Cloud accounting software has many benefits for your business

Case Study – The benefits of Cloud Accounting

The Scenario:

Our client’s business had grown in leaps and bounds. As a result, there was a need to employ an additional Administration Assistant to cope with the increased work load. The problem that our client faced was they didn’t have the physical space for an additional workstation for the new team member to sit. There was no room to extend the office and moving the whole operation to a new location would be disruptive and expensive.
After a consultation with Thnk Advisory a tailor-made solution was achieved. This is how we solved the problem.

 

The Solution:

On reviewing the client’s administration function, finance systems and discussing the pain points with the Financial Controller it was recommended that the client quite simply move to a Cloud based accounting system. This involved changing the accounting package to Xero, getting rid of paper time sheets and the introduction of receipt bank for processing the accounts payable.

 

1. Migrate to Xero

Xero is not just an accounting package but it provides a simple document storage solution also. Xero has daily bank feeds from your bank account which means you can see your bank balance each day when Xero is opened. Processing the bank transactions on a daily basis means the accounts are always up to date. The manager loves the dashboard in Xero which gives the bank balance at a glance and a watch list of those expenses that need close attention. The ability for Xero to hold copies of invoices means those bulky space draining lever arch folders are nowhere to be seen. This not only saved space but removed the need to spend a couple of days at the end of the financial year on archiving and time during the year filing. No more expensive storage fees and retrieving a document is merely a quick search in Xero.

 

2. Introduce Receipt Bank

Thnk Advisory suggested using Receipt Bank to compliment Xero.  The client’s suppliers were educated to send invoices as PDFs.  Once the manager had viewed and approved the expenditure the invoices were e-mailed to a unique address at Receipt Bank. Thnk Advisory had set up Receipt Bank to “remember” the correct expense codes for each supplier enabling the invoices to be processed into Xero.  This saved time in data entry and the document is now stored safely in two locations: Xero and Receipt Bank.

 

3. Implement Deputy

Paper time sheets are now history.   Rosters are set well in advance which is a breeze using the copy function in Deputy.  Because of the interface with Xero the manager is able to cost rosters in advance.  Deputy’s ability to project the weather forecast means that changes can be made to avoid costly overstaffing issues.  Employees have their rosters available on their phones so no excuse for missing a shift. The ability to send an available shift to all employees save time in ring arounds trying to fill the gap.  Once the timesheets are approved in Deputy they are transmitted into Xero and the pays are completed in less than half an hour – this is a time saving for our client of 4 hours each pay cycle.  The timekeeping history is safely stored in Deputy.

 

 

The Results:

  • With the efficiencies gained there was no need to employ new administration staff resulting in a significant salary saving for the business.
  • A neat office without the clutter of folders and paper covering desks.
  • Easy access to processed bills from any computer with internet in any location.
  • Xero’s two step sign on means security is assured.
  • The bank feeds in Xero enables easy updating of the accounts each day.  No more month end rush to get the bank processed.
  • No more printing payslips – they get e-mailed to the staff each pay day.
  • No more messy, hard to track paper leave forms – the staff have access to their leave in Xero.  This automatically populates the pay run when it’s due.

 

Another upside to the solution provided by Thnk Advisory is when there was a power failure at the worksite, the Financial Controller could log into all the Cloud based systems and continue to process the wages and keep the accounting records up to date thus eliminating any disruption to the finance operations of the business.

 

Thnk Advisory strive to provide our clients with innovative solutions such as the above case study while engaging a consultative approach. Let Thnk Advisory simplify your world.

Margaret Trost

 

Contact us to grow your business