Reflections from our birth place…..

I wondered what to write about for my first blog and hence why it took a few weeks for me to put pen to paper.

I thought maybe I could write a piece on the federal budget handed down last week or maybe on the recent retirement of two of football’s greatest figures in David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson. But whilst both are very relevant in my life, it didn’t inspire me…..

On the weekend I took a trip down south to Kurnell with Jade and Georgia to enjoy the sun. Kurnell is the birth place of modern Australia, where Captain Cook first set foot on Australian soil.

While I waded in the water with Georgia as we looked for shells I stopped for a minute to just take in the significance of where I was standing and it dawned on me just how lucky we are to live in Australia. And this is what has inspired me to write !

As one of the youngest countries in the world we are still evolving as a nation and finding our identity. And as a result it gives anyone the opportunity to make a name for themselves and succeed in life no matter where they come from because it is these individuals and groups (that are making names for themselves) who are shaping who we are.

As I thought about this, knee deep in Botany Bay, with my beautiful little girl playing by my side and darling wife sitting in the sand behind us i realised that everyone has a chance in Australia if they want it.

Even a guy like me, the eldest of three boys, from a single mum family with little more than my drive and ambition to make it in life. I was determined to make the most of the hand I was dealt and not allow any predefined stereotypes to be applied to me just because we lived in state housing and lived only inches above the poverty line.

Where else in the world can you start with nothing more than a dream and a piece of paper showing a handsome UAI and be able to get a cutting edge education at University and start a rewarding and successful career and not end up in debt for the next 30 years? Nowhere. And that is why we live in such a lucky country.

In Australia anyone can change their “status quo” if they want to. Anyone can give it a go and meet the woman of their dreams, be their own boss and give themselves a chance of financial freedom.

And as I stood there reflecting on all of this it really did dawn on me the significance of the spot…..because this is where my chance, my opportunity, my dream was started some 200 odd years ago.

Xero for Business

In my last article I focused on how Xero has disrupted the accounting profession through the launch of its “Practice Studio”, the suite of best of breed cloud based practice management programs for its accounting and bookkeeping partners.

However Xero didn’t start out as an accountant’s tool. It was and still is a business bookkeeping, accounting, payroll and management tool and it continues to improve on a regular basis with Xero’s commitment to continual updates which are based on a mix of head office vision as well as listening to user feedback and committing to implementing the most requested user updates.

Xero’s focus has always been to make light work of the accounting function for businesses and it does this by keeping it simple. Starting with a beautiful user interface, all parts of Xero are able to be accessed within three ‘clicks’ with the majority available in two thus making it quick and easy to get to where you want to go.

The Dashboard provides businesses with a simple yet powerful overview of their position, in real time which saves time having to print reports just to get a snapshot of where the business is at (ignoring the fact that for most other accounting programs data would need to be entered and reconciled first to get this ‘position’).

One of the great time wasters is data entry and Xero does away with this through the availability of live bank feeds, whereby your bank sends your transactional data to Xero and this is then available to be either matched up against accounts payable or receivable invoices or allocated to its respective account.

One of the great things about Xero is its ‘learning’ capabilities in that with the allocation of transactions, if it hasn’t been allocated via the use of a previously defined bank rule, over time if you allocate similar transactions to the same account Xero will begin to pre-empt you and suggest where the transaction should go. If Xero gets it right, you simply click OK..if it isn’t right you just modify the pre-filled data.

From personal experience and from feedback provided by our clients, the time savings from using Xero roll into the hours per week with the average client saving between 50%-70% of the time they used to spend each week on their accounting, bookkeeping and payroll. This time saving translates either into more time to spend working on your business or giving business owners and managers back some well earned personal time !

Where business owners and managers re-invest this saved time back into the business they find themselves able to interpret their trading results and begin to make informed decisions regarding their operations. This allows them to find more efficient ways to work and often leads them to look at additional cloud solutions that could further improve their business.

They don’t need to look far as Xero’s Add-On Partner EcoSystem, as touched on last month, provides businesses with the best of breed solutions for industry specific operation systems which all link seamlessly with Xero. These add-on solutions further enhance a businesses ability to operate more efficiently and effectives and ultimately increase profits.

The last area that needs highlighting is the way in which Xero allows businesses greater collaboration with its customers with the ability to send and receive invoices directly into Xero via online invoicing as well as the ability to be paid online direct from the invoice. Tack on an EcoSystem CRM system to Xero and you have a complete cloud based CRM solution allowing you to track all communications with your customers, not just record what you have invoiced them.

For any business, small medium or large, Xero is a cost effective yet powerful solution that is scaleable and can grow as the business grows. Its ease of use and time saving features are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the features available. And a common theme amongst users is that Xero has made accounting and bookkeeping fun….imagine that !

Sign up for a free trial of Xero today at http://www.efsstrategic.com.au/xero/

 

 

EFS Strategic & Xero

Finding better ways to connect and collaborate with our clients has always been our primary objective as accountants and business advisers. Being seen as truly proactive and partnering with our clients is a long held goal that simply makes good business sense.

For many years we have worked with clunky solutions which were not simple to use, nor cost efficient to us as a firm or to our clients. Often we found ourselves developing our own “spreadsheets” to provide business advisory services to our clients which was not the best solution.

Adding to this pressure of providing a highly valued advisory experience to our clients is that the relevance of traditional accountants is being challenged due to the commoditising of the industry. No longer can we expect to rely upon compliance income streams as our major revenue source

Much has been talked about this “disruption” currently occurring in the accounting profession, most of which has been caused by the rapid adoption of cloud technologies by accountants and businesses.

Leading this disruption is Xero; the web based accounting solution that is bringing accountants and their clients together on what is known as the “Single Ledger”. It is a beautiful place where adviser and client view and work on the same data in real time “in the cloud”.

This single ledger has changed the game for accountants when it comes to providing real solutions for business clients and becoming what is termed the “trusted adviser”. We now have access to our clients live data which means that we are no longer focusing on the past. Time is not wasted re-keying data from our clients accounting program into our own general ledger software.

And it is this paradigm shift that has allowed us to provide advisory services in an efficient and cost effective manner to our clients, particularly to some clients where previously what we were attempting to provide using legacy solutions was cost prohibitive and despite them needing this advice they just could not afford it.

What we use to provide these value add services are the tools now available through Xero’s Add-On Partner network. The Xero Ecosystem as it is known has over 130 solutions that all talk to Xero and extract the financial data of a business seamlessly and effortlessly into their own programs. This is done through Xero’s Open API which allows other cloud solution providers access to Xero’s backend.

This partnering approach with other cloud solution providers is also replicated by Xero in how it deals with its Accountant partners, of which we are one. Over the past month Xero has been on the road promoting its latest plans for the accounting profession and releasing details of its Practice Studio, its cloud based practice management solution.

Quite simply, it is a collection of best of breed cloud products, provided by Xero to its Accountant partners for free. Xero, WorkflowMax, Xero Payroll, Spotlight Workpapers & Report Packs, all Xero owned solutions. And now, rounding out the Practice Studio suite are partnerships with enableHR (online HR & WHS) and Microsoft (Office365, SharePoint Online and In Tune).

Why for free? Xero doesn’t believe in monetising the accountant side when it comes to these practice management tools.  This is unlike the incumbents who are happy to charge fees into the tens of thousands of dollars per year for these same tools, as well as charge our clients for their desktop based accounting products. Seems like a bit of double dipping to me.

As stated earlier, we are now able to provide advisory services to our clients for the same or similar fees as they used to pay for compliance only services. Some may say that this could be de-valuing our advisory services however in today’s general market across all industries clients are demanding better value for money and so by using Xero’s Practice Studio as well as the range of Add On partners in the cloud Ecosystem we are able to meet market demand.

As we have embarked on this journey we have disrupted our own business in an effort to provide a true advisory service to our clients as well as benefit internally from increased efficiencies available by using cloud solutions. Ultimately, Xero was our driver for change to embrace new technologies to ensure that we could better service our clients. The accounting profession is no longer protected from general business conditions and so to remain competitive and profitable we need to constantly evolve and find better ways of connecting with our clients. Xero provides us with the tools to do this.

 

Four Secrets to better delegation!

First posted by Sharon Williams on Dynamic Business.

1. SOS: When a ship sends a message to another ship they do so with the use of Morse Code, a series of taps and signals that tap out an entire message. When a ship receives a message it sends the message back in its entirety to the sending ship to ensure the right message has been received. There is simply no place for error. In the same way, when you delegate a task, ask the team member to repeat back to you what the task is. This way you can pick up any miscommunications and ensure that your request has been understood.

2. The “it’s not done till it’s delivered’’ boomerang: When you throw a boomerang it comes back to you and this is what you want with delegated tasks. Ensure your team member understands that the task isn’t complete until a response or feedback is returned to the owner. Often in the office you will hear “yes I did that”, but as I tell my team, ‘’it is not done until it is delivered.”’ Until you, the manager, know that a task is competently done, you have not delegated effectively. Ensure your team knows that a task is not considered done until it is delivered back to you.

3. Beware of black holes: Black holes generate fear. They exist in the universe and swallow up planets, stars etc. Things can be lost in black holes and I tell my team I want no delegation black holes. I want to hear back on progress, all the way back up the management line.

4. Cultivate a culture of care not ‘Who cares?’: Disengaged staff harm business. If staff are not interested in servicing customers beyond expectations and performing duties well, the business will suffer and ultimately so will bottom line. A good starting point is to put the right people in the right jobs, doing what they like. In a competitive marketplace, most people won’t stay if they are not happy. We tend to be good at what we enjoy. Ask how to keep them motivated. Incentives, rewards and a genuine thank you go a long way.
Some common fears when being delegated a task include:

  • Criticism or embarrassment if I get some or part of the task wrong, or if I fail to meet expectations
  • Exposure of the lack of my skills or current working knowledge
  • Being seen as the frequently ‘dumped on’ or most junior employee, and consequently not being taken seriously

Workplace delegation involves three important concepts and practices: responsibility, authority and accountability. Each of these is equally important to both the manager and the relevant team member.
Accountability is the top down as well as bottom up
As manager, when we delegate to our team, we need to be aware that we share our responsibility with them. Individuals and teams should be accountable for their performance, as you are held accountable for yours.
Before you next delegate, prevent an unwanted game of ‘hot potato’ with the following:

  • Does this task really need to be delegated?
  • Who is the best suited individual or team for the task?
  • Does it need a high level of specialisation?
  • Explain why the task is being delegated and provide a bigger context?
  • Explain why it is important, as understanding and responsibility encourages commitment
  • Set expectations for reporting and results
  • Agree on and set a deadline.

Once a task has been delegated it is important to maintain contact to:

  • Implement controls for reporting and feedback, create a two-way street
  • Train your people with the skills necessary to complete the task
  • Provide necessary resources for completion of the task.

At the conclusion of a delegated task:

The Benefits of Credit Card Funding

By Odysseas Papadimitriou

Reposted from Mashable

Thinking of using your credit card to finance your startup? For some entrepreneurs, it’s the only way to get their new business off the ground. Still, it comes with plenty of risk.

The Benefits of Credit Card Funding

  • The ability to retain maximum equity:  People willing to take the risks associated with launching a startup generally believe that they have a potentially very lucrative idea on their hands. The further you can take your company without outside help, the more of your company you can keep for yourself and the less oversight you’ll have to deal with.
  • 0% offers:  The ubiquity of low interest rates has made it common practice for banks to offer extremely attractive packages. The ability to escape interest for more than a year on either upcoming purchases or funding expenses already incurred would certainly help your company’s bottom line. The best offer currently available is the No Balance Transfer Fee Slate Card from Chase, which offers 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months and does not charge a balance transfer fee (most cards charge 3%).
  • Lack of collateral:  If you go to a bank and ask for a business loan or a business line of credit, they will want collateral.  If you want to bring on investors, they’ll want equity.  Credit cards, on the other hand, are unsecured.

The Cons of Credit Card Funding

  • No separation between business and personal:  When you use a credit card to fund a business venture, the distinction between your business and personal finances largely disappears.  This is important for three reasons: 
  1. It presents the possibility for personal credit score damage: Startups are inherently risky, and when you use a credit card to fund one, you are gambling with your personal credit score.
  2. You are personally at risk for a lawsuit: If credit card debt proves to be the downfall of your company, debt collectors will likely be able to come after both your company and your personal income/assets to recoup what you owe.
  3. Credit cards might be unattainable:The fact that business credit card underwriting has more to do with your personal credit standing than that of your business might help you get a better credit card, but it could also have the opposite effect.  Past personal credit problems could keep you from getting a credit card that will truly help you grow your business.
  • Potentially low limits: Because credit cards are unsecured, they generally provide lower spending limits than secured alternatives.  Sure, you could get up to tens of thousands of dollars to play with, but there is usually an invisible ceiling around the $50,000 mark.
  • Overextension:  The potential to spend more than you can afford to pay back is not a negative unique to credit cards.  Misuse of any small business funding vehicle can put you in the hole, which is why you should handle them with extreme care.
Ultimately, regardless of the funding method you decide upon, simply throwing money at a startup does not guarantee eventual success, Papadimitriou said. “Efficient use of this money as well as a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck are also essential,” he said.