Bank stream and receipt bank advice...

Bank stream and receipt bank advice...

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My practice is expanding such that either I either help via a bookkeeper for the months leading up to Dec/Jan (if one can be found) or I go down the Bank Stream and/ or Receipt Bank route.

I know this has been covered before on accweb but I cant find where. Any ideas as to where I can find the comments/advice/suggestions?

Also...how do you tell clients? Do you give them a discount for using the system (mine, I know, will ask) or do I just get new clients on the system? I spoke to Bank Stream and they say most accountants pay themselves without passing the cost onto clients - the benefit being the time saved but as I say my clients will say that if I am saving my time they will want a reduction in fees.

Replies (8)

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By Michael Wood
07th Jul 2015 08:41

Fixed fees

Hi,

(Michael from Receipt Bank here.)

Technology is changing bookkeeping from data entry to data management but this doesn't change clients' need for bookkeeping help.

In 2015, when so many firms are using all the new technologies to reduce their cost base, it would be a bad idea to hire more people for tasks that technology can do - you will just be inviting fee pressure onto yourself.

The best way to tell clients is to change your pricing model. The reason that the best firms have moved to fixed fee pricing is that they can see that there is steady stream of productivity-enhancing technology coming in the next few years and a firm has a simple choice:

charge per hour and NOT adopt new tech = increasing fee pressure and client losscharge per hour and adopt new tech = high client retention but falling revenue per client every yearmove to fixed fee pricing = high client retention and stable revenue per client

Although the choice is simple, making the change can be hard (I've worked in firms - I know!). If you would like Receipt Bank to help you with this then do feel free to contact us on 020 3699 5006. We can help you deploy our technology to improve your margins but also help you with our experience of how other firms have tackled the issues you are facing.

I hope that's useful.

Michael

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By John Dunkerley
07th Jul 2015 13:22

Don't forget about the benefits your clients will enjoy

Hi LJCASE,

John from Bankstream here.

The dilemma you face is a familiar one to us - practices implementing systems such as Bankstream often wonder how to deal with the reduction in the cost of jobs.

We advise practices to consider not only the benefits they enjoy themselves (lower costs, better workflow etc) but to also think about how their new system will benefit their clients - it makes their lives better too (less bookwork, less paper, more timely information & advice).

By focusing the discussion on how the new system will benefit clients, most accountants find their clients aren't so concerned about the time/money the practice will be saving.

 

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Richard Hattersley
By Richard Hattersley
08th Jul 2015 09:25

Aweb  search help

 

We are sorry you had trouble using our search function. The good news is there should be change on this front by the end of the year. 

Until then, here are a couple of Any Answer posts I’ve found which could help you.

***

Bank stream and other accounting software

This member asks whether there is a logical reason to ignore the bank feed and use bankstream to get the info.

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Expense management software

This member asks whether anybody uses any expense/invoice management software, in particular receipt bank.

***

Also, if you put a speech marks before and after the phrase you’re searching, it should give you a more detailed result.

I hope that helps.

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By coolmanwithbeard
08th Jul 2015 09:40

Fixed Fees

If a client is paying you to take their transactions and put them into acciounts or onto software for them then the method of doing that is your choice. THey ge the job done and as long as you are both happy with the fee so be it.

 

If you are asking the client to do more (such as scan invoices themselves) then maybe an adjustment is required.

 

The move ro say Receipt Bank means they get a PDF of their invoices attached to the individual transactions in QuickBooks and no requirement to retain the paper documentation. A value added service not something to charge less for. If you take the time argument to its conclusion then I should be charging about a tenner for a simple tax return because I no longer have to fill it in by hand and do the manual calculation to justify by £120 (or whatever you charge).

 

You need to consider other costs too - I have fast broad band and have just invested in a brilliant new scanner for use with Receipt Bank clients so I can roll it out efficiently to more of them. To work RB at its best I need to spend some initial time setting up suppliers on their system so that scanned receipts are even quicker 

 

We are moving into a new age and we need to find the best way to work it all round

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By The Minion
08th Jul 2015 10:22

we are just starting on this route

and have two approaches 

 

the first is that we are automating the ones we do already and saving ourselves costs.

 

the second is that we are approaching our clients and offering to take the whole function off their hands so that they can make money in the time they create by not doing bookkeeping.

 

We will therefore be able to guarantee the quality of the books we use to produce the accounts, but we wont be reducing our costs.

 

So the client gets more time to do what they want to do, better management information and we don't take the annual hit that we sometimes do with the less meticulous clients...

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By LJCASE
08th Jul 2015 10:26

Thanks v much for the replies.

I'll do as The Minion suggests...

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Karen Bennett
By Karen Bennett
08th Jul 2015 10:53

Other link

Here's another link that looks at Receipt Bank or other reviews - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/question/receipt-bank-or-simi...

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By Charlotte OCRex
10th Jul 2015 11:38

Save time and reduce your costs

Hi LJCASE,

 

You are right to go with Minions suggestion, as it makes far more sense to put your investment into technologies that can simplify company processes. Whether you decide to bare the costs of the software yourself or pass them over to your clients your expenses will still be greatly reduced and time spent carrying out these jobs will also be cut considerably. Software solutions will also reduce the worry of inaccurate data, whether you or your client uploads the files.

For advice on streamlining these activities through accurate and affordable solutions you can visit ocrex.com or please feel free to contact me directly.

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