AccountKit Case Study: Stafford Accounting

Stafford Accounting specialises in accounting, tax and business advisory services for small-to-medium businesses. Founder Steve Black launched the company five years ago with a vision to do things differently.

“After being exposed to different ways of working, I thought there could be better, more efficient ways of meeting clients’ needs by utilising technology,” Steve explains.

After being introduced to AccountKit founder Paul at a professional development day, Steve was convinced that AccountKit was an essential addition to his tech stack.

“We’ve always used technology as much as we can to make our lives easier and manage things better,” Steve says. “Although we were using some software beforehand, it was nothing compared to what AccountKit can offer.”

Today, Steve and his team of three use a suite of AccountKit tools to automate key tasks and save time.

“The main tools we use are the Equipment Finance Tool, the Div 7a Tool and the Inter-Entity Loan Reconciliation Tool,” Steve says. “These tools ensure that the balances we are showing in our reports are correct – something we would otherwise need to do manually.”

“The Inter-Entity Loan Reconciliation Tool in particular gives us nice reports so we can see what loans a client has in place and when they’re finishing. It helps with managing cash flow and giving specific and accurate  advice to clients.”

When it comes to managing client structures, Steve uses the Client Map Tool to bring everything together in a clever visual diagram.

“The Client Map Tool gives me a good understanding of how clients have set up their structures and how we can manage them in the best way possible,” Steve says. “It also helps clients get a visual picture of their own structures.”
 

Freeing up time to focus on what’s important

With help from AccountKit, Steve has realised his vision of using technology to provide a superior client experience.

“I’m a big believer that if you can automate things and make them happen more efficiently – why wouldn’t you?”

“Because AccountKit automates certain tasks, it means we don’t have to go in every month and process manual journals,” Steve says. “So it saves us a lot of time and energy. I’d rather charge clients for adding value to their business or circumstances instead of just dealing with admin and manual processing.”

Steve also says support from the AccountKit team has been second-to-none.

“It’s been the best support we’ve received from any software we use. They answer quickly, and if there’s a problem they’re quick to fix it rather than just giving us an excuse. They really connect with us as users and want to help us get the most out of the software.”

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