to ensure accuracy, ever to have Here are just a few not to mention all employee selfof the must haves the time that would service access that when you consider otherwise be spent you can control” setting up your HR on emails, calls or Software to work with waiting to speak in Xero Payroll; person to discuss.

Simple Self-Service

A recent survey by Topia estimated that 70% of HR professionals are having to update 3-6 apps to complete a single task. Both the HR and Payroll functions are part of the

@AppogeeHR

When you are not all working from the same office, it is more important than ever before to have self-service access that you can

In just a few seconds, an employee can login and update their bank details or home address with notifications being sent to keep HR and Payroll in the loop and ensure the employee gets paid.

Accurate Information Accuracy is always important in business but when it comes to HR compliance and Payroll, you could argue it is essential. In fact, according to Deloitte “Without accurate data, metrics and operational reporting may as well not even exist”, yet only 15% of organisations rated themselves highly on accuracy of data.

When payroll and HR do not share common information there is immediately an increased risk of potential errors, compliance

88 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

problems and issues over pay.

If your payroll is not accurate or working efficiently then your employees could find themselves unpaid or with incorrect amounts, all leading to more time spent on correcting these errors and lots of frustration for the workforce. A single entry point for both solutions will make it simple to ensure accuracy and remove concerns over compliance and pay.

Save Time on HR and Payroll Tasks Working from home could see a decrease in some productivity levels, meaning administration distractions such as data entry could have a bigger impact on your business.

With an estimated 40 million hours wasted on simple HR tasks (Topia), a single entry point and a concrete source of truth for your employee data is the ideal for all businesses.

If errors occur during the payroll process, they would need to be addressed as top priority. As a result, all other tasks must be put to one side until the issue is resolved. Incorrect information between systems is one of the biggest causes of time wasting in business.

Simply having integration to sync information from an employees HR profile straight into Xero not only removes the time wasted on accuracy, but also on the process of getting the information up to date.

There is no longer a requirement to request a change to personal information, fill in a form or arrange to meet with HR, it is updated in seconds and notifications are sent to the correct people and the information updates in Xero right away.

Always Accessible From Wherever Your Staff Are Working Accessibility of business solutions has been a hot topic for years but never has it been more crucial than now. With the ever changing current working locations, employees may be in the office one day and home the next. With no current end in

sight for the unpredictability of the landscape ahead systems must be accessible from anywhere.

Xero with the confidence that the information is accurate, secure and up to date.

With an online HR solution integrated with Xero’s cloud payroll software you set your company up to access both these crucial systems from anywhere, at any time - whilst ensuring consistency of information between the two.

There is no doubt that integrating HR and Payroll both in terms of teams and software is a no brainer for businesses in this current climate. Providing access from anywhere, ensuring accuracy and saving a whole load of time on updates and unnecessary errors definitely make Appogee HR and Xero Payroll a winning combination for your business.

Appogee HR and Xero Appogee HR provides businesses with a simple to use full HR solution to manage your employees and keep your company compliant. Set employees up with customisable profiles to store information and records, whilst being able to track performance, training and onboard new starters. Share policies with your employees and keep a record of acknowledgments and have confidence in compliance.

Once you have your HR processes in place with Appogee HR, the integration with Xero Payroll creates the perfect solution to link the shared information between the systems. Employees and managers can use Appogee HR as the single entry point for information and keep payroll in control of using

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20% off your first year!

Manage HR from anywhere with Appogee HR. Get started with your 14 day free trial: > appogeehr.com/xero Use code APG-XU25 to get 20% off your first year! Exclusive to XU readers. Expires 31/01/21.

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Issue 25 / 89

Managing international growth and currency risk hand in hand Changing customer behaviour along with global challenges and uncertainty are creating opportunities for Accountants and Bookkeepers to support their SME clients in maximising their global opportunities...

T

he events of 2020 have impacted accountants and their SME/SMB clients in many different ways, particularly around how they conduct business and how they interact with their clients. The pandemic has fasttracked digital transformation, encouraging companies to rethink their business models to safeguard their future. This transformation has, for an example, manifested in trends such as remote working and the adoption of cloud technology.

Technological trends such as these have accelerated rapidly in terms of the number of people and businesses experiencing them for the first time.

One side effect of this change is that in many ways it has become easier for SMEs to do business anywhere and technology advances are giving business owners the confidence to expand globally into new markets.

Barriers to entry for SMEs to make this move are falling. Technology is driving that trend. A UK based company can sell products procured in China to Australian consumers as easily as an Australian business can target buyers in Europe or the North America with inventory sourced from elsewhere.

90 / Issue 25

@WorldFirstLtd

Simon Smallwood, Accounting Channel Lead, WorldFirst UK Before joining WorldFirst Simon worked for a number of years with an SME and Accountancy focused Fintech business, having previously spent 8 years working for an Internationally focused UK based SME that he co-founded and is still running today. This provides Simon with a great insight into the benefits technology can bring to SMEs in managing their finances and the opportunities for Accountants, Bookkeepers and business owners alike.

These exciting global opportunities are opening businesses up to potential risks, in terms of currency exposure. If properly managed, however, they can help improve efficiency and reduce time spent worrying about fluctuating profit margins. This allows business owners to concentrate on what they do best - running their business.

given time in the future, up to 24 months in advance. By purchasing foreign currency via a forward contract, the SME is able to lock in the exchange rate they receive allowing them to plan and budget.

If you have clients or suppliers abroad, hedging your exposure to movements in exchange rates can have many benefits. WorldFirst offer currency hedging strategies for businesses, a service typically associated with the big banks. With over 16 years of experience, they have been working with SME clients since 2004, helping them better manage currency exposure, saving them money and time.

• Fixed forward - Allows you to agree on an exchange rate today, for a fixed amount, to be used on an agreed date in the future (which is the maturity date).

• Flexible forward - Gives businesses flexibility on when they take delivery or drawdown from a fixed rate of exchange throughout the contract up until the maturity date.

• Window forward - Allows buyers to purchase a specific amount of foreign currency within a range of settlement dates, known

Very simply, WorldFirst allows a client to fix an exchange rate at a

There are a number of forward contract options which I have outlined briefly below;

WorldFirst’s free-to-open online platform World Account offers you: XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

as windows. The windows are utilised to achieve a better exchange rate than that of outright forward contracts WorldFirst’s customer first approach is highlighted by our ability to combine a highly personalised service with fantastic technology to help our clients and partners achieve their goals. As a result, our relationship managers work with our clients to fully understand their aims and goals to support the development of hedging strategies aimed to deliver FX stability, and risk mitigation for the business.

Our team will be able to talk through the options outlined above so that you can properly understand the opportunities and risks they present for your business.

The benefits of forward contracts include: • To hedge (lock in a rate) a rate to cover an invoice that is dated in the future • To hedge a rate to cover a percentage of a company’s forecasted currency requirements for future supplier payments • To hedge a rate for project work that is paid in stages for up to 24-months • To protect forecasted exporting revenue from currency volatility • When profit margins are tight and the ability to adjust the product and pricing is not an option • When a business publishes their prices on a website/brochure, and cannot reprice their product if the currency moves negatively against the business, thus eating into their profit margin

Example scenario A UK based designer of electrical components has their products manufactured by a partner in China.

The components are shipped on a quarterly basis and the SME knows their 31st March 2021 delivery, worth US $ 500,000 needs to be paid in advance of shipment by midFebruary 2021.

By using a forward contract, booked today, the SME is able to fix the exchange rate they will receive in mid-February. Depending on how much of their exposure they wish to cover they could set up a forward contract to purchase the full amount of $ 500,000, or 50%, allowing them to benefit from any preferential movements in the exchange rate on the un-hedged balance between the time of booking and the delivery date.

booked a deposit of between 5 – 10% of the contract amount will need to be paid, with the balance being due for payment in advance of the delivery date. During the term of the forward contract should the exchange rate move against you, you may be required to top up the initial deposit – a process that is known as a margin call.

An important point to highlight, however, is that you will never need to pay more than the contract amount confirmed at the time of booking to purchase your currency.

WorldFirst: Business Growth & Recovery Raconteur special report published in the TIMES Providing business leaders with positive and practical support to prepare for a resilient and stronger 2021. For a free download click here.

At the time a forward contract is

>

Receive funds into multi-currency accounts without the need for local banking relationships

Low, fixed, transparent pricing from 0.15% to 0.50%

Seamless Xero integration for easier reconciliation

Hold funds to pay suppliers, repatriate funds or make international payments

Mitigate currency risk with flexible hedging solutions

Dedicated account managers with 24/5 customer service

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Issue 25 / 91

Free local currency accounts with World Account

TOP TIP

WorldFirst provides Accountants and their clients, who are trading internationally with additional solutions to help them manage their exposure to foreign currencies.

Covid-19 is having a significant impact on our ability to travel, however many businesses are still keen to expand internationally given opportunities presented via increased pace of online sales.

According to The Financial Times and Companies House, company formation in the UK is running at record levels, and many of those company formations are for UK subsidiaries of overseas businesses.

Our World Account provides clients with local currency accounts in 10 major currencies that can be opened in minutes. This allows businesses to collect funds from clients or pay out funds to suppliers without having to convert those funds back into their home currency. This reduces the time frames associated with making international payments, saves money by reducing or eliminating transfer fees, and significantly improves the account opening process.

The challenge: If you are unable to travel, opening a bank account for the new venture can be complex, costly and time consuming!

The Solution: WorldFirst’s World Account allows the creation of new currency accounts online, on request, and for free, allowing quick launch into new countries.

Accounts are available in 10 currencies and bypass the need for local banking relationships.

The World Account, while popular with ecommerce businesses selling on global marketplaces such as Amazon, is also hugely popular for subsidiaries of overseas businesses who have trouble opening local bank accounts with traditional banking providers.

The World Account can be opened remotely, typically within 48 hours of providing the required details; it is not mandatory for directors to be based in the local market.

How can World Account benefit you?

92 / Issue 25

So, if you’re a SME looking to expand internationally or you have clients that are in a similar situation, then reach out to the Accounting partnerships team here at WorldFirst and we will be able to talk through how we can help.

WorldFirst are pleased to have been able to help many new UK businesses that are subsidiaries of an overseas parent (and vice versa) with their World Account solution.

Alternatively, you can apply online here.

• Delivering the majority of the functionality provided by a typical high street bank account, at a fraction of the cost • Simplify the management of international currency exposure • Once your World Account is set up and approved, you can open new, local currency accounts in seconds in 10 major global currencies. Set up a live feed directly into Xero to reduce data entry, improve reconciliation and speed up accounts preparation

WorldFirst are an international

Your easy alternative to a bank account abroad

payments company that help businesses and individuals collect and send money around the world by making global payments in local markets simple. Since 2004, more than 250,000 customers have utilised our services to send more than $70bn around the world. We are dedicated to making easy to use solutions, at the best possible price, for businesses big and small.

It’s all part of our mission to make it easy to do business anywhere.

FIND OUT MORE...

For more information on how your accountancy or bookkeeping practice can benefit from partnering with WorldFirst or how we can help your business contact the Accounting partnerships team on: > +44 (0)207 095 0741 or email Simon Smallwood on: > simon.smallwood@worldfirst.com or visit our website at: > worldfirst.com

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

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Issue 25 / 93

Cracking the IT&C Code Emersion offers an easy way to manage usage and subscription billing.

@emersionbilling

Paul Dundas, CEO and Founder, Emersion Paul Dundas is the CEO and Founder of Emersion, a business and billing automation platform for Telcos, MSPs, utility providers and wholesalers. He has more than 20 years of experience working in the Telco billing space and has helped hundreds of businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to streamline their billing operations.

The Information Technology and Communications (IT&C) Industry has performed remarkably well despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Emersion offers your practice an easier way to work with clients from the IT&C industry.

C

OVID-19 has been the biggest driver of technological change the world has ever seen, fast tracking a number of trends including:

Providers (Telcos and ISPs) have benefited immensely from this.

Here’s Why:

A rapid shift to remote working – Many businesses have had to work with external consultants to help them manage the transition to a remote workforce.

MSPs tend to have a very trusted relationship with their clients acting as outsourced IT departments for many businesses. When the pandemic struck, they were instrumental in getting businesses up and running remotely and suggesting software and solutions that could be used to both help improve collaboration and save costs through automation. Many MSPs are now taking on more usage and volume-based services requiring them to have more robust systems than just a spreadsheet and their accounting system.

Increased usage of voice and data services – To collaborate remotely, more people than ever are utilising video conferencing technology or phones. In addition to this, more people are staying at home watching streaming tv or playing games.

More dependence upon IT systems - Remote workers and companies that are learning to adapt to the ‘COVID-normal’ are seeking innovative automated and integrated solutions to improve efficiency, cut costs and allow them to grow.

The IT&C industry, and in particular Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Telecommunications Service 94 / Issue 25

Managed Service Providers (MSPs)

Telecommunications Providers (Telcos and ISPs) Telcos and ISPs sell high volumes of voice services (e.g. Mobile Phone, VoIP) and data services (e.g.

Internet plans). While business data use is down in many cases, residential voice and data use have skyrocketed, fuelled by Zoom

calls, streaming TV and the need to stay connected to friends and loved ones. This increased volume of activity is forcing Telcos and ISPs to focus on systemising and automating their processes for remote activity including online signup, provisioning and billing.

How can your accounting or bookkeeping practise efficiently work with Telcos and MSPs? To work with these businesses, you need to first understand more about how they operate.

• They tend to have large customer bases • The products and services sold by them can get quite complex • They often operate on a subscription model with variable charges based upon usage • Telcos, in particular, operate on slim margins and strive for operational efficiency wherever they can find it.

• Integrated solutions are attractive for scale These are more stable and financially secure businesses during

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

the pandemic. As their accountant or bookkeeper, you can add value by helping them to wisely manage growth, reduce volatility in their cash flow, streamline their billing operations and find new areas for growth and expansion.

You’ll want to do this while continuing to use your preferred accounting and ERP software (e.g.

Xero) and not having to change the way your business operates.

This isn’t the easiest proposition – it can be complicated to manage large customer bases from within Xero, it is almost impossible to accurately charge for usage-based products without resorting to manual calculations, generating large volumes of variable invoices and subsequently processing high volumes of variable payments is very time-consuming. For this reason, many practices steer clear of working with the IT&C industry because the administrative overheads caused by working with them are just too high.

Emersion automatically process large volumes of variable invoices and payments Many accounting practices already work with MSPs and Telcos, but find it hard to manage their billing.

Regardless of if you are already working with these companies, or want to start working with them in the future, Emersion is the easiest way to effortlessly handle their billing operations, while continuing to be able to manage your accounting operations from within Xero.

We integrate to over 100 vendors, carriers and payment providers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and can automate the entire subscription billing process.

Emersion is a Xero partner app and synchronises account, payment, invoice and transaction details to Xero. No more generating invoices manually, at the end of the payment period Invoices are automatically generated, dispatched and paid.

This doesn’t just save time, it also means you can easily work with

clients with large customer bases.

We integrate to local banks, which often charge lower fees than more commonly used payment providers with Xero integrations (e.g. Stripe and Paypal). This is particularly useful for clients with large numbers of B2C customers - the switch could save them thousands of dollars every year.

Additionally, by integrating to local vendors and carriers, we are able to automate the calculation of usage and pro-rata charges. This ensures that your clients are always billing their customers for the full amount, improving service profitability.

If you have existing Telco and MSP

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clients, and want to help them become more efficient, or are looking to open up more market opportunities for your practice then Emersion can help you to crack the IT&C code.

FIND OUT MORE...

Find out about our partner program for accountants and bookkeepers. Visit: > emersion.com/xero_ partners

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Issue 25 / 95

Payroll – Value or Cost?

Joanna Cruickshank, State Manager, CloudPayroll CloudPayroll is a standalone payroll system suitable for 1 – 1000 employees.

Joanna, is passionate in helping people get the best payroll solution for their organisation.

Payroll can be the largest expense item on your clients’ profit and loss statement, with mistakes potentially costing your clients considerable sums of money. So why are so many businesses not placing the appropriate level of importance when deciding on the payroll solution to best suit their business needs. The decision should not be based on “how much does it cost” but the value your clients will get from their chosen payroll solution.

I

t is extremely important your clients are equipped with the payroll solution best suited to their needs and an online, cloud-based, payroll will be hugely beneficial to your clients.

Single Touch payroll (AU) has now been introduced to all size businesses who report to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) each pay run. This means the ATO have full visibility over your required PAYG tax and superannuation liabilities.

A proven and trusted payroll solution is essential to payroll professionals. There are several imperatives you should look for when choosing your payroll software provider, it must: • Be compliant with all applicable payroll legislation, including the Fair Work Act, Taxation laws, Superannuation and Superstream 96 / Issue 25

and Single Touch Payroll reporting.

• Operate easily and efficiently to provide you with the necessary business efficiencies to run your payroll.

• Offer a wide range of reporting options to cater for your payroll and HR reporting needs.

• Offer customer support available from payroll experts, by phone and email.

When you are reviewing your clients’ payroll processes there could be some areas of concern if they are: • Using excel spreadsheets to keep payroll records • Using an accounting system just for payroll • Making multiple manual payments like salary packaging, Centrelink payments etc being paid outside of payroll rather than part of the bank ABA.file • Handing out or emailing payslips rather than a secure employee login • Manually calculating and splitting the actual costs into different cost centres before entering into the general ledger • Leaving paper records everywhere, rather than stored online and available anywhere, anytime All the above are great reasons to look at an add-on partner such

as CloudPayroll or iPayroll. All that is required by you is to make the introduction as their trusted advisor, and CloudPayroll or iPayroll will do the rest.

The implementation is taken care of by CloudPayroll or iPayroll set up is customised to the client’s requirements and integrated with Xero, ensuring a smooth transition.

Before our clients migrated to CloudPayroll or iPayroll they had generally been using their old payroll system out of habit! Smaller businesses can be too busy to investigate alternative payroll solutions and often medium to larger business have many decision makers and it can be easier to stay with the status quo. That is where Accountants, Bookkeepers and Business Advisors have a role in influencing their clients to investigate improvements to make their life easier. Trust and support are paramount to payroll. So often we hear “I wished I had known this payroll was around before” and “this is so much easier than what I was previously using”.

FIND OUT MORE...

To find out more visit: > www.cloudpayroll.com.au

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

...

“It is a sophisticated, commercial management system that ticks all the boxes�

Simon Haarer, Head of Asset Management LXi REIT

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Issue 25 / 97

Run Cost Plus Contracts Like a Champ Teach Builders and Tradies how Cost Plus Invoicing should be done with NextMinute

@NextMinuteApp

David Falconer, Co-Founder and General Manager, NextMinute Dave has more than 15 years experience working in Saas.

Watching his builder mates run a shambles business inspired him to co-found NextMinute. Purpose built for builders and tradies, Nextminute is all about helping them to run better businesses with a digital tool belt.

Builders often use a Cost Plus approach for Jobs, but getting it right can be difficult. Learn how Connected apps can automate the admin so they’ll never miss a cent.

C

ost plus contracts are common across residential building and construction projects.

Customers like them on new builds or renovations, as they allow flexibility for any changes that may arise. Builders like the lower risk than a fixed price contract. The client is only charged for hours of labour and materials used (plus an agreed margin) as the job progresses. But many builders

struggle to manage these contracts effectively and end up with poor profit margins!

What does a cost plus contract mean for the builder and what matters for the client when it comes to invoicing? Let’s focus on the builder challenges first.

The builder needs to keep accurate timesheets of labour that has been

spent on the Job. Every minute of labour that is not included in the client invoice, is a cost to the builder. Mistakes in calculating the labour rates (which will be different across staff and jobs) is a cost to the builder too! Accurate, flexible and detailed timesheet records are a must to ensure that customer invoices are for the correct amount.

What about the materials and sub-trade bills stacking up? All of these need to be allocated to the right job, with the correct margin to calculate the total amount to invoice. Not so easy when it’s in email, spreadsheets, Xero and bits of paper on the front seat of the ute. One missed bill could have big consequences as it could be thousands of dollars! Not a problem for the client, they won’t be worried if they are not charged for a missed bill!

The client simply wants transparency of the details that go into every invoice and understand progress within a given month. They need to be sure they are paying the correct amount for the work that has been done. This is challenging

98 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

and time consuming for the builder and prone to costly mistakes! Don’t worry ‌ NextMinute can take care of it!

Receipt-bank or Hubdoc takes care of getting your bills into Xero, then NextMinute pulls those bills across as charges against the Jobs. These are marked-up automatically and synced directly into the invoice! Fast and seamless with no manual entry.

Now for labour costs - all the builders labour Get your builders rates are set so staff running cost simply get on with the plus contracts job and record their like a champ!

NextMinute timesheets.

With the accurate Any mistakes can be information flowing quickly sorted by an Admin straight onto the invoice, it and then timesheets are locked is sent out quickly and therefore for auditability. Even better, if you gets paid faster! Best of all the use Xero payroll NextMinute will Builder knows they are making a sync those timesheets straight good profit! through!

FIND OUT MORE...

Learn how to set your client up to succeed with Cost Plus Invoicing on NextMinute > www.nextminute.com/costplus-invoicing

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Issue 25 / 99

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AI, Automation & Accounting

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Case Study

Invoice automation for multinational tech start-ups in Africa

Peter Magner, Director, Iridium Peter is an avid trail runner and sports enthusiast. He has a passion for people and technology and uses these skills to help grow and automate Iridium Business Solutions. He currently heads up the Sales and Marketing for the company, whilst also managing a team of Cloud Accountants. In 2019, he was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the SAICA Top 35-under-35.

Iridium is a South African accounting, advisory and automation firm serving six core industries: retail, hospitality, e-commerce, digital marketing, manufacturing and tech start-ups.

A

common challenge for tech start-ups across Africa: their fast growth makes expense management a tall order

108 / Issue 25

approvers being in the office with the document in front of them.

Tech start-ups often have big teams of 150-200 people. As the organisation grows – and growth can be fast – they start to put more and more processes and controls in place. They also tend to become multinational businesses: whenever they move into a new region, tech start-ups usually create a new company in that area, especially when they have a team there. So, the process for expense management becomes a very sensitive one that needs to be taken good care of. They definitely need comprehensive and granular financial controls.

For companies of this scale, it’s essential to use cloud systems that ensure simultaneous and easy access to data from any location. Process automation is vital for tech start-ups because they grow continuously, which means doing things manually is simply impossible. To keep on top of the accounting tasks, they need data digitisation tools to convert bills and purchase orders from paper as well as capable apps for the automation of approval and audit processes. Personally, I’d say it is even more important at the moment that accounting and other software supports mobile devices and the BYOD approach.

Paper- and email-based approvals slow down operations

Iridium’s trusted app stack for tech start-ups

Before we mastered this challenge for our clients, most of them used primarily paper: they printed everything out and then waited for people to sign off the documents.

Approvals were also requested via email, which the responsible person would reply to by writing “Approved”. That was it, their approval system. Either way, it was really slow and literally relied on

We developed a unified model that fits most tech start-ups in Africa as they all tend to have certain characteristics: a number of entities in various regions as well as a large team with several departments and projects. In general, they use Xero tracking categories – typically 2 of them: department and location or department and project. Our standard app stack includes Xero,

ApprovalMax, Expensify and Receipt Bank. By implementing this app stack everything can be moved to a digital environment and manual tasks are completely eliminated. It enables a properly organised, much faster, efficient and transparent process.

Thanks to this app stack, our clients don’t need to print out documents and sign them physically. So, approvers don’t have to be at their desk when a request comes in, a massive benefit. Another major advantage of this approval workflow is the enforcement of our approval matrix based on the company’s rules and guidelines.

Setting up spend control for large teams Our first ever client was Zoona.

Lots of people in Africa don’t have a bank account, making money transfers a challenge. Zoona has solved this problem by establishing a network of money kiosks across the whole of Africa. By using such a kiosk and a mobile phone – and that’s any mobile, not necessarily a smartphone – anyone can make a money transfer, or receive one.

When Zoona came to us, they had 5 different companies and over 150

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Case Study

staff members across five countries.

Obviously, managing approvals without a good process was difficult for them. We moved them from a desktop accounting solution called Pastel (the African version of Sage) to Xero and implemented ApprovalMax, Receipt Bank and Expensify.

Another good example is Yoco, a point-of-sale payments provider for small businesses that are growing across Africa. When Yoco came to Iridium, they were already a multinational company with about 150 staff members and an approval

process that had a lot of room for improvement. But with the right app stack, we managed to set up an efficient workflow for them as well.

When it comes to their authorisation workflow, companies often think they know what they’re after. But as you unpack the one they’ve got, you start seeing gaps in the process. I usually ask them to document their approval process with an Excel spreadsheet before we implement ApprovalMax; that’s when they start reformulating it as they go. This shows that a lot of tech start-ups don’t really have a

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clear idea of proper approvals after all. They do realise the importance of implementing a good process though. In most cases, their approval process actually gets refined and improves a lot when ApprovalMax is introduced.

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Brexit is coming:

Time to up your game

@MarketFinance

Nikki Gandhi, Partnerships Manager, MarketFinance Nikki’s hands-on approach means she’s our accountants go-to for all things funding. With over a decade of experience at major UK banks in retail and commercial banking, Nikki is best placed to understand the needs of both you and your clients.

After tackling the challenges brought about by COVID-19, the next course to be navigated by businesses in the UK is Brexit.

And they need you, their trusted advisor, to help them.

I

t’s been a long journey along this Brexit road since the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016. Now, almost four and a half years later, the UK is on the cusp of leaving the single market and customs union. Even after all this time, we don’t have clarity on what to expect as we’re still in this deal/no-deal limbo.

And there are only two months to go.

It’s difficult to take steps forward when you don’t know what you’re walking towards. Small and medium-sized businesses must be feeling the weight of this more than most. In a recent survey we undertook of 2000 businesses, 32% of respondents said that they don’t see any risk of a no-deal Brexit.

Regardless of whether they’re aware of any risks, deal or no-deal, things are going to change for the UK’s traders.

It’s easy for businesses to thrive amid certainty. But while certainty is not always possible, being prepared for different outcomes can be the next best thing. We know 110 / Issue 25

that certain aspects of business are going to be affected by leaving the EU – we just don’t know exactly in what way yet. But with this knowledge and your knowledge of your clients, you – the accountant – are already equipped to give your clients some valuable advice.

The workforce will be affected According to our survey, 27% of respondents were mainly concerned about workforce availability as a risk for their business. With statistics showing that, for example, a quarter of all staff employed by the construction industry are non-UK nationals, perhaps there should be more concern shown for the potential ramifications on the workforce. Lord Agnew, a minister working on the preparations for Brexit, said in a recent interview that he fears traders will be unprepared come 1 January. The government can surely admit that, without clarity on any plans, they’re not giving businesses much to go on!

In just two months, the free movement of people between the

UK and the EU will be a thing of the past. EU nationals working in the UK will at the very least be faced with reams of paperwork to complete so they can continue living here. Businesses that rely on migrant labour coming from the EU seasonally may find that this source of labour dries up. We had a glimpse of the impact of a lack of labour on the summer harvest this year as labourers were not able to move freely from Europe due to COVID-19.

Business travel won’t be as easy as it was before Another part of life that we’ve taken for granted is travel to the EU. It’s been easy to jump on a train and head over to France with no real planning or paperwork needed. And while you’re on the continent, it’s been easy to hop over to another EU member state without a second thought. However, from the new year, visas will be needed for all countries in the EU and each country may have its own requirements when it comes to fees, processes and paperwork. And there’ll be no spontaneous trips

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to other EU countries while there either; a visa for the next country may very well need to be obtained.

COVID-19 has taught us a lot about the reality of business-related interpersonal interaction. It’s shown us that with the help of technology, we can connect with our colleagues in a way we never thought possible.

Business travel has adapted during the pandemic by switching to video conferencing. But the question is: how much business travel will resume once the pandemic is over and we have ‘brexited’ the EU? Businesses can also expect changes if they or their employees provide services in a regulated profession in the EU. Will the UK’s professional qualifications still be accepted in EU countries?

Importing to and exporting from the EU The EU is our biggest trading partner at 45% of our exports and 51% of our imports – and an estimated 250,000 UK businesses trade with the EU. How trade will be affected after 31 December is down to whether or not we leave with a deal. While we’re still uncertain about that, the government’s leaflet Get ready for Brexit gives us a bit of insight into what we can expect: • There will be changes to UK-EU trade at the UK border including

on customs, tariffs and VAT • You need to apply for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number (starting with GB) so that you can continue to trade with the EU • There may be new rules you need to comply with if you sell manufactured goods • There may be new rules you need to comply with if you operate in a service sector within the EU Everything that moves between the EU and the UK, even a single product, will need a customs declaration. UK businesses could see tariffs of between 2.8% and 35% on goods exported to the EU; the impact on UK traders would be great.

The UK would impose tariffs on goods coming in from the EU and could reduce or even remove them altogether, meaning that some products would become more expensive while others would become cheaper. UK manufacturers importing goods from the EU may need to talk to suppliers about the provenance of component parts.

Where components originate could cause delays at customs and potentially increase the cost of products.

customs zones that allow goods to be imported, stored and exported without tariffs being imposed.

Impact on the supply chain UK businesses whose supply chains or operations rely heavily on EU countries will be particularly at risk come 2021. Without a trade deal, things like product standards, safety regulations and sanitary checks on food and animals would have to be checked at borders – with consequent lengthy delays which could upset the entire supply chain. The breakdown of a supply chain could mean your clients being unable to manufacture their products or their shelves sitting empty.

The government is preparing for long border delays due to anticipated paperwork problems.

Customs declarations are understood to be quite complex; any businesses new to the process may find that this causes disruptions to their supply chain.

If the UK leaves without a deal, it could take years for negotiations to be concluded – leaving businesses floating in a cloud of uncertainty way past the 31 December deadline.

What your clients need to know

The freeports the government intends to implement will be special

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> Issue 25 / 111

affected by Brexit if they: • Import from/export to the EU • Employ EU workers • Send workers to visit EU states As a strategic advisor, you’re well placed to provide insights into how your clients should prepare. Here’s a short checklist to get you thinking about the types of issues your clients need to be aware of: • Are your clients ready for the new trading arrangements due to kick in on 1 January 2021?

• Do your clients have non-UK nationals on the payroll? Can they help their employees with their paperwork?

• Do your clients have a lot of suppliers in the EU? Have they explored their options to see if they can source supplies from elsewhere?

• Do your clients export a lot of their goods to the EU? Have they explored new markets in other territories?

• Do your clients know who is responsible for filling in certain paperwork, making declarations and paying tariffs and VAT?

• Have your clients done scenario planning for their businesses on both a deal and a no-deal outcome? Have they tested their systems and processes to withstand whichever outcome occurs?

• Should your clients consider how to engage with stakeholders about potential changes or issues?

• Are your clients aware that they will have to apply VAT when trading with countries in the EU? • With regard to international payments, are your clients aware that there may be extra charges and delays on payments made and received? Should your clients have localised business accounts to avoid currency fluctuations and fee charges?

Let your clients know that the government keeps their UK transition webpage updated and they should visit it regularly to make sure they don’t miss any critical information. The government will also be launching an app soon to help businesses check if they’re

prepared to continue trading with the EU from 1 January 2021. Keep an eye out for it and let your clients know when it’s available.

As an accountant, your role as a strategic advisor is absolutely crucial right now. You know Brexit is coming and you know your clients.

You have a duty to up your game and help them plan so they can prepare for what lies ahead.

FIND OUT MORE...

To learn more about how MarketFinance can support your clients right now, visit: > marketfinance.com/ accountants

Don’t let January ruin your Christmas Ditch the January headaches and get your clients’ tax returns organised now.

AccountancyManager generates and sends the Self-Assessment checklist then chases your clients for you, so that everything you need is right at your fingertips as soon as you need it.

Sign up for a free 30-day trial accountancymanager.co.uk 01926 355366

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Changing the conversation: How accountants can help their clients

Joe Griffin, Content Manager, AutoEntry

Changing times and technology have seen more accountants changing their conversation with clients. Here’s how to change how you communicate with your client and move into a more advisory role.

S

everal separate elements are dovetailing to change the classic client/accountant relationship.

Firstly, automation has shifted how accountants work and communicate. While traditionally, accountants’ jobs had been about trial balance and data entry, automation has moved many accountants’ jobs into an advisory position.

Secondly, the events of the past year have accelerated the move to cloud-based and digital accounting.

And thirdly, the pandemic and corresponding recession have changed the face of economics; with governments, business owners and entire industries scrambling to negotiate new circumstances.

The conversation has changed.

Here’s how you can help your clients in new ways. Because they might need it.

114 / Issue 25

@AutoEntry

Joe worked as a journalist for ten years, covering business and tech (among other subjects). He then moved into content marketing, working on award-winning campaigns for blue chip clients.

Joe joined AutoEntry earlier this year as content manager.

1) Swap Manual Data Entry for Analysis There’s no shortage of scary statistics on this subject: a PWC survey last year predicted that one in three British jobs might be made obsolete by automation. And traditional accounting roles were among the most at risk.

But automation doesn’t have to mean obsolescence. Accountants have insights and perspectives that AI can’t achieve. An accountant should be there to support and advise, not just achieve trial balance. A whopping 82% of businesses fail due to cashflow mismanagement (according to a survey by Insights West).

Make those billable hours count.

This is a time when automation can truly transform the conversation.

Automate data entry, receipts processing and bank statements and invoices.

Instead of investing your billable hours into manual data entry, focus on digging deeper: Just about every company this year will be undergoing some change, and some long-term habits that were effective could now be detrimental (and vice versa).

Monthly outgoings and revenue reflect ongoing habits that might no longer be optimal. How much is being spent on premises rent? Are they getting the best value from utility providers? Could money spent on premises be better spent on cloud computing or automation?

A study by Wasp Barcode Technologies found that 60% of small business owners feel they are not very knowledgeable about accounting and finance.

Every accountant knows that a narrative forms in spreadsheets and accounting software. Embracing automation will allow you to make educated forecasts, looking at

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future cash flow and potential problems. Moving some tasks to automation will give you the time to share these insights.

2) Offer tailored grant and loan applications advice Another sector that’s frequently changing is that of grants. In the UK this year, several grants schemes were launched to help keep vulnerable businesses afloat.

At time of writing, some of them are being phased out and revised (including one of the highest profile ones - the government’s furlough scheme).

But there are several sources of finance under the radar.

Additionally, businesses are often allowed to apply for several grants simultaneously.

In the US there have been coronavirus stimulus packages, along with the usual resources and government loans.

Free money, naturally, comes with strings attached. Accountants can help with grants, which typically depend on financial projections and reports. You might have other clients who’ve successfully received government backing or you could advise on the best grants for a client’s specific clients.

The specificity of these grants means that your client might not be aware of what they are entitled to: some grants are region-specific, some are for precise business needs (R&D, for instance) and some are a combination of regions and sectors (such as rural broadband grants). Finding the grant that’s right for your client and helping them with applications would be a tangible, welcome added value.

Accountants can also advise on “blended” financial flexibility: the solution might be to apply for a loan, aim for a grant and restructure the shares of the business. SMEs this year are often faced with tough decisions - to scale back or maintain its current size? To dilute shares or not? To buy time with loans or avoid the inevitable

repayments?

Nobody is better equipped to advise on this than a company’s accountant.

A good approach to sharing this advice would be in group webinars or video meetings. You can share the options available and address any questions or concerns clients might have (either subsequently in private emails or during the webinar or meeting). Panic emerges when people think they don’t have options, so it’s reassuring to let them know that they are not alone and there are resources available.

A webinar also makes information digestible and accessible - more so than a document or report that might not be read!

Read our Beginner’s guide on UK grants on the AutoEntry website.

You can also help draft a business plan or other literature that might help a client in a grant or loan application. Again, this might be a field where you’d have more experience than the client.

3) Reexamine the questions you ask clients Going back to the theme of communication, accountants are more frequently moving into the sphere of advising (especially in the wake of automation). One of the keys to transforming your

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client relationship is to do what many accountants don’t relish - ask questions.

You might be reticent to show gaps in their knowledge or to overstep your boundaries, but asking relevant queries can illuminate problems or bad habits a client might have. A survey by ICAS found that 30% of small businesses place accountants at the top of their list of trusted advisors.

What are the client’s strategic goals? Why and how did they choose this vendor? What are their biggest long, medium and short-term concerns about their business?

Talking about subjects beyond taxes and balances will give a clearer picture of what you’re working with, helping you to build a better plan for your client. It should also enhance the client/ accountant relationship, making for a potentially stickier, longer term working relationship.

Some accountants are uncomfortable with changing their dynamic with clients, and that’s understandable. You can get the ball rolling with some of the following questions (or variations on the below): • What are you doing now?

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On the paper side, your client should be using a receipt app at the very least; snapping and sending receipts to you instead of stockpiling reams of potentially contaminated paper. (Receipt capture, incidentally, is one of AutoEntry’s most popular features for SMEs.) Data entry, as mentioned earlier, is another task that could be largely carried out by automation, changing the accountant’s role to a more analytical and advisory one.

more specific; are you paying for insurance? Are you spending on client retention or client acquisition? Has your approach to business changed in recent months post-covid?

Immediate concerns could be addressed relatively quickly - by changing to a cheaper supplier, for instance. And a client’s concerns may act as a guide to what to look out for when examining their books.

• Are your goals being met?

This will help shape the conversation: if the client believes they are not achieving what they set out to do, they’ll be open to advice on how to change things. If they think they are on track, they might need reassurance or warnings of potential bad habits or pitfalls they’re unaware of.

2020 has moved the goalposts for all of us, so has the client pivoted sufficiently to adapt to new circumstances? Does the company still maintain the same values as it did before covid, or have priorities shifted as the company just wants to stay afloat?

• What are your most pressing concerns?

This is also the time to revise medium to long term, as those plans might not be relevant or up to date in the new environment.

Help with technical issues 2020 has not just created new trends, it has accelerated existing ones. Remote working, for example, was gaining ground before this year, but it became widespread and (for many) mandatory in 2020, long after the technology became available.

Cloud-based work slashes costs, is more secure and more collaborative. If you have a client who’s reticent about using new tech, this is the time to address it.

As well as being safer for workers in general, cloud computing can reduce labor costs by 50%.

You should also be on hand to help with the transition to making tax digital - another development that has dragged some SMEs into the 21st Century.

AutoEntry - changing the conversation AutoEntry fast-forwards your data entry, verifies it more than any of our competitors and provides accurate, fully functional receipt capturing.

FIND OUT MORE...

As your client’s accountant, you should be in a position to help with the cloud, automation and the move towards a paperless office. 58% of small businesses don’t expect to meet with their accountants faceto-face.

If you’d like to know more about how automation can change your working life and your conversations with clients, sign up for a free trial at: > AutoEntry.com

Spend control via approval automation for a large residential property group Read more in our blog!

116 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Tired of chasing invoices?

Let Satago chase them for you.

Satago is the app that chases your invoices, so you don’t have to. Saving you time that you can reinvest in growing your business.

Integrates seamlessly with Xero Send automated payment reminders from your own email address Get paid faster, without the hassle Satago provides automated invoice chasing, risk insights and single invoice finance, all in one easy-to-use app.

To try two weeks of Satago free visit Satago.com/xu or find us in the Xero Marketplace Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

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Issue 25 / 117

Industry Focus: Property

How accounting software can help with high tenant turnover and uncertainty

@arthurproptech

Patrick Caulfield ACA, Financial Director, Arthur 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 where he manages everything finance and investor related, from fundraising to shaping and rolling out Arthur Online’s ambitious growth plans.

Find out how accounting software, and consequently your services, can help property managers with periods of high tenant turnover and uncertainty, which you can use to win property manager clients...

M

any property managers are still using outdated methods to manage their accounting and bookkeeping for their portfolio. These legacy systems and spreadsheets are inefficient and extremely timeconsuming, not to mention they increase the risk of errors.

The issues with these processes are made very apparent in periods of high tenant turnover and uncertainty.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of these times for the majority of landlords and property managers.

Meaning those who were using these archaic bookkeeping methods are at an immediate disadvantage to their competitors and have quickly fallen behind.

Accounting software tools, such as Xero, are extremely useful for property managers at the best of times, but they really show their advantages in times like these.

How it helps During a period of such uncertainty, property owners and managers have found themselves overwhelmed by a high tenant 118 / Issue 25

turnover, causing many to change the way they carry out the bookkeeping within their business.

Cloud-accounting software has been key to helping property managers cope with these unprecedented circumstances. High tenant turnover leads to ambiguity, but accounting software can provide clarity.

Through accounting software, property managers are able to precisely deal with and track rental invoices and registered deposit charges without confusion. The systems allow for underpayments and overpayments which have demonstrated to be extremely useful in a time like this where tenants may be unable to pay their rents in full.

The reconciliation page within the software enables property managers to be able to match all their invoices with transactions from their live bank feed. This feature grants the property manager the ability to correctly pay off all invoices that come into their accounts easily and efficiently.

With all financial information in one place, managing finances is

much more efficient. By simplifying processes, property managers can save valuable time, which can be used to focus on retaining their tenants.

Periods of high tenant turnover are extremely stressful for property managers and their time can be stretched extremely thin. Coupled with using outdated accounting processes, this can result in a high number of errors occurring.

Using a single platform that all stakeholders can access reduces the chance of errors by taking away the need for separate records that need to be linked, compared and reconciled.

The financial clarity that accounting software provides, allows you to communicate clearly with your tenants any upcoming rent or other payments so there are no surprises for either party. As a result, tenant satisfaction will increase and in turn reduce tenant turnover.

Integrations with property management software Another great advantage of accounting software is that it can be integrated with many property

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Industry Focus: Property

management software. Integrating property management software with accounting software is a powerful combination.

Rent tracking can be automated by transferring data and charges created in the property management software directly into Xero, which saves even more time.

Having everything you need to

manage the entire tenancy journey on one platform is invaluable at times of high tenant turnover.

The combination of the two is an obvious choice for those in the UK property market that want to bring a sense of harmony to their financials during such difficult circumstances.

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Use your Xero expertise to help and win more property management clients.

FIND OUT MORE...

To find out more, please visit: > www.arthuronline.co.uk/ benefits-of-becoming-an-adviser/

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Issue 25 / 119

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

Bill Identity billidentity.com Utility Bill Concierge allows Xero customers to source the best electricity rates, simply drag and drop an electricity bill (Epdf ) and we’ll do the rest. All suppliers are invited to compete for your electricity supply, potentially saving you thousands each year. What’s more – it easily integrates with Xero.

Bookkeeper360 bookkeeper360.com Bookkeeper360 is a technologydriven accounting solution for startups and established businesses. Our 100% US-Based team specializes in accounting, advisory, payroll, and tax compliance, so business owners can focus on what matters most.

Eazy Contracting eazycontracting.com Eazy Contracting is a SaaS Operations & Field Service Management Application that lets you focus on your Contracting / Trade business while we take care of what happens in the background.

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

FeeSynergy feesynergy.com.au FeeSynergy is the #1 provider of integrated debtor management software and finance solutions

to hundreds of accounting firms in Australia and New Zealand.

Our flagship FeeSynergy Collect platform automates collection processes, engagements letters, direct debits, fee funding and payment gateway FeeSynergy Collect is the complete solution for all Xero users.

FoodByUs foodbyus.com.au FoodByUs is a B2B wholesale food market place for cafes, restaurants, hotels and other foodservice businesses to place orders directly with local foodservice Suppliers of all sizes. We offer a ‘one stop shop’ to purchase from several categories including baked goods, meat, fruit & vegetables, dairy and more!

Geneva Capital Ltd genevacapital.co.nz We supply confidential invoice financing to the B2B market. This is an ongoing cash flow facility helping clients maintain their growth and manage their expenses to achieve greater profit margins.

All achieved through a digitised solution available 24/7.

Magnifi magnifi.com.au The complete forecasting and reporting solution for advisors with rolling 3 Way forecasts + capacity planning + performance monitoring + interactive tailored dashboards

NEW! Direct Receipt Bank to ApprovalMax integration for Xero [BETA]

(powered by Zoho Analytics).

Import accounts and employee data from Xero to build projections with substance and forecast with confidence.

Ozow ozow.com Ozow is an instant EFT payment solution that allows customers to pay in seconds directly from their bank account. The Ozow platform enables businesses collect payments via eCommerce, Mobile SMS, QR code and E-billing.

Rotaready rotaready.com Developed specifically for hospitality, leisure and retail businesses, Rotaready helps you schedule rotas, manage your HR, record attendance and approve timesheets for payroll.

By bringing together your wage costs and revenue, along with our industry leading AI-driven demand forecasts, you can optimise your labour spend and make better business decisions.

Telleroo telleroo.com Telleroo eliminates manual payment processes from small and medium sized businesses. Our simple payment process doesn’t require any training, yet gives you enough controls making sure no mistakes happen.

NEW

Read more in our blog!

120 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

New Releases

Updates and new releases from the Xero App Marketplace AccountancyManager accountancymanager.co.uk

Arthur arthuronline.com

Bulk SMS - Keep your clients up to date by sending SMS messages in bulk. It’s quick and simple, and you can filter your list to target specific clients.

The new COVID feature on the Tenant app notifies the respective Property Managers if a Tenant updates their COVID profile. This enables the Property Manager to take into account any circumstances which may impact property visits, scheduled viewings, and any contractor work required.

Risk assessment form - We’ve revised our risk assessment form - interrogated by former HMRC AML investigator, John Groves, to help guide you when creating risk assessments.

AppogeeHR appogeehr.com We have been busy working on advancing our performance management to allow you to manage the whole end to end process in Appogee HR with 360 feedback, templates and workflows.

Company Documents has also seen some large updates to allow you to better manage acknowledgments, compliance and version tracking.

We have also enhanced the Xero Payroll integration to include functions such as bank details sync.

ApprovalMax approvalmax.com ApprovalMax now supports two-factor authentication: if you are using ApprovalMax login and password pair to login you can now enforce the security by enabling two-factor authentication (one-time based passwords or additional email codes). It can be enabled via the My Profile section (once the beta feature is enabled). If you are interested in enabling this beta feature for your ApprovalMax Organisation, please contact ApprovalMax via beta-support@ approvalmax.com

Compleat compleatsoftware.com Our latest releases further deliver automation capabilities with our new auto-approval event.

Automatically approve, and post to Xero, bills that are fully matched to a purchase order. We are rolling out our goods receipting function to record delivery and enable 3-way matching of bills. If you buy from Amazon Business you must check out our unique integration to bring all the benefits of our automation to your purchases from Amazon.

Emersion emersion.com Emersion is a business and billing automation platform for MSPs and Telcos. We have recently added a suite of new payment integrations to our platform including Westpac Australia, Westpac New Zealand and Merchant Warrior. These complement the existing suite of 20+ payment gateway integrations available in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore including Stripe, ANZ, Ezidebit and more.

G-Accon accon.services Recently we introduced the features that G-Accon’s users were impatiently waiting: 1. Aged Receivables and Payables Reports in a Customer’s Currency.

G-Accon users have the ability to

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download bills and invoices in a customer’s currency.

2. Automatic Workflows is a powerful tool that allows users to create different workflows, include specific templates, set up different schedules for various workflows, and notify the team and clients using different automatic notifications within the same spreadsheet.

3. The Tracking Summary Report generates a list of your tracking options to show activity in a particular group of accounts for a specific time period.

4. OAuth 2.0 is the industrystandard protocol for authorization.

5. Switch Xero Organizations.

Switch the Organisation allows you to select the desired organization in order to set up new templates, generate reports and automate the refresh processes.

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

HR Partner hrpartner.io Free Performance Review Templates! To help businesses with employee management, HR Partner has put together a set of performance review templates - available both as online forms within their employee management software, and also as downloadable Word templates. infoodle infoodle.com The charity sector is a diverse market with very different needs.

We have incorporated additional customisations to satisfy these varied requirements – page layouts, new methods to connect contacts, new types of data that can be captured. Registration forms have been enhanced to include the ability to capture documents.

Infoodle has also been extended to cater for COVID requirements Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 121

in respect to controls on room capacity and bookings.

Practice Ignition practiceignition.com Say hello to a new and improved proposal creation experience: • Step through a more guided experience and fresh new interface for proposal creation • Have your work autosaved with every change • Have more control with clearer proposal date and length controls, that are separated from billing controls • Create ‘Projects’ within proposals to provide context for a grouping of services, for example, in phases or service areas (advisory, compliance, bookkeeping) • See your changes in a realtime preview of the client experience • Include multiple options in your proposals Re-Leased re-leased.com Re-Leased recently launched CREDIA, a free to access property intelligence and analytics platform designed to provide greater transparency and insight into the health of the commercial real estate market. The CREDIA Index shares

statistics on occupier performance, leasing trends, and national averages to benchmark against the wider market and asset classes.

decisions across multiple entities.

Scoro scoro.com

A new SuiteFiles Search engine was highly requested by our customers, so we decided to revamp our whole Search feature! Our customers can now use full text search and narrow down even further to find specific files and folders. Check out our blog page over on our website to read more Suite updates!

Say goodbye to settling expenses the old-fashioned way with spreadsheets and pockets full of receipts. Instead, automate your expense management by integrating Scoro with Expensify.

Manage all data in one place, and more importantly – take full advantage of allocating projectrelated expenses automatically under the right project. While Scoro’s Expensify integration is easily configurable, its various customization options make it simple to tailor to fit all your business needs.

Spotlight spotlightreporting.com The team at Spotlight are working on the launch of Consolidated Forecasting. It’s the next evolution of forecasting in the cloud and will harness the power of Spotlight’s three-way forecasting tool. You’ll be able to easily consolidate up to 75 entities to enable clients and stakeholders to make confident

SuiteFiles suitefiles.com

Tidy tidyinternational.com Tidy and EzzyBills have collaborated to provide a new integration.

Connect EzzyBills to your Tidy account to further reduce time on manual data-entry and save costs.

This integration will enable you to: • Eliminate manual data entry by using EzzyBills to import supplier invoices into Tidy • Automate the process of matching invoices with purchase orders • Have the option of using the EzzyBills Approval process to approve bills before getting paid

www.xumagazine.com

122 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Practice Ignition turns your proposal, terms of service and invoicing into a single smart contract. It’s fast, efficient and your clients will love it!

Practice Ignition automates our onboarding and engagement processes. Our clients love the digital sign-off, and we love that it kicks our bills directly into Xero. Practice Ignition has boosted our team’s efficiency significantly. ” Peter Magner, Marketing Director, Iridium Book a Demo landing.practiceignition.com/moretime Visit the XU Hub: Go to www.xumagazine.com

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Issue 25 / 123

Automating your Online & Delivery Business with the Power of Integration

@SapaadPOS

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

Online delivery has been a pandemic-proof strategy for restaurants. While the shift helped most pivot, it’s those that leverage the myriad benefits of integration that are positioned for longstanding success...

T

he significance of online food delivery platforms in the restaurant industry is due in no small part to the postpandemic world. In our digital age, consumers have been drawn to services that are high on convenience and guarantee instant gratification. And with diners continuing to prefer staying at home now more than ever, the popularity of these platforms have only gained momentum.

come with managing orders from multiple partners. In particular, the challenges with menu management of different partners stores, tracking incoming orders on multiple tablets, manually entering orders into the POS, order fulfillment and reconciliation.

And what’s an efficient, streamlined, and cost-effective way to do this? By leveraging the power of integration between partner stores and your POS.

Online food delivery platforms offer Sophia Sleiman, Founder & CEO of tremendous benefits to consumers. the restaurant Mantoushe, shares A beautiful ordering experience, the importance of integration in the flexibility of cash-on-delivery her operations. “Online ordering or online payments, contactless platforms drive a large majority deliveries, as well as the ability to of our orders. The share reviews and ratings. manual re-entry of Moreover, real-time every transaction order tracking – Integration between is labour intensive from restaurant to partner stores and and comes with doorstep.

POS solves pain plenty of issues points of manual from errors to Not only are online re-entry and missed missed items. partner stores a But the integration one-stop platform for orders. between my POS and consumers deciding on partner stores solves all of their next meal, but also a these. It’s a cost-effective and foolviable revenue-generating channel for restaurant businesses alongside proof way of operating.” in-house dining.

Centralized Menu Management With the volume of partner orders With a robust integration, expected to rise over the years, connecting your partner stores to it’s crucial for restaurateurs to your POS can be achieved within meet the demand while steering minutes. You can sync your POS clear of the pain points that 124 / Issue 25

menu to your respective partner menus with a few clicks. Menu items selected, along with their images, descriptions and modifiers, instantly reflect on your partner store.

For updating a menu item or marking it unavailable, and adding store configurations or discounts, you won’t need to contact your provider. This can easily be done straight from your POS in real time so it’s always up to date; minimizing effort and maximizing resources.

100% Automated Order Workflow Arguably the biggest advantage of integrating your partner stores to your POS is the fully-automated order fulfillment. When a customer places an order on your partner store, it automatically arrives directly into your POS, meaning you no longer have to maneuver multiple tablets to run your in-house and partner stores.

Eliminating manual data entry and the risk of incorrect orders.

A fully-integrated solution is designed to work seamlessly with add-on modules in your operations for streamlined communication and workflow. Orders are routed to your kitchen display system and your delivery management system for complete visibility of the order journey and unrivalled data

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

integrity and accuracy.

Total Delivery Control An efficient delivery management system gives you real-time insights into your entire order cycle as it happens – placement, preparation, pick-up, and delivery.

You can monitor every stage, identify bottlenecks, and optimize operations.

Order details and driver information are visible at a glance. You can identify driver availability, assign them to orders and track deliveries, not only by your own delivery driver personnel but also by third-party logistics and delivery partners.

Consolidated Customer Database Customer data is incredibly valuable to better understand, communicate and engage with your customers. With multiple partners, managing multiple databases can be overwhelming.

A powerful integrated solution ensures your entire customer database can be managed in one centralized CRM. When an existing customer orders through your partner store, their profile is automatically updated in your CRM. Should a new customer order, a new profile is instantly created.

Insights such as order history and preferences can be used to improve customer engagement and, ultimately, retention.

Manuel Wazen, Marketing Director of enterprise JJ Chicken, mentions the importance of utilizing customer data. “Data is now very valuable because it allows us to target customers and keep them within reach.”

LIVE Multi-Channel Analytics With a future-proof integration, sales data from your partner stores are in sync with your POS. You can get insights and analytics of multi-channel performance in one powerful LIVE dashboard, eliminating end-of-day manual reconciliation.

Best-selling items, popular delivery areas, item profitability, outlet profitability, inactive customers, are a few of the many insights you gain – even on the go.

“The ability to see what’s going on at any given time is a great added value for an owner,” Sleiman confides.

With comprehensive reports and daily business summary, you can identify and analyze trends, compare in-house and partner store performance, and make informed

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

business decisions.

Seamless Integration with Xero Leading POS systems are integrated with cloud accounting software like Xero. This means that daily sales data from your partner stores, if integrated with your POS, are automatically synced between the applications. The outof-the-box integration simplifies and streamlines your restaurant accounting and removes the need for manual entry and end-of-day reconciliation.

In conclusion, the future of restaurant dining is online.

Undeniably, restaurants that provide the online delivery experience will continue to thrive.

With online food delivery platforms leading the movement, integrating your partner stores to your POS is a great way to effortlessly meet the demand and grow your business to new heights.

FIND OUT MORE...

To find out more about Sapaad Cloud-based Restaurant POS & Delivery Management System, visit us at: > sapaad.com

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 125

Focus: Mental Health

World Mental Health Day and Self Care World Mental Health Day – 10 October – was a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy.

This year’s theme, Do You See What I See?, challenges perceptions about mental illness in Australia and encourages everyone to look at mental health in a more positive light, in an effort to reduce stigma and make way for more people to seek the help and support they deserve...

1

in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness annually, yet many don’t seek help because of stigma. During the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritising mental health and wellbeing has been more important than ever.

This World Mental Health Day – October 10 – the message was simple: “Look after your mental health, Australia.”

It is a great reminder of the importance of one’s own personal health and well-being. Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced

stress and anxiety. It is key to a good relationship with oneself and others.

Where do you begin?

1. Stick to the basics. Focus on activities that work for you. Get these right and you are off to a great start.

2. It needs to be something you actively plan and not something that just happens. Make a plan, write it down, block time in your calendar. Stay focused.

3. Keep an open mind, believe that the activities you choose will help you take care of your mental health. Focus on the outcomes.

Running my own business for many years was rewarding and challenging. When things were

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.

running smoothly if felt wonderful and the best job in the world.

At other times the pressure felt unbearable. I felt I was always juggling the needs of clients, employees, suppliers and the tax office. I struggled with finding time for myself.

This seesaw effect was often difficult to manage. It took great perseverance to juggle all the different needs a business throws at you each day. Over many years I learnt to manage the highs and lows. I don’t feel I was ever an expert at it, I just found different approaches for me that worked well.

Over time I became aware of the challenges I would face on a daily basis. Learning about the best way for me to cope with them took time.

I would trial different approaches.

I would listen to my mind and my body. I learnt to be mindful of my stress levels and asses when the levels were reduced. I built resilience.

I realised to be successful and survive, I needed to manage these challenges. They weren’t going away. I wanted to continue running my own business and in doing so

126 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

Focus: Mental Health I had to take care of myself. There were times when I didn’t, and I suffered. Rather than blame myself, I learnt to be kind to myself.

Everyone manages stress in different ways and it’s important to be aware of this. One solution does not fit everyone. It is important to seek out what works for you. It may take time and some trial and error.

By persevering you will discover what ways you can better manage your mental health and what activities will make a difference.

Over the years I found focusing on the following has helped me better manage the challenges I face each day: A good night’s sleep • 8 hrs work best for me and I wake refreshed.

• Winding down prior to sleep by disconnecting from my tech devises has a positive impact on my sleep Exercise in the morning • This energises me for the day and helps make me more resilient to what is coming my way • It sets up my day for success Volunteer • It is wonderful giving out, with no expectation in return • The volunteer work I do for Beyond Blue allows me to give back to the community and helps others. It’s a wonderful feeling Use positive words • I always get a much better response when I start with a positive • Positive words create positive energy for me. Then I find those around me then react more constructively

Set a start & end time each day • Staying late doesn’t give me time to relax and unwind • Setting boundaries around my work time keeps me more focused

• Eat well and be healthy • Call a friend or family member today • Take time out to play • Find some colour and fun in your day • Find joy in the little things • Explore new hobbies • Look after your mental health • Bake something yummy, or at least try • Make exercise part of your routine • Volunteer

Do it now • When I complete tasks, even the difficult ones, I feel more in control • Scheduling tasks and due dates keeps me on track Share • This really helps me to offload and talk about issues • I find having a mentor or coach is a great benefit and allows me to share with them and this lessens the burden on family or friends

Every day it is important to take time to reflect on yourself. Not just on World Mental Health Day. Think about how you are feeling and if there are things you could do differently to take care of your wellbeing.

Spend time with your loved ones • The most important part of my everyday • Spending time together makes life worthwhile It might seem hard to focus on mental health and wellbeing at this time but prioritising this is more important than ever. Making a mental health promise is a great way to remind yourself to look after your wellbeing.

Don’t wait for the next World Mental Health Day to make a mental health promise.

Ask for help early and remember you are not alone.

Here are some examples of promises you can make to yourself:

85%

How much time do you spend checking your client’s data in Xero?

Imagine knowing the accuracy of your client’s books without even looking through them.

Get your HealthScore® today. Set up in less than a minute and we’ll do the heavy lifting.

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17%

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Issue 25 / 127

Coastguard Lake Taupo & infoodle: A Perfect Match How infoodle and Xero help charities with membership management & financial operations

@infoodle

Aukje Smith, Sales Manager, infoodle Aukje, along with her husband Richard, founded infoodle in response to the need for a reliable, user-friendly and costeffective database and donor management system for charities, churches and community groups.

Having experience working with charities and churches around the world, Aukje draws from her knowledge to serve the nonprofit sector through infoodle. The vision of infoodle is to provide administrative support enabling nonprofits to focus on their mission.

As a Xero add-on, infoodle supports a wide range of charities across the globe, each with their own special requirements. In this article, we share a conversation with our amazing client, Coastguard Lake Taupo whose volunteers provide a valuable and highly regarded service to all users of Lake Taupo, where they tell our readers how infoodle helps them with managing volunteers, communicating with members and tracking finances.

C

ontributing to marine safety advice, boating education, search and rescue, and maritime presence, CGLT is recognised as an integral part of the support system for the Lake Taupo community. However, they are a charitable organization run mainly by volunteers, with their major funding source coming from their membership base. A database of members requires a lot of time to manage, and time is the greatest asset volunteer organisations have and it must be used wisely and efficiently.

How does infoodle help you to save time and serve your community better?

We have over a 1,000 members and the system requires us to issue new membership cards each year. When this is run on a spreadsheet it takes a lot of manual manipulation to keep up to date. infoodle was the solution for us. It is not expensive; it is designed for charities and is simple to use. infoodle has reduced our workload from 3 days a month 128 / Issue 25

to 2 hours each fortnight. This was a huge advantage to us. We can now manage the process which, most importantly, protects our major source of income. It links to our financial software, Xero, which means there is just one database to manage, not two. Searching for member data and producing reports is all done with the click of the mouse.

How does infoodle as a Xero add-on help you with financial operations?

There are a few of us that do membership management within our organization, so the link between infoodle and Xero is important to keep things moving. If one person adds a new member in infoodle it is then pushed to Xero for the next person to action the invoices. It is an easy system to use.

Which features of infoodle or Xero have had the biggest impact on your work?

virtually instantaneous updating between infoodle & Xero – if we update a contact in infoodle and then log in to Xero it has already pushed the change through to Xero.

It is very important for us to keep an audit trail of all changes and this change is also narrated as “system generated� so we know if it came from infoodle. This also ties in with the great audit trail feature that infoodle has too. The report builder feature is also very strong and we love the ease of being able to pick very specific criteria when running reports.

Have you noticed a significant reduction in time spent on reconciling transactions, issuing receipts and generating reports?

Because infoodle talks to Xero, we are not double handling any contact updates, one person can receive an email about an address change, enter it into infoodle and forget about it, knowing that infoodle will automatically update the Xero contact too.

I think the best feature is the XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

What other features of infoodle as a Xero add-on are of use to you?

We can now communicate directly to members via email. We can write letters to specific members and the ability to address them by their first name has provided a personal link with our members. People will read our correspondence because it has their name on it and it is right

there in front of them. As a result, we have been able to get members that have slipped ‘through the cracks’ over time, back into our system as financial members. This provided some 20% of lost income from the past which was a great and pleasant surprise for us. Basically, without a cloud operated and easy to use system such as infoodle, we would not be able to continue

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our great services to the Taupo community. I cannot recommend Infoodle highly enough.

Image Credit: Coastguard Lake Taupo

Find out more...

For more information go to: > infoodle.com

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Issue 25 / 129

App Partners of the Month

Xero App Partners of the month

October 2020

September 2020

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...

Find out more at: > syftanalytics.com

S

yft Analytics is an award-winning financial reporting and analytics app for Xero. Syft Analytics has earned several accolades over the past year including Xero’s App of the Month for September 2020 and is recognized as a Xero staff pick on the App Marketplace.

Over the past year, Syft Analytics has accelerated its efforts to assist Xero practices and businesses improve profitability, deliver impact and save time. Feature highlights include annual financial statements, multi-currency consolidations, financial health, practice manager and custom ratios along with a

We have a 14-day free trial available on all pricing plans. Users may simply navigate to our website and click the “Free trial” button or contact us on the live chat if they need any help with signing up.

We love how Nikolay from Subraka Accounting describes Syft’s support: “Reporting functionality is comprehensive, but the best bit is their outstanding support. Feels like having an extra person on my team. Amazing.”

Find out more at: > xbert.io

X

Bert set out to disrupt bookkeeping and since launching at Xerocon in September 2019, the rapid growth of the company has cemented the fact there was a huge need for a holistic task management and data integrity tool for the accounting industry.

The Australian Government agreed, awarding XBert funding as part of their Accelerated Commercialisation Grants earlier this year. We’ve also been named as a finalist for Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year in the FinTech Australia Finnies Awards and have a 5-star

130 / Issue 25

range of advanced advisory features such as business valuations and income tax. As Cyrus from Ample Finance puts it: “Syft is amazing!

It’s a must-have app for advisors!”.

With over 80 5-star reviews on the Xero App Marketplace, users emphasize the team’s willingness to listen to its users and world-class customer support.

rating on both Xero and ICB Marketplace’s.

It’s about saving time, money and being 100% confident in the data, all the time. XBert’s powerful AI-powered audit and process automation identifies anomalies, business patterns and financial risks hourly in your Xero accounting data but it’s so much more than that. It enables advisors to reduce manual tasks, helps streamline processes, provides workflow efficiency, up-to-date accurate data, access to Power BI reports at the click of a button and seamless client collaboration to name a few.

We’re constantly evolving and adding features as we listen to our users on what they need.

This means advisors can focus more on what they do best – advisory. Xero said it best when they explained that XBert features “free up time for advisors so they can focus on providing insights and interpretations of accounting data for their clients’ success.”

Trial XBert in your practice for free or book an in-depth demo: xbert.io

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

November 2020

App Partners of the Month

Find out more at: > aider.ai

B

rendan Roberts, CEO of Aider, says that Aider is there to help small businesses gain instant, data-driven insights into their accounting, sales and cash flow. Aider offers real-time insights and suggests questions to ask, providing a large shift in the way that business owners go about managing their businesses.

“We are absolutely stoked to be selected for the Xero App Partner for November,” he says. “Thank you, Xero, for investing in our partnership. We love working together to provide small business customers and their advisors access

to smarter AI-powered technology previously only available to the big corporates.

“We are passionate about small businesses, and are especially aware of the challenges they face during these unprecedented times.

With Aider, business owners can make better, faster decisions, making it easier to work ON their business .

“November is an exciting month for us. We’re launching Aider’s “Advisory Intelligence Portal” for Xero Accountants and Bookkeepers.

Aider Advisory will offer a financial assistant to accountants and bookkeepers so they can work closer with small business clients and offer Advisory services.

If you would like to find out more, register your interest at www.aider.ai/advisors

Focused initially on Australia and NZ, Aider is intent on transforming the way business owners grow businesses around the world.

Don’t let January ruin your Christmas Ditch the January headaches and get your clients’ tax returns organised now.

AccountancyManager generates and sends the Self-Assessment checklist then chases your clients for you, so that everything you need is right at your fingertips as soon as you need it.

Sign up for a free 30-day trial accountancymanager.co.uk 01926 355366

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 131

Interview

Q&A Evangeline Hassall Managing Director PayrollBee 132 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine XU Magazine for Xero - the users, independent

by Xero users. magazine Find us foronline Xero users, at: xumagazine.com

by Xero users.

Interview

We had the opportunity to catch-up with PayrollBee, a new fully-managed outsourced payroll provider who have recently launched their service in the UK. It is specifically aimed towards Accountants and Bookkeepers wishing to expand their payroll offering without the need to expand their internal payroll team.

Evangeline Hassall who heads-up PayrollBee shares with XU Magazine why an outsourced service is especially beneficial during these unprecedented times, especially now that the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has introduced and further extended the furlough scheme in 2020...

XU:

Why should accountants and bookkeepers outsource their Payroll?

EH:

Running payroll as part of your service offering is something that most clients expect and want. However the reality is that it can quite often become laborious, time consuming and not as profitable as other services. As payroll is all that we focus on here at PayrollBee, it means that we can run it efficiently and effectively. Accounting and bookkeeping firms can control their costs by taking advantage of our fixed fee pricing for running all of their clients’ payroll and they can put their desired markup on. This gives peace of mind that their clients’ payroll is being professionally administered but also ensuring that the practice benefits from an essential valueadded service which is profitable from day one.

XU:

So does this mean that practices can save on their staffing costs?

EH:

Absolutely, there is no need to take on the burden of having additional staff within their practice. As well as the financial cost saving it means that practices do not have to deal with the headaches that can come when trying to cover holiday, sickness and other absences. Here at PayrollBee, we have ensured that we have enough resources so that there is always somebody on-hand to cover the routine payroll runs and also ensure that we can respond quickly to any queries. Payroll can often be quite a sensitive and time critical subject and our team here at PayrollBee have many years of

expertise in handling queries on a direct one-to-one basis. This further ensures the level of confidentiality that you would expect.

different. We do this by being set up on their email domain so that when communicating with clients via email it’s all coming from a known and trusted company domain. We also set up a dedicated phone line How can practices on our system for the practice that ensure that the we’re partnering customer service being with. This means offered by PayrollBee is Accounting and that the telephone to the same standard bookkeeping firms number can be as their firm is given to clients as currently offering? can control their the contact number costs by taking for the payroll When advantage of our team. When the the we start fixed fee pricing... call is received here working with any new at PayrollBee, our team practice we spend a lot instantly sees which of our of time finding out about partners the call is intended for. We them. One of the main aspects is then answer the call appropriately how they communicate with their with a customised greeting and clients and understanding their as a team member of the practice. client base. We want to ensure that This is really important as it means the end client feels like we are just that we can liaise directly with their part of the practice. Their clients clients to answer any questions that should not know the difference may and will arise. This can be both between speaking with their from the clients of the practices internal staff and the team here we’re working with or indeed their at PayrollBee! We usually spend own staff. a lot of time working closely with the practice so it’s important that we’re all on the same page and How quickly can you we’re operating in a way that they’re turn a pay run around? familiar with.

We do say that we require a 24 hour I understand that turnaround time to ensure this is a white-label service, can you give us some more the deadline can be met. We understand however that last details on how that works? minute jobs/changes can come in and will also look to jump on I would say that the and accommodate these wherever majority of practices possible. we work with want to use us on a white-label basis. There are a few that specifically want the clients to Can you help to know we’re separate, as they don’t manage things like want to be seen as offering payroll, the furlough and the Job Retention and this is fine too. With the whiteScheme? label service however, the objective is for us to be seen as the payroll With the recent department for their practice and announcements of a for the clients to not know any furlough extension until March

XU:

EH:

XU:

XU: EH:

EH:

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

XU:

EH:

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 133

Interview 2020 this means that this type of government support is starting to become a normal part of the pay run process. At PayrollBee we can help to calculate what the figures are for furlough claims, especially for those workers with flexible hours. We can then ensure that these are submitted to HMRC as quickly as possible to avoid any delay in furlough related payments to clients.

the scheme we would advise that sometimes we may need to involve the specialist knowledge of a pension advisor or IFA.

XU:

Do you post wage journals or can you link in with accounting softwares?

EH:

The payroll system that we operate has a direct API link in with Accounts IQ, FreeAgent, Kashflow, Quickbooks, We have now started to see the Sage One, Twinfield and Xero. first phase of furlough scheme This means that we can work with investigations being carried practices to set up out by HMRC. We take this link so that We have now on the responsibility wage journals can started to see of dealing directly be posted through the first phase of with HMRC to seamlessly into furlough scheme review the matters the accounting of concern and package. This saves investigations ensure that these the processing time being carried out are resolved in a of entering journals

by HMRC... speedy manner. Whilst manually but also this is still a very unknown mitigates against human area, at PayrollBee we are doing our error with manual data entry. best to understand all information as soon as it’s released to be able There are some really to offer the best possible support fast growing practices to practices that we work with and out there, are you able to keep up their clients. with their new client demand?

XU:

As well as processing the claims that need to be made, we are also able to assist with scenario planning. When the current 80% furlough scheme is reduced again, we know that lots of businesses need to think through the various options available to them and quite often this means running various forecasts on staffing and the government support available at that time. This is something that we have found ourselves to be involved in quite heavily over the previous weeks prior to the current 80% furlough scheme level being reintroduced.

EH:

XU:

EH:

As well as processing the monthly auto enrolment pension information can you also help to set these schemes up too?

EH:

The management of auto enrolment from the setting up of the schemes to processing the monthly reports is something that we take care of.

Depending on the complexity of

134 / Issue 25

We always ensure that we operate at a capacity level which gives us enough room to quickly bring on new clients that practices are onboarding. As part of the relationship with a new practice we really look to understand their growth plans as this helps us to understand whether we need to increase our capacity too.

XU:

As well as the processing of payroll can you also help with other tasks, such as PAYE & pension reconciliations and general payroll related questions?

We often find that we work very closely with members of the team in practices to assist them with some of the items they may be working on, such as reconciliations. Also, for example, if there are ever discrepancies with the figures that we hold compared with what HMRC may have, we usually manage these situations to ensure that all the information is sitting correctly at both ends. As we

have all of this information at our fingertips it is usually the quickest for us to dive into that information and assist with the reconciliation or any other matter in-hand.

Regarding general questions, yes and this is something that we find we do a lot of - which we love!

We understand that practices can often have questions and scenarios that they want to verify for themselves to better their own understanding. We also have lots of communication with their clients and their employees as payroll can be complicated. We want to ensure that they really understand some of the deductions that may be happening around their tax code etc.

XU:

Is there an ideal time to start working with an accounting or bookkeeping practice?

EH:

Usually the best time to switch any payroll provider is at the end of the tax year to be ready for the April pay run. However this doesn’t mean that it can’t be carried out at other times. Our process at PayrollBee is to discover the current payroll situation and understand how and where all information is being processed. We would also look at the urgency of the switch i.e. a practice may have staff members leaving and will not have anyone to process payroll next month. We can then give an honest assessment on when the best time to make a switch would be and, if it’s mid tax year, how smooth that transition will be. We will always work to ensure that it is as smooth as possible for any practice moving over to PayrollBee, but depending on what current systems are being used, some changes can be easier than others.

FIND OUT MORE...

For more information, visit: > payrollbee.co.uk

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 135

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 137

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STOCK MANAGEMENT

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tidystock com MoolahSense | @MoolahSense moolahsense.com Moula | @MoulaMoney

POWERFUL eCOMMERCE

.

tidycommerce com 138 / Issue 25

moula.com.au OFX xero.com/uk/financial-services/ofx SmartBiz Loans | @SmartBizLoans

TradeGecko | @tradegecko tradegecko.com Unleashed Software | @unleashedteam unleashedsoftware.com Veeqo | @Veeqo veeqo.com

CLOUD-BASED CONSTRUCTION

SOFTWARE www.corecon.com

smartbizloans.com

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

App Directory coreplus | @Intracore coreplus.com.au CurrentRMS | @currentrms current-rms.com Cushion | @cushionapp cushionapp.com Dentally | @DentallyApp dentally.co/integrations/xero DonkeyBean donkeybean.com EMAC | @EMACsoftware emac.com.au Emersion | @emersionbilling emersion.com

Loc8 | @Loc8com loc8.com

tidyenterprise.com

MinuteDock | @minutedock minutedock.com MyTrucking | @MyTrucking mytrucking.com/integrations/xero NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp

TidyWork | @TidyInt tidywork.com TimeTracker by eBillity | @eBillity ebillity.com Total Synergy | @totalsynergy

nextminute.com

totalsynergy.com

Okappy | @ok_appy

Tradify | @tradifyhq

okappy.com

tradifyhq.com

Order Space | @orderspace orderspace.com/integrations/xero Patchability

Traffic Live deltek.com TriggerApp | @triggerapp

time.patchability.com pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY payrightaway.com.au Preno | @prenohq

Automated billing for MSPs & Telcos

TidyEnterprise | @TidyInt

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

triggerapp.com/xero

Other A2X Accounting | @a2xaccounting a2xaccounting.com/xero Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin acuityscheduling.com Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au aider | @AskAider aider.ai/partners/xero Arlo arlo.co Arthur Online | @ArthurProperty arthuronline.co.uk

Trio Technology | @Trio_Tech triotech.co.nz/xero Union Square | @unionsquareltd deltek.com Vinsight | @VinsightSW vinsight.net Vintrace | @vinx2 vinx2.com vWork | @vWorkApp

www.emersion.com/xero_partners

vworkapp.com WHMCS for Xero | @edgehosting edgehosting.uk/whmcs-xero-addon

ePrint MIS | @eprintmis

Work[etc] CRM | @WORKetc_support

eprintmis.com

worketc.com/new_landing/xero

etz Technologies | @etzTechnologies

WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax

etzpayments.com

workflowmax.com

Experieco experieco.com

Fleetmatics WORK | @fleetmatics fleetmatics.com.au Foodstorm | @FoodStorm foodstorm.com Formitize | @Formitize formitize.com FreshBooks | @freshbooks onesaas.com/integrate/xero GeoOp | @GeoOp geoop.com GoProposal | @GoProposal goproposal.com Harvest | @harvest getharvest.com i2B | @i2B_Limited i2b-online.com

It’s a match made in heaven.

Qwilr | @Qwilr

getboxkite.com

qwilr.com

Business sorter | @BusinessSorter

ServiceM8 | @ServiceM8

businesssorter.com/xero

servicem8.com

Chata.ai | @thechataHQ

Simple Salon | @SimpleSalon simplesalon.com/xero simPRO | @simprosoftware

Start your FREE trial: workflowmax.com/xero

smartreports.com.au SmartTrade | @SmartTradeSW smarttrade.biz Synchroteam | @synchroteam synchroteam.com The Service Manager | @theservicemgr theservicemanager.com TidyBuild | @TidyInt tidyinternational.com

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

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

control-c.com/landing-xero CoverKit by NZI nzi.co.nz Cradle | @letscradlenz cradle.io/integration/xero Curve | @imaginecurve imaginecurve.com Customer Lobby | @CustomerLobby customerlobby.com entryrocket.com Expense Check | @expensecheck

invoicetracker.com

expensecheck.com.au

Invoxy | @invoxy

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

PROJECT & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

tidybuild com

tidyenterprise com

invoxy.com

kickserv.com/xero

Controlc

EntryRocket | @entryrocket

icoslive.com

Kickserv | @kickserv

chata.ai Cloudbusiness | @CloudBusinessLt cloudbusinessllc.com

simprogroup.com Smart Reports | @smartreports

InvoiceTracker by eBillity | @eBillity

itrade.net

blendo.co Boxkite | @getboxkite

iCOS LIVE | @iCOSLIVE

iTrade

backupmybooks.com BizEquity | @BizEquity Blendo | @blendoapp

fergusapp.com fieldaware.com

trustfile.avalara.com Backupmybooks | @backupmybooks

bizequity.com/xero

Fergus | @FergusApp Field Aware | @fieldaware

Avalara | @avalara

LEAP | @LEAP4LawFirms leap.co.uk

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

Farmflo | @farmflo farmflo.com Flowrev | @flowrev flowrev.com/xero Freshmethod | @Freshmethod freshmethod.com.au Fresh Projects | @ukfreshprojects freshprojects.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 139

App Directory G-Accon | @G_AcconServices www.accon.services

eWay | @eWAY_

Real Estate Investar | @reiaustraila

eway.io

realestateinvestar.com.au

ezidebit.com.au

rerunapp.com

GoCardless | @GoCardless

Sharesight | @Sharesight

gocardless.com

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

Google Sheets Add-On http://www.accon.services

Synergy 8 | @SynergyEight

Made for recurring payments

synergy8.com Tax1099 | @efile1099 tax1099.com Track1099 | @Track_1099

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 Zapier | @zapier zapier.com Practice Protect | @PracProtect practiceprotect.com Progressclaim.com | @progressclaim progressclaim.com PropertyTree | @PropertyTree propertytree.com RDvault | @rdvault rdvault.co.uk Re-leased | @re_leased re-leased.com

Xero’s Financial Services App of the Year

track1099.com TransferMate | @TransferMate transfermateonline.com Vinosmith | @thevinosmith vinosmith.com

IntegraPay | @IntegraPay

Wise.NET | @WisenetLRM

integrapay.com.au

wisenet.co

invoicesherpa.com

workato.com/xero

iZettle | @iZettle

Workshop Software | @workshoponline workshopsoftware.com.au

Payroll & HR appogeeHR | @AppogeeHR appogeehr.com

izettle.com

EASY TO USE HR SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS TO SUIT YOUR BUSINESS

xero.com/uk/financial-services/ofx

zapier.com

Pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY

Zendesk by Zapier | @zapier

payrightaway.com.au

zapier.com

WWW.APPOGEEHR.COM/XERO

Payoneer | @Payoneer

Zenoti | @ZenotiSoftware

register.payoneer.com

zenoti.com/xero

PayPal | @PayPal paypal.com

Payments

PennyPipe | @PennyPipe

citrusHR | @citrusHR citrushr.com/xero CloudPayroll cloudpayroll.com.au

pennypipe.com/info/xero

Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin

Pin Payments | @PinPayments

acuityscheduling.com

pin.net.au

Authorize.Net | @AuthorizeNet

Plooto | @PlootoInc

reseller.authorize.net

New Zealand

app.plooto.co

Bill and Pay | @BillandPay

ipayroll.co.nz

POLi Payments | @POLiPayments

billandpay.com

polipayments.com

Bill.com | @billcom

Receivabl | @receivabl_es

bill.com

receivabl.es

Chargebee | @chargebee

Rerun | @Rerunapp

chargebee.com/integrations/xero

rerunapp.com

Chargify | @Chargify

SAT FXOnline | @satworldwide

chargify.com/xero

satfxonline.co.uk

Checkeeper | @Checkeeper

Shieldpay | @shield_pay

checkeeper.com/xero

shieldpay.com

CheckVault | @CheckVault

Stripe | @stripe

checkvault.com.au

stripe.com

CreDec | @CreDec

Square | @SquareUK

credec.com

squareup.com

Debtor Daddy | @debtordaddy

Transfer Mate | @TransferMate

debtordaddy.com/xero

transfermateonline.com

Directli | @Directli

TransferWise | @TransferWise

directli.co.uk DPS Payment Express | @PaymentExpress

ezycollect.com.au

business.worldpay.com

OFX

Zapier | @zapier

EzyCollect | @ezyCollect

Worldpay

kwanji.com

zapier.com

eazycollect.co.uk

Find out more at worldfirst.com

Kwanji | @KwanjiX

Wufoo by Zapier | @zapier

paymentexpress.co.uk

A smarter way to collect, convert and manage payments globally.

InvoiceSherpa | @invoicesherpa

Workato | @Workato

EazyCollect | @eazyCollect

worldfirst.com

Ezidebit | @Ezidebit

Rerun | @Rerunapp

G-Accon

WorldFirst | @WorldFirstLtd

transferwise.com uCollect | @ucollect_biz ucollect.biz/xero

Australia

cloudpayroll.com.au Crystal Payroll crystalpayroll.com Deputy | @deputyapp deputy.com Employment Hero | @EmploymentHero employmenthero.com enableHR | @enableHR enablehr.com.au Ento | @entohq ento.com ePayroll | @ePayrollAus epayroll.com.au Flexitime | @FlexiTimeTeam flexitime.co.nz Gpayroll gpayroll.com Gusto | @GustoHQ zenpayroll.com

140 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

App Directory Happy HR | @happyhraus happyhr.com HR Assured | @HRAssured hrassured.com.au HR Partner | @HRPartnerApp hrpartner.io

The Payroll Site | @ThePayrollSite thepayrollsite.co.uk UpSheets | @UpSheets upsheets.com Workforce Guardian | @workforceguard workforceguardian.com.au ZUUS Workforce | @zuusworkforce zuusworkforce.com

Point of Sale Airsquare | @airsquare airsquare.com CIN7 | @Cin7online cin7.com ClickPOS | @ClickPOS_Online clickpos.com Deputy | @deputyapp IMS Payroll imspayroll.co.nz Intertec TimePro timesheets.com.au iPayroll ipayroll.co.nz KeyPay | @KeyPayApp keypay.co.uk Microkeeper | @Microkeeper microkeeper.com.au MyPAYE | @MyPAYE mypaye.co.uk OnPay | @onpay_payroll onpay.com Parolla | @ParollaPayroll parolla.ie Paychex | @Paychex

deputy.com/gb iZettle | @iZettle izettle.com Kounta | @kounta kounta.com Nobly | @NoblyPOS noblypos.com/xero Possboss | @posbosshq posbosshq.com Preno | @prenohq prenohq.com/xero Redcat | @RedCatPOS redcat.com.au/xero Retail Express | @RetailExpress01 retailexpress.com.au Sapaad | @SapaadPOS sapaad.com/lp/xero

payrollbee.co.uk

Connect Xero and Sapaad Cloud POS for a total business solution.

Try Sapaad for FREE www.sapaad.com Shopify | @Shopify shopify.com Square | @SquareUK squareup.com/gb The Good Till Company | @TheGoodTillco thegoodtill.com Tower Systems | @TowerSystems

PaysOnline | @paysonline paysonline.com.au PaySpace | @PaySpace payspace.com Simplepay.ca | @simplepaycanada simplepay.ca Tanda | @TandaHQ tanda.co Thankyou Payroll | @ThankyouPayroll thankyoupayroll.co.nz

huntandhawk.com Inform Direct | @InformDirect informdirect.co.uk instafile | @InstafileApp instafile.co.uk Link Solutions | @LinkSolutions linksolutions.co.nz SuperConcepts | @SuperConceptsAU superconcepts.com.au

Reporting Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au Angeloop | @AgProfitAus agprofit.com.au Asset Guru | @Asset_Guru asset.guru/xero Benchmarking.com.au benchmarking.com.au Bizeo | @bizeo bizeo.com.au BizEquity | @BizEquity bizequity.com/xero Blink Reports blinkreports.com

financialdriver.com Float | @FloatApp floatapp.com Flowrev | @flowrev flowrev.com/xero Fluidly | @Fluidly fluidly.com/xero Futrli | @Futrli futrli.com Infoodle | @infoodle infoodle.com/xero joiin | @joiinreporting 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 My work papers | @myworkpapers myworkpapers.com My Own CFO | @myown_cfo myown-cfo.com Numerable | @NumerableSW numerable.io Onestop reporting | @OneStopReports

BPM bpmglobal.com Brightgauge | @BrightGauge brightgauge.com/xero Bstar | @BstarAustralia bstar.com.au

onestopreporting.com/xero Panalitix | @panalitix panalitix.com ProfitSee | @MyProfitSee myprofitsee.com/xero

Businessbackbone | @BiznizBackbone

payescape.com

PayrollBee

Hunt & Hawk | @HuntandHawk

Financial Driver | @FinancialDriver

btcsoftware.co.uk

Payescape | @PayescapeUK

paymentevolution.com

bglcorp.com

Btc | @BTCSoftwareUK

pages.paychex.com/xero

Payment Evolution | @payevo

BGL Corporate Solutions | @BGLdot

towersystems.com.au Vend | @vendhq vendhq.com Zilch Consulting | @zilchconsulting zilchconsulting.com

Professional Services AppsForOps | @AppsForOps appsforops.com BGL Corporate Solutions | @BGLdot bglcorp.com

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

businessbackbone.co.uk Calxa | @calxa calxa.com Carbon Analytics | @co2analytics co2analytics.com/xero Castaway | @CAforecasting castawayforecasting.com Checkmybooks | @movemybooks checkmybooks.co.uk DataDear | @DataDearApp datadear.com Debtze| @DebtzeCollect debtze.com/xero DiGA | @BiznizBackbone businessbackbone.co.uk DonkeyBean donkeybean.com/xero Dryrun | @Mydryrun dryrun.com/xero Excel Int. Tools - QWD | @quickwindev quickwindevelopment.com Fathom | @fathomhq fathomhq.com Figured | @figuredapp figured.com

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 Savvy Reports savvyreports.com Scott’s Add-ins scottsaddins.com Simple Numbers | @gregcrabtreecpa simplenumbers.me Simply Cashflow | @simplycashflow simplycashflow.com/xero

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 141

App Directory Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep

JobPro Central | @JobProCentral

TimeTracker by eBillity | @eBillity

jobprocentral.com

spotlightreporting.com

ebillity.com

KeyPay | @KeyPayApp

TimeCamp | @timecamp

keypay.com.au

2shakes.co.nz

Timely

microkeeper.com.au

#1 Reporting & Forecasting app in the Xero Ecosystem

2shakes | @2ShakesNZ

timecamp.com

Microkeeper | @Microkeeper

AccountancyManager | @accountancymgr

gettimely.com/timely-xero

MinuteDock | @minutedock

Timestamp | @timestampio

minutedock.com

timestamp.io/add-ons/xero Total Synergy | @totalsynergy totalsynergy.com.au tradifyhq.com

datadear.com

totalsynergy.com

Exsalerate | @exsalerate

tsheets.com/xero

Unleash

exsalerate.com/xerointegration

WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax

unleash.us

workflowmax.com

Wink Reports ;) | @WinkReports winkreports.com/connectors/xero Watchful Eye | @watchful_eye_sw watchfuleyesoftware.com

nexonia.com/xero

Xavier | @xavieranalytics xavier-analytics.com

ezzybills.com goproposal.com

Boma | @Boma_Marketing

NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp

bomamarketing.com/xero

nextminute.com

Datamolino | @datamolino

JOB MANAGEMENT

Better data, better advice Xavier is the essential toolkit to support better billable advisory services.

Start your 30 day no-obligation trial

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XBert | @XBertapp xbert.io Zivora | @ZivoraApp zivora.co Zoho | @Zoho zoho.eu

Time Tracking Active.collab | @activecollab activecollab.com/add-ons/xero AppsForOps | @AppsForOps appsforops.com AroFlo | @aro_flo aroflo.com Deputy | @deputyapp deputy.com eBillity | @eBillity ebillity.com

FOR BUILDERS www.nextminute.com

nowinfinity.com.au

fathomhq.com

Practice Ignition | @ignitionapp

Futrli | @Futrli

practiceignition.com

futrli.com

Quick Win Development | @quickwindev

Hubdoc | @Hubdoc

quickwindevelopment.com

hubdoc.com Practice Ignition | @ignitionapp

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep

Outlook Int.Tools - QWD | @quickwindev

spotlightreporting.com

quickwindevelopment.com

Suitefiles | @SuiteFiles

Patchability

suitefiles.com

time.patchability.com

Time Tracker by EndGame | @GoEndGame

ProWorkflow | @ProWorkflow proworkflow.com

end-game.com

Quick Win Development | @quickwindev quickwindevelopment.com

300+ five star reviews

Roll | @rollhq SmartBiller | @smartbiller smartbiller.co.nz Synergist | @Synerg1st synergist.co.uk Tanda | @TandaHQ tanda.co

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep spotlightreporting.com suitefiles.com

File management for accountants

freshdesk.com/xero geoop.com

Management | @iCOSLIVE

JOB MANAGEMENT

cchoneclick.co.uk

receipt-bank.com

tidywork.com

GeoOp | @GeoOp

xero.com

Wolters Kluwer | @wolterskluweruk Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank

Suitefiles | @SuiteFiles

TidyWork | @TidyInt

Xero Workpapers | @Xero

Year End

rollhq.com/xero

fergusapp.com

iCOS LIVE - Online Transport

Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank receipt-bank.com

practiceignition.com

Freshdesk | @freshdesk

getharvest.com

myworkpapers.com NowInfinity | @Now_Infinity

Fergus | @FergusApp

Harvest | @harvest

mogul.nz/xero My Own CFO | @myown_cfo My work papers | @myworkpapers

use.expensify.com/xero Fathom | @fathomhq

17%

Mogul | @MogulDigitalNZ

myown-cfo.com

datamolino.com Expensify | @expensify

85%

EzzyBills | @EzzyBills GoProposal | @GoProposal

Xero HQ

Nexonia | @nexonia

Doc2Data | @doc2data doc2data.com

Tsheets | @tsheets

tax.thomsonreuters.co.uk

account-kit.com Class Super | @Class_Ltd DataDear | @DataDearApp

Total Synergy | @totalsynergy Thomson Reuters | @TaxAccountingUK

accountancymanager.co.uk AccountKit | @AccountKit

class.com.au

Tradify | @tradifyhq

spotlightreporting.com

Practise Management

Tools to digitalise your practice wolterskluwer.co.uk

Xero add-on marketplace

Free 30 day trial www.suitefiles.com

tidywork com

icoslive.com

142 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 143

...and finally

Fuel your motivation and aspirations for 2021 South Africa, you came, you saw, your conquered. I sit here writing to you as we officially wrap up and sign off what was an excellent Accountex South Africa Summit...

F

or the first time ever, Accountex partnered with Practice Ignition in the region to help bring 1000’s of accountants together to discuss the ups and downs that COVID has thrown at our lives and our businesses.

We’re extremely grateful and happy with the end result, we hope you enjoyed the summer and we can’t wait to put the show together again for you next year!

We were fortunate to be joined by some of the brightest minds in accounting both working in practice, as a supplier or as the governing body. I’d like to personally thank all of the sponsors and partners of Accountex SA for your hard work and commitment to creating such a spectacular event.

I’d personally like to call out and say thank you to both SAIBA and the SAA for your assistance with providing accredited CPD, as well as facilitating some excellent panel discussions with your members.

The best part is that we were able to raise over £44,000 for the NHS, in a time where we were fighting our own mental battles, where we were learning how to home-school our children whilst running a fulltime business and looking after the needs of our staff and our clients.

After every summit, we’ve sat down to review what worked, what didn’t and how could we do this again - but better. With this in mind, Accountex has partnered with Practice Ignition to host the first official Accountex UK Virtual Summit on the 25th & 26th of November.

This time around Accountex has engaged more speakers, more suppliers and we’re driving a deeper relationship with ACCA to provide quality content - online, to the UK accounting community.

As we head back into more

uncertainty in different locations around the country, there’s a lot of conversations to be had on what’s working, what’s not and how do we continue to navigate the disruption and change that’s occurring weekly.

We look forward to serving you and curating a relevant line-up of content and conversations that you can use to help fuel your motivation and aspirations for 2021.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

BOOK YOUR PLACE...

Please visit: > summit-uk.accountex.co.uk

A very special thank you to XU Magazine for being our media partner on both the South Africa and UK Summit, we really appreciate your support!

In May, Practice Ignition partnered with Accountex, ACCA & GenCFO to put together the Accounting & Finance Virtual Summit. Where we were able to bring together over 16,000 accountants, over 100 speakers and 60 different sessions ONLINE for the first time ever.

Making it one of the biggest online accounting conferences in the world.

144 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.

All-in-One Business Management Software for Accountancy Firms Scoro’s solution helps accountants manage every aspect of their daily operations from one place. Standardize processes, centralize communication, analyze data in real time, and avoid human errors with one system of record.

Your Single, Real-Time Source of Truth

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Automate day-to-day routines and sync data with well-known accounting software like Xero.

Ensure accurate time recordings, and make sure every minute is always accounted for.

Monitor performance, results, finances, and more with customizable dashboards and automated reports.

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

Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine

Issue 25 / 145

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146 / Issue 25

XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.