xerocon Archives - AdvanceTrack Outsourcing

Posted on 29th July 202229th July 2022 by Vipul Sheth

Our first face-to-face Xerocon in several years was fun and joyous, but the tone – while optimistic – was serious.

Tobacco Dock, the venue for Xero’s big UK event, was far different venue to that of a hotel conference room. What were old storage rooms became pods for Xero’s app exhibitors (including AdvanceTrack); while the central courtyards provided much relief against the heat, creating a carnival-like atmosphere.

However, the context was a stagnating economy, high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. And of course, MTD ITSA. Can accountancy firms act as ‘digital consultants’? asked Xero’s UK and EMEA managing director Alex von Schirmeister.

Sole traders and micro businesses are the seed for creativity and graspers of new models to serve markets. And they want accountants to support them in that journey of growth. So… can you, as an adviser, steer them through the compliance hurdles they face? And, then, develop that relationship to offer timely and strategic support?

It’s not easy. MTD is proving to be a moving feast. The practitioners we spoke to at Xerocon are looking at ways to make both themselves, and their clients, ready as soon as possible. They don’t want nasty surprises when MTD ITSA goes live. But, unfortunately, we’re still waiting on some of the fine detail.

Xero’s big launch was Xero Go – a ‘freemium’ app to create an entry point for the millions of sole traders to better manage and capture income and expenses data.

While it’s very early days, it’s clear that Xero Go is one of the steps needed to offer a quick and easy platform for the smallest businesses to begin the vital process of capturing that information.

Accountants have so much on their plate. Being a ‘digital consultant’ requires a very important first step – understanding your own tech and processes. Your clients need help to both understand how to capture information – but, where automation isn’t possible, to get in the habit of opening up Tax Go, or whatever other capture tool is used.

There is an argument that this flow of extra information to HMRC will be of little use to the taxman. However, as we’ve suggested previously: building more links, consistently, between client and adviser should be a good thing – at least something that the practice can leverage.

We’d love to help you manage the increase in scale of client touchpoints – it’s what we do for a living. If you’d like to speak to us about improving your practice’s processes and workflow, contact us here.

Posted on 5th May 202229th July 2022 by Vipul Sheth

Conference season is fast-approaching… and that brings about a mix of emotions.

For some, it’s an exciting time to meet and greet, to find out about new technologies, and attend insightful sessions. It is a tiring time, too, and ‘conference fatigue’ can set in quite quickly.

While there were some events last year, they were very much within the context of Covid restrictions. This year feels like it will be the first conference season ‘proper’ since 2019.

I recently wrote a blog on why communication and strong relationships are absolutely vital to what we do at AdvanceTrack. It is therefore logical that myself and the team love to take the opportunities provided to meet people across at events time.

On 10 May we have our own annual conference, taking place at the National Gallery in London. We want you, your people and your practice to grow, and that will be the focus of discussions on the day. We’ve a host of speakers on board, including Paul Shrimpling, Matt Flanagan, and Aynsley Damery – while the major software platforms will also be represented.

Across 11-12 May we have the one and only Accountex. I’m really looking forward to discussing tech and outsourcing as ‘essential components of a great practice’, from the Accountants in Practice Theatre at 1600.

Then there’s Xerocon across 20-21 July, where we shall also be exhibiting.

Some people struggle to value the opportunity to attend such events. And, as I mentioned earlier, they can be very tiring – and chaotic.

Ultimately, it’s impossible to learn about new technology, understand how it will fit into your organisation, meet vendors and service providers, and sign on the dotted line, all in a day. Attending a conference gives you an opportunity to build some insight, network with people you haven’t seen for a while (if at all), and look into the whites of the eyes of vendors – perhaps you have a tough question to put to them, or need something clarifying about their proposition.

In others words, these events are stepping stones in a process, and should also be viewed as supporting your continuing professional development (and your practice’s development).

Whatever stage you are at in your thinking, we would love to see you and have a chat. I’m out and about at these conferences so there are plenty of chances to catch up.

We understand that, as practitioners, a huge part of your offering is around communication and insight – we’d love to share some of our thoughts and advice with you. See you there!

Posted on 5th March 20205th March 2020 by Vipul Sheth

In September, we were at Xerocon Brisbane. Whilst we were there, we had the opportunity to catch up with our Australian clients, see some new faces and get the latest updates in tech.

The biggest move we noticed in Australia is the increasing move into SMSF and bookkeeping for clients by accounting firms. Clients want a holistic service from their trusted friend – their accountant!

Often the two go hand in hand and firms are increasingly asking us to manage the SMSF record keeping for the individual fund, but more importantly, the business owner wants the accountant to look after the business’ financial records. This trend, which started a while back is turning into a flood, with businesses recognising that their energies are best spent in driving their business forward.

Their accountant is now better able to help clients with Cashflow management using tools like Float, Fluidly, Fathom and Futrli for example. They can do this, because they are responsible for the regular production of management accountants, all enabled through technology. This was a very important growth area.

In 2018 we wrote about the top three issues facing Australian firms.

Talking with professionals this year in Brisbane we found that outsourcing is becoming more of an accepted way to deliver work. Some firms also wanted to hear about our dedicated offshore resource.

But most successful firms among them have truly embraced the fact that their role has changed.

They’re outsourcing as default, from compliance through to reporting, so that they can have a consistently proactive rather than reactive relationship with their clients.

What moved them to make this decision?

1. They realised they’re not in the business of accounting

What?

A confusing statement for an audience of accountants.

Our friends at GoProposal wrote a really great blog titled ‘You’re no longer in the Accounting business’.

It’s just as true in Australia as it is in the UK, perhaps even more so.

When we meet accountants we often find ourselves asking them – what is it that your clients want? Yes, they want to save tax. Yes, they want to know that their affairs are sorted. But what do they really want? What are their goals for the growth of their business, for their family, for their future.

The successful firms are now in the bigger-picture business. They’re having conversations with their clients about the things that really matter.

There’s a growing demand for wealth management advice

One of those bigger picture conversations that’s in demand more and more in Australia is wealth management. There’s an increasing need for advice in personal and business wealth strategy, pensions and retirement, and many accountancy firms are filling the gap by moving into wealth advisory services.

As more individuals manage their own pensions with a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), the work involved is also rapidly growing for those accountants who have moved into the wealth space. This means two things:

The firm will be pushed to deliver more compliance work
The firm owner needs to free up more time firm-wide to have bigger conversations with clients and offer more value

As these two things happen in tandem, it means more training, stronger systems and consistent processes. This is where the need for outsourcing has become more than just offloading compliance work. At AdvanceTrack, our goal is to help you create the business structure to have the very best conversations with your clients.

2. They understood they need to create the right environment for today’s staff

We partner with firms in the UK and AUS/NZ and we’re seeing that the same issues arise when it comes to staff retention. Once qualified, if not pushed to their potential, staff are leaving smaller practices for the big accountancy firms or migrating to tech companies.

Australia is further along than the UK in digital development, and the tech space is an attractive option for graduates who are now learning to add value at an earlier stage in their career.

At the same time, we’re seeing desktop software being discontinued. BGL, Australia’s leading SMSF admin software, has retired its desktop product in December.

It’s adapt or be overtaken when it comes to transitioning to new technologies and giving clients real-time information. Business owners can access their finances at the click of a button now, meaning that roles have changed whether we like it or not. Cloud integration specialist, Chief Data Officer, Virtual FD – These are the next generation of job titles.

Your staff already don’t want to be stuck delivering low-level work now, and they won’t want to be stuck delivering low-level work in the future. And remember, it’s not why you became an accountant either!

The firms who are seeing real growth realised early on that their people are working at the wrong level, and they’re outsourcing their core services to make room for more skilled, challenged and satisfied staff.

Ask yourself these two questions

If you’re stuck in a compliance cycle right now, and you can’t see a way out of the hamster wheel, first ask yourself:

What do my clients really want?
What do my staff really want?

Then take a look at how you can go about joining the global community of firms on this outsourcing journey, and realise your new potential as an evolved accountant.

Posted on 11th December 201829th November 2018 by Vipul Sheth

AdvanceTrack makes an impression as attendees want to know more

Xerocon 2018, held in London’s ExCeL, was another important date for the AdvanceTrack team. With several thousand people in attendance at the continually growing show, we were kept very busy – fortunately we had a couple of existing clients on hand to help talk through what we do to attendees curious to know more about us.

Xero director Damon Anderson spoke about its big news: the acquisitions of accounts prep and tax filing provider Instafile, and financial document ‘fetcher’ system HubDoc. “These acquisitions place compliance at the core of Xero,” he said.

But what does such technology mean? Does it mean outsourcing won’t be for you, with it easier kept in-house? For AdvanceTrack MD Vipul Sheth, any technology that enables accounting practitioners to have access to client data more accurately and quickly is a boon.

“Once practitioners understand how technology improves efficiency, and the data is in the cloud, it becomes so collaborative between us,”
said Sheth. “Previously a client had to do work to package it up; now they just provide us with a login. Firms can give us so much more information and utilise us as a resource – we know that resource is finite in the UK. So our proposition becomes more valuable and compelling.”

Anderson also addressed the issue of potentially ‘treading on their app partners’ toes’.

“There’s no sign of our ecosystem slowing down; there are huge opportunities,” said Anderson. “We work with lots of providers – we complement them and don’t compete. They are specialists.”

Brendan Woods, CEO and founder of invoice and receipt capture provider AutoEntry, said the “market is as vibrant as ever”.

“Cloud was the top priority, but it’s now about trying to remove manual process and transforming processes (see main feature on pages 2-3). There’s no end to the success stories – but the key is making a commitment to change,” he said.

“Very often it’s the clients putting their toe into the water… are you going to walk away from a client? Either you help them or you don’t – so practices get dragged forward,” Woods concluded.