RECALC

Traditional financial reports have lost their appeal (if there ever was any) to entrepreneurs. The P&L and Balance Sheet are artifacts created by the accounting profession, designed to be the main outputs of a double entry accounting system.

While well intended, these financial statements don’t satisfy the entrepreneur’s desire for financial information. The business owner, always pressed for time, and challenged by the format of traditional financial statements, finds it too easy to skip the time it takes to fully digest and interpret the numbers.

What’s needed is a new financial statement: the Operating Report. The Operating Report has the following characteristics:

• contains both P&L and Balance Sheet information.
• contains graphical representations of the data.
• is customized by the accounting professional to the exact needs of the entrepreneur.

Operating Reports, are not a one size fits all. It is the job of the accounting artisan, to thoroughly understand the client’s business and ambitions, then create beautiful, financial art, to bring the numbers to life.

=XTRACKR extends our add-in for Xero, by allowing you to specify a range of Xero GL account codes, tracking category, and tracking option. The syntax looks like this

=XTRACKR (Begin Account Code, Ending Account Code, Tracking Category,Tracking Option,Start Date,End Date)

Some “use cases” of =XTRACKR include

• building a matrix P&L with departments or stores in one column, and varying financial periods in the other columns.
• percentage comparisons from one Tracking Option to another.

Here’s a two minute video that walks you through the new function.

Give it a try, and create some beautiful, financial art!

Accounting and finance professionals need to rapidly evolve their service offering to small business clients.  Why?  Technology.

Technology will automate and commoditize the historical service offerings that professionals have relied on to earn income, and live a good life.

Tax prep, bookkeeping, and more, will become the domain of machines.  Machines, powered by AI will do the work.  The machines will be fed, directly by cloud-based accounting systems.  The machines will make recommendations to the business owner. 

“Pay this estimate for your taxes.  Would you like me to setup a payment for you?”

“Keep an eye on this customer’s AR.  Would you like me to text a payment reminder?”

“Recommend you establish a budget for next year.  Would you like me to generate one?”

Accounting and finance professionals will need to invent new offers for the entrepreneurs they serve.  This will require the professional to adopt an artisan mindset.

“What can I do, that a machine cannot?”

As accounting artisans, we will create valuable offers for the marketplace, by:

1. Leveraging the data the machines provide us with.
2. Creating bespoke (custom) financial interpretations (“reporting” or “dashboards” are our current distinctions for this). We offer a new distinction – Creating Financial Art™.
3. Delivering verbal and written interpretations of the financial concerns of the business.

These new and powerful offers will need to be customized for each entrepreneur / business.  Adopting the mindset that no two businesses or entrepreneurs are the same, is critical to being a successful accounting artisan.  Looking deep, into the ambition of the entrepreneur, her business model, and marketforces, will allow the professional to deliver a unique and powerful interpretation.  This interpretation will, in turn, allow the client entrepreneur to be successful and live a great life.

To your success.

Scott