Making life easier with online signing

By Timaru. Posted in Uncategorized.

Our clients will now enjoy an even smoother end of year process this year with the introduction of online signing. Thanks to a powerful tool called HelloSign, we can now send Financial Statements and Tax returns directly into our client’s email inboxes for immediate signing.

You can sign using your finger on a touch screen, by uploading an image, typing your name, or drawing your signature with your mouse. Here are the three simple steps of signing online with HelloSign.

1. Heads up email

When we send out your Financial Statements and Tax return, you’ll get a courtesy email to let you know that they’re coming your way.

2. Time to sign

First you’ll receive an email saying your document is ready to sign, it’ll look a little something like this:

Click the blue Review & Sign button and it will take you to a page like this:

Click the Get Started button and it’ll take you where you need to sign. You can choose from the following options, HelloSign will remember your signature for the future.

Once you’ve inserted your signature in the necessary places, there’s one last step – accepting that by continuing you agree to be legally bound by the document.

3. View & Save

Once all parties have signed the document, you’ll get an email to let you know and to give you the option to view and save the final document for your records.

And that’s it! We’re so pleased to be streamlining this process for our clients, we all know how slow the post can be at times! If you’re a client and you have a question about HelloSign for us, get in touch here or call us on 0800 SIDEKICK.

Xero’s best kept secret – Xero Files

By Timaru. Posted in Uncategorized.

Xero has it’s own document storage facility and we want you to be making the most of it!

Not only can Xero store online copies of your documents, but you can attach them to transactions when reconciling, invoices or bills, expense claims, or you can simply leave documents in your files inbox for your accountant to use when doing your end of year accounts.

Here are the simple steps to take to save you from keeping shoe boxes full or receipts, or clogging your email inbox with power bills. Scroll down to see how to use the phone App to add files.

On your computer:

Log into Xero, and click the Xero files icon that you can see circled below, this will take you to your files inbox.

The email address you can see on the right is your own unique email address for your Xero account. Any documents that you send to this address will automatically upload into your Xero files inbox. Alternatively, you can upload a file from your computer, or take a photo using your webcam.

Keep your files tidy by creating folders. How you organise them is up to you, you could create a folder per year, month, file type, or whatever makes the most sense for your business.

Once you have imported your files, simply drag and drop them into your folders on the left or tick the box next to the file and choose a folder by clicking “Move to”. Alternatively you can open a folder and upload files directly into it. If you click “Add to new” you can add the file directly to a new invoice, bill, expense claim, or a receive/spend money transaction. To rename the file, click the cog to the right of the file and select “Rename”.

On your phone:

Log into the Xero app on your phone, and click on the menu symbol in the top left hand corner. Click on the “Files” option to open your Xero files inbox.

Click “Upload Files…” then select “Take Photo” to use your phone camera to take a photo, or select “Choose Photo” to pick a photo from your camera roll. To upload a file into a particular folder, click on “Inbox” at the top of the screen to bring up a list of your folders.

Guest Blog – Growth Strategy for Small Businesses

By Timaru. Posted in Uncategorized.

Simon White, a local financial management expert here in Christchurch, has written some helpful tips on growth strategies for small to medium businesses. Check it out:

Growth Strategy for Small businesses

The pace of change is increasing and many businesses (including SME’s) need to adapt or reinvent their business if they will wish to grow and ensure survival.

So how should small businesses go about achieving growth?

• Firstly they need a viable strategy for growth; and then;
• Execute the strategy with the capabilities and resources required.

Some questions/thoughts to consider:

• Do you need to reconsider what business you are in? Particularly important if you, your industry or customers are facing disruptive change or there is a trend to substitute products.
• Is there a customer pain point you can solve?
• What are the customer segments you should focus on?
• Can you partner with offshore or local businesses so that you can focus on what you do well? (Either to strengthen competitive offering in NZ and/or expand offshore)
• As your business grows bigger, how do you manage this and maintain the customer experience and culture? (recruitment, training, delegation, performance measures….)
• Is your growth strategy viable? (Market size, financial analysis of costs, pricing/value proposition, volumes, cash-flow and funding requirements).
• Are the risks acceptable? (down- side is understood and how can it be limited).

Inspiring quotes on growth strategy, product/service innovation and focus:

Albert Einstein: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
Theodore Roosevelt: In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing and the next best thing is the wrong thing–the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Zig Ziglar: Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. Henry Ford: If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses’
Steve Jobs: It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. Focus is about saying, No. And the result of that focus is going to be some really great products where the total is much greater than the sum of the parts.

Simon has written as series of helpful tips that we will be posting throughout the next few weeks, so keep an eye out!