Managing a cloud-based practice Beautiful accounting software www.xero.com
PAGE 2 MANAGING A CLOUD-BASED PRACTICE With an estimated 100,000 UK businesses now using online or cloud based accounting software, new technology is again revolutionising the accounting sector. Cloud-based accounting solutions now offer mobile, always-on, instant-access financial tools, creating new ways to work with your clients. And opening new opportunities for improving practice efficiencies as well as offering clients additional valuable services allowing you to become a virtual finance director and a trusted adviser. But once your practice had made the initial move to the cloud, how do you then manage and review the new systems and tools you have in place? How do you make sure they re efficient and truly paying for themselves? My advice to any accountants who are stubborn or resistant to taking on cloud accounting is to retire now. Paul Bulpitt, co-founder of The Wow Company In this short guide, we ll run you through through the importance of using smart technology; while also being mindful about how you use this technology. We ll also look at how you review and measure the effectiveness of your software choices and how to get the best out of your own practice s processes. By following our six point guide you ll get the most out of your cloud-based practice: Step 1 Make the right choices Step 2 Think about your processes Step 3 Evaluate and update your systems Step 4 Fix what bothers you Step 5 Create a positive feeling of engagement Step 6 Be smart about technology But first off, let s start with making the right decisions about the software tools you choose.
PAGE 3 Make the right choices When you re adopting new technology for your practice you need to be clear about your objectives. This means considering your software choices carefully. Using technology for technology s sake is not an option these tools need to work well, provide solutions and really add the intended value. It s also worth looking at how your peers and competitors have implemented new systems. How have they harnessed new technology to make their practice more successful? What can you learn from their choices? Ultimately, though, every system is different so you ll need to choose applications that really work for your practice and business model. Start by thinking about what outcome you re aiming for. A good way to do this is think about the initial business problem you re trying to solve: What s the problem? Could software resolve this by introducing a more streamlined process? What specific software is most suited to creating a solution? Think about the process So, you ve identified the business problem and you ve thought about how a software solution might resolve the issue. At this point you ll need to think about how the technology will fit into your existing processes. You ll need to take a step back and really take an objective view of the procedures you currently have in place. Asking the right questions at this point will really highlight how effective your current processes are: Is there a particular reason why the process has always been done this way? Is there any justification for continuing to do it this way? Is the process efficient? Are there alternatives which would add more value? You certainly don t want to justify the question Why do we do it this way? with the answer Because we always have.... The software you adopt, and the process you have in place to use it, needs to create true efficiency. If it doesn t add value, why are you using it? And this is why thinking about your end goal is so important. If you have a clear view of what success looks like, you re far more likely to make the right choices for your cloud-based systems. Paul Bulpitt, co-founder of The Wow Company, realised early on that that being tied to a desktop accounting package was a burden, one that could be resolved by moving online: The reason for us embracing the online way of working was really driven by technology. The Facebook generation are used to being online all the time. We re all used to getting things right now, in real time, when we want it. So why on Earth would you want to wait? Why would you want to deal with reams of paper being exchanged in the post, or back-ups being exchanged?
PAGE 4 The instant, mobile access which a cloud accounting system offers turns this desire for real-time information into a reality. And it solves the problem of being tied to a desktop system that only works when you re at the office freeing you up to really focus on your client relationships. Evaluate and update your systems So, you now have your new online systems in place and the rest of the practice are using these new tools to work with clients. At this point you ll need to start evaluating how well these systems and internal processes are working. You ll need to think about how you manage: Productivity Is work being completed with less chargeable time? Are you getting quicker and more efficient? Does this mean you ve got the resources to take on more work? Are you making money on jobs that were previously at budget or a loss? Workflow Is the process efficient? How many people are involved in delivering the final completed work? Are you having too much or too little interaction with your clients? Employee engagement How are your staff getting to grips with the new systems? Do your people like the new way of working? What s the overall opinion your people have of the software? Trace a process from start to finish look at something like your billing of clients, for example. How much time and resource is spent? Is it efficient? How many times do things go backwards and forwards between you and your client? Could this be simplified and updated? These are good ways to challenge and evaluate the performance of a new way of working. And where there are obvious solutions, you can update your procedures and processes to improve areas like productivity and efficiency. Another area to consider is contingency planning you ll need to have a plan in place if access to your systems is lost, for whatever reason. What support would you get from your internet service provider if there s a serious outage? How reliable is your hardware and how long would it take to replace or repair? How quickly could you switch to a back-up system? These are questions which need some watertight answers as part of your evaluation process. Fix what bothers you There will be issues you spot as part of the evaluation process. If something bothers you, think back to the outcome you re aiming for. How can you fix the problem to achieve your intended goal? By looking back at your original goal, you can follow the process back and fix the areas that aren t performing.
PAGE 5 Breaking big problems down into smaller chunks makes them less daunting and more manageable. Split the big challenges down into clear, concise actions and then work on those. This will help progress to be made and will help push you forward. Not only does this bring you closer to fixing your problem, but it also has a big positive impact on employee engagement a vital component for success, as we ll see in the next step. Creating a positive feeling of engagement Training is crucial, if you re going to engage your people. Offering full, indepth training sessions on the new systems will help to get staff on board, and will iron out any potential issues and problems at an early stage. If your people can see that these issues are being looked at and dealt with, this creates a far more positive internal view of the new software. You don t want a potentially useful application to fail simply because there s no buy-in from the people using it. Training, positive messaging and good communication around any new system are absolutely vital elements. Ultimately, any system is only as good as the people who are using it, so engagement is a crucial area to manage well. Training and communicating updates about changes to your systems will be an ongoing process. Over time, your systems will go through software updates, changes to features and add-ons, and revisions to which applications are part of your overall practice set-up. You ll need to make sure that everyone in the practice knows about these changes and updates clear internal communications and handson training in any new features or systems will help to keep engagement levels high. Be smart about technology Training is crucial, if you re going to engage your people. Offering full, indepth training sessions on the new systems will help to get staff on board, and will iron out any potential issues and problems at an early stage. Does it add value? Does it solve a problem? Smart technology offers so many benefits for a practice that makes the most of its features. But you also need to be smart about which technology you use. Here s an example of this smart approach. A small office of four people doesn t need an internal social networking platform: a large global company of 2,000 people does. Forcing a small group of people who all sit in the same room to take their water-cooler moment online defeats the object of a social tool they re already being social. The global business needs that tool to connect a network of people who are spread geographically across the globe. Think about how the technology will help you work more effectively, both with your clients and with your internal processes. What bothers you What was the outcome you intended Analyse and fix it! Gary Anderson, Managing Director of Xebra Accounting, had a very clear idea of how cloud accounting would benefit his clients when setting up his practice: I saw this huge potential to get towards real-time accounting. In other words, we could see what was going on in the clients accounts without the need for back-up. They could ring at any time and we could give support and help we could even give pro-active advice by dipping into their accounts because we had this instant access.
PAGE 6 Six steps to a beautifully managed cloud practice As we ve seen, moving your practice to a cloud-based system has many business benefits. For example, the flexibility of cloud accounting can turn value-based services into real drivers of revenue. But keeping on top of the available technology and really being smart about your software choices is also part of managing the effectiveness of your business. By following our six-point plan for managing your cloud practice you ll improve your processes, while increasing your productivity and creating additional value-driven opportunities with your clients. Step 1 Make the right choices Be clear about your objectives. Choose your software carefully. Don t use technology for technology s sake you need solutions that really add the intended value. Step 2 Think about your processes Make sure new applications fit into, and add value to, your existing processes. If necessary, change your processes to make them more efficient. Step 3 Evaluate and update your systems Once they re in place, how productive and effective are the new applications? Evaluate and measure how well they re working and whether they are delivering the right outcome. Put together a contingency plan for outages. Step 4 Fix what bothers you If something bothers you and doesn t work well, fix it. Think back to the original outcome and amend the areas that need fixing to achieve your goals. Step 5 Create a positive feeling of engagement Train your people to use the new systems. Talk to your staff about their experiences with the systems. Keep them in the loop and preserve that positive engagement. Step 6 Be smart about technology Be sure that you re making the right technology choices. Ask whether the applications add the intended value and solve the specific problem you need to fix. Paul Bulpitt, of The Wow Company, is clear how technology has made their business more effective: We ve been using cloud accounting for four or five years. We ve now got a wider reach of clients, geographically, because we re no longer confined to those that can drive to our offices. But also the services we offer to clients are more meaningful because we know how they re doing financially in real time. If you d like to find out more about how Xero can support your cloud-based practice, please do get in touch. You can find us at www.xero.com or you drop us an email at partnerteam@xero.com