The word is out from Xero. They’ve listed their take on the top 5 add-on apps to your Xero online accounting application that will help make your business meet your growth targets for 2015.
We thought we’d give you our take on these top 5, and how your creative agency can use them to meet your own creative growth targets. Talk to us about adding these to your Xero account, if you need to.
1. Receipt Bank : Convert your financial paper into cloud data
What it does: Amazing app that will converts paper receipts, invoices and other documentation for your creative agency and record it in Xero.
Why it’s amazing: No more searching for those little pieces of paper – no more scrambling for that lost train ticket. It’s all in the cloud.
How it helps your profitability:
– If you’re the one logging receipts and data, you can use that saved time to actually engage with your clients or your team members. Maybe even action some of your brilliant new ideas.
– If someone else on your team is doing it, you can convert their saved time to more effective tasks, too. Perhaps some of those other little things you find yourself (as the creative) doing, when you could be….being creative.
2. Harvest: Track your time better
What it does: Tracks time and budgets by project, so you know what you should be billing the clients for.
Why it’s amazing: Like most creative agencies, you might not realise how much of your precious creative time is being used and for which clients. Now you’ll have a lot more visibility on that.
How it helps your profitability: Once you start tracking it, you’ll discover:
– Which projects are profitable (or unprofitable). Did you think that logo design was a big profit spinner? You might discover that email marketing is actually bringing in more profit when you evaluate the time it takes you or your team.
– Which projects are profitable (or unprofitable). There might be some clients for which any creative project brings you in a ton of extra money – and other clients for whom it doesn’t matter what you do, it saps your time and energy. Now you’ll know the numbers.
– What you’re not billing. You may discover there are a few things you do over and over without charging the client for. Now you can evaluate whether you should.
3. GoCardless: Let your clients pay by direct debit.
What it does: Allows you to take payments by direct debit without being charged the ridiculous fees of the traditional providers.
Why it’s amazing: 1% per transaction, capped at £2. The cap is beautiful. For the creative projects where your client is paying a big chunky deposit, say hundreds or thousands of pounds, you’re not penalised.
How it helps your profitability:
– Fees to you are lower, so your monthly income is higher.
– It links with Xero so invoicing takes less time.
– Clients can pay by direct debit, so it makes the sales process easy.
4. Float: Forecast cash flow for your creative agency.
What it does: Simple cash flows and forecasts so you know what’s coming and how it will affect your creative agency.
Why it’s amazing: Forecasting means you can understand trends and patterns for your particular agency, as well as review elements like seasonality and potential issues for your agency.
How it helps your profitability:
– Explore ‘what if’ scenarios – should you hire? Outsource? Get new premises? Buy some new computers? Now you’ll know what the real effect on your profits will be.
– Get paid faster. Send notes and reminders to your clients, and get cash flow alerts if things haven’t been paid when they should.
– Set up budgets. Help the whole team understand why you are – or aren’t – actioning certain items by sharing the budget.
5. Xero Touch: Manage your business using Xero from anywhere.
What it does: Allows you to access your Xero account from anywhere, at anytime. Reconcile, send invoices and create expense claims.
Why it’s amazing: Bank reconciliation is no longer the dreaded hassle it used to be. Invoices can be sent before you even leave the client’s offices. Payments can be chased when you have a spare five minutes at the airport.
How it helps your profitability:
– Accounts are up to date, all the time. You don’t have to wait for a certain day per month to “do your accounts”. If you do it with those little spare minutes here and there, everything will be up to date all the time.
– No more dreaded calls from the accountant. If your accountant uses Xero, like we do, they will have access to the accounting and bookkeeping information they need – so they don’t have to chase you for accounts information. Sending info to your accountant suddenly becomes a matter of a click of a button – not days and hours of hassle or dread.
We help creative agencies in Manchester to use Xero and its add-on apps to make their agencies more profitable – and all of them are amazed at how it has truly changed their business and their life. Try some of these today!
