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In this final post of our series of becoming more financially literate about your business’ finances, we look at how to go about choosing an accounting package that suites your needs.   It is not just about accounting  As a management accountant, I get excited about the data that underpins financial statements. One of the most important aspects of choosing an accounting package is the type of information that you want to store and retrieve. It is not just about accounting – and you need to bear…  Read more

Getting a grip on your numbers can seem like a daunting task – especially if you are carrying some sort of an aversion from your school or varsity days.  In my last two posts I discussed why it is so important for a small business owner to stay on top of their business finances. I pointed out the difference between the value your accountant adds vs. the value you can…  Read more

It’s that time of the month again, time to tip out that old shoebox full of the countless number of till slips and invoices that you have studiously collated over the month. Time to capture it all into that  massive spreadsheet with 10 tabs that took you days to create, and countless more hours to edit link format and maintain. After that, it’s time to find and capture all the invoices and credit notes that you manually created and manually sent out during the month – and then reconcile it to your monthly bank statement – MANUALLY!!!  Finally,…  Read more

I’ve been exposed to the corporate environment for over ten years, and only recently joined 118Accounting – a cloud accounting start-up.  Many people say that they are not numbers people or that they just didn’t understand the numbers. “Leave it to the bean counters”, they said. What really stands out to me is the number of directors/executives and department heads that have the same philosophy. There are a few critical…  Read more

When your retail data talks to you!  I have met a couple of real data scientists in recent years, and I often hear them say, the data talks to me! Well not really, you know what they are really saying is that they see patterns in the data that others can’t see. I think I have figured out how they do it….listen up.  It starts by developing a theory based…  Read more

Another jewel in the Xero app eco system is Spotlight reporting. Working with tools like Spotlight connects with our purpose for being in business. We create order out of your paperwork chaos, automate and simplify the recording of that data using tools like ReceiptBank. Once that data is in Xero, we can connect your financial data seamlessly to tools like Spotlight to give you great insights. Let’s explore how we…  Read more

One of the most phenomenal tools that I have encountered in my cloud accounting journey so far is Receipt bank. They say great software works like magic, well enter Receipt bank. Receipt bank is an expense management tool that automates your data capturing process.   It works as follows:  You upload your slips or invoices by:  Taking a photo of your expense slip using the receipt bank app;  Forward your creditors…  Read more

A top definition from  The Urban Dictionary for “App Creep” refers to the uncontrolled additions or continuous growth of apps on an individual’s smartphone(device). This phenomenon occurs when the App Store is utilized in a reckless manner and the acquirement of apps is not properly defined, documented, managed or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence, and therefore should be avoided.  The same situation can manifest within all types of businesses, but small businesses in particular. Have…  Read more

As I explained in my last blogpost CFO 3.0 ( https://118accounting.co.za/cfo-3-0-the-118-vision-for-small-business-owners/) is the evolution of finance and accounting function where 1.0 is being able to explain what happened, 2.0 explains why it happened, and 3.0 will predict what will happen, and how to make it happen. There is no better illustration of how your finance function can apply this concept than on your bank account. We all know that cash…  Read more

I have recently read a whitepaper published by Sage Australia on CFO3.0 and what struck me is that this is exactly what my vision for 118Accounting is. I have dissected the whitepaper below, with extracts of what I believe are the key points. CFO 3.0 is simply the evolution of finance and accounting function where 1.0 is being able to explain what happened, 2.0 explains why it happened, and 3.0…  Read more

Those of you who know me, know that I have been trying to not be an Accountant for the last 10 years. After trying for many years to be the CEO of someone else’s business, I set myself a goal at the beginning of this year, to start at least one business of my own. If no-one else was going to hire me as CEO of their business, I was…  Read more