Don’t get carried away with the bells and whistles

It’s easy to be seduced by new technology.

In the accountancy world, ‘Cloud’ is the thing. It’s been around for ages but recently it has come of age. It’s on the telly. It’s advertised as, Beautiful’. Your accounts and tax return are a breeze, completed seemingly in one click.

As enthusiastic adopters of Cloud software we’ve promoted it to our clients and in a relatively short period of time its become our preferred way of working. The benefits are clear to us - more automation, faster and easier processing, better accessibility for our clients.

Every now and then you get a reality check though. 

I met with a client this week and we were discussing her services for the coming year. I threw in, ‘Now we’re using this cloud software you can login any time and anywhere to view your financials’. 

She’s a busy, successful business owner and her response put me in my place, ‘The last thing I need is another login. I want you guys to send me a simple report, when I need it which gives me an overview of my results and actions needed’. 

She went on, ‘This is all about making it easier for you, not me’.

Bam! 

She’s right of course. Certainly about the first part. What is important is how she wants to receive her financial information. A login doesn’t work for her. She wants us to prepare management accounts at the frequency and timing she needs to manage the business, So that’s what we will do. The technology is the enabler, rather than the solution.

On the second point, the technology undoubtedly makes things easier for accountants. It does help us to a better job and do more of what matters - advising on financial performance and being proactive.

As a business owner I’m also a user of the new technology. 

We’ve adopted the cloud for our own accounts and yes, I have my own login. Do I use it regularly? I must confess its more of an occasional thing if I need to check a particular aspect of the accounts. Like my client, I’m a bit ‘old school’. I prefer a monthly discipline of a printed management accounts report which I can review in detail with another team member and take action accordingly.

Each to their own. 

My meeting with my client was a timely reminder and wake up call that new technology is great but in accountancy (and in business) it’s still ‘all about the numbers’.

www.base52.co.uk

Thinking big, acting small

When we first started our accounting firm we hired a marketing agency.

They were far too expensive and too much of a luxury for our little start up so the relationship only lasted a year or two. We did learn some lessons though. Firstly the importance of having regular and consistent marketing activities and secondly setting ourselves up as being different from our competitors and ‘acting small’.

One example that sticks in my head is our process for answering the phone. If we were in the office, we always answered the phone and if we were free we spoke to the caller, whoever it was. No filtering, no screening - if someone asked for us by name, if we were in and available, we would be happy to take the call.

We’ve grown a bit in the intervening years but our process is pretty much the same, although I confess we do screen out obvious sales calls.

We’ve all been on the other end of more difficult calls, ‘Is he expecting your call?’, ‘Will he know what it’s about?’, ‘I’ll just check for you...no, he’s tied up at the moment I’m afraid, would you like to leave a message?’

Our clunky analogue phone system has just about had its day though.

We’ve expanded a bit recently so the team is spread in different rooms throughout a large building. If someone calls on the main phone we don’t have the wherewithal to transfer them to some of the more remote outreaches of our office. It’s not quite working.

So we think its time for a more modern system with Direct Dial numbers for the various teams and wait for it...an automated switchboard. The challenge is how can we continue to give a courteous and friendly reception to callers whilst making the system practical and effective?

We’ll be working on this. 

I think avoiding too many layers on the call answering options is critical and we definitely don’t want callers to get stuck in a queue listening to something like, ‘Money for nothing’ by Dire Straits for an indeterminate period of time or worse still, giving them a choice of hip hop, pop or chill out music. We want the technology to help not hinder.

So if you call us in a month or two and an automated message says, ‘Press 1 if you are an existing client...’, please don’t hang up. Stick with it and we promise you will very quickly be able to speak to a real person.

It’s progress we think and we will be doing our best to keep acting small and giving you a personalised service.

www.base52.co.uk

Early Adopters, Laggards and those in between

I used to work with an Early Adopter. 

No, I mean a real Early Adopter. He loved the newest of new technology. Whether it was the latest phone, the latest palm pilot (as it was back then), he was first in. It didn’t matter that it was pricey or still in Beta version with all the glitches. He had to have it. So he did.

It must be nearly 20 years ago now since we were working together and he was taking notes using a writing gadget on a rudimentary tablet. They are now mainstream with Smart Pencils and other tools and Apps but he was well ahead of the curve.

My tech-loving work colleague has gone on to be a senior director in the world of marketing and social media. Being at the ‘bleeding edge’ has done him no harm at all.

I’m not like that. I’m always interested, but whether its work or play, I usually wait for something to be tried and tested before I dive in and have a go.

There is a ‘Technology Adoption Life Cycle’ which describes the different categories of behaviour types. These range from Innovator and Early Adopter through to the Late Majority and Laggards. Laggards only come along screaming and kicking after the new technology becomes mainstream. Typically they will still be watching Betamax videos and playing their vinyl records. On the latter, the cycle came around again and they could argue they were the innovators. But that is the exception.

Usually the Innovators and Early Adopters win in the market place. They take the pain and make the mistakes but keep learning and stay ahead of the pack. So when the Early Majority join in they are already on to the next thing. 

Being slightly late isn’t always a bad thing. Being too late is disastrous. 

So in the business world, when the Early Majority ‘wake up and smell the coffee’, if they act quickly and decisively and embrace the new technology or process which is disrupting their market, they can still exploit the new opportunity at the expense of the Late Majority and the Laggards. 

Technology is disrupting the accountancy sector in a big way at the moment. Cloud software has been around for a long time but is really now coming into its own. Why would you use a clunky desk-top package when you can have a cloud package where you can view your accounts from any device, at any time and it is always up to date? Scanning software too is taking the drudgery out of bookkeeping by removing the need to key in receipts. 

I have to admit that we have not been first out of the blocks with this. We have had our cautious accountant’s hat on and observed closely how things have developed. HMRC’s “Making Tax Digital’ initiative has also changed the landscape by making the adoption of accounting software a necessity for small businesses.

Our instinct has been to go with our clients on this and move at a pace they feel comfortable with. We will continue to do this but I think they expect us to lead and guide them, which is what we intend to do. 

On a personal level I have my new tablet now with the whizzy drawing pencil for my notes. I’m 20 years behind my old work colleague but I’m embracing it enthusiastically. 

Who knows, I might just try out one of those new-fangled Smart Watch things very soon.

www.base52.co.uk