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2017 EDITION:
5 CLOUD
BOOKKEEPING
MISTAKES YOU
NEED TO AVOID
 MAKING THE MOST OF THE
CLOUD
Cloud technology has changed the way we work. It’s no longer something
that’s ‘coming in the future’ – cloud-based software is already being used
across a huge variety of industries. In fact, recent research shows that
four in five UK businesses have at least one cloud solution as part of their
wider business systems.

Clients are using cloud accounting software

Your business clients are already savvy about cloud tech. And,
increasingly, they’re moving to cloud accounting software to run their
bookkeeping and financial management.

23% of small businesses are already using cloud accounting solutions, and
a further 30% are planning to do so in the next 2-3 years. Clients know
how cloud can help their financial processes. And they have high
expectations their bookkeeper will be up to speed with cloud too.

Your competitors are already using cloud tech

Clients want an adviser who shares their digital mindset – and if your
competitors are already in the cloud, that leaves your firm at a distinct
disadvantage.

Over a third of UK accountants are already using online accounting in

some form. Failing to grasp the cloud opportunity risks falling behind the
competition and losing valuable clients.

Cloud-based firms see year-on-year growth of 14%, as opposed to 4%

growth for non-cloud practices. So if you’re ambitious about growing
your firm, the cloud is the way to go – meeting the demand for an online
bookkeeper and evolving value-add services to add new clients.

THE ADVANTAGES OF

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 CLOUD BOOKKEEPING
AND ACCOUNTING
Cloud offers the chance to create a more efficient
practice that offers more value to clients.

Spend less time on compliance work

Focus more on value-added services and business

advice for clients

Educate your staff and broaden their

business skills

Build deeper, more insightful business

relationships with clients

£ Create new packages, service offerings

and revenue streams

Work from anywhere, with 24/7 access to

your clients’ financial data

Take on more clients without raising staff

costs due to increased efficiency

Changing the
expectation of
bookkeeping
Bookkeeping needn’t be a low value function.
Moving to a cloud system gives you a seamless, efficient
bookkeeping set-up, allowing you to expand your
advisory services and add real value.

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 With your choice of accounting platform in place, and a custom set of
apps and cloud solutions, you get reliable, real-time data and can take full
advantage of working in the cloud.

Making the change from number-cruncher to financial superhero will

mean negotiating a learning curve. But that’s easier when you know the
mistakes to be aware of, the pitfalls to look for and the best practices for
managing your financial processes.

Getting the support you need to evolve

Receipt Bank has helped countless accountants and
bookkeepers across the world to make the jump to cloud
accounting.

We know the best ways to streamline your business processes,

get more from your systems and people and deliver amazing
value to your new and existing clients.

We’ll show you that change doesn’t have to be scary. So, let’s
dive into the cloud and start highlighting the mistakes to avoid
and the opportunities to grab.

THE FIVE MISTAKES

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 TO AVOID

Mistake 1: Not adapting your

revenue processes

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 MISTAKE 1: NOT ADAPTING
YOUR REVENUE PROCESSES
Cloud accounting allows you to become much more
profitable, by cutting out the time-intensive tasks and
broadening your service offerings. But to take full
advantage of this potential boost in profitability your firm
needs to align revenues with outgoing costs.

Adapting to a new way of working

Moving to the cloud doesn’t just mean adding new
software into your existing systems and carrying on with
your old ways of doing things.

Your working practices need to evolve to feel the true

benefits that a software based model for bookkeeping can

deliver.

Manual bookkeeping and data-entry tasks must be

reduced, where possible – taking advantage of the

automation features of your software.

Clients expect valuable advice and business guidance from

you, so there’s a real need for analysis of client data and a

more personal, face-to-face business relationship.

Billing based on value not time

If you’re still billing clients based on time, revenues will
dip if you’re now more efficient and spending less time
on the basics – even though you’re now adding far more
value.

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Case study – Increasing
the size and stability of your
revenues
Farnell Clark
Doubled their client
revenue by moving
to a cloud-based system and switching
to a transparent, fixed-fee pricing model.
From day one we said we’d look at
what the client wants and give
them a fee and stick to it. We
published our prices on our
website and it gave us the ability,
almost overnight, to get clients
paying twice as much as they
used to.
Will Farnell, Farnell Clark
www.receipt-bank.com
The traditional time-based pricing model has to go. And
that means swapping to value-based pricing and charging a
fixed fee based on the benefits you’re delivering.
Your revenue model will need to be standardised to fit with
monthly subscription packages – as the cost of packaged
apps and solutions are included in your fixed fee.
THE SOLUTION
To make your working procedures and revenue processes fit the
new cloud model:
Move to monthly billing and align your costs and revenue.
Switch to a value-based pricing model and fixed fee
packages.
Include software subscription costs in your package price –
recouping costs and giving clients a ‘one price for everything’
monthly fee.
Focus your income streams around value-add services and
reduce your reliance on compliance-based work as a revenue
stream.
Make your income streams more predictable, and improve
the firm’s cash flow.
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 MISTAKE 2: NOT TRACKING YOUR
RESULTS
The cloud provides huge opportunities to become more
efficient. Using software automation and streamlining
your internal and client processes frees up time to focus
on the value-building elements of your services – but
you must track performance to feel this efficiency.

Overcoming your inefficiencies

The more effective your bookkeeping processes are, the
faster you can get the basics done and the sooner you
can start working on the value-add elements that bring
in those bigger fees.

With cloud accounting as your foundation, you have a goldmine of

data and information relating to the performance of
your bookkeeping.

Tracking this information over time shows up the

strengths and weak spots in your processes – giving

you the ability to focus on (and resolve) those weaker
areas.

Moving to a solution like Receipt Bank, doesn’t just

save time by reducing data entry. Clients submit their

documentation more easily, chasing time is reduced
and you get to extract data at the most accurate level
in the industry.

Measuring performance and metrics

Receipt Bank’s Practice Platform takes that data and
lets you track team efficiency, client efficiency and
automation levels. So you’re in complete control and
can always move forward.

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 When you have real visibility of your workflows,
timescales and resourcing, you can see exactly
how well (or badly) you’re working as a practice.

It’s only by tracking these metrics over time that

you can reveal the work patterns, see the wasted time
and look to improve your procedures and resourcing.
Relying on gut feeling or guesswork to
manage your bookkeeping workload will
result in you wasting a huge opportunity
to get more efficient and more profitable.

55M
M

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Case study – Finding the
problems before they happen
Cornerstone
Bookkeeping
Moved to a
streamlined cloud-based system and
now has complete visibility of any
issues well before they impact on
client service or revenues.
We can instantly see every
transaction in Receipt Bank, and
we can manage the business…
finding problems before they
happen and having a soft
conversation [with clients] early
rather than a hard one later.
Tim Hoopmann, Cornerstone
www.receipt-bank.com
THE SOLUTION
To make your firm a well-oiled bookkeeping machine:
Concentrate on the right key performance indicators (KPIs).
Forget about just tracking billed hours and start looking at
internal and external efficiency and client service.
What are your response times for client queries?
How fast do you turn
around items once
submitted?
How long do clients take
to submit items when
they receive them? How
many repeat tasks are
you automating?
Identify any weak spots before they become serious, whether
it’s a badly trained team, inefficient clients or bad processes.
Fix these problems as a matter of urgency and grow your
efficiency – train the team up, fire or educate the
troublesome clients and rethink your internal processes.
MISTAKE 3: LETTING CLIENTS TAKE
CONTROL
Every business owner will have their preferred way of
dealing with the bookkeeping tasks, whether it’s an old-
school paper-based approach or a preferred software tool
that they’ve been using for years. Your job is to help
these clients to move forward and embrace the cloud.
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 The best solution for your
clients and your firm
Whatever cloud platform you opt
for (and there are plenty to
choose from), the software has
got to work efficiently for you,
your team and your business
clients.

Be wary of demanding clients who ask for a

particular software solution. This app may work
well for this specific business, but it doesn’t mean
it’s the ideal solution for your practice – or the
other businesses you service.

It’s still your job to research the field,

identify the needs of the firm and find the
solution that’s the best possible fit for ALL
your clients.

Converting the doubters

and laggards
Not everyone will be an eager
cloud adopter. Businesses that are
less tech-savvy, or less open to
change, will need to be convinced of the merits of
cloud accounting.

Some clients will resist the move to cloud

technology. Don’t let this hold you back – stay at
the forefront and don’t worry that a few clients
are behind the curve.

There are ways to pull out the core benefits of

cloud and build a convincing case that will turn
around the more laggardly clients.

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 For example, Receipt Bank's award-winning
mobile app makes submission so easy that even
the most technophobe client can do it.

Being a trusted adviser means becoming the

expert your clients need. Make use of trial offers
on apps, test them and find those that add
genuine value for your firm and clients.

THE SOLUTION
To be in total control of the your clients’ cloud adoption:
Case study – Putting your
Educate yourself before you bring solutions to your client –
money where your mouth
is and ensure they deliver the specific value they need.
Cornish Accounting
moved to the cloud Try out the available solutions yourself first. All Receipt Bank
and began using
Receipt Bank to partners get a free practice account to manage their own
manage their own internal expenses – expenses – so you can learn from hands-on experience.
learning first-hand the benefits of a
streamlined data management solution Think holistically. Consider how you want to grow and the

We started using Receipt Bank to solutions you’ll need to achieve this. For example, do you want
track our own internal accounts, to offer more detailed reporting? You’ll need a cloud reporting
which cut down admin time by a app, like CrunchBoards, Fathom or Spotlight Reporting, to do
third. Now when we meet clients, this.
we can put our money where our
mouth is. When they ask what When difficult clients resolutely refuse to go onto the cloud,
difference Receipt Bank will make
to their business, we can point to
you have to either persuade them or lose them. Before they
our own experience, which really
impact on your service levels, turn them around, or fire them.
builds trust.

Paul Miller, Cornish Accounting MISTAKE 4: NOT

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 ONBOARDING YOUR TEAM OR
CLIENTS

The cloud can save you time, money and stress if used
properly. But these significant gains can be wiped out,
or even reversed entirely, if your team and your clients
aren’t properly trained.

Training your team

A shift to the cloud is a big move
for most firms. It means getting
to grips with a new system and
becoming familiar with all kinds
of new processes – both for you
and your team.

Systemised processes only work if everyone on

your team is aware of them – and that means
everyone following the same consistent
procedures.

If everyone’s working to their own agenda, this

results in clashing processes and
miscommunication – wiping out the efficiencies
you’ve gained by going cloud.

In-depth cloud training for your staff isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ – it’s vital
to the success of your new cloud-based practice.

Onboarding your client

It’s just as crucial that your clients understand how to
interact with your new cloud solutions – if they don’t,
neither of you will see the full benefits.

Clients need to be aware of any new processes. If

they carry on doing things the old way, you lose

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 the inherent advantages of working productively
online.

Without proper onboarding, clients may struggle with how to use the
new technology – giving them a negative impression of both the tech and
your service.

It’s up to you to make sure your clients have the knowledge and hands-on
training to achieve the maximum value from these new cloud processes.

THE SOLUTION

To get both your practice team and your clients up to speed with
Case Study – Checking in with cloud:
your cloud clients
Make sure you know your chosen apps and solutions inside out,
IBEO has built regular
client check-ins into its well before you roll them out to clients.
onboarding process
– using the Receipt Map out each step of your new process and document it.
Bank Practice Platform to track
submissions from clients and see Systemising the way you’ll work is essential, so everyone’s
where there’s room for improvements following the same process.
in the submission process.
Look for positive ways to evolve these processes – try to
Every month, I’ll randomly take a
few clients from our database improve on your first iteration.
and email them personally to ask
how they feel about the service. Create a clear onboarding process for your old and new clients,
Sometimes the things they
suggest are impossible for us to
document it and share it.
do, but often they’re good tips
that we can then trickle down and Explain both the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of cloud bookkeeping –
use to train our staff to deliver an
even better service underline how it helps their business and clients will be more
likely to onboard successfully.
Sjoerd Heijmans, IBEO

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 Start with a face-to-face meeting to explain the technology/apps,
and show clients how to get started and become comfortable. Set clear
timelines and milestones for submitting transactions and put a service
level agreement (SLA) in place for both parties.
Check in regularly with clients in case of any issues.
And book in follow-up meetings to go over the
cloud processes and improve them.

MISTAKE 5: NOT OFFERING THE

ADDED VALUE THAT CLOUD
ALLOWS

Having the right cloud software doesn’t magically convert you

from a typical accountant into one who adds direct value to the
lives and businesses of your clients. True value comes from going
beyond the number crunching to talk about (and listen to) clients’
business objectives.

Set a solid bookkeeping foundation

An efficient bookkeeping process is the foundation of value-
added accounting services.

Combining the right cloud accounting software with a clear

onboarding process is the best way to create a rock-solid

foundation for your bookkeeping.

By plugging in tools like Receipt Bank, you create a reliable, up-to-

date flow of client data that forms the foundation for deeper
advisory services.

The added value of knowledge and experience

Using your years of financial experience, you can analyse this
client data to find the trends, patterns and potential pitfalls in
their accounts.

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 Cloud allows you to add more value – but only when you
have a close relationship with your clients and understand
their short and longer-term business goals.

The firms that succeed will be the ones who use cloud to
offer the best client experience possible – and that means
tailoring your service and advice to meet your clients’
needs.

THE SOLUTION
To add genuine cloud value for your clients you must:
Case Study – Helping clients Be a proactive presence in clients’ lives, building the best
get the value they truly need
possible client relationship.
Balanced Book &
Accounts have used Take a lead role in fixing any financial issues – whether it’s
cloud tech to free unreliable cash flow, late-paying customers or unexpected
dips in sales revenue.
up time, remove geographical
boundaries and deliver the exact
Combine the best cloud apps with your own advisory
value that their business require.

We now offer full blown accounts experience to shine a light on clients’ problems and resolve
support, even with clients them effectively.

overseas where we act as their

Go beyond the role of accountant/bookkeeper, be more
accounts department. Our clients
know they can call in whenever
proactive and become the insightful, trusted adviser that your
and get help with their files. That’s
clients need.
because with Receipt Bank we
have time to do what we need to Work closely with your Receipt Bank account manager to fine
do.
tune your cloud systems and become a partner that delivers
Joe Lautier,
proactive change for your business clients.
Balanced Books & Accounts

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