Farm Focus - a welcome step up for accountants and clients

Southland Chartered Accountants Macdonald Perniskie have offices in Gore, Queenstown and Winton, and Gore Senior Accounting Technician Lisa Blondell says each office is slightly different in terms of client base.

“Our Queenstown office services mainly commercial clients, while Gore and Winton customers are a combination of commercial and rural business owners.”

Gore-based Lisa says she is really happy with the Farm Focus planning application which has made life much easier for her and for her clients who have made the switch to Focus.

“I watched with interest as Farm Focus was designed and built. Right from the start I was impressed with the farmer-focussed options the application delivered.”

She says everyone has their favourite aspect and for her the invoice capture function is invaluable.

“I’m a big fan of the report function that allows for a copy of invoices to be attached to the transactions within the software, no more sifting through folders of paper invoices for additional details. It’s very user friendly.”

She says data collection is another winner. “When clients switch to Farm Focus all their business information goes with them, to the one place at one time straight away. No more time-consuming going back and forth between new and old packages to access files.”

Because Farm Focus is cloud based, it's accessible from any electronic device and there are a number of other new options that make life easier for both farmers and for accountants, Lisa says.

“The batch payment option is great! Users can load upcoming invoices for payment, then upload a bank file to their internet banking and pay with simple push of a button. The fact this option has been included shows the whole Focus application has been tailored to meet future expectations of transactional processing.

“Up to date stock reconciliations is another valuable function, plus the Dairy Forecaster which is available with updates in real time. To me Farm Focus is the full package and covers everything a farmer needs to run their business effectively and efficiently. I do see the application as a major improvement in efficiency for rural businesses."

As an accountant Lisa says being able to quickly log in and extract the data she needs is a plus for her business and for the farmer.

"I don’t have to bother them by interrupting their busy schedule. I simply log in and download what I need because items such as invoices and payment details are all there at my fingertips.

“I know farmers enjoy being out on the farm where they can make the biggest difference. They don’t want to be sitting in front of a computer in the office talking to their accountant so having on-line access is a real plus. Neither party has to drop tools which is definitely a step up in terms of improved efficiency.

“Being able to do my job with the least fuss and bother is the ideal and Farm Focus has made this possible for myself …and my Farm Focus customers!”