Comments on: Cloud Accountants, Bookkeepers & 100% Xero

By: Cassandra Scott

Cassandra Scott — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:44:46 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting both Justin and the gorgeous Emma at Xerocon 2012.

It was fantastic to see the synergy that is being created when accountants, clients and bookkeepers work collaboratively with a single focus in mind – the benefit of the client.

What both accountants and bookkeepers need to remember is that we are providing a service to our client. They can choose to continue to engage us, or not. If we can all work harmoniously and proactively with client satisfaction as the key to all that we do, then success will surely follow.

By: David - DRCA Family Business Accountants

David - DRCA Family Business Accountants — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:39:35 +0000

Quite a good summary of how the accountant-bookkeeper-client relationship should work. Ideally we should all be “client centric” and Xero enables us to do this.
Glennis raises some good points about the existing problems / reality when working on programs such as MYOB and quickbooks. In my view, the people who will become redundant are those accountants and bookkeepers who do not embrace the cloud based revolution and continue to maintain an adversarial relationship at the expense ($) of the client.
Cheers
David http://www.twitter.com/drcaaccountants

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:32:31 +0000

Great Blog Justin, thank you so much for the mention. Mel

By: Glennis Stuckey

Glennis Stuckey — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:06:51 +0000

Thanks Justin! As you say, using a bookkeeper allows the business owner to work on the business rather than in it, we take responsibility for the financial administration, so the owner doesn’t have to. In a collaborative bookkeeper/accountant relationship, for example – the Business owner, Katalyst and Cloud Accountants – this naturally becomes an efficient and effective partnership.
As bookkeepers, we work closely with our clients; we experience first-hand the effects of the relationship with the businesses accountant. If there is a great relationship between the owner, bookkeeper and accountant, the bookkeeping and accountancy is streamlined for all parties, therefore the bills are lower and the results are better for the business owner. Xero polarizes this relationship as your bookkeeper and your accountant, or advisor, has real time access to your books, rather than the typical history writing style. When your accountant and bookkeeper or ‘Xero Consultant’ collaborates, as a business owner you can expect:
• Less time spent on accounts – we talk to each other, taking care of minor things, with-out needing to bother you
• Clean accounts – Justin (for example) gives us feed-back on coding as we go, so the books are nice and clean throughout the year, and at year end
• Useful, timely reporting, regularly, during the year
• Advice when you need it without fear of a giant bill
With a poor relationship you can expect:
• We talk to you, you talk to the accountant, and then you call us back, then you call the accountant back…
• Costly changes at year end – the accountant decides that they wanted parking coded as cost of sales, does a journal, or re-codes the whole year, at your expense, then doesn’t bother to tell us, therefore you pay for the whole thing again next year
• You get ‘financials’ which are 6 months past date by the time you get them, but nothing current, or useful
• You, or we, phone for advice about how to handle something, or you want to run an idea past them, then you get charged for it at year end
So, to wrap up, give yourself a break and use a top Xero bookkeeping team like Katalyst – #2 in NZ for Xero at the time of writing & NZ Bookkeepers certified, and use a Xero Award Winning accounting team like Cloud Accountants – you will be in truly good hands.