Outsourcing to stay focused on growth

Profile: Nick Russo

Position: General Manager

Business: Bellevue Orchard and Summer Snow Juice

Size: 17 hectares

Outsources: Accounting and bookkeeping services

Nick Russo joined the family business almost 10 years ago after working in electronic design and interactive media. He has a love for systemisation and efficient use of technology and recognised the business had no oversight into their accounting practices and understanding their cash flow or financial positioning.

“When I first came into the business everything was manual – we were writing hand dockets, there were no product codes in use and cloud accounting hadn’t quite taken off,” Nick said.

“Our bookkeeper was part-time and no one else in the business had much oversight or understanding of the accounts. Then she became unwell and I realised we needed to do something to manage the risk of only having one person with that knowledge and expertise in the business.”

Nick wanted to ensure he had a good financial understanding about what was happening in the business and decided to automate their systems wherever possible. So, in a bid to manage the risk, reduce their number of touch points and get a grasp of the accounting and business systems, he engaged the team at Slate Accounts to assist.

“I knew there had to be a better way of doing things but I didn’t really know where to start or how to implement and use the systems available,” Nick said.

“I initially worked with Slate Accounts to select the right set of tools for automation and accounting and later they helped focus on understanding our budgeting and forecasting processes. The upfront cost can often feel daunting but it becomes cheaper in the long run – if people are entering things twice it makes me upset,” Nick said.

Nick used new technology developments to his advantage and uses a range of off-the-shelf applications, as well as software he writes himself which has led to significant cost savings. “The suite of apps we use, do the administrative work of three full-time employees, which has allowed our office staff to stay the same size despite a seven-fold increase in production output.”

Currently, Bellevue Orchard employ an in-house bookkeeper who manages the day-to-day tasks. She has a relationship with their off-site bookkeepers, Slate Accounts who do payroll and the Business Activity Statement (BAS) which leaves their accountant to complete the top-level work and tasks of greater importance.

“I’ve found this is a more cost-effective model as I’m paying each resource for their level of expertise – I’m not prepared to pay an accountant $120 an hour for something a bookkeeper can do,” Nick said. “On the other hand, if I decide to switch accountants, I have two other resources already across our systems that can step in in the interim.”

Nick also wanted someone to sit between their accountant and the business who could recommend the latest and most efficient technology – which is why he decided to outsource to Slate Accounts, who have an office in Melbourne and India.

“We were using MYOB and Michael from Slate Accounts mentioned Xero to me, so I researched the system, spoke to others and went back to Slate to implement,” Nick said.

Cloud-based accounting software, such as Xero, is widely accessible and user friendly and has the functionality to process data that is automatically fed into the system and returned to the user. These automated features mean a business can receive an invoice via email that will then feed into their accounting software, the accounts person then just needs to review the details and approve before payment is made.