How Xero can be used in the financial services:

A business in the financial services industry, came to me to help them move onto Xero and then to do their virtual bookkeeping for them.  They were using a desktop finance system that was just not working out for them, as they had consultants on the ground who needed current information while on site with the client.  Xero does this very well!

Their bookkeeper was retiring so they decided this was a good time to implement the change.

They were not in a mess from a bookkeeping perspective, their books were current but the system was not what they wanted.  So I consulted with them, helped them move to Xero and then acted as their virtual bookkeeper.

This was an interesting project, as they were a dynamic business, fast moving and the owner was a true entrepreneur.  It was fun working with them.

Once the conversion was done and I started doing the books, it was soon apparent, that they were not making the profits they should.

There were many costs that should have been recharged to the client, which were being missed because, either the consultant was submitting them late, or they were just missed as the system did not make tracking easy to do.

I implemented something called tracking in Xero, by project and an expense claim system, that when the expenses were processed they were immediately assigned to a customer.  This functionality prompts you to then invoice the expenses on to the customer when you raise their next invoice.

By implementing an expense claim system and tracking in Xero, the profits increased by over £2000 a month.

Such a simple change created wonderful results!  This enabled the business owner to sell his business at a much better sale price than originally considered.