IRIS OpenBooks
IRIS OpenBooks Helps Cobalt Accountancy Achieve its Business Consulting Vision
About
Launched in 2008, Cobalt Accountancy is a forward-thinking practice based in Edinburgh. Founded by managing director Kathryn McBean, CA, the firm offers high-quality consulting and financial services, in addition to core accountancy services. McBean’s vision is to help small business owners’ focus on their passion and skill while her firm provides essential financial and business advice that ensures sustained success and growth for her clients.
For McBean, this means providing finance director services to all of her 150 clients, and not just being their accountant. To do this, McBean maximises her time by streamlining core accountancy services which includes outsourcing routine tasks to IRIS OpenResourcing.
McBean explains: “Having set-up several start-ups myself I understand the pressures and challenges facing small business owners. Start-ups and sole traders may have the passion and technical skill, but they don’t always have business experience, especially around the financial side of things. It’s therefore important that we, as their trusted advisor, are able to offer solid business services and advice.”
The problem with bookkeeping
Most of Cobalt’s clients do their own bookkeeping and typically manage their finances on bespoke Excel spreadsheets. McBean believes that an understanding of bookkeeping helps small business owners get closer to the financial foundations of their business. However, she found that this approach had several limitations, especially when sending and receiving large files, making adjustments and synchronising changes. McBean found herself spending time maintaining new versions of the spreadsheet and fixing errors such as overwritten formula.
In addition to the time spent fixing Excel spreadsheets, McBean found that she would often be waiting on clients to send their updated files so she could review the up-to-date position. McBean felt this was hardly an ideal situation: “I seemed to be spending more time fixing and chasing client files than actually offering my clients the advice they needed. It had become a very drawn-out process.”
Bookkeeping in the Cloud
McBean wanted change. She wanted something that, while being easy for her clients to use, would give her immediate access to accurate and up-to-date client accounts. McBean began researching online, or cloud-based, bookkeeping solutions that seemed to address these requirements. While many seemed too complicated for her clients to use, favourable reviews of FreeAgent Central gave her pause for thought.
Shortly afterwards, McBean discovered that IRIS Accountancy Practice Solutions was launching IRIS OpenBooks, its own bookkeeping solution powered by FreeAgent.
Having used IRIS Practice Suite and IRIS OpenResourcing for several years, and because IRIS OpenBooks was tightly integrated into IRIS Practice Suite, McBean made the decision to transition as many of her customers as possible to IRIS OpenBooks.
Keeping up Relations
Cobalt began to reap the benefits of using IRIS OpenBooks almost immediately. The previous difficulties inherent in transferring Excel bookkeeping files were eliminated and there was no longer any need to worry about clients accidently deleting or changing formulas.
However, the biggest benefit to the practice was having constant access to real-time client data. McBean explains: “IRIS OpenBooks gives me instant access to my clients’ accounts and an immediate picture of how they are running their business. Having this real-time perspective is hugely valuable in terms of being able to give the most timely and accurate advice, while saving me time in the process.”
Eventually, McBean plans to take the time-saving benefits of IRIS OpenBooks even further by taking advantage of the software’s integration capabilities with the existing IRIS Practice Suite.
What the clients say
Since using IRIS OpenBooks, client satisfaction also seems to have grown at Cobalt. Because the software uses everyday business language, clients have found they are not getting bogged down in bookkeeping jargon that they don’t understand. Clients are also finding the new application much more efficient than the old process. McBean explains: “One of my clients was spending seven hours a week on bookkeeping. Since transitioning to IRIS OpenBooks, he has cut that time down to just one hour. He’s as excited as I am about the product.”
The future
McBean will keep encouraging all of her clients to keep interested in their own bookkeeping. “Once they see how much easier it is they are very happy to continue using it. For me, having clients who are familiar with their numbers means they are far more likely to succeed,” she explains.
McBean concludes: “One of the main reasons clients stay with Cobalt is because of the solid business and financial advice that I can offer. They see me as a business consultant, not simply a number cruncher. IRIS OpenBooks has helped me achieve my vision.”
Author: Michelle Anker
Date: Oct 10
Source: http://accountancy-practice.iris.co.uk/case_studies/cobalt_accountancy.aspx