When onboarding new clients, at Ascentis we perform a number of checks and assessments to establish the overall health of a clients accounts and financial processes. This enables our accounting team to suggest ways to improve accounts as well as highlight issues, concerns or inefficiencies within the financial processes.
For this particular client, an e-commerce business based in Yorkshire, our team quickly identified significant deficiencies in the Xero bookkeeping as well as problems with their year end accounts.
With a range of errors and problems in navigating their accounts, our team worked with the client to build a solution that helped give greater financial transparency as well as helping become error free!
Solution
In order to address the deficiencies in financial management identified, we identified 5 key solutions and actions that we worked with the client to undertake:
- Introduce Dext Prepare: We recommended Dext Prepare, which collects and extracts accounting paperwork with 99% accuracy, then automatically processes it to accountancy software. Giving the client more time to focus on work that adds value. Now all invoices and receipts are stored in Xero and available to all users to view in Xero too. We also helped move to accounting based on invoice dates rather than payment dates for further process optimisation.
- Dext Commerce: In addition, we replaced A2X with Dext Commerce which helps retrieve detailed and accurate data from e-commerce platforms, consolidate and standardise the data and export to Xero seamlessly. As one of our chosen software partners, our accounting team were able to offer in-depth guidance and support to the client.
- Correcting significant VAT Errors: In addition to this, we reviewed the end of year accounts to ensure future errors were mitigated going forward and submitted VAT error forms to HMRC to address previous issues.
- Data Procedures: We were instrumental in implementing procedures to take the client’s raw data and make it meaningful. We helped the client have more financial mastery of the accounting processes and the performance throughout each process to help inform business decisions in the future.
- Training for the future: Empowering their team on using the new systems and processes was a key objective of ours so we arranged a half day training session to improve their bookkeeping knowledge and implement these new processes.
Value impact
The change in bookkeeping procedures and softwares was essential for this client to gain mastery and oversight of all of their finances. Furthermore, with our help, they were able to correct past HMRC submissions, and can rest assured future submissions are accurate.
- Whilst it is still early days, almost all identified bookkeeping issues have now been fully resolved.
- The client, their team and leaders are feeling confident that VAT is accurate for submission to HMRC.
Conclusion
Our onboarding checks, once again, highlighted issues and errors for this client but our team was able to pull together solutions that gave the client greater knowledge of their systems.
By implementing integrated accounting software, elevated bookkeeping procedures and identifying errors, we were able to improve accuracy and help our client gain financial mastery. They now have full oversight of their finances and HMRC submissions, giving them confidence to make business decisions based on sound financial information.