Redstone Alliance is a growing accounting practice in Singapore, the majority of their clients are startups that rely on their advice and guidance to navigate complex compliance and business growth issues. Since moving to QuickBooks Online the practice has achieved many productivity savings which provides more time for advisory and client training. They quickly found that providing training was a great way to build client relationships and cross sell their services which has impacted bottom line results.
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ACCOUNTANT CASE STUDY | INTUIT QUICKBOOKS | SINGAPORE
QuickBooks training services driving growth for expanding practice.
Jason Heng
Accountant and Business Development Manager,
Redstone Alliance Singapore
Overview
Results at a glance
Client Satisfaction
Reports are automatically sent to clients on a regular basis. They find the reports easy to understand and a useful business management tool.
Practice Growth
Providing QuickBooks training has added a new revenue stream to the business and proved to be a good way to attract new clients.
Improved Cashflow
Having a real-time view of outstanding invoices and automatic payment reminders has drastically improved cashflow.
QuickBooks Online is a powerful accounting solution that is really user friendly, I have no hesitation in recommending it to any business owner.
Introduction
Redstone Alliance is a growing accounting practice with 10 staff, they provide corporate financial advisory services to Singapore SMEs. Because the majority of their clients are startups they focus on providing cost-effective and value for money services that support compliance and business growth.
The problem
The firm was established when two smaller practices merged. The original two practices were using different accounting solutions and they realised they needed to select one unified solution. They knew the future of the new firm would be driven by changing client needs so an accounting solution that was agile and scalable was crucial.
The boost to staff capacity that QuickBooks Online Accountant provides made it the clear winner, it allows us to get more done, with less people by streamlining our workflows.
The solution
The accounting solutions that each practice were using performed the basic accounting functions well.
One was a clear winner though when it came to delivering efficiencies within the firm and providing tools that will help them better support their clients. That was QuickBooks Online Accountant.
Once the merger was complete, all inefficient and manual processes were eliminated. The team had time to focus on developing additional advisory services that would support growth and boost profitability.
QuickBooks Online provides exceptional tools for business advisory, which enables us to more thoroughly analyse client data, identify opportunities and interpret the data for planning.
QuickBooks Training
Jason and the team were so impressed with QuickBooks online that they quickly became part of the QuickBooks Writer and Trainer Network. Getting involved with QuickBooks training helped to grow the practice and also strengthen client relationships. “Many of our clients are startups and attend QuickBooks training with no accounting background, it’s so easy to learn the system that within 4 hours they fully understand how to use the system for their needs,” said Mr. Heng.
Conducting QuickBooks training has proven to be a great way to support new clients and grow the practice. As many of the Redstone Alliance clients are startups, they grow quickly and struggle to find the time to manage their financials and often move to a monthly retainer.
Providing QuickBooks online training to our clients is a really effective tool to cross sell our services
Managing Debtors
Managing debtors has also improved because QBOA tracks and displays the status of every invoice and its due date. QuickBooks Online sends three automatic reminders which has assisted in reducing late payments.
Clients appreciate the ability to customize invoices to match their branding. They also like being able to see the time an invoice was opened by the recipient. This feature is a major selling point because it helps with the management of debtors and cashflow.
“With QuickBooks Online we can assist clients to manage their debtors. We have a real-time view of outstanding invoices when previously some clients were tracking this information in spreadsheets,” said Mr. Heng.
Reporting
The graphical reports are well received by clients. They find the information much easier to interpret and understand when it is displayed in graphs. Keeping clients informed is effortless because reports can be customised and automatically sent to clients. The automated reporting has drastically improved productivity and enhanced client service levels.
Jason is also impressed with the management reports available, he says “If I am having a meeting with a CEO it’s quick and easy to print out some good looking reports to take to the meeting.”
GST reporting and planning is easy for clients in QuickBooks, it links directly to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and our clients simply copy and paste the figures onto the web page.
The GST functionality in QuickBooks is one of the best GST modules I have seen and one of the reasons we use the system, it’s effortless for our clients to see what is owed and plan for their GST payments.
Access
Clients have embraced the QuickBooks app and appreciate the anywhere and anytime access it provides. They like the flexibility of being able to send invoices and estimates on the go, as well as the convenience of checking stock levels and accounts payable from their smart phone.
Summary
The increasing use of technology at Redstone Alliance has provided them with more time to explore productivity improvements and continues to support their expanding practice. They find that having a contemporary accounting solution that looks fresh, is easy to use and collaborate with clients is essential.
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