Sheila and Geoff Russell are sharemilkers at Tomarata, east of Wellsford, milking around 430 cows. They’re always keen to try new solutions that make farm life easier. When Sheila heard about Farm Focus, the new cloud version of their farm accounting software, she didn’t wait to be asked.
“I contacted them in Masterton and asked about availability – more specifically when we could have access to Focus. In fact, looking back I called a few times which may have verged on nagging but it worked, and we were lucky to be one of the early transitions in September 2019.”
Is it easy to switch farm accounting software?
For Sheila, the move was straightforward from the start.
“Switching to Focus was easy and the functionality is brilliant. One of the best things for me is the new chat function which provides an added level of comfort knowing the Customer Support Team are there if required, without having to wait on the phone for hours.”
Support when you need it
Sheila manages the farm’s finances herself, so good support matters. She can message the Customer Support Team any time, from inside Farm Focus.
“If I need help after hours the problem is easily logged by me in the chat and the team will follow up once back online with a call, or an email if needed.”
She says the team is super responsive, compared with other providers that pass you around when something goes wrong. That hasn’t changed: when a vet invoice wouldn’t code the way she wanted in 2026, she messaged the team in the morning and had it sorted the same day.
Does Farm Focus listen to farmers?
Sheila has seen her own ideas turn into features.
“The company listen and seem to welcome feedback – I’ve suggested a couple of formatting changes and ease of use enhancements over the last 18 months and am really impressed some of these suggestions have been listened to and are now a feature of the product.”
Farm Focus is built and supported by a team that works closely with farmers. Questions and suggestions from customers like Sheila help shape what comes next.
Everything in one place
Having the business information at her fingertips is another bonus.
“I love having everything online. We only receive one or two invoices by post and the rest arrive online and are saved directly to our bank feed which is such a time saver and a much more user-friendly way to work.”
“It’s helpful to have all our business info saved to one place and readily available. For example, Geoff and I were recently discussing the pregnancy testing of our heifers last season and we weren’t in agreement on timing. I was able to pull up the invoice and confirm the details there and then!”
Their accountant is linked in too, so Sheila can see where things are at without a call or a visit.
“We’re pleased with our switch to Farm Focus – it’s everything I thought it would be. You can see where you’re at as soon as you log in and stay on top of the accounts in real time. With so much automation of processing regular accounts it’s not such a big job now when end of each month rolls round.”
Getting through the tough times
Sharemilking is a long haul, and the Russells have farmed through drought more times than they can count. Reliable staff and good information both help.
“During the tough times we try to shift our focus and remain resilient. Tools such as Farm Focus help us see where we’re going on the financial side and good staff that help spread the workload has helped us get through some challenging times.”
Still growing, seven years on
Seven years after being one of the first to switch, Sheila still runs the farm accounts in Farm Focus. Her bank feed, Fonterra, Farm Source, Farmlands and PaySauce accounts all flow straight in, and the Invoice Scanner handles the bills. She keeps a working budget and files GST every two months from the same numbers. Since July 2026, she can also ask the AI Farm Assistant quick questions about her actuals, plans and reports.
Every Farm Focus customer gets free onboarding and phone and chat support from a team that knows farming, in New Zealand and Australia.
