Rural Business Accountants, previously Falloon & Co, has worked with farmers across Mid Canterbury from its Ashburton office for decades, and most of the team were born and bred in the region. When Farm Focus moved to the cloud, Business Director Aaron Allred saw what it could do for clients and for his own team. The firm encouraged clients to switch, and now recommends Farm Focus to new clients from the start.
“Providing timely and accurate business information is critical, and because Focus was an online tool designed and built specifically for farmers by farmers, we saw how the application could make positive changes in how farmers ran their business.”
Why do accountants recommend Farm Focus to farm clients?
For Aaron, the case starts with the farmer’s time.
“Time is money so having their planning and budget information on-line means farmers can check and change detail anytime from anywhere, which is a big step up from having to return home to the office as was previously the case.”
His team encouraged clients to move from the old Cash Manager Rural, and the response spoke for itself.
“Clients are actually calling up and asking to be switched. So we’ve decided to advise new clients to get onto Focus from the get-go!”
What’s in it for the accounting firm?
It’s not only clients who benefit.
“As a business we’re enjoying new features which make our job easier too.”
Aaron says the drill-down and search feature and the Stock Reconciliation Report have both cut the time his team spends on accounts.
“Building a budget is much easier because all the information we need is right there securely saved in the system. We don’t need to contact the client to find invoices or receipts saving down time both ways.”
“The Stock Reconciliation Report is another plus. Stock numbers are an important part of a farm budget. Knowing exactly what has arrived or left the property at any given time is essential, especially so in relation to National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) compliance requirements.”
How does adviser access work?
Farm Focus clients can tick a box to give their accountant or bank manager access to their accounts.
“In fact, they are calling in to ask us to access their business accounts. When they tick that box, our team are able log on to create a budget or help with planning and often we can work on the same screen to work through an issue they may have.”
Aaron says working online together has strengthened client relationships.
“Being able to log into their screen and work with them helps us understand exactly what they’re talking about and saves time, stress and ultimately money because there’s no downtime travelling back and forth.”
Today the firm manages its Farm Focus clients from a single Farm Focus workspace, with dozens of client farms linked.
How do farmers benefit?
For accountants putting the case to a farm client, Aaron’s experience boils down to this:
- Live numbers, anywhere: check and change budgets and plans from the farm, not just the office.
- One tick for adviser access: the accountant or bank manager can see the same, up-to-date figures.
- No chasing paperwork: invoices and receipts are saved in the system, so there’s less back and forth.
- Stock numbers on hand: up-to-date stock movements for budgets and NAIT.
- Help without the drive: work through an issue together on the same screen.
Software that keeps up
Aaron’s team regularly updates its processes to meet industry requirements, and he values knowing the Farm Focus developers can do the same.
“Nothing stays the same in business so knowing Focus can be adapted to meet customer demand or new market requirements does give an extra level of assurance our Farm Focus investment will pay off into the future.”
Every Farm Focus customer gets free onboarding and phone support from a team that knows farming, in New Zealand and Australia.
