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APIntel Wrap Up: Gaining Insights from Xero Practice Manager Data

APIntel Wrap Up: Gaining Insights from Xero Practice Manager Data

Last month the Business Continuum team participated in APIntel (Accounting Practice Intelligence), a pre-Xerocon event held to demonstrate how accounting practices could achieve better profitability with Xero Practice Manager. Three industry leaders shared insights to help practice owners make the most of data insights to improve workflow, find efficiencies and achieve business growth, including our very own Tim Dowling.

In case you missed it, here’s a summary of the advice from the three speakers at APIntel.

Kit out your practice | Paul Murray, AccountKit

Paul talked about adopting a policy of always seeking better ways of doing things, and using tools that enhance staff visibility of client and practice decisions leads to better productivity, engagement and retention. He also reminded us to ensure integration with cloud-based software solutions to avoid unnecessary double handling of data. He also demonstrated how to use AccountKit to create stunning and precise client entity maps that illustrate complex entities in one impressive image that takes just a few clicks to create.

Print…File…Find | Andrew Sims, SuiteFiles

Andrew discussed the benefits of storing and managing practice files in the cloud, and how this can integrate with Xero Practice Manager to create efficiencies. Andrew emphasised the necessity of simplifying setup and filing of ongoing communications with your client. SuiteFiles is a file management solution that offers email and document templates that can be pre-populated with Xero Practice Manager data. This means your communications are consistent, up-to-date and use the right client information, straight from the source.

Professional client communications can be the difference between an impressed or an unhappy client, so it’s an important process to get right. With the use of multiple cloud-based solutions, Andrew stressed the importance of filing emails and attachments to maintain ‘one source of truth’ from any device. This ensures staff have access to the latest correspondence and files, reducing the risk of errors or miscommunication. Andrew also suggested eliminating outdated versions of documents and email templates (It’s very 2005).

Transform Practice Data Into Relationship Insights | Tim Dowling, Business Continuum

Tim challenged the audience to think about growing profitability even if not actively looking to grow the client base. Growth should not be for growth’s sake, but better profitability is always worth striving towards. With almost endless amounts of data now available to us, it can be difficult to know what to concentrate on. Tim suggested these three areas:

  1. client wealth information
  2. firm service utilisation
  3. client referral and churn

With this data on hand, it can form the basis of open discussions with clients, with the aim of improving your range of services as well as the underlying quality.

Lastly, Tim emphasised that selling is not a dirty word. All successful and evolving practices concentrate on achieving stickier, more engaged and more profitable clients. Focusing on client satisfaction has always been, and will always be, essential for success—we simply have better ways of measuring it with the many cloud-based software solutions on the market.

As the event finished up, it was a great chance for the Business Continuum team to catch everyone for a drink and a chat before Xerocon.

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Xerocon: What we Learned, Who we Met & Why it was Xero’s Best Ever

Xerocon: What we Learned, Who we Met & Why it was Xero’s Best Ever

Whew! Last week was busy for the Business Continuum team at Xerocon 2017. We were thrilled that Xerocon came to our home town of Melbourne, bringing more than 3,000 visitors from around Australia and further abroad to our magnificent city. It was great to rub shoulders with accounting professionals from around the globe.

Uni Day

Xerocon started with Uni Day on 12th September, a great event for accountants and bookkeepers looking to skill up on all things Xero. Our Director Matthew met with plenty of first-time Xerocon attendees and answered questions about lead automation and change management.

“Young accountants are embracing new technology and seeing how it works in the business world,” said Matthew. “I shared plenty of practical advice on a variety of cloud-based software solutions, such as Xero Practice Manager, FORMbasic, Streak for Gmail and Boomerang for Outlook.

Matthew also met with attendees from far and wide, and enjoyed the opportunity to share ideas with those from economies both smaller and more developed than Australia. “Practitioners from smaller economies, like Vanuatu, attended to gain insights about cloud accounting and practice management to share back home—it’s great to see,” he said.

The Power of Us

The recurring theme woven throughout Xerocon 2017 was ‘the power of us’. It’s the idea that people are innovators, not technology, but technology helps us achieve innovation. It’s a powerful reminder that there are real human people behind every bit of seemingly faceless technology. And it’s those human connections that really matter.

New announcements and new products galore

Plenty of people attend Xerocon for the new product announcements. And it did not disappoint.

CEO Rod Drury was first up on the keynote stage and made a record number of new Xero product announcements. These included:

The nine integration partners for Xero HQ

The first integration partners announced for Xero HQ included the cloud file management system SuiteFiles, (our buddies and co-presenters at our pre-Xerocon APIntel session), as well as Boma, the much-hyped marketing automation app for accountants. Boma’s stand was flooded with interested accountants and bookkeepers—the joke doing the rounds was that Xerocon should in fact be renamed Bomacon!

The relaunch of expenses

The expenses function within Xero has been given a major refresh to make the expense process easier and more intelligent. Users can now capture and submit expense claims on the run with the iOS and Android apps. Approvals are now more flexible and easier to control. Also, users can now submit expenses on behalf of others in the organisation, no doubt a popular new feature for those who struggle to get their receipts in order each month.

The Lifelong Learning Platform

This program gives schools and professional accounting bodies a platform they can use to equip students for the real world of cloud accounting. Students can practice using Xero to complete a variety of real-life accounting processes, in a safe and highly repeatable fashion. It’s good to see Xero creating products for Universities and TAFEs, giving students access to Xero rather than MYOB or Reckon (which both have academic trial versions). Consequently, more students will be graduating from courses with good Xero skills and experience with cloud accounting—a benefit to the entire industry.

Xero Projects

Forty percent of Xero clients are professional service-based businesses, so it made sense for Xero to introduce a project management function. It allows creative, digital and IT businesses to better manage the progress and profitability of projects, and helps them stick to plans and focus on the most profitable types of work. This is not replacing WorkflowMax, but rather bringing light capabilities into the core platform so that the smallest of Xero clients can have access to additional project management functionality. For now, it’s better suited to smaller projects, but look out for more features to help with more complex projects in future.

Other highlights included:

In line with the conference theme, author and consultant Tim Leberecht talked about retaining the valuable human touch in business, as technology automates more and more of the day-to-day.

Dan Gregory and Kieran Flanagan from The Impossible Institute challenged everyone to get clear on their business values, align these with our desired clients’ values and “deliver a nowhere-else experience.”

IT industry veteran Steve Vamos urged us to put people first in business and reminded us that technology amplifies human disruption—not the other way around.

Magda Szubanski talked about her career achievements (as well as the professional and personal insecurities she’s overcome) and encouraged us to all embrace our own true selves as well as celebrate the diversity of others around us.

And to wrap it up, we enjoyed one heck of a block party in the laneway alongside the conference venue—the biggest wrap party we’ve ever seen!

We’re already looking forward to Xerocon 2018…

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6 Industry Movers & Shakers Tell Us What They’re Looking Forward to at Xerocon

6 Industry Movers & Shakers Tell Us What They’re Looking Forward to at Xerocon

Going to Xerocon? It’s the major annual event for the cloud accounting industry’s biggest player, so it’s likely that plenty of your LinkedIn connections will be there. To help you get the best out of your visit, we asked six industry veterans to tell us what they’ll be doing, who they’ll be seeing and how they make the most of their time at Xerocon.

Paul Meissner, Cloud Accountant, Founder of 5Ways Group and Freedom Accounting System

“I’ve been to nine Xerocons, and they always announce something big. It’s important to know Xero’s priorities for the future and the keynotes let me hear it from the top. I will spend most of my time around the exhibitor area. No other event gives me access to all the add-on providers in one place. I like to cut straight to brass tacks with exhibitors and ask them: “What problem do you solve?” Getting a little bit of information from all exhibitors leaves me time to go back later to the ones I’m interested in. I suggest new visitors come armed with a need (better payments, gateways or reporting, for example) and look for products and seminars that meet that need. Because there are so many exhibitors, it’s easy to be overwhelmed, so just get to as many as you can.

“Networking is a huge part of Xerocon, but it’s not about getting clients. I like to meet industry connections that I usually only communicate with via social media—nothing beats that face-to-face contact. Everyone is willing to meet, and as a solo entrepreneur, I don’t have partners to bounce off. So, I’ll be asking my contemporaries what their favourite tools and products are, to see if there’s anything I should be using for my practice and clients. I would encourage anyone who wants to meet a big industry influencer to be bold and come and say hello—people are very friendly and open.”

Paul is participating in a panel session on Day Two: The Power of Small and Agile Firms at 12:20pm.

Carolyn Stebbing, Director of digital marketing and creative agency, Little Village Creative

“This is my third Xerocon. I was lucky enough to wing my way in as a speaker in 2015. We (Little Village Creative) have a few clients actively involved in Xerocon this year, so it’ll be a busy two days on the ground for me. I’ll spend most of my time checking in with clients, running social media, briefing writers to draft quick-turnaround content and generally making sure things are happening as they should be on the marketing front.

“During the rare moments of downtime, I’m looking forward to catching up with industry connections and meeting new people. I’d like to catch Dan Gregory and Kieran Flanagan’s talk on amplifying your influence and developing commercial clarity around your competitive advantage. And I’ll most definitely be at the block party for a Melbourne-style Xerocon send-off. My biggest tips for Xercon newbies are to drink buckets of water (it’s so easy to forget) and leave the high heels at home.”

Sholto Macpherson, Editor and Publisher of DigitalFirst.com

“I’ve been to six Xerocons and I have three main reasons for attending. Firstly, I enjoy the community. Because this is the group of the most tech savvy accountants in Australia, everyone is enthusiastic about exploring new ideas. Secondly, I love that Xero shares its roadmap and constantly pushes the definition of what cloud accounting software can do. So I am looking forward to hearing its new announcements. It’s great to hear their fresh ideas about what is possible, and I appreciate their transparency. And thirdly, as a journalist, I look forward to interviewing industry leaders.

“It’s easy to be overwhelmed by Xerocon, so I suggest new attendees prepare three top priorities for their business or clients and concentrate on those. Take time after the event to digest everything you’ve learned and make plans, because without action the inspiring ideas will soon be forgotten.”

Tim Dowling is a Client Director at Business Continuum

“This is my eighth Xerocon. I am looking forward to seeing what Xero is planning around AI, machine learning, and what they’re doing with big data servers. I always get plenty of value out of the product sessions. I plan to check out the new products on the market and spend time networking. It’s incredibly valuable to hear from people on the ground using the products.

“I encourage new visitors not to be afraid to chat—everyone at the stands will love to connect and industry leaders are welcome to being approached. Make sure to explore on behalf of your clients—what problems are they facing that can be solved? And bring a big bag for all the free stuff—enjoy the many giveaways like chargers, beach balls, balloons, and frisbees. If it can get a logo printed on it, you can find it at Xerocon.”

Andrew Van De Beek, Founder and Director of accounting practice Illumin8

“I was so inspired by my first Xerocon. I learned plenty of technical skills, and I also felt energised to grow my practice and better service my clients. Now, attending my fourth Xerocon, I still get the same combination of technical learning and creative inspiration. I like to check in with other accountants to see how they are doing, what makes them tick and how they solve problems they’re currently facing. I want to help those starting out in the industry too, so I’m attending the Uni Day to help students better understand branding and marketing. I encourage anyone with questions to come and see me.”

Illumin8 is the winner of Xero’s Victorian Partner of the Year award. Andrew is hoping to take home the gong for AU Accounting Partner of the Year, to be announced at Xerocon on Day Two.

Troy Townley is a partner in HTA Advisory, an accounting and small business advisory practice based in Melbourne

“I always like to see the roadmap of Xero and where its ecosystem is going. It’s great to see the add on partners and other businesses—sharing and collaborating on ideas is what Xerocon is all about. This will be my sixth Xerocon and nearly every year I have found one or two products that I rollout to my business and to our clients. I’ll be on the lookout for anything that solves problems that we see in client businesses and makes us more efficient and saves us time. In particular, I am looking forward to seeing Anna Curzon’s keynote and Rachael Powell’s presentation on building positive workplaces.

“I recommend first time visitors make time to see as many vendors and sponsors as they can. It’s a huge ecosystem and there are so many different products. You can never learn them all but Xerocon gives you a great introduction. Have an open mind about the change that is coming to the industry—don’t dismiss products without giving them due consideration.”

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It’s Never Been Easier to Start an Accounting Practice

It’s Never Been Easier to Start an Accounting Practice

Considering launching your own accounting practice? With sophisticated yet affordable resources like Xero, cloud-based workflow apps and DIY website building tools, the barriers to entry have been significantly reduced. Solopreneurship brings rewards that go beyond money and a corner office – it’s about the creating a lifestyle on your own terms. We spoke to two industry experts who took the leap to gain their advice.

Paul Meissner is a Chartered Accountant and founder of consultancy 5ways Group and Freedom Accounting System. He is a Councillor for the Victorian Regional Council for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and regularly speaks to industry groups about cloud accounting, compliance, social media and capacity management.

BC: What challenges do accounting consultants face when they’re starting up?

Paul: People who go out into consultancy are extremely good at what they do. But often they struggle with the business management (side of things). Setting up their own systems, building a website and networking can be a whole new world. It’s a huge transition from desk job to business owner.

BC: Is it a good idea to drop prices to get those first few clients on board?

Paul: It’s a fine line. Always value your services. As a consultant there is a maximum you can take on. Many startups discount and then very quickly run out of capacity. Then they are running a million miles an hour, working late into the night but not making enough money. It’s like being chained to a desk job again.

BC: What advice would you have for those starting up to attract new clients?

Paul: Allocate time to chase new leads, network, write a blog or attend events. Don’t consider that time as non-billable; it’s an investment in your future earning capacity.

Don’t worry about being ‘busy’. As a society, we say that busy is good, busy is productive. Busy is the worst thing you want to be. Are you efficient and are you profitable? That’s what I strive for.

BC: Does having access to cloud-based business tools make it easier to launch your own consultancy?

Paul: It is absolutely easier than ever to get started. When I started my own firm, I had a website, PayPal account, business name, 1300 number, logo and company registration all done with a laptop sitting by the pool over a weekend. By Monday morning I was ready to bill my first client.

When I started my business my father suggested I take an advert in the local paper. He was amazed when I told him I was going to use Twitter for all my marketing.

BC: What are the positives about starting your own accounting practice?

Paul: There has never been a better time to go out on your own. You can get started quickly, and with very little capital outlay. All you need is your laptop and you’re ready to go. A great benefit is global reach. Also, there are no geographical constraints about where your clients are, I have clients from all over Australia and around the world.

It’s a great lifestyle. I work four days a week and spend Mondays with my two children. You can only do that in a corporate role if you cut your salary. Last year I relocated the family to Europe for two months and maintained full time work remotely. Being 100% cloud based for all our systems means that my laptop, phone and iPad are my whole office. The clients knew I was in Europe and the work got done. It’s been amazing.

Haydn Stewart is a Chartered Accountant and registered tax agent. In 2015 he left Deloitte to launch his own practice, Pinnacle Accounting. He now consults for clients in varying sectors including motor industry, manufacturing, property and professional services.

BC: What inspired you to start your own accounting firm?

Haydn: I always wanted to run my own business. The long hours at Deloitte didn’t give me the flexibility and freedom to see much of my young family. I knew that I could always go back to a day job, so I made the jump.

BC: What were the hardest things about starting up?

Haydn: Learning all the things that aren’t accounting. Like IT processes, CRM systems and insurances. These little things are not part of the technical accounting day job. I’m a people person, and initially I found working by myself a challenge. I made it work by arranging in-person client meetings and attending networking events on a regular basis.

One of my initial concerns was cashflow to support my family, as going from a secure job to uncertainty is not for the faint of heart. After making the jump, I was glad to have done so, as the rewards both monetary and job satisfaction-wise have made it well worth it.

BC: Did you outsource anything?

Haydn: Initially no. I did it all as I was a growing business. There is no point outsourcing if you have the capacity to do it. Once I achieved scale I started to outsource the smaller bookkeeping components and took on a part timer.

BC: How did you get your first clients?

Haydn: I networked, and I got clients from word-of-mouth referrals. Doing a great job and managing your network is the best form of marketing. Word-of-mouth has 100% driven my business.

BC: With the benefit of hindsight, what would you do differently?

Haydn: I would hire six months sooner than I did. Hiring an employee released me to work on the business.
I would hire a more experienced accountant too. My first hire was an engineer who wanted to switch to accounting, so I gave him a go. I trained him up for three months, then he decided he wanted to be a builder. This put me back about 6 months, and with hindsight I would have chosen to hire an experienced accountant who wanted this to be his career.

BC: Do you worry about competitors? What would you advise people starting out regarding competition?

Haydn: I don’t worry about them. My mindset is that there is always more than enough work for everybody. I would tell anyone starting up that if you can help your clients and be an asset in running their business you will always get work.

BC: What do you miss about the old days of employment in a big firm?

Haydn: I really appreciated the culture in Deloitte and working alongside some really smart people. At Deloitte there were internal specialists as a resource to draw on. Working alone, I have to make the captain’s call regularly, although there are some colleagues in the industry and networking groups that I can call on if needed.

BC: Is it easier to get started on your own now more so than previously?

Yes, purely because the tools are at your fingertips. It just takes someone to give it a crack. There are fewer barriers to entry nowadays. It’s always the fear of cash that stops a lot of people. You just need to jump. I’m very glad I did, it has been very rewarding for me.

Now’s the time…

If you’ve been thinking of setting up your own accounting practice, do not hesitate. With many cloud-based resources at your fingertips, you could be up and running sooner than you think. It won’t be easy, and you’ll no doubt miss your former life, but the rewards of being your own boss and working flexibly make taking the leap worthwhile for many.

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5 Highlights From the Xero Roadshow 2017

5 Highlights From the Xero Roadshow 2017

Last week the Business Continuum team attended the Xero Roadshow in Melbourne. These events are always a great opportunity to catch up on the latest news from the Xero camp and with some of the app partners doing interesting things to enhance the Xero experience for accountants and small businesses.

Here’s a few of our highlights from the roadshow:

1. Fixed assets with tax

Joe Salvati (Head of Partner Solutions) announced that Xero will be incorporating tax values into the fixed assets module of Xero. This much anticipated development will allow accountants to set up tax depreciation on the fixed assets register including pooling.

2. Xero Tax

Some nice updates for Xero Tax were unveiled – and there are a few more on the way. You can now set up multiple customised email templates for sending your eSign tax returns and activity statements. There’s also a reminder email template for following up clients who haven’t signed their tax documents yet, which is a precursor to automatic email reminders (currently in development).

A faster, more intuitive Xero Tax user interface is being rolled out this year with new tax forms. Matthew Prouse (Partner Solutions Manager) demonstrated a cleaner UI that’s designed to make it easier for the user to speed up the processing of tax returns.

Matthew also unveiled Xero’s partnership with Tax & Super Australia that would see the integration of their tax knowledge base directly into Xero tax forms. Accountants and bookkeepers will be able to access the latest, up-to-date information direct from Tax & Super Australia for each line item of a Xero tax form.

3. Xero HQ recap

Matthew also took us through a great recap of Xero HQ features. These included adding client notes and tagging clients (like Gmail labels). He also explained how you can set up custom alerts in Xero HQ – for example, to notify you when a client organisation has reached a certain number of unreconciled bank transactions.

4. Clone organisations

This feature was first announced at Xerocon South last year and is now close to launch. Users will be able to copy data across from an existing Xero file when setting up a new one, which will help to save time setting up bank rules, chart of accounts, contacts and tracking categories. This will be a great time-saver for accountants and bookkeepers.

5. The food!

Xero sure does know how to put on a good spread, and the mini beef rolls were our favourite – enough said!

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Xerocon South 2016 Recap

Xerocon South 2016 Recap

Xerocon South came and went last week in sunny Brisbane. Matthew went up for the conference, leaving the team and I behind to man the fort. To stay in the loop Matt and I had a quick chat about his experience and some of the highlights.

Day 1

Me: Hi Matt, how’s day 1 been?

Matt: Day 1 was a blur of listening to talks and catchups with ecosystem partners and old friends.

Me: Which sessions did you attend today?

Matt: All main stage keynotes presented by Trent Innes (MD Xero Australia) and Anna Curzon (MD Xero New Zealand), a talk with Paul Farrell ( journalist from the Guardian Australia) on the Panama Papers and product demos led by Laura Cardinal, Oliver Furniss and their Xero product teams, Last keynote of the day featured Andy Lark (Xero’s CMO) about how the access economy is driving demand and markets, changing the normal adoption bell curve to more like a hockey stick.

Me: How does the hockey stick adoption curve impact accountants?

Matt: He spoke about how it highlights that the fast do really eat the slow, and cited the Pokemon Go phenomenon as an example of this. It’s a cautionary tale of sorts (both for accountants and their clients) as Pokemon Go took the world by storm – completely unexpectedly. In just 13 hours it became the highest grossing app in the USA and made $200m in global revenue in the first month post launch – so shows you just how quickly a disrupter can come along and knock you off your perch.

Me: What were the other highlights?

Matt: Other highlights from the product roadmap included a new mobile app to create quotes on the go; copying bank rules, contacts and tracking categories from one Xero file to another; businesses will also be able to offer early payment discounts to their customers through Xero; and BPay is finally going to be supported on invoices via Macquarie’s DEFT service. Finally, they also teased that they would begin a re-write of expense management and introduce basic job management.

Me: Job management is going to be HUGE! So many of our clients have requested that feature! Any indication of a release date?

Matt: Just a teaser at this point.

Me: 🙁

Me: Did you get a chance to speak to some of the new add-on partners? What were some of the add-ons that piqued your interest?

Matt: NowInfinity have been really busy, adding feature requests and have also completed a re-design of the app. I saw a demo of this which was lightening quick. AccountKit was also another add-on exhibitor I visited. They launched just prior to Xerocon and their app has a tonne of features that I know some of our accounting partners will love. It was to also great to see Practice Ignition and Fathom at the stands also.

Me: Looking forward to checking some of those out! Most importantly, how’s the catering been this year? Who did you run into while lining up for food?

Matt: Unlimited coffee and fruit on offer! I caught up with Bree and Ben from Young & Grant and chatted on the lawn over lunch, as well as Tim from HTA Advisory. I am meeting with Lisa at Interactive Accounting over networking drinks, so I will catch you tomorrow.

Day 2

Me: Hey Matt, it’s later in the day but how is day 2 going? Lots of activity on Twitter with the #Xerocon hashtag!

Matt: Yeah good! Hitting with the Asset Guru guys up the front listening to Rachael Robertson share her tale about answering an ad to work in Antarctica. There was plenty of humour in the stories she told us about how she managed to lead and set the culture for the team working together under pretty closed conditions, with their limited access to the outside world and media.

I also just heard Rod recap the last 10 years of Xero in his Keynote address. I can see now see how Xero will disrupt small business accounting by taking away a lot of the data processing through Machine Learning, freeing accountants and bookkeepers to work on other areas of their business. Rod mentioned Xero has now processed a trillion dollars in transactions, which will help in building accuracy in processing accounting data and who the client is doing business with. He also demoed a Facebook chatbot that will answer questions in plain English about a business’s finances.

Rod also demoed Xero HQ, which will be the new My Green Xero coming later this year. Some cool insights into practice clients using Xero show what addons their clients are using. This will be a great tool for practices to use and will help them understand the needs of their client base better.

Me: Thanks for the update Matt. Have fun at the gala dinner, speak on Monday!

Author: Chung Hui

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