Chad Ffowcs-Williams | Chilli Accounting | Xero Accountants Northampton

Cloud Accounting Technology in 2017

We are into April, and 2017 is progressing at a serious pace. Another thing for sure is that the pace of technological change in business continues unabated. That is certainly the case in the world of cloud accounting technology. So naturally we thought this would be a good time to talk about some of our favourite technology solutions and apps. We know these can have a dramatic impact on efficiency and profitability for all SME’s. This is based on what we are helping our clients implement in their businesses.

Cloud Accounting technology is the starting point

The starting point for us when looking at SME technology solutions is the cloud accounting software. We use Xero with all our clients. It’s user friendly and intuitive, and not full of accounting jargon. As a company launched around a kitchen table back in 2006, it retains that entrepreneurial spirit today, and you can see that in how they continue to push the boundaries of research in this area. We are going to see developments in AI and machine learning in the cloud accounting field over the next few years, and Xero will be at the forefront of that push. In fact, they are already trialling machine learning on invoices all with the goal of saving SME’s time in their administration.

Also, Xero now has over 500 apps in its add-on market place. Working with other specialist providers is key to getting the right cloud solutions for a particular business. Let’s talk about some of those add-ons now.

Help for the basics

Firstly, there is plenty of help for some of the basics of business administration. Receipt Bank allows you to digitally store all your paper, email receipts and invoices, and puts you well on the way to being a paperless business. Chaser gives you an automated invoice chasing services. Alongside the ‘Pay Now’ buttons and different payment methods that are available in Xero, this provides a suite of tools to get you paid faster.

Industry Specific Solutions

Then there are some industry specific cloud solutions that can be put together. For pubs, restaurants and cafes you can use Vend point of sale software for real time tracking of sales and stock. Linked up to Xero, with the help of Receipt Bank, you can get an instant view of sales and margin. You can also easily allow for the complexities of reporting for VAT.

Next you can build on this with Deputy real time staff scheduling and time and attendance software. You can pull in sales information from Vend and push payroll information to Xero. Now you have a completely integrated sales, stock and staff cloud solution. We look at packages of solutions like this for clients in a number of different industries.

Accessing Finance in the Cloud

Now, the Xero eco-system is also making it easier to access finance. Xero itself is focussed on making it simple for small businesses to provide secure and high integrity information to third parties through the financial web. As an example of how this is starting to work in practice, our previous blog discussed how online lending platforms are opening up a world of lending outside of the traditional high street banks . Using Xero well can improve the chances of accessing this funding.

Another example is faster and more secure access to invoice financing though Xero add-on market place providers. This is particularly useful when you are dealing with enterprise level clients who tend to have longer payment terms. Getting quicker access to cash through invoice financing allows an SME to be able to work on larger projects. Additionally, they do not have to stall work due to having to wait for payment from the last job.

The key role that Xero plays in these various funding options is to provide real time and secure information. Often produced in conjunction with an accountant, potential lenders feel assured by this quality of information. It also allows SME’s to make lending applications across a range of lenders without having to fill in multiple applications.

Solutions specific to your SME

This was a whistle stop tour through some of our favourite cloud accounting technology solutions. We are currently talking about many of these with our clients, ensuring they are always specific to their requirements. If you want to find out more, please get in contact with us at Chilli.

Tags: business finance, cloud accounting, Cloud solutions, machine learning, technology, Xero, xero add-ons

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How to take your small business to the next level in 2017

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we know the thought of accounting isn’t sexy. We also know as a small business owner it’s never going to be top of your priorities. But choosing the right accounting partner can help take your small business to the next level in 2017.

Accounting as an investment rather than a cost

Historically accounting has been seen by small businesses as a cost rather than a service providing any significant benefit to them, and traditionally they would have been right. But times have changed. A role that used to crunch numbers or sort out tax returns has become much more than that. Getting the right accountant is actually an important investment decision for your business.

When starting out with Chilli, like any other small business we had limited finances. This meant difficult decisions had to be made about allocation of time and money. Most new businesses will put off the idea of finding an accountant until the year end accounts are due. But the reality is, the earlier you engage with an accounting partner, the better it is for your business.

To prove our point, here are 8 reasons why!

Save Time

Accountants can advise on the set up of business application tools to ensure that they interact with each other efficiently e.g. get on Receipt Bank. Scan your receipts to save on administration and paperwork. The transactions are then created in Xero which will save you hours in reconciling, or hundreds in bookkeeping costs. We’ve previously talked about another useful tool for claiming travel costs in our vehicle expenses blog.

Choosing the right system tool can help you stay on top of your invoicing. This can benefit your cash flow and potentially the profitability of your business. One good example of a tool that does this is Chaser

Accounting partners can help choose the most efficient tax set up. For example, is it beneficial for your business to register early for VAT? If so, which VAT scheme is most appropriate? Ultimately getting this decision right can help save you money.

Tax returns and other compliance work are taken care of. Meaning that you’re less likely to file anything late and receive fines. It also helps prevent scrambling around for money to pay HMRC at the last minute as you hadn’t realised it was due! (Ok so we’re getting into the unsexy side of accounting again, but it is a necessary evil)

Get Ahead

Budgeting and cash flow management. Planning your finances and setting yourself financial goals are crucial to growing businesses. If you want to be able to invest in more stock or buy new equipment, it goes without saying that you must have a handle on your finances. The new and improved accountant of 2017 can help you with this.

Up to date accounts help you make important decisions about your business. There are some awesome applications available these days which allow you to track and measure important Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). For example, depending on your type of business you might want to measure where your leads are coming from, what are your best-selling products / highest margin products, what jobs are taking up the most of your time. This is the kind of insight that was only previously available to larger businesses that would employ an entire finance department for the privilege. Now small business owners can join the party also!

Another aspect of a growing business is the need for more capital. If the traditional banking option isn’t available to you, more progressive banks and crowd-funding offer an alternative option of finance. Regardless of the source, they will expect to see up to date accounts as part of their decision in lending you money. A set of accounts from 9 months ago, will not be what they are looking for. Have a look at our previous blog on getting small businesses access to funding.

Stress Less

Finally, and most importantly, getting all the above aspects under control helps you relax so you can spend your valuable free time enjoying the things that actually matter in life.

Getting the most out of your investment

If you are just expecting your accountant to reconcile your accounts and fix an old problem, you won’t be getting value for money. But by choosing the right accounting partner for your business, you could be making a great investment that is guaranteed to produce returns and help you grow.

If you’d like to know more, please leave a comment below or get in touch with us at Chilli.

Tags: Accounting partner

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Getting prepared to access small business funding options

Funding for start-up businesses in the UK is a hot topic. The British Business Bank recently estimated that banks reject 100,000 small businesses a year for lending. A staggering number. It’s no wonder then that this is a matter of some consternation.

Our recent blog about top ten finance tips for starts-ups talked about the need to have cloud accounting software to allow real time tracking of your cashflow. However, you might be asking what’s the point of tracking your cashflow when you can’t get access to funding to get you through the peaks and troughs of the start-up lifecycle, right? And once your high-street bank has said no, well then there are no other options?

There are other funding options outside of your high-street bank

Luckily, there are other options in 2016 and they are readily accessible. I am going to highlight one particular set of options in this blog today. However, more importantly, I am going to reflect on what you can do to have your financial data in the right shape to make access to any sort of funding options a lot easier.

Let’s look at one example of this new age of lending. Funding Options, Business Finance Compared and Funding Xchange are online lending platforms. Here you provide details about the loan and your business and then a range of bank and non-bank lenders tender for your business if you match their criteria. The process is completely transparent. All the lenders can see the offers being made which encourages a sharper deal for the business owner.

Assuming your financial data is in an appropriate format, the application process can be very quick to access options from a range of lenders. Certainly, it is a significant time saving compared to having to fill out an application lender by lender. Funding Xchange quoted a typical week of lending where 85% of entrepreneurs applying received offers ranging between £5,000 and £250,000.

This is one exciting and accessible option for small businesses. There are plenty of others that we are discussing with our clients.

How do I get my business ready to access funding?

However, regardless of the increase in the variety of options, I believe the most important question you should consider is how do you get your business prepared to take advantage of these options. A fundamental part of this will be making more data available around the performance of small businesses. This will allow lenders to more easily understand the risk profile of a business. So up to date quality data about your business will put you at the front of the line.

By having real-time, two-way connectivity between the lender, accountant and the business owner, banks have a true understanding of their customers’ daily cashflow, further reducing the likelihood of a default on the loan. This will make it much easier to approve loans. It reduces the risk of those loans, and opens up access to capital for small business owners.

What information do I need to have about my business?

What are the key things that you need to have readily available then? It’s vital to have up to date real time management accounts. Not just last year’s accounts delivered six months after the year end. Coupled with that, you need your POS or other systems integrated into your accounting software . This will enable more insight to be provided about your wider business performance.

You also need an up to date balance sheet. Lenders want to see key assets like your receivables, inventory, physical premises or plant and machinery. They want to understand the current book value, not what you paid for them five years ago.

Visibility of the liabilities that support these assets is also crucial. Learning about creditors from who you buy stock, or hire purchases loans on vehicles, help lenders make decisions. Again, it is a real time understanding of assets and obligations that is crucial for those lenders to assess a business quickly and favourably.

You are probably taking a breath now thinking that is quite daunting. Actually, in 2016 this is all extremely achievable. The right cloud software, used well, gives savvy businesses this visibility right now. And obviously, this type of insight does not just come in handy when you are looking to borrow money. It also gives you an advantage over your competitors in making everyday business decisions. Having conversations with business owners about what is possible in this space is one of the best things about my job.

This is all you need to know about small business funding right now

In summary, the ins and outs of different funding options are not necessarily crucial to understand.

What is crucial for you to know as a business owner are two things:

There are options for lending to your business outside the main stream banks
Access to real time data about your business is crucial to put you in a position to access these options.

Please leave a comment below or get in touch with us at Chilli to discuss this topic more.

Tags: cloud accounting

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Helping Your Retail Business Thrive & Grow

Our goal with Chilli Accounting is to allow businesses to save time, stress less and get ahead. One of the key aspects of this is getting the fundamentals of business operations and administration sorted. In 2016 the first place to start is having the right technology to allow the business to thrive and grow.

Nowhere is this more important than in retail. The everyday challenges facing your business in terms of fluctuating consumer demand, cost increases and changing government regulations provide enough headaches.

Tags: xero add-ons

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More Tax Please, We’re British – Claiming Business Vehicle Expenses Made Easy

Our audience has spoken

Our Chilli Accounting blog has been going for a few months now and we’ve been getting some really good feedback. We’ve tried to share some of our thoughts about how technology is changing the accounting industry. Our focus is to show that small businesses using this technology well, assisted by the right accounting partner, are not only surviving but growing in 2016.

Tags: tax

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Start-up business finance and accounting challenges – 10 Top Tips

So you’ve made the break from the 9-5 job and taken the huge leap of starting your own business. Booyah is the appropriate response to this I think (well it would have been if I was a 1990’s Hip Hop mogul). Yet, after the initial rush, the reality of the first 12 months is a real rollercoaster journey. Among the many challenges some of the most bewildering are the tax, accounting and administration issues. We have been talking about these with a lot of our clients recently, and thought it would be worth sharing 10 startup business accounting tips for you. This list is not exhaustive, but it covers some of the issues our clients have had on their minds this year. We have also added some useful links for further reading.

Tags: business finance

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How Cloud Accounting can work for your plumbing business

Say goodbye to hours of admin

Talk to most plumbers about accounting in their business, and more than likely you’ll receive a frustrated reply. No small business owners enjoy talking about finances, and plumbers are no exception. So much time is taken up moving between jobs and picking up parts that keeping up with the admin can quickly become a nightmare. If you manage a team of people, multiply this pain accordingly!

Tags: xero add-ons

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The Future of Digital Tax is coming…..are you ready? Cloud Accounting is cool in 2016 Series Article 4

HMRC Digital Tax changes are coming

For those small business owners amongst you, the news that HMRC intends to integrate all businesses and individuals into a digital tax regime by 2020, would have been about as welcome as Michael Gove at Boris Johnson’s birthday party. The announcement has already caused a storm of controversy, with 110,000 small business owners petitioning against the change. They argue that quarterly reporting would cost time and money, whilst providing an excuse for HMRC to gain greater insight into business finances. The fear being that this will inevitably result in more frequent and higher demands for payment.

Tags: cloud accounting

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How Xero Partners enable small business growth – Cloud Accounting is cool in 2016 Series Article 3

Bring on the Add-ons for Small Business Growth

So you’ve got a successful business and you’re making some money (nice one by the way), but you’re so busy trying to stay on top of everything, that you haven’t got the time to stop and think about how you can take your business to the next level. You might not even be sure what the most profitable areas of your business are or where you need to be focusing your attention.

Tags: Xero

How to take your small business to the next level in 2017