Jo and Geoff Crawford run a dairy and beef business on three blocks near Whangārei, at Kauri, Hukerenui and Hikurangi. They milk around 1,300 cows and raise all their calves through to bulls. Jo has kept the books for more than thirty years, starting with a manual cashbook “as everyone did back in the day”.
“Using our own code names also works for us – if I make a mistake I can go back and quickly fix it but I guess I’ve been using our codes for so long now everyone knows what I mean anyway!”
How long should GST take on a dairy farm?
For Jo, the answer is about an hour. Everything she needs is already in Farm Focus when the return is due.
“Completing GST takes less than an hour or so now…”
One system for more than one business
Over the years the Crawfords have run a weed spraying business and a forestry business alongside the farm. Jo has always set up the accounts to suit each one.
“When we started out we had a weed spraying and a separate forestry business, and I was able to adapt Cash Manager to suit the differing needs of both businesses which worked well and saved money! We eventually moved into dairy and beef where we’re at now and the same planning and management package is still doing the business for us.”
An accountant who can log in
The Crawfords’ accountant, Charmaine O’Shea of COS Chartered Accountants in Whangārei, first suggested the software more than thirty years ago. She still works with them today, and she logs in herself.
“Charmaine can access our accounts remotely and see where we are sitting regarding tax and make adjustments where required without the need for us to go into town.”
Still running the books today
Jo still runs the family’s accounts in Farm Focus. Bank feeds, Fonterra and Farm Source flow straight in, and she now uses the Invoice Scanner for the bills. GST is filed every month, and Charmaine’s practice sees the same live numbers. Since July 2026, Jo can also ask the AI Farm Assistant quick questions about the 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.
