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Checkfront Software For Hotels

If you are fortunate enough to work within the hospitality industry and in particular within a hotel as a concierge for example then here at A&C Chartered Accountants we are driven to help you get the very best out of your accounting practices by using a Xero powered setup.  Our aim is to help you build a tailored piece of software that will allow you to both streamline and automate certain areas of your business to make them work more effectively.

The hospitality industry is well renowned for its hustle and bustle and as you would expect customer service it of the upmost importance which is why we are totally committed on helping you to streamline as many aspects as we possibly can to help keep that customer happy which is your ultimate goal at the end of the day.

In the hotel industry already we have helped a number of businesses to break away from the more traditional accounting concepts and standards and fully embrace the new technology that is used by Xero.  The power of Xero cloud accounting is second to none – especially when you combine it with the latest cutting edge web application called Checkfront.

Checkfront software essentially allows you to manage all of your online bookings, manage availability, automate payments  and invoices and a lot more – all whilst seamlessly integrating with Xero.  This cloud based platform will ultimately take the hassle out of online payments and reservations.  It essentially makes managing your business online a complete breeze without the added hassle and cost of setting up your own expensive bespoke platform.  By simply allowing us to integrate Checkfront software with your website you will be opening up an entire new world with the ability to manage your availability, automate payments all from the extremely simple to use online and mobile ready app which can be activated by plugging straight into your Xero account.

Add to this the functionality that Xero Cloud accounting brings you and the numerous add on potentials like Checkout mentioned above for example you will soon start to see the advantaged that come with the package.  As a concierge you will be able to offer a more personable service whilst maintain the key factor which is that the customer is number 1.

If you are interested in taking your business to the next level and would like to find out more about how the Xero cloud based accounting system can help you within the hotel industry please get in touch today – we would love to hear from you!  We can guarantee that xero is more than sure to give you powerful automation, collaboration and accounting flexibility that is simply cannot be matched by any rival provider.  This will allow you to remain in firm control of your financial data while still managing to have it available in real time at the touch of a button.

So what are you waiting for? Contact our cloud-based team. We are waiting to hear from you and are more than ready to take your accounting and business practices into the cloud and beyond!

By Katie Insights • • • • • 0 Comments

Clio Software For Legal Practices

As part of working within a legal practice there is as you would completely understand a large amount of paperwork that constantly needs completing.  There are legal documents for this, legal documents for that and even legal documents for your legal documents!  Here at A&C Chartered Accountants our aim is to help make your business run as smoothly and efficiently as possible allowing you to give your customers the best service possible without cutting any corners and leaving them feeling second best.

It is our partnership with Xero that allows us to provide accounting solutions for legal practices that include all of the benefits you would come to expect with Xero Cloud Accounting.   We can help to ensure that the setup is fully capable of meeting all of the demands of a legal practice such as tracking staff time to the creation and sending out of invoices.

Already A&C Chartered Accountants have helped literally dozens of legal practices to make the switch to one of our Xero powered accounts and improve their workflow tenfold.

Add to this the ability to enable additional plug ins to fully integrate with Xero Cloud Accounting and you will start to see just how powerful this software really is.  For example if we were to mention a specialist cloud app called Clio which integrates with a number of major service providers including our very own Xero and how it allows a legal practice to save time and effort throughout all aspects of the daily grind.  It specifically focuses on the ability to combine powerful time and billing management with collaborative features that in turn allows your staff and clients to benefit from the improved workflow.

As you would expect there are already thousands of lawyers using the powerful application that is clio.  Add to that the ability that Clio software has to seamlessly integrate with Xero Cloud Accounting and you will see that you will already have an advantage over a lot of other legal practices that you are in competition with.  Also, it won’t take long for word to spread throughout the industry once you start to get more and more completely satisfied customers who are recommending you and your companies services.

If you are interested in taking your business to the next level and would like to find out more about how the Xero cloud based accounting system can help you as a legal practice please get in touch today – we would love to hear from you!  We can guarantee that xero is more than sure to give you powerful automation, collaboration and accounting flexibility that is simply cannot be matched by any rival provider.  This will allow you to remain in firm control of your financial data
while still managing to have it available in real time at the touch of a button.

So what are you waiting for – our cloud based team are waiting to hear from you and are more than ready to take your accounting and business practices into the cloud and beyond!

By Katie Insights • • • • • 0 Comments

Time to save you and your business money on your foreign exchange

Now is the time for you and your small business to avoid the scandalous and hefty bank fees when paying foreign currency invoices. How? By integrating XERO and TransferWise to handle your Foreign Currency (FX) invoices.

It’s now possible for any small business to save upto a whopping 89% when dealing with TransferWise (a London based foreign exchange transfer company) by integrating and paying invoices directly through XERO. Avoiding hefty 3-6% commissions from banks, businesses are offered a fair mid-market exchange rate and charged a small, transparent fee of no more than 0.5%.

How does XERO integrate and work with TransferWise?

It’s quite simple. XERO customers can now sign up and log in to TransferWise (invested in by Richard Branson) and now see their outstanding foreign currency invoices in XERO. Now it’s simply a matter of selecting the invoice, and choosing whether to pay by a bank transfer or debit card payment through the TransferWise system.

Payments have a 24 hour window, where the transfer exchange rate is locked to the agreed rate, and payments need to be made to TransferWise within that 1 day allotted time frame to secure the cost saving. Payments typically arrive to the foreign account within 1 – 2 business days, much faster than typical bank to bank payments.

Entirely on auto pilot an email is sent to the recipient to inform them that money is on it’s way to them, and again when payment has been made. Inside XERO, the system automatically reconciles the bill for you. Saving you money, time and stress.

xero transfer wise

Who is TransferWise for?

The TransferWise add-on is currently available for Xero customers in the United Kingdom and United States. Customers can pay invoices in 25 currencies to 46 countries.

Let’s Get Started

If you would like to speak to us about how we can streamline your foreign exchange payments, whilst saving you money, then simply contact us now.

If you already have a cloud accounting XERO account with us here at AccountancyAnywhere and you would like to integrate your setup with TransferWise manually, simply head on over to Transfer Wise Xero and log into your TransferWise and XERO accounts.Fees are calculated for each individual transaction and the mid-market exchange rate and transparent fees are always shown upfront.

To learn more about the fantastic and exciting benefits of TransferWise teamed up with XERO cloud accounting then feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 333 123 3234

 

By Katie Insights • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Take a walk in the cloud…

Why should accounting and tax professionals take a walk in the cloud

geoopMost of us generally make use of ‘the cloud’ in our daily personal lives. From streaming music or movies, or accessing emails or sharing photo’s we’re very much deeply engaged in accessing and using cloud technology each and every day. Most of us don’t think twice about using a mobile device (phone or tablet) for many completing so many tasks – even online shopping. It is this introduction of cloud computing technology that has totally shifted the global consumer market in both behaviour and expectations.

Cloud Accounting

AA_Digital-SectorAccording to a 2014 survey by Network Management Group Inc. and Insight Research Group, 41 percent of professional accounting firms reported that they were not currently using any services or applications that could be defined as cloud computing, with 31.7 percent saying they are likely to implement a Web-hosted or cloud-based version of one or more of their firm’s tax and accounting applications over the next two years. But is that enough? Is the sector of accounting seriously falling behind while the world moves on and demands true cloud accounting power? We believe so…

What accounting firms need to understand, is quite simply, the demand is already here and the consumer is often more clued up than the service provider. It is this demand for cloud accounting that has put XERO on the world growth map as one of the leading and fastest growing SME accountancy software firms rapidly swallowing up more and more market share.

When we look at overall consumer behaviour, like a recent study by Internet World Stats and Pew Research Center, Internet penetration is at 87 percent for adults, with 18-29 year olds at 97 percent. Given the connectivity of clients and prospects, it’s unquestionably time for accounting firms to understand what the cloud is all about and take full advantage of its benefits.

So, what is the “cloud” and the future of “cloud accounting”?

AA_PartnersCloud computing technology has soared in popularity over the past 5 years in particular. Just what is the ‘cloud’ and how can it benefit us when it comes to accounting in the cloud – both for the accountant service provider, as well as the SME business owner?

The ‘cloud’ actually refers to an entire network of computers, servers and data storage that allows a user to access information via the internet from anywhere in the world with internet connection at any time of day. The flexibility is hard to describe without experiencing it. Cloud technology really does mean that so long as you have an internet enabled device (smartphone, tablet, computer etc) you can access files, information, data and so on literally at any time and from any location. Cloud service providers maintain the hardware necessary for digitally storing software and data, allowing users to upload, download and access files 24/7 without limits.

An example of many cloud applications (cloud apps) that we integrate, work with, and have become partners of are listed here: cloud apps.

For the tax and accounting profession, cloud services for cloud accounting can mean securely storing accounting, billing and time management software online, and using the cloud to store client data and information safely. But in the accounting world, does the cloud really have advantages over traditional methods? Yes, and there are several reasons why…

Efficiency, Convenience & Flexibility
With information able to be accessed anywhere, from any location literally around the world, from any device, there is no better way to share accounting information between client and accountant. Both the SME business owner enjoys a resulting bonus of greater efficiency due to total flexibility, and so is the accounting practice afforded the same boost – being able to share information between departments and offices with greater speed and flexibility. As a SME business owner having the convenience to log in and see that business data and insights instantly from anywhere is practically imperative to any business success these days.

Cost Saving
Moving to the cloud can save considerable headaches for both the SME business owner, as well as the accounting firm – allowing for streamlining on IT technology costs and training, as well as gross offline software fees being eradicated. Annual maintenance fees can be dispensed with in favour of more affordable monthly pay-as-you go models for cloud applications. Cloud services can also reduce the need for in-house IT staff, as cloud vendors handle server and software maintenance, as well as tech support. Vendors also typically handle system upgrades, which happen automatically, giving you immediate access to updated software.

Time Saving
Cloud accounting can seriously reduce time invested by both parties. The SME business owner can eradicate so many lengthy and time consuming tasks, with even the simplest of things such as taking a photograph of receipts using the XERO app to record expenses, all the way up to the software calculating VAT returns, and daily bank reconciliation to keep on top of debtors and so forth. The time saving benefits of cloud accounting are too immense to discuss here, and we will dedicate an entire article to this benefit. Needless to say, the ‘cost’ saving from great efficiency of time investment is critical to the business owner of today.

Reliability & Safety
With the rapid adoption of cloud services and cloud apps in so many industries and sectors has given rise to an explosion of increased focus on data security. Cloud data is typically far more secure these days than data held on your local device such as laptop as it has been by so many people for so many years. Security breaches like those experienced by major retailers, while widely publicised, do not reflect the low possibility that a reputable cloud vendor would be hacked. However, it is important to choose a reputable vendor that has been in the business for at least three to five years. Because it’s a nascent industry, vendors do tend to come and go.

Cloud vendors not only store data in a centralised offsite location, but they often keep copies of your information in one or two other locations for additional backup. The systems are typically self-healing, meaning that if there is a failure at one site you can immediately access the same data via another location.

Expectations
AA_ServicesThe widespread use of cloud technology in the consumer space is driving its transition across numerous industries—and that includes tax and accounting for cloud accounting service providers. Because consumers, as well as internal staff, are expecting cloud apps and cloud services to be the norm, we feel it is crucial to be at the forefront of leading the cloud accounting revolution in the UK.

If you are a SME business owner looking to boost your productivity, efficiency, competitiveness and save money – you should consider our cloud accounting technology and services. Contact us now to discuss how we can help your business grow.