H20 Creative communications are a Digital Marketing company; they know how to run their business but were starting to feel that they didn't know the results of how they were doing until too late in the day.
The challenge
The team were getting very little management information from their bookkeeper to allow them to run their business effectively. They were using Sage Line 50, which none of the directors had access to, so the reports they received were often old and of little use in making business decisions.
The solution
They approached us as they had already scoped out a move to a Cloud accounting platform and found us as local Xero experts to help them potentially make this move. Rather than just move on to a new system though, we used this transition process as a re-set for the business, to walk through and document all their key processes and identify the Key Performance Indicators that they needed to be able to report on to help drive business decisions throughout the year. This also involved software integrations with Dext and Synergist (CRM) systems that enabled time saving and more transparency than previously held.
We then settled in to a full outsourced finance function that stretches across many job roles. We complete Bookkeeping, Payroll, VAT returns and the most useful element for the client – Monthly and Quarterly management accounts, where we do not just report on numbers, we offer insight and advice to help the Board focus on the key areas that will drive their business forward.
The result
This transition happened in March 2020, just as the effects COVID-19 hit businesses across the country, and having access to timely and accurate live data allowed them to navigate through an especially tricky time and make decisions based on fact. This has allowed their net profit margin to double in spite of the pandemic.
“The switch to Xero, and the management information we received was undoubtedly the strongest tool that we had at our disposal to get us through the pandemic”
The other benefit for the client, is that by utilising strong technology and clear and structured processes they are paying less now for a full finance function than they were pre-pandemic!
We started with Strata in 2020 and it’s been a breath of fresh air. They came onboard to help us modernise our finance function, which was no easy feat due to our uniquely complicated arrangements and wanting tight knit integrations with various systems. The team were there every step of the way, completely documenting all our existing processes, looking for optimisations and ultimately proposing & implementing a better way of working.Their advice and expertise has always been both timely and valuable. So in short, it was a great start and now we've moved to a regular rhythm of far improved management information we’re confident that we made the right decision (as it’s always a big leap) and that we’re in safe hands
Nathan Brenninkmeyer Director of Digital Nov 2021
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