When Stephen Paul set up Valued Accountancy in 2011, his aim was to help small businesses flourish by providing a courteous, comprehensive and responsive accounting advisory service that would enable clients to stay on top of their accounts while focussing on growth.
Stephen recognised that software would be key to delivering this streamlined, user-friendly service and, after researching the options available, chose to partner with Xero, a leading cloud accounting software for small businesses.
While the company aimed to be a full-service accounting provider, they preferred not to process clients’ receipts. Stephen comments, “We had a bookkeeper sitting in the office entering receipts into Xero. However, this was very time consuming, so in most cases we didn’t encourage clients to send their receipts to us.”
Then, in 2012, Stephen’s account manager at Xero introduced him to Receipt Bank at a Xero event. Stephen was immediately taken by how friendly and helpful the Receipt Bank team was and thought he would give it a go.
“Straight after that I went to Starbucks for a meeting with a client,” Stephen comments. “I asked for a receipt, and scanned it in using the Receipt Bank app. Within a few hours, the data, including a scan of the receipt, was ready to be uploaded into our Xero account. This was really valuable to me. Before Receipt Bank, I would never have asked for a receipt for a coffee with a client that cost under £10 as the hassle of entering the data into Xero wasn’t worth it. Now, I am able to accurately capture even the smallest purchases easily. When you add these together this equates to a significant saving over the year.”
Stephen continues, “I was slightly concerned about the security of the data – worried that our receipts were being sent off to India. However, then Michael, Receipt Bank’s founder, explained how the technology works and put my mind at ease.”
Receipt Bank’s service works by using software to extract the information from invoices and receipts, with accuracy of the data extraction being checked by samples undergoing a human review process. This involves staff from Receipt Bank’s specialist suppliers viewing an image of the invoice or receipt and checking that all the data extracted is completely accurate. However, all that is viewed is an image which can’t be downloaded, the data itself never leaves the UK, but remains safely on Receipt Bank’s secure servers.
Valued Accountancy was so pleased with Receipt Bank that they started offering it to all their clients. “Our clients can upload their receipts and expense claims into Xero using the app, the Dropbox function, by mail, or they can simply email them to their own Receipt Bank accounts. We are then able to quickly post this data to Xero on their behalf, which means their accounting data is kept up to date,” comments Stephen. “Clients really appreciate the fact that Monday’s receipts are usually in Xero by Tuesday, which means they get a much more accurate picture of their financial position at any given time. This has definitely increased client satisfaction and loyalty.”
Furthermore, now that Valued Accountancy no longer has to visit clients’ offices to pick up their receipts, the company can service a much wider geographical base. Stephen comments: “We are based in County Durham, Newcastle, but our biggest growth area is the south of England. We are picking up one to two clients a month from London and the South East. With Xero and Receipt Bank, we are able to offer a fantastic service to clients anywhere in the country!”