If you had of asked me when I first started this job back in 2010, as the technology advisor for an accounting firm, if I would like to attend an Accounting Conference, I would have smiled and politely declined whilst thinking what on earth would they even talk about?
Since the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, data protection has been in the forefront of everyone’s minds. However, despite the wake up call, hackers are becoming more advanced in the way they manipulate and use our data.
It’s great to see firms moving their clients to the Xero platform. But I’m amazed at the number of firms that aren’t taking advantage of it. For me, one of Xero’s biggest drawcards is being able to offer clients a completely new business platform.
Being part of Asia’s first ever Xero roadshows was an interesting experience, with plenty of interest being shown by local accounting firms. Held in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore, the roadshow audience numbers far exceeded expectations.
And why a firm that achieved Xero Partner of the Year for moving their clients to the Xero platform is now helping other accounting firms do the same. I’m often asked why the Poole Group—after achieving Xero Australia Accounting Partner of the Year in 2013—started Zerobooks in the first place.
Starting a new business for the first time can be tough. You’ve always dreamed of making a living doing what you enjoy, and you expect to take the world by storm the moment they hear about your new venture. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always work that way.
Every accountant knows the key to a profitable business is productivity. The more productive your business is, the more capacity you have and the more fees you can generate. Trouble is, many accountants either are too busy or simply don’t know how to generate the extra capacity to increase their income (and their profit).
Have you ever analysed your workflows to find out what’s making you money and what’s causing write-offs? In nine out of ten cases write-offs are the result of poor workflows and not being able to recover time spent sorting out a client’s data file.
The cloud has given accounting firms a chance to restructure their operations, processes and internal structures. But many firms are still oblivious to this massive opportunity, and have no clear idea how to implement such a strategy.
Lately there’s been a lot of focus on how “the cloud” is affecting the accounting profession. Which is odd, because it’s actually the bookkeeping profession that’s being affected the most.
Well, Xero’s February Roadshows are now done and dusted. And there was certainly a lot to take in. The first thing I noticed was the number of attendees. More and more people seem to be moving to the cloud every day, with attendance records being smashed at almost every venue.
It was interesting to observe the bookkeepers and accountants at February’s round of Xero Roadshows. I’ve been to a number of roadshows and Xerocons, but this year I was there as an exhibitor, and got to talk to a lot of the attendees.
With Xero bringing out its tax modules, a lot of practices want to move their management systems to the cloud and enjoy the same efficiencies as cloud-based firms.
People talk about fate and how it can change our lives through chance meetings, relationships and discussions. Over the last few years fate has led me to become friends with a couple of guys who I have come to respect and admire for their efforts and what they have achieved in their cloud-based accounting firms….
It all started with two phone calls in the same week. Prospective clients called us to discuss becoming clients, and they were already using cloud-based accounting packages. One of them was using Xero. As the discussions unfolded, I was instantly out of my depth in relation to cloud accounting.
During Xerocon I was fortunate to be on a panel session during the Developers Day that was discussing the relationships between accountants, integrators and add on partners.
Well, Xerocon is over for another year. And it certainly didn’t disappoint. Mind you, when you have a CEO riding around on a skateboard and an MD at home belting out a rock tune and playing lead guitar, you know it will be a conference with a difference.
One of the major benefits of using Xero is the vast ecosystem of add-on partners. Xero add-ons are software applications that can integrate with Xero to create an integrated IT solution for a business to generate efficiency and productivity improvements that flow through to the bottom line.
It’s great to see more and more accountants now starting to embrace the cloud and, in particular, Xero. Unfortunately many don’t step back to take in the bigger perspective of ‘the cloud’, with Xero being just one element in the mix for their clients and their own firm.
You’ve made the transition to the cloud. You’re using Xero as your new accounting system. You’re excited about the efficiencies your business is about to achieve. But guess what? The job is only half done. What do I mean by that? If you’re looking to really improve your business efficiency, there are a number of…
