Cloud Accounting – The Way of the Future

The world of accounting is set to change with the recent shift towards cloud based accounting softwares and I am proud to say that my firm is staying ahead of the trend. One of the leading providers of this type of software is Xero and my firm has just been announced as a Xero gold partner, with more staff becoming Xero certified advisors each day. If you are not familiar with cloud based accounting, tune in to this short video from the Managing Director of Perks Accountants, Mark Roderick  as he explains why cloud based accounting is the way of the future.

 

Xero provides great information for anyone considering the switch to cloud based software. Below is an extract from their website detailing some of the key issues with traditional software and the key benefits of cloud based software:

 

Problems with traditional accounting software

The data in the system isn’t up-to-date and neither is the software.
It only works on one computer and data bounces from place to place. For example, on a USB drive. This is not secure or reliable.
Only one person has user access. Key people can’t access financial and customer details.
It’s costly and complicated to keep backups (if done at all).
It’s expensive, difficult and time-consuming to upgrade the software.
Customer support is expensive and slow.

 

Five ways cloud software benefits your business

You have a clear overview of your current financial position, in real-time.
Multi-user access makes it easy to collaborate online with your team and advisors.
Worry-free maintenance means you can spend more time doing what you love.
Everything is run online, so there’s nothing to install and everything is backed up automatically. Updates are free and instantly available.
Upfront business costs are reduced – version upgrades, maintenance, system administration costs and server failures are no longer issues. Instead, they are managed by the cloud service provider.

 

I hope this helps to explain a little bit about how ‘the cloud’ can benefit your business. For more information, head to the Xero website:  https://www.xero.com/au/
Alternatively, you can contact one of the friendly staff at Perks who will give you all the information you need to make the shift to cloud accounting today. We are Xero certified and can assist you through all stages of the process right  from the  initial set up of your Xero file!

 

Perks Accountants

Contact us at:

180 Greenhill Road
Parkside SA 5063
ph: 08 8273 9300
fax: 08 8274 1466

 

 

Winter Fashion Wants…

 

 

I absolutely love this Forever New Coat from the New Heritage 2014 collection! I purchased a similar wool blend coat from Forever New a couple of  years ago and I love it. It’s staring to look a little worse for wear though, so I’ve been waiting for Forever New to bring out another wool blend coat in a similar style and here it is!

The quality and warmth of my last forever new coat was amazing. Even though the wool blend coats are a little bit more pricey, they are definitely worth it, especially for those who really feel the cold in winter!

Having trouble finding petite corporate wear? Say Hello to Target!

I decided to make a stop at target yesterday afternoon to see if, by some miracle, I could find a pair or work pants in my size.

Being a size 6, I often have trouble finding affordable, quality work wear that fits my petite frame. I find that the sizing of brands like Cue often runs quite big with a size 6 having the fit of a size 8. Review is usually quite good, but also quite pricey if you’re trying to build a corporate wardrobe from the bottom up like myself and many University Grads!

I have been buying the same style of Target ‘City Dressing’ pants for years now, but to date, this has been the ONLY style of work pants that they stock in a size 6, and more often than not, they are out of stock both online and in store! All of the other ‘City Dressing’ items (including blouses, blazers and skirts) start at size 8, which is no good for me. They make me look like I’m playing dress ups in Mum’s clothes! I have not been able to find a single work skirt or blouse in a size 6 at Target…. until now!

I was delighted to see that target has recently expanded their range of work wear and has started to stock a variety of items in a size 6! Out of curiosity, I went online to see if this was specific to one line of clothing or if they are going to continue to produce a size 6 in all of their work wear. I couldn’t find anything to that effect however, one piece of information caught my eye.

Not only are target beginning to produce a size 6 in their ‘City Dressing’ range, but they have also teamed up with Dannii Minogue to produce a range of clothes specifically for the petite market, which will be available mid July!

And reading the quote:

“The collection aims to provide real solutions for petite women sized 4-16 who are predominantly 5ft 5inches and under. If you have ever had to alter your leg or arm length, had trouble with a shorter mid area or shoulder width, then this collection is perfect for you.”

I feel like Target understands me! They understand that when the shoulders on a blazer are to broad I am left looking like a child playing dress ups! Work wear needs to be well fitted; it needs to be tailored. When you are entering the corporate world as a university graduate, you already feel a bit out of place; you already feel like a bit of an impostor; the last thing you want is to look like one! I know of very few places who stock a size 6, let alone a size 4!

In my opinion, Target has done extremely well to differentiate itself from it’s lower priced competitors and add value to its products. Not only by forming associations with the fashion elite (such as Gok Wan and Dannii Minogue) or providing better quality items, but also by understanding that women come in all different shapes and sizes. There is a huge gap in the market for petite fashion and corporate wear and I feel like target is about pounce on that opportunity.

A huge pat on the back for Target. I can’t wait for the petite range and will definitely be buying more of the ‘City Dressing’ range now that they are stocking a size 6!

It Pays to Get Involved

Each year my manager organises a footy tipping competition for Perks staff and as I was informed last week, it is now that special time of the year. When he asked me to join the competition I said I’d have to pass because I have never engaged in footy tipping and although I like footy more than most sports, I don’t follow the footy. Sadly I have never even been to a proper footy match! (It’s on the to do list! Possible work team outing?) The following week my manager realised he was low on numbers so he pleaded with me to join and said that he’d help me out; so of course, I joined. After a bit of thought, I decided that having never been involved in footy tipping before gave me all the more reason to get involved now.  After all, it isn’t always about how well you do; sometimes it’s just nice to get involved and be a part of the banter. So here are my results from round 2. Needless I say I’m quite proud, even though it’s clearly a fluke! Maybe it’s not so difficult after all!

8 out of 9! Not a bad effort!

This year I am going to try to step outside my comfort zone a bit more and stop making excuses for not getting involved! Sometimes I will fail miserably, but at least I can say I’ve had a go, learnt something new and in this case, strengthened my relationships with colleagues. It certainly pays to get involved; especially in the workplace. All work and no play makes Hannah a dull employee, and we can’t have that now, can we?!

Welcome!

Hello all and welcome to my blog!

For those of you who know me, it may come as quite a shock that I am becoming actively involved in social media. There was a time when you had to work hard to get me to check my Facebook on a quarterly basis, but now look at me; blogging with the best of them! Well not quite… but at least I’m having a go!

Why, you may ask?

As a part of my studies at the University of Adelaide I have enrolled in a course called ‘Management of Brands III’. The assessment for this course; ‘build and manage your own personal brand.’

I will admit, at first I was terrified and thought the whole concept seemed a bit silly. Why would I need to build a personal brand?  I began to undertake some preliminary research in an attempt to understand my lecturer’s thought process and to my surprise, the concept of personal branding is neither new, nor crazy.

The importance of building and managing a personal brand has been the topic of much discussion in recent media. Forbes and the Sydney Morning Herald are among the many websites to post articles relating to this very topic. Professional Services Firm, ‘PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PWC) have even devoted a week in February to personal branding and have developed a range of student resources to encourage students to build their own personal brand.

According to PWC,

“The secret to standing out is to impress recruiters with the unique you—in person, on paper, and online. You need to create career marketing tools that will make the true you shine and leave them wanting more. It all starts with building your personal brand.”

Needless to say, I’m on board with the concept of personal branding and will be doing my best to share the ‘unique me’ with the online world this semester.

Hopefully you’ll stop by again to see what I’ve been up to! Alternatively, you can follow me on Twitter @Hannah_L_Wells

Wish me luck!

Hannah