Are you still using excel or clunky desktop packages to manage your finances?

During lockdown (we are at the start of week 9!) we have started working with a number of new clients to help them review their current finance process with the view to automating the process.

These clients have got in touch as lockdown has given them the time to review their processes and make them realise that many of them are inefficient.

Taking up too much time and not knowing how the business is performing are some of the business owners’ complaints.

Many are using excel spreadsheets for sales, expenses, wages and projections. Many of these tasks have to be duplicated and often contain many errors. They then keep all their purchase invoices in nice organised folders or all stuffed in a carrier bag for their accountant to process at year end. The majority of the process is paper based, some may have tried to convert to a cloud-based accounting system e.g. Xero or Quickbooks but it hasn’t really worked. The main issue being that the business owner doesn’t have a real-time overview of the financial position of the business.

The reasons behind not introducing an automated process is lack of time (we have that just now!) and the other main reason is that their current accountant isn’t pro-active, hasn’t taken the time to recommend or isn’t interested in the new technology that is now available.

Below is an example of a bespoke accounts/finance process we recently built for a new client.

At the core of the process is your accountant (DTA) and Xero (Accounting Software) with all the other data within the finance function following into your trusted advisor and your accounting software therefore cutting down duplication, manual processes, saving time and giving you real time data of your business.

Let’s take a look at the processes involved.

At the Core

Accountant (DTA)
 
Choosing an accountant is like choosing a new business partner. The right accountant will become a trusted colleague you can depend on, who offers advice and guidance as your business grows. Your accountant needs to be pro active and they need to be able to offer solutions to your problems.
 

Xero

Xero’s online accounting software is designed to make life easier for small businesses. It is a secure cloud-based small business accounting software with tools for managing invoicing, bank reconciliation, stock, purchasing, expenses, bookkeeping and much more.

Payment Services

World Pay & iZettle were this client’s preferred providers to collect card payments. Worldpay and  iZettle lets you import your sales and payments data daily into your Xero account. The integration is easy and simple to set up, and once you've connected your Xero account, iZettle and Worldpay will automatically import your data. This reduces admin and saves time.

Invoicing & Expenses

Receipt Bank - A handy little tool for keeping track of your company expenses - this is a great little app that lets you upload all of your purchase invoices into Xero by doing little more than taking a picture on your phone and hitting submit - what's more, using this app also gives you a pdf backup of all of your purchase invoices so no need to keep

Payroll

Our preferred payroll provider is Moneysoft however we can get the data from most payroll providers into Xero easily. We pull the data from Moneysoft payroll system and transfer it into Xero so all your payroll costs are all real time. It has many features including RTI filing, Employee Payslips and Comprehensive reporting with email capability, automatic calculation of Statutory Sick, Maternity, Paternity and Adoption pay, Shared Parental Pay, Student Loans, Attachments of Earnings, Childcare Vouchers, Data Backup facilities and Auto Enrolment Pension reporting facilities, Employers NIC Allowance, plus much, much more.

Digital Submissions

HMRC and Companies House – With HMRC’s introduction of Making Tax Digital it is even more relevant to have a digital system set up so that information can flow easier to HMRC and Companies House from Xero.

Banking

Xero automatically and securely imports your bank transactions every business day. You save hours on admin and get daily updates on the state of your business finances. It turns bank reconciliation from a chore into something simple and fun. Once Xero is connected to your bank, transactions flow in automatically, ready for you to reconcile.

Till System

Epos Now is the till system that we set up for this client, we can generally get the data from most systems into Xero. Download your daily sales into Xero rather than printing off reports or recording them on a spreadsheet. Reduces duplication, human error and saves time. Another good system is the The Good Till Company.

Reporting

Once we have all the data flowing into Xero on a regular basis, we can then start to produce meaningful reports. We would either produce reports directly from Xero or build our own reports bespoke for the client. We would use Fluidly for cashflow forecasting to help make better financial decisions. Fluidly offers a clear look into the financial future, it’s hard enough making financial decisions, let alone wasting time updating spreadsheets to do so. By having up to date financial reports it will allow you to make better decisions with your business, that might be hiring a new employee, buying new equipment or just having the peace of mind that your business is financially healthy.

Has lockdown made you review your work life balance? Has lockdown made you realise that your own processes are poor and need modernised? Have you vowed once lockdown is over you want to have more quality time with your family rather than spending nights and weekends doing your accounts?

As system specialists we can help you automate manual processes, save time and understand your numbers.

Please get in touch by clicking here or email andy@dtaccounting.co.uk if you would like to find out more.