Debbie and Arthur Win farm Angus cattle and Romney sheep on rolling hill country at Dovedale, about 30 km from Wakefield. They like to know where their money is going, so they keep a close eye on what’s been spent and what’s coming. That lets them put money aside for the big bills.
Is farm budgeting software hard to use?
Not for Debbie. She says it’s straightforward: you open it, land on your dashboard and find your way around from there.
Being able to scroll across the financials in one line makes the budget easy to build and follow.
“I don’t have to keep closing in and out of the programme so it’s much easier to look ahead and see where we’re at.”
Three bank accounts, one clear view
“Focus allows me to do this easily by identifying what goes where. For example, I use three bank accounts, and in the past, I couldn’t tell which account was involved in relation to transactions without having to search around. Focus has that information up front – the software identifies which account payments are being made to or from and this saves so much time.”
Codes that make sense on her farm
“I also like the way you can personalise the books by using your own code details – this has made a big difference. We use several agriseed and animal nutrition products and I can code them by name to identify which is which rather than relying on provided codes which really do not apply to all farming situations.”
Automatic bank updates mean less paper too. Farmlands transactions, for example, are matched for her.
Built for farmers
“We are farmers not bookkeepers – having a software management tool that makes sense to us as a group of users is so helpful. The farm management system we use has to align and support the business we run, and Focus does just that.”
Help is close by when she needs it.
“I was constantly asking questions when I first started, and the support staff answered very quickly. They also check up to see if you have managed to fix your problem, they even reply without judgement when I have made silly mistakes!!”
Her advice to other farmers? “I reckon they could do a tee-shirt that says …’Farm Focus – Give It A Go!’”
Still budgeting ahead today
Debbie still runs the farm accounts in Farm Focus. Bank feeds and Farmlands flow straight in, the Invoice Scanner handles the bills, and she keeps a working budget alongside the actuals. GST is filed every two months from the same numbers. 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.
