Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn
7 Tips for How to Stay Healthy and Sane as a Freelance, Remote Worker via Entrepreneur Magazine
Here is a great article that talks about how to manage working remotely. Even though it refers to being a freelancer or contractor, the tips are equally important for employees working from home or remotely on a regular basis. Even applies if you have an office and a desk there if you do lots of work at home rather than in the office.
Is your Financial Platform on every device
Whether it’s storage, communication, collaboration, or financial management, most modern business software should now work on any device.
Any new business technology product entering the market would be digging its own grave if it didn’t work across every device and operating system.
Continue reading “Is your Financial Platform on every device”
From Clay to Cloud
The accounting world is moving to the cloud. More than two-thirds of Australian accounting firms already use online accounting software, and expenditure on cloud services is growing rapidly. The trend is clear and compelling, but when I talk with fellow accountants, they want more. Don’t sell us on cloud stats, they say – articulate why we should shift our business and our way of working to the cloud.
So I talk about clay tablets and 7,000 BC.
EOFY: How Small Businesses Can Minimise Tax Liability
End of financial year is a great time to take advantage of business equipment deals, particularly with the threshold for accelerated deductions for small business being raised from $1000 to $20,000. Planning ahead and thinking carefully about your business needs are key to minimising both tax liability and cash flow impact.
Continue reading “EOFY: How Small Businesses Can Minimise Tax Liability”
The honour of delivering an Occasional Address
In April 2015 I was humbled to be asked to deliver the occasional address at Macquarie University for a graduating class from the Economics and Finance faculty.
Here is the recording of my address
So much opportunity for accountants and bookkeepers in this connected era
My latest article as it appears on the Accountants Daily website
http://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/columns/8060-the-future-is-bright-for-accountants-and-bookkeepers
Looking back on the Year of the Horse last year, it’s clear that 2014 should have in fact been called the Year of the Cloud. The bounds of cloud technology were pushed in all directions by businesses in almost every industry — with one of the biggest movers-and-shakers being the accounting industry.
Both small businesses and accounting and bookkeeping practices moved in hordes to cloud accounting technologies, signaling a shift in thinking that places mobility, scalability and interactivity as business priorities. A study we conducted in the latter part of 2014 revealed 14 per cent of Australian small businesses were using cloud accounting software to manage their accounts, and a further 46 per cent were looking to convert within the next 12 months. That’s a pretty exciting growth prospect!
As the early adopters spill over into the early majority, convert the late majority and then onto the laggards, I thought it would be useful, exciting and interesting to outline some of the things that accountants and bookkeepers are likely to encounter in the Year of the Sheep.
Natural virality
Who came first? The small business or their accountant? One of the most exciting things I see happening in the cloud accounting space is the constant flickering between the chicken and the egg — which user group is building up the other one? We’ve seen a huge adoption of cloud accounting by both small businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers and it is fascinating to watch which one is leading the other.
I think this phenomenon will continue this year. As more and more small businesses make the switch to cloud accounting software in search of increased mobility and scalability, an increasing number of accountants and bookkeepers will make the switch to service this demand. At the same time, as more and more practices make the switch, they too will bring with them their existing small business clients who have not already taken the leap of faith.
For me, what this boils down to is that the benefits associated with cloud technologies make it naturally viral — a community of self-advocating customers that convert the masses has been set loose.
The era of connected advisory
One of the greatest benefits of cloud accounting is the real-time data at the fingertips of accountants and bookkeepers and their clients — gone are the days that small businesses would dread their annual interactions with their tax accountants. They are now interacting with their business advisors on a regular basis to fine-tune their bottom line and maximise growth.
Using Xero as an example, practices can quickly see the financial position — in essence a statement of cashflows — for each client in real-time. Clicking through the overview dashboard for each client, practices can see the bank account balance, invoices owing to the business, expenses outstanding and paid by the business, and total cash in and out.
Having the capacity to examine the financial position of each one of your clients on a needs basis — rather than at six-month intervals — means that you are able to add value and insight to each business and help them perform better today. Practices can now spot a significant cashflow issue as they arise or make more informed decisions as to when the best time of the week/month/quarter is to pay debtors. Because of the availability of data, practices can even A/B test specific elements within the business over a two-week period, rather than committing to significant structural changes for six months.
Ultimately, today’s practices are becoming increasingly valuable to their clients as they move beyond the era of infrequent consultation and into the era of connected advisory.
James Solomons 