Archive for the ‘Financial software’ Category
As Xero approaches 600,000 users worldwide, here are some notes on recent developments at Xero to help you improve your business results in 2016:
- Partner of month for December 2015 was Crunch Boards which enables forecasting and reporting
- The new + icon and search facility saves clicks and time
- Improved Fixed Assets
- Cashflow report helps businesses understand money flowing in and out of their business
- Two step authentication increases security
- Automatic invoice reminders prompt customers to pay so you don’t have to
- Billable expenses make it easy to pass on costs to customers
- Xero on Apple Watch updates you when your bank accounts change
The Xero eco-system continues to grow wand more industry specific add-ons. At the end of last year a property management system called Arthur was added.
Our support of Xero includes a 50 point Xero training programme to ensure you use the system like a pro. We can also you develop a Financial Policy for your business to ensure you have complete control and by using LivePlan we can help you improve your numbers.
I came across a story of an estate agency that nearly went bust after having almost £2m stolen by the bookkeeper over a period of five years.
From reading the newspaper report, the fraud was not spotted by the accountant because the bookkeeper forged emails from the bank to inflate the bank balances.
Here is a list of warning signs:
Lifestyle – worry if your bookkeeper drives a better car than you and enjoy luxury holidays. Yes, they may have a spouse or partner who earns lots of money, or they may have benefited from an inheritance but perhaps your business are paying their bills.
Missing paperwork – be suspicious if paperwork always seems to be missing and misfiled and only your bookkeeper can find it.
Increased responsibility – be cautious if your bookkeeper volunteers or pushes to accept great responsibility (and control) with accounting matters.
Management accounts – be a little concerned if your bookkeeper should not necessarily produce your management accounts. It is easier for them to cover up their fraud.
Control – alarm bells can start tinkling if you bookkeeper wants control of all finance matters from invoicing to credit control and banking.
No holidays – be wary if your bookkeeper never has a holiday or insists no no-one doing the books while they are away.
Vices – be very concerned if your bookkeeper shows signs of heavy drinking or gambling.
Confusion – be concerned if the numbers don’t make sense. If you think you are making more profit than the accounts show dig and dig until you find an answer.
One thing you can consider doing is paying Sackmans to complete a check of your bookkeeping one year. Another strategy is to build in some internal controls. Either way we can help.
Good news for small businesses, PayPal will be launching a portable chip and PIN device soon.
Using the brand name “Here” the small device can be used anywhere in combination with a smartphone via Bluetooth.
Aimed at small businesses, who have normally had to rely on cash and cheque, Here enables them to accept PayPal, debit and credit cards wherever they are.
This could be on your market stall, shop, restaurant or taxi. You could even take money from someone you meet in the pub!
You could start to have a mobile sales force or have multiple tills.
Businesses will also be able to use the PayPal Here to log cash/cheques and send invoices and receipts. And, because PayPal links to Xero Accounting Software the bookkeeping process is streamlined.
The really good news is that unlike traditional chip and PIN devices, PayPal Here does not require a contract or ongoing fees. There will be an upfront cost and a small fee per transaction like when using PayPal online.
Could this be a “game changer” for small businesses?
PayPal Here will let you offer your customers another way to pay while saving them the hassle of taking cash and cheques to the bank.
It is also more secure uses fully encrypted Chip and PIN technology and is backed by our world-class risk and fraud management systems. So, you and your customers can get on with doing business, knowing that all financial information is kept secure.
To register when PayPal Here goes live click here.
