“We must be able to respond to our environment and seize the day, Figured has made this easy for everyone, at any place, at any time.”
Before implementing Figured into her practice, My Accountants, Joanna was using a system that required manually inputting data. This meant that she was never working with real-time information.
Now, using Figured and Xero, she’s able to collaborate with her clients in the same system, using up-to-date information, to make the data more meaningful to them.
Understanding their financial position
“Farming is a business with very high stakes involved, therefore it’s important for farmers to understand their current financials, and the impact they have on the future”, Joanna says.
“However, many of my farming clients are easily bored with numbers. They’d rather just be outside getting work done, so the biggest challenge is getting them interested in their accounts.”
The accessibility of information that Figured and Xero affords has gone a long way in getting farmers engaged with their financial position.
“The availability of information at any time, on any computer, by anyone in the farming team, has given us the ability to have more meaningful discussions about the numbers, while we’re both looking at the same set of data at the same time."
“Previously I would have to provide clients with reports, but they’re now able to run them themselves to get an up-to-date picture of their financial position.”
Focusing on the future
The nature of farming means that Joanna’s clients will always be working in an environment with changing conditions and challenging circumstances. “We will always have debt and be exposed to volatility. Therefore, we must be able to respond immediately”, she says.
“My job is to give my farming clients the information they need to make forward decisions. With Figured and Xero, I can teach them to be proactive with understanding their finances, and encourage them to make future-focused decisions themselves.”