Nerissa and Luke Thompson run red deer on their block at Summerhill, near Cust in North Canterbury. They bought the block while living overseas and came home in 2020 to farm it. Before they started, they knew what they wanted from their accounts:
“Once that decision was made, we talked to our accountant about a financial management package. One that would help us see where we were at on a weekly basis, and where we were heading.”
How long does it take to keep farm books up to date?
For Nerissa, about 20 minutes, after dinner.
“Because so much is automated. I can pop into the office after dinner and spend 20 minutes, job done! Luke is visual so he finds it easy to see where things are at.”
Learning fast
Nerissa booked an introductory session with the Customer Support Team.
“I booked in with the Customer Support Team for an introductory lesson and they were amazing. After an hour and a half of tuition I had to say that’s it – I had the basics covered and felt I could learn from there as I went along.”
“Focus is definitely user friendly – I love it and have never felt overwhelmed. If I do have a crisis of confidence, I can rely on the fact the package is intuitive so I can’t go far wrong.”
An accountant who can jump in
“He can jump in and add info or find detail without us having to leave the farm. And, by using the invoice scanner, all our invoices and receipts are there loaded in the system when we want them. No more searching for bits of paper when you can least spare the time!”
A farming life
In their first season deer farming, Nerissa summed it up:
“Farming is a complete lifestyle instead of just a job. We look back at our spread sheet now and see there’s been so much going on and here we are …we’re doing okay.”
Before farming, Luke played professional rugby in Japan for 16 years. He played at four Rugby World Cups, including with the Brave Blossoms in 2019.
Still keeping it simple today
Nerissa still runs the deer farm’s accounts in Farm Focus. Bank feeds and Farmlands flow straight in, the Invoice Scanner handles the receipts, and their accountant sees 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.
