We love cloud-based accounting
“One of the biggest benefits of online accounting software is that it’s a single source of truth.” – Kirsten Forrester, CEO, Accounting For Good.
At Accounting For Good we love cloud-based accounting. It provides a myriad of benefits to our clients and enables us to offer an extensive service that can be tailored to suit any sized not for profit (NFP) organisation. We use cloud software to offer you the service you need… whether you require accounting assistance, or need support with a strategic review or high-level reporting.
Xero and other software applications
The standard technology stack that Accounting For Good offers is based on Xero accounting software.
This is partnered with Receipt Bank for capturing payables, expenses and credit card receipts and Spotlight Reporting for the dashboard reports that we provide to our clients’ boards and management each month. There are also some other add-ons, as Kirsten explains,
“Some of our clients have online sales and payment services such as eWAY, Shopify, Vend and Stripe. Plus, a couple of our clients use ApprovalMax software on top of that stack to enforce their approvals and delegations matrix for a very formal approach to approving their expenses.”
We believe that Xero and its supporting suite of software is the easiest and most efficient way to operate. It suits many different business types and given that our client base is quite diverse, the cloud-based approach is a great fit. Kirsten discusses how Accounting For Good has grown with Xero over the last decade…
“Xero launched in Australia in 2008 and we started using it in 2009. Our founder, Morri, has always been an early adopter, so we have been a Xero partner for 10 years now. The software has come a long way in that time, as you would expect, and we find it’s fully functioned and really is a great solution for all our clients.”
Glenn Murray, one of AFG’s Account Managers, works with our clients every day. He says,
“Some clients come to us already on the cloud… they have the system established and that’s how they want to continue their work. Others might have heard about it and think that it sounds good so they approach us to help them get set up. Then there are some that have no idea but once they experience working with it, they love it and would never go back to any desktop or paper based solution.”
Collaboration and automation
One of the major benefits of online accounting software is that all the information is centralised. There’s no version control risk or confusion with a copy of the file being with the auditor and another copy in the office – and nobody knowing which is the current version. As Kirsten says, there’s one source of truth. She continues,
“Part of this benefit is that it’s really easy to collaborate when you are online… we see the same data… it’s very easy for us to support our clients and for us to have a conversation because we are all seeing the same information in real time.”
Another key benefit of Xero’s cloud-based system is automation. Xero has live bank feeds coming in every day so you can access your latest transactions immediately and it’s very easy to reconcile. It’s also very easy to see when something is missing. The automation of the bank feeds significantly reduces manual data entry which enables accounting staff to spend more time on higher value tasks.
Training and support
Having ten years’ experience working with Xero, we are confident in the processes required to transition a client to the cloud. Typically, when we start with a new client, we set up all the technology for them. This can include creating a Xero subscription, setting up their Receipt Bank software and then training them in how to use these tools. Kirsten explains,
“We provide training online, or face to face if we are nearby, and we teach the client and their team how to work with these processes. We make it smooth and painless for them. We supply supporting documentation so that people can refer to comprehensive user guides or simplified cheat sheets if they need them.
Because we’ve worked with Xero for 10 years, we are so familiar with it, we really know our way around the software, and we know how to make it work well. It’s not just about knowing the software… it’s also about knowing how to use it efficiently.
We can help organisations get to competency quickly with Xero. We can shortcut their learning and help them implement efficient finance processes right from the start.”
To find out more about Xero and how we can help you migrate to the cloud, contact our team today.
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