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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 Andrew also suggested eliminating outdated versions of documents and email templates (It’s very 2005).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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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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Business Continuum Appoints Tim Dowling as Client Director

Business Continuum Appoints Tim Dowling as Client Director

Tim Dowling, a leading technology industry veteran with more than ten years of experience has joined Business Continuum as Client Director.

Extensive knowledge of WorkflowMax for our customers

Tim brings considerable experience to his new role, including four years in-house at Xero—firstly as Direct & Channel Sales Manager, and then as General Manager for WorkflowMax.

“I’m delighted to join the Business Continuum team and I’m impressed with its success and continual growth,” said Tim. “Business Continuum is a business that really cares about its customers, and is at the forefront of cloud innovations for service industries, which is a great fit for me. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Strong addition to Business Continuum team following significant growth

Matthew Peng, Business Continuum’s Director, said that Tim’s experience, connections and enthusiasm make him a welcome addition to the team.

“We are experiencing a strong growth phase, so it’s essential that we manage it effectively. Tim helps us solidify our service offering and create sustainable growth whilst continuing to provide cloud solutions for our growing customer base. His in-house experience with Xero and his extensive operational knowledge of WorkflowMax will be a welcome resource for our customers.”

Tim says the opportunity to join the Business Continuum team is the perfect fit for him. “Their methodology, success and services are a winning combination,” he said. “I am looking forward to using my extensive consulting experience to help Business Continuum continue to attract and retain customers as more and more service based businesses identify the benefits of migrating to the cloud.”

Tim’s experience

In addition to his several years with Xero in various roles, Tim was previously General Manager of Commercial Operations for Vault Intelligence, leading creators of risk and safety management software.

Tim is also a well regarded technology industry commentator with a strong following on LinkedIn, where he shares business insights, advice and opinions from thought leaders across the world.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Commercial Law from Deakin University and in his spare time he enjoys reading IT and business books, making apps, camping and keeping fit with Crossfit, running, walking and swimming.

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Getting Your Practice Ready for Xero HQ

Getting Your Practice Ready for Xero HQ

At Xerocon last month it was announced that Xero HQ ― Xero’s latest accounting and bookkeeping practice platform ― will soon be coming to our screens. For Xero Partners, this means access to new and more integrated insights when working within the cloud-based Xero HQ platform.

Since the announcement, we’ve found ourselves fielding a lot of questions at Business Continuum. These are mainly coming from practices who already use Xero Practice Manager or Xero Tax, and want to know more about how they can benefit from Xero HQ. So in the leadup to its release, we’ve put together a list of steps your practice can take to get practice ready and make a seamless transition across to the new platform.

Xero HQ’s key features

There’s a lot to take in when exploring Xero HQ, but some of its standout features include:
a live activity feed to automatically show due dates for your clients, and allowing you to prioritise and organise workflow for your firm; a ‘client explorer’, which allows users to view Xero clients by industry, integration partners and connected bank institutions; and a central client list, which consolidates information from Xero Practice Manager, Xero Tax and other Xero organisations to make client information accessible to practice staff.

As an open practice platform, Xero HQ is open to external developers and select partners, who wish to further enhance the software’s capabilities benefit all users of the platform.

Preparing your practice for Xero HQ

  1. Clean Up Databases

Clean up your customer database by deleting, merging or archiving any duplicate, unwanted or old records. This will ensure you’re not slowed down by redundant data once you switch to Xero HQ’s client list feature.

We recommend deleting or merging clients if they are duplicates, to ensure future client updates that are imported are not rejected. Where you have jobs (XPM only) or related transactional history for the multiple client records that should be assigned to only one client record, then you should merge the unwanted client into your preferred client record.

Tip: don’t forget that you can quickly bulk archive your clients from the Client Manager module in Xero Practice Manager.

  1. Ensure Billing Entity Matches Xero Contact

If you edit any client names in order to stay consistent with the Xero organisations integrated through Xero HQ, do keep an eye out for clients who nominate themselves as the main billing entity for an individual or group. Where this occurs, you will need to make sure any changes are also made in Xero contacts to avoid duplicate client records and maintain consistency. This will also ensure Xero’s debtor reminder settings are not triggered accidentally, due to a duplicate record.

  1. Clean Up Custom Fields

If you started using Xero Practice Manager prior to the introduction of Xero Tax, you may have set up custom fields to store basic client details such as client codes, gender, titles, dates of birth or bank accounts. Since the release of Xero Tax, the custom field feature has been replaced by ‘system fields’ to capture this information.

You can get your practice up to speed by deleting any former custom fields (used prior to the introduction of Xero Tax) and adopting the corresponding Xero Practice Manager fields which are currently used to categorise clients.

  1. Set up Client Groups

Your former client groups in Xero Practice Manager will now become Xero HQ’s single client list. Any missing client details or tax can also be manually imported into information the Xero HQ client list.

Tip: don’t forget to tick the “Taxable group” option, which will activate the Tax Return tab for the group in Practice Manager.

  1. Review Your Client Notes

Client notes currently stored in Practice Manager will be accessible to all staff in your Xero HQ practice platform. If you have any privacy concerns about what notes will be visible, you can create a custom client report, which will separately record all client notes that are currently saved in Xero Practice Manager.

  1. Check Your Security

Two factor security authentication has been available in Xero since late 2015 ― and while it doesn’t directly impact the integration of Xero Practice Manager with Xero HQ, it’s a good opportunity to turn the feature on if you haven’t already done so. Considering your practice staff have complete access to the Xero ledgers of clients, it’s not only paramount that your logins are secure at a practice level ― but on a personal level for all of your staff as well.
To turn on personal two factor authentication, each user is required to generate a unique security code from their phone and enter in Xero when logging in from a new device. Once authenticated, Xero will remember the device for 30 days before needing to re-authenticate.

Xero HQ is scheduled for release from the 8th of November 2016, so if your practice intends to make the switch there’s still time to prepare. While you can start using Xero HQ at any time, you’ll get the best results by taking these steps in advance ―and making the transition as smooth as possible.

If you have more questions about how to get your practice performing better with Xero HQ, or need some help setting up the right software solutions and workflows to make your own practice more efficient, please get in touch with us today.

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