Dan and Jacqui Cottrell farm medium hill country in the Moawhango Valley, on the Napier-Taupo Road about 25 minutes from Taihape. For years Dan’s father Mark looked after the finances while Dan and Jacqui ran the farm day to day. Then Dan took over the books himself.
What’s it like to take over the farm accounts?
Dan went looking for a modern farm management and planning tool when he took on the accounts. He chose Farm Focus, and it impressed him from the start.
“Farm Focus really impressed and, contrary to my first thoughts, making the switch was super easy. Basically, I just took off with it!”
‘There are plenty of advantages but basically, the user interface is clean and simple to navigate, the system is much faster to use and, we now have the ability to continuously code. You have done a great job!’
Learning as he goes
Dan didn’t need much training. The software guides him through, and he picks up new features as he needs them.
“Basically, I’ve just been following my nose and with the help of the pop-ups I haven’t gone far wrong. The drag and drop option’s brilliant – it’s intuitive which is handy when you’re looking for options.”
A busy farm with more than one income
Dan and Jacqui run Texel composite ewes and breeding cows, and grow lucerne and winter crops. They’re quick to try new ideas, from growing quinoa to turning the old shearers’ quarters into farm-stay accommodation. Less time in the office leaves more time for all of it.
Still farming the numbers today
Dan and Jacqui still run their own farm accounts in Farm Focus, with bank feeds bringing in transactions and a working budget alongside the actuals. GST is filed every two months from the same numbers, and their farm consultant can see the figures too. Since July 2026, they can also ask the AI Farm Assistant quick questions about their actuals, plans and reports.
Every Farm Focus customer gets free onboarding and phone support from a team that knows farming, in New Zealand and Australia.
