Xero allows Target Accountants to work 'in' their clients' businesses - to offer valuable real-time advice
March 2008
Target Accountants understand that it's not enough to just 'do' the accounts for their clients. They want to be involved, as part of their clients' businesses, so that they offer a real, differentiated value to the service they provide. They like to work closely with owner / managers to define their business strategy, and help them to achieve this.
Very much positioning themselves as 'trusted advisers', Target set out to make their clients have an up-to-date understanding of their businesses, and offer advice and make recommendations based on this close monitoring. Before they had Xero, though, it was very difficult for Target to offer a real-time service, and have it work really effectively.
When using PC-based accounting software, Target Accountants have to rely on physical updates from their clients before they can offer advice. Andrew Sandiford, Head of Business Advisory and Assurance at Target, explains:
"With clients using a PC-based accounts package, we have to wait for them to send us their up-to-date accounts transactions, and sometimes this literally arrives as a CD in the post - not very timely, and certainly not very secure! Then we have to look at data that is probably out of date, as the client will have been adding new transactions at their end already. This process makes us feel physically 'apart' from our clients too, as all this happens without us visiting their offices, or getting daily or weekly updates on transactions in the accounts. It makes it hard to establish ourselves as an integral part of the businesses for clients, and we remain very much as 'outsiders'."
Andrew feels that Xero eliminates all the problems of not feeling 'part of the client's business' for his accountants: "With Xero, you can access a client's accounts at any time. More importantly, you know you are looking at the same 'version' of the accounts as the client because there is only one ledger. Xero is fantastic for us, as it means we can offer 'real-time' advice, basing our recommendations on the up-to-date financial data we can see. This is where we start to add extra value to the relationship we have with a client. We are there to find anomalies, report on exceptions, or spot potential areas for concern. We can keep an eye on the sort of KPIs that a business owner might not understand the significance of - margins and debtor days for example. At Target Accountants, this is what our service is all about - being an integral, trusted and valuable part of a business. Using PC-based accounts software, we can be perceived by clients as 'just' accountants; but with Xero we're valuable, trusted advisers. There is a big difference."
Andrew also recognises that there is another important benefit for his clients' using Xero - the in-built security, as he comments:
"With Xero, you also don't have any security issues of lost CDs, or even the client's PC being broken, as Xero automatically backs up every day, so there is no danger of any vital data being lost. This also goes for us too - we know that all client data we are working with is secure on Xero."
Because Xero is online, it means that accountants in any of Target's four offices can access the accounts of clients anywhere in the UK (or worldwide if they are international). Each Target office does not necessarily have clients local to it, so remote internet access to client's accounts using Xero is extremely useful.
Being easy to use is key to Xero's success at Target Accountants, as Andrew is keen to point out:
"Xero is simple and easy to use by bookkeepers, administrators and also owner/managers of businesses, which means the information in the system is always accurate and up-to-date (which is far less likely if it's complicated to use!). At the same time, Xero is complex enough for us as accountants to bring out all the necessary accounting information we need to analyse performance, and produce detailed reports and final accounts. A lot of online systems I have looked at before are also easy, but they are too simplistic for Accountants; they are simply bookkeeping systems online. In this situation we would then need to take out all of the bookkeeping data and manipulate it to produce reports and accounts which just creates more work. With Xero, accountants and small businesses use the same system which makes complete sense."
Andrew continues, "Xero is a proper, fully-fledged online business information service. It's not just PC accounts software that is hosted online. We want to offer the best service to our clients - we know what they value and what is useful to them, and using Xero we have found the best way of delivering this. There are also no upgrade costs with Xero, no IT investment required - provided the client can access the internet, then that's all they need. Clients can also have as many users as they want on the system, which means no need to set up mini networks and file-sharing. They just invite a new user (or adviser) into Xero online, and that's it. It's easy, which is why it's so good!"
Target see themselves as Financial “Guardian Angels” to businesses, and this is now possible using Xero, as Andrew explains:
"We can keep an eye on client's accounts as and when we want to; we can just login and look at what their current financial situation is, and contact them as required. We offer the monitoring services of an FD to companies that could not afford that level of expertise otherwise. But we can only do this because of how Xero works."
As to what using Xero means for his Accountancy firm, Andrew is clear: "Xero offers us the unique chance to really be integral to our clients' businesses like we have never been before. We will add greater value to the relationships we have with existing clients, and I know this will mean we attract more clients in the future."
With over 200 employees in 4 locations, Target Accountants specialises in working with owner / managers and entrepreneurial businesses. In the Business Advisory Team there are 70 people. Target will have 3-4 Xero experts in each of their offices, working closely with clients to offer real-time financial advice.
