Cloud Stories | Cloud Accounting | Business Tools | Xero, Qbo, Myob | Ecosystem | Apps

In this episode, I talk to Tim Hoopmann from Spinn Business Solutions and Joseph Robins from GoCardless about the upcoming Accounting Business Expo, in Sydney March 20 & 21st at the International Convention Centre. We discuss how to get the most out of attending the conference What we shall be talking about in our panel session “How to Pick the Best Apps to Drive Your Business Advisory Service” Spurred on by Joseph’s past life we also shared our favourite cult movies – what’s yours? Sessions Tim Hoopmann shall be speaking at How to Pick The Best Apps To Drive Your Business Advisory Service - Wednesday, 14.40 pm With Joseph Robins, Tim Hoopmann, Bryan Williams, and Heather Smith Automate To Survive And Handle More Customers, More Easily - Thursday, 10.05 am How to Create a Mentally Healthy Business - Thursday, 11.15 am Create The Perfect Daily Schedule For A Bookkeeping Firm - Thursday, 12.25 pm Tim Hoopmann Biography Experienced founder with a demonstrated history growing small business. Strong entr

I was interviewed about Accounting Technology on the Tax Wrap podcast. Steve Burnham and I talked about: What are cloud-based app solutions? Can you compare traditional accounting software and cloud-based software? What are some business intelligence tools that a practice can make use of? With the cloud-based solutions, are there some SMSF or compliance tools that a practice can make use of? How do you see the adoption of automation and cloud apps changing the role of the accountant in Australia? Tell us about some new features or releases that have caught your eye recently. The transcript is here: Steve Burnham:         Thanks for being with us, Heather. I'm very pleased to talk to you. First of all, I suppose, just to clarify for our membership, for our audience ... It's not just members who are listening in. Can you fill us in? What are cloud-based app solutions? Heather Smith:          Steve, thank you so much for having me on your show. Very excited to be here. And what are cloud-based app solutions? G

Clinton Cowin from TradiePad and Jeffrey Atizado is from SMB Consultants. Together they are in a partnership called Cloud Integration Partners, and in this episode, we talk about . . . How Jeffrey presented at the 2014 Xero Roadshow and his talk about integration and connectivity opportunities within retail blew my mind. I share my journey in the accounting world and how I stay across Ap developments. We extensively discuss the October 2018 Xero Small Business Insights report and what it means for accountants and bookkeepers, and how they can leverage the insights. Connected Apps can bring data in via dashboards, promptly, and AI and machine learning will uncover real-time business decisions. Technology is pushing the power to the smaller agile businesses Talk about the benefits of business niching, and networking with experts Graduated tools accountants and bookkeepers can use to offer advisory

Chris Hooper the CEO  of  Accodex “I honestly believe that accountants have the ability to change the world, they just don't realise it yet. I am in the business of predicting the future of the accounting profession, and it's my mission in life to change the accounting game forever. Some of the ways I am working toward my mission are:  • Leading by example with my company Accodex, a support platform for freelance accountants. • Teaching and mentoring accounting and business students that are going to change the world. • Writing and speaking about accounting industry trends” Chris Hooper In this episode, we talk about . . . Chris wanted to be able to write his own destiny and work as hard as he wanted too How google research led him to embrace the title of an Accounting Futurist And how the freelance accountant in this cloud era is simply a laptop and internet connection, with the ability to work from anywhere on the planet. They can take on as many or as few clients as they want too. They are in control of

Laura Venables Bio: Currently leading Accounting Business Expo & Accountech.Live - the world's premier business and digital transformation events for the world of accountancy & finance. An accomplished professional with over 12 years sales, events & exhibition industry experience, across a diverse range of market sectors. I work closely with hundreds of international brands, facilitating meaningful connections by creating industry-defining events in the UK and Australia. National Media: National Media is a highly acknowledged leader in the Australian Exhibition and Events industry. We concept, produce and market award winning events across a range of industry verticals. For two decades, we have delivered industry-defining events that drive innovation and evolution within the markets they serve. We have been the architect behind dozens of highly successful event launches and have run hundreds of trade shows, conferences and consumer events. Every year, our events bring together thousands of fans a

Helen Brand is Chief Executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the global body for professional accountants The  World Congress of Accountants 2018 (WCOA2018)  is an International accounting Conference held every four years.  The  20th  WCOA  shall be held in  Sydney  Australia,  5  -  8 November.  The  WCOA accounting conference brings together more than 6,000 delegates from over  130 countries to hear world-class speakers and leaders across the finance and business community.  Visit:  https://wcoa2018.sydney/ for more information.  Helen Brand is a panellist on the 'Digital Future - new ways of working' discussion (10:30 am 8 Nov (Day 4), joined by Bernard Salt, from The Demographics Group).

Colin Hewitt is founder and CEO of Float Cash Flow Forecasting, an app for Xero and QuickBooks Online that helps produce really visual and intuitive cash flow forecasts. After running his own creative agency and struggling to produce cash flow forecasts in a spreadsheet, Colin founded Float in 2010. Now he and his team are on a mission to help small businesses understand their numbers and produce accurate forecasts in a fraction of the time compared to spreadsheets. Colin lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their three children Float Cash Flow Forecasting Float cash flow forecasting provides businesses and their advisors with cash flow forecasts that are highly visual, accurate, and take a fraction of the time to prepare compared to spreadsheets. Business owners are able to easily understand and use Float to predict the cash future of their business, no accounting background necessary. Our daily sync with Xero and QBO means that all of your data is pulled through to populate your forecasts, helpin

Clayton Oates is an Accounting Technologist | Small Business Enthusiast | Encourager | Educator | Story Teller | Each Day Appreciator Bio: Helping Small Business, Accountants, Bookkeepers & Technology Companies to connect with each other (and the clients and customers they serve) to have a better life. It’s been a fascinating journey so far & I've managed to collect some interesting stories along the way; some extremely inspiring ones, and others, well, not so uplifting. But every experience has provided an opportunity to grow & contribute back to a profession that has given me so much. I chose Accounting Technology (more than 25 years ago) as the vehicle to build a better life for myself and my family – and it worked! At the time I was a frustrated and uninspired 24 year old Tax Accountant who dreamed of one day having my own business & the freedom that came with it (Ok so I discovered that the price of freedom certainly isn’t free - but it is worth it). The by-product of adding value to othe

As Head of Growth APAC at Expensify, Phong identifies opportunities to strengthen our relationships with strategic partners in the Australia Pacific region. Phong is a boxing fan, cigar aficionado, and loves travelling to unique places in the world. He hates excuses and loves the company of both the big city and the vast wilderness. Based out of Melbourne, Phong loves helping customers find a solution to their expense reporting woes! Overview What is preaccounting? How to identify and diagnose preaccounting inefficiencies How can accountants optimise their clients’ preaccounting workflows and processes? How can accountants increase ROI by automating expense management in their firm? How do automation and Expensify address preacccounting issues?   Twitter Facebook  Subscribe to our Blog For more info. to get started, contact sales@expensify.com Subscribe to the Accounting Apps newsletter here https://HeatherSmithAU.com

James works with firms of accountants from around the world, helping them to become more profitable and maximize the value of their clients James is the founder of GoProposal,  author of “Selling to Serve” and Director of My Accountancy Place.  He is a sales and marketing expert, helping firms to scale their practice by giving more value to existing clients and converting new prospects at a higher rate for higher fees. He does this through challenging outdated pricing methods and mindsets, implementing powerful pricing and proposal systems and leveraging entire firms to sell more through consultative sales techniques.   Overview The mindsets the keep most accountancy firms stuck. Why they see themselves as different to other businesses and the challenges that creates. Why selling is their ethical obligation. The real business accountancy firms are in (and it's got nothing to do with finance.) How I had a business that failed because I didn't have the correct finance function in place, which is the real rea

Today I am speaking with David Barrett, the founder and CEO of Expensify. He's an all around alpha geek who started programming when he was 6. He worked in a Virtual Reality Lab at the University of Michigan, wrote 3D graphics engines for the video games industry in Texas, and helped build a  peer-to-peer file transfer technology called Red Swoosh in California, before founding Expensify. Expensify has pioneered innovation in the receipt and expense management process by automating every step from receipt scanning through reimbursement. From solo-preneurs to global enterprises across all industries, Expensify serves over five million people and 50,000 customers around the world. Overview Starting Expensify off the back of a thwarted attempt to help homeless people An overview of what Expensify does The coding language Expensify is built on. The biggest challenges faced when starting Expensify is David had no idea what he was doing. He asked lots of questions and listened. Working with a remote team – you can

Interviewee Profile Daniel joined BGL in 1997. During this time, Daniel has been part of the accountant's journey in transitioning from DOS to Windows and now cloud technology. Daniel is passionate about leadership and loves working with accountants and assisting them in growing their business through technology. Daniel loves family, the occasional selfie and life. Carpe Diem! Company Profile BGL Corporate Solutions has been partnering with accountants since 1983. Our focus is to empower SMSF and corporate compliance professionals with innovative cloud solutions and superior service. Driven by Integrity, Passion, Collaboration, Perseverance and Diversity we have established and continue to maintain the market-leading position in the Company Compliance and SMSF software space. Today BGL has a client base of 7000+ accounting firms around the world. How can listeners contact you? @DTramma https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantram/ https://www.bglcorp.comdanielt@bglcorp.com.au 

It's not what you know, it's who you know: the story of a 28-year-old high school drop-out travelling the world of accounting - How did this non-accountant make an impact on a highly educated industry Interviewee Profile Trent Mclaren is Australia's thought leader of the year in the Accounting Industry. He is the head of accounting and strategic partnerships at Practice Ignition. His role see's him partnering with accounting professionals all over the world as he strives to drive innovation and disruption with his partners. Igniting a culture to challenge the status quo and create true customer centricity. Company Profile Practice Ignition is the game-changing automation trigger your practice needs. Handling all aspects of your client relationships, proposals, billings, scope management and beyond. Practice Ignition is the catalyst for true cloud accounting firms wanting to move to fixed fee structures and eliminate their debtors completely. Practice Ignition is a cloud-based onboarding solution that helps yo

Interview Tracey is the founder of CloudCounting, a boutique Chartered Accountancy firm that specializes in eCommerce, and there was never a more passionate advocate for working in the Cloud. Tracey is a Registered Tax Agent, Chartered Accountant, Xero Gold Partner and MYOB Certified Consultant. She recently spent a month in France with her husband and two children during the busiest month of the year … and survived! This is proof you can run your business anywhere using cloud products. Tracey has worked in Big 4 accounting firms and now specializes in putting time back in the day for small to medium business. Tracey has over twenty years’ experience working with clients implementing and advising on accounting systems. She’s passionate about helping you find the right accounting system for you. Discussion Who’s a historical figure you’d like to have a coffee with? Why did you move from Canada to Australia? What inspired you to start your own accounting practice? What services do you offer? You’ve recently

Today I’m speaking with Helen Goodman, of Invisible Business Solutions. In this episode, we talk about . . . Discussion: The Cloud Integration Channel Who are cloud Integrators? The Cloud Integrator Channel narrowing to Authorised Cloud Integrators not cloud resellers which is what caused the original confusion around our services. What do Cloud Integrators do? How do Cloud Integrators add value? Why should Accountants and Bookkeepers work with us? Why the apps think we are fantastic! How we operate in verticals and believe in collaboration and communication in the new virtual world. Solutions mentioned include Receipt Bank Spotlight Reporting MINDBODY, Inc. ServiceM8 WorkflowMax (A Xero Product) TradeGecko Unleashed Whos is Helen Goodman? For over 20 years Helen Goodman worked in the corporate sector as a Management Accountant and Business Analyst, for companies such as the mobile communications giant ‘Vodafone’ and for the healthcare leaders ‘Abbott Laboratories’ until moving to Australia in 2001. Being

Following on from Xerocon South 2016 a powerhouse crew from Brisbane came together to discuss and dissect the lessons learnt from this conference. The panel discussion and the audience q and a was recorded and will be of interest to attendees and non-attendees alike. If you did attend Xerocon – it reminds you of some of the areas you need to revisit and explore. If you didn’t attend Xerocon – Tracey, Cassandra and Justin have done the hard work for you and bring their own twist to the lessons, highlights and outcomes that Xerocon had for them. Please support the sponsors of Cloud Stories and visit them at www.spotlighreporting.com where you can access a free trial, training, and educational whitepapers, including Cash is King-Cloud Style and The Perfect Advisory Relationship. Solutions mentioned during this panel discussion include, but are not limited to: • Hubdoc • ReceiptBank • KarbonHQ • ExpenseCheck • ApprovalMax • Vision6 • IODM • Moula • Waddle Panel of speakers: Chartered Accountant Tracey Newman is t

Sophie Hossack is the Australia Country Manager at Receipt Bank. Receipt Bank is the bookkeeping productivity tool used by 4,000+ accountants and bookkeepers around the world to increase their efficiency. Sophie was one of the first employees at Receipt Bank and has worked in three of the sales teams globally. Receipt Bank The leading accounting and bookkeeping firms around the world use Receipt Bank to automate their bookkeeping and deliver a world-class service to their clients. Receipt Bank is the award-winning, venture-backed software company with offices in Sydney, London & Washington DC. Website: https://www.receipt-bank.com/ Twitter: @ReceiptBank / @Receipts_Sophie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReceiptBank/ LinkedIn: @ReceiptBank Subscribe to Cloud Stories on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/cloud-stories-heather-smith/id908333807

Andrew Van De Beek is a constant source of excitement at the illumin8 office and leads the team with encouragement and a fistful of positivity. Being firmly entrenched in Gen-Y, he’s keenly interested in new businesses and original ideas, and loves discovering emerging software and technologies that help these start-ups succeed. illumin8 We‘re more than just Accountants! We offer small business cloud accounting with a focus on automating and streamlining your systems to ensure you are spending more time growing your business. Website - http://illumin8.com.au/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/illumin8partners/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/andrew_illumin8 and https://twitter.com/Illumin8prtnrs LinkedIn - https://au.linkedin.com/in/andrew-van-de-beek-21a30915 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/illumin8partners/  Subscribe to Cloud Stories on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/cloud-stories-heather-smith/id908333807

Today on episode 45 of the Cloud Stories podcast I’m talking with Wayne Schmidt. Wayne has over 28 years’ experience in the accounting industry spearheading the Australian expansion for Xero, MYOB and Reckon. Wayne is passionate about helping accounting firms to grow, embrace change and drive profitability. Based in Australia, and having worked in the USA, UK and China, Wayne has a unique global understanding of accounting firms and the latest trends in the accounting industry. Karbon is task management software designed for accountants. Subscribe to Episode 45 of Cloud Stories on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/cloud-stories-heather-smith/id908333807 In this episode I talk to Wayne about: From a young age Wayne was a trailblazer – studying applied computer science at La Trobe University – in the early 80’s. So he had a background in computers before we realised how revolutionary they were going to be! Wayne is a programmer and code cutter by trade. After university he worked for old traditional

Today on episode 44 of the Cloud Stories podcast I’m talking with Jacqui Jones the founder of Way We Do, a cloud based standard operating procedures platform. Although Jacqui’s career started in film and TV, she accidently fell into the Internet industry right at the beginning of the Web with Netscape Navigator 1.2. She moved from Brisbane to Auckland for a 6 month contract, which turned into 14 years.   Her career has spanned a range of Internet specific roles including digital product management at APN, Head of Digital Product at Yellow NZ, Marketing Manager and SEO Consultant at Netconcepts (NZ & US), Communications Manager at The Electronic Commerce Network (ECN), owner of web development agency Webenz, and Product Manager at MessageMedia, a subsidiary of NZ Post.   Way We Do is a cloud based standard operating procedures software, enabling businesses to create electronic work instructions, such as policies, procedures and checklists, so teams won’t forget simple or complex tasks when they do their da