Make complex accounting easier with real-time visibility of KPIs, flexible structuring for multiple entities, automated consolidation, multi-jurisdiction compliance and transparent reporting.
Respond to business milestones and events quickly with advanced reporting in real time. Replace error-prone spreadsheets with pre-configured and editable dashboards and a library of over 250 template reports.
Easily create new business entities in the cloud and streamline inter-company accounting to save time and resources. Enjoy an error-free period end with automated consolidation including FX valuation, advanced treasury management and compliance with international regulations.
Create smooth digital workflows by connecting AccountsIQ with other cloud apps including CRMs, expenses apps, practice management and investment systems, payment gateways and more. You can also create bespoke integrations via our open API.
Starter systems like Sage and Xero don’t really meet the needs of a complex business. AccountsIQ is a proper accounting package. It’s Cloud-based, user-friendly and meets all the accounting needs of an international business like IFX.
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Merchant banking business Salamanca Group comprises approximately 80 businesses. Switching from Sage 50 to AccountsIQ means consolidated management reports can now be produced in just a few minutes.
Privately held merchant banking business Salamanca Group comprises approximately 80 companies. Formerly using Sage Line 50, the group’s finance director, Lee Camp, and his team would spend weeks each month producing consolidated accounts and management reporting packs through a complex process based on spreadsheets.
Today, using AccountsIQ, Lee spends no more than five minutes a month creating reports.
“Our decision to move away from Sage Line 50 was driven by inefficiencies which Sage couldn’t address. It took two people in my team a week each to update various schedules in Excel, and then I would spend many hours compiling a reporting pack. AccountsIQ allows me to produce a custom reporting pack in just minutes,” says Lee Camp, Finance Director, Salamanca Group.
Knowing they had outgrown Sage, Lee began searching for a replacement cloud-based application. With quite complex accounting requirements, he initially looked at NetSuite, Oracle’s enterprise cloud solution. At first, it seemed promising - but the reality did not quite measure up.
“While NetSuite looked like it could meet some of our needs, we really couldn’t justify the cost. It still couldn’t provide the kind of customisable reporting pack we required. Our two main priorities, consolidation and custom reporting, were both weak in NetSuite,” Lee explains.
After being advised to consider AccountsIQ by a friend, Lee realised that complex accounting did not have to come with a high price tag.
“Not only did AccountsIQ streamline our day-to-day processes through automation, but it also handled our reporting and consolidation needs better than NetSuite - and at a fraction of the cost,” he adds.
Salamanca manages over 80 sets of accounts. The group’s consolidation needs are complex, and management reports must be precise and timely. AccountsIQ developed a custom reporting pack for the finance team that links to live data, providing continuous consolidation.
“AccountsIQ produces a consolidated balance sheet as well as departmental profit and loss statements at the touch of a button. We have a bespoke management reporting pack that works in real time within the system. As far as we could see, NetSuite couldn’t offer this level of functionality,” Lee comments.
Salamanca’s finance team knew exactly how their monthly management reports should look and what data needed to be included for analysis. This meant Lee and his team were well prepared to implement a new system quickly, with much of the configuration already documented. All they needed was a system capable of extracting the required data.
“Many of the products we reviewed had sophisticated charts and graphs, and almost all offered some form of customisable dashboards. However, AccountsIQ was the only cloud accounting application we saw that could actually extract the data we wanted and present it meaningfully. It really is reporting made simple,” says Lee.
Already benefiting from automated purchase order approvals, consolidation and reporting, Salamanca plans to explore further opportunities to improve working processes using AccountsIQ. Upcoming projects include implementing an expense module to automate expense management and reporting, as well as integrating payroll.
“AccountsIQ’s greatest success for us has been the efficiency it has brought to the business. The product suits our fairly complex accounting requirements and delivers real value for money. We look forward to discovering even more ways to use the system to improve how we work,” Lee concludes.
“I’ve spent 20 years in finance and AccountsIQ is by far the best solution I’ve come across. It hands down beats the major players and offers more functionality at a cost-effective price. I only wish I had found it years ago.”
Insurance loss adjusters, Integra, switched to AccountsIQ so they could consolidate their 10 global entities on one user-friendly Cloud accounting platform. They’ve also found the inter-company accounting and FX features are saving them valuable time.
Integra Technical Services is an insurance loss adjuster, resolving complex claims in sectors as diverse as mining, marine, energy and cyber security. They’re global players with local offices across the UK, US, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
Before switching to AccountsIQ, Integra’s UK business was using two different accounting systems in EMEA and North America. Finding one platform that would work well across the whole group was a big driver for change.
“We have 10 active entities on our AccountsIQ platform,” explains Integra’s CFO, Mark Hunter. “That includes our risk management business, which we’ve added recently. We’ll be adding another entity soon.”
Integra also had other key criteria they felt could only be met by AccountsIQ, as Mark explains:
“The new finance system had to be Cloud-based. We also felt we needed more functionality than our existing systems were offering.”
“With AccountsIQ, we have the ability to consolidate on one platform. We’d been using Excel for consolidation, and we wanted something quicker and more reliable.”
As one of the main finance system users, Financial Controller, Sue Evans, was keen to ensure useability was included in the software evaluation process. In fact, the whole team was impressed by AccountsIQ’s easy, logical layout.
Sue finds that the inter-company accounting features in AccountsIQ make her life much easier.
“We have a lot of inter-company trading and resource transfer,” she says. “The process of re-charging costs and invoices across different entities is really smooth with AccountsIQ. It’s a big improvement from what we were using previously because I no longer have to log in and out to look at different entities.” Sue Evans, Financial Controller, Integra.
Another important time-saver for Sue is AccountsIQ’s foreign exchange functionality.
“It’s easy to map through and check you’re using the right FX,” she says. “Previously, it was complicated, and we spent a lot of time working out variances.
“With AccountsIQ, you just know it aligns. In fact, we only need to do our FX updates monthly rather than daily. It’s so much better.”
One year on from implementing AccountsIQ, Mark and Sue have big plans for making the system work even harder for them.
“We’re a relatively small finance team,” says Mark. “The plan with this project was always to get the system bedded down and make sure everyone is comfortable with it and using it efficiently. Now, we’re looking at what more it can do.”
One of Integra’s projects for the year ahead, is to look at how they can work with AccountsIQ, and our software integration partners, to improve their budgeting, reporting and forecasting capabilities.
“The reporting available in the system is good,” says Mark. “Our consolidated management reports now take around 25% less time than they did in Excel, for example.”
These time savings are so encouraging, Integra is now thinking how they can further refine their reports and make best use of the multi-dimensional financial Business Intelligence coding structure to really delve into the data.
“There’s a lot more we can do with the system,” concludes Mark. “What I really like about AccountsIQ is they have a good understanding of the needs of SMEs. We get great technical support from AccountsIQ. This collaborative approach is very different to some of the larger providers.”
IFX Payments use AccountsIQ to manage complex multi-entity, multi-currency accounting and support their growth needs.
IFX provides global cross-border payments solutions to SMEs and payments services providers. Their finance team of six people use AccountsIQ to manage the complex accounting needs of their four entities (in Dubai, Australia, UK and Poland). They also operate in three different base currencies (£, AUS$ and PLNzl).
IFX Group Finance Director, Steve Allen.
“We were using Sage 50,” says IFX Group Finance Director, Steve Allen. “But it wasn’t Cloud-based. Even before the pandemic, our finance team was split across three office locations, so we needed a system where we could work together seamlessly.”
Steve also wanted a more flexible finance system.
“With AccountsIQ, if I see something’s wrong in the P&L, I can drill down to the transaction level (even to view an actual invoice) and change it there and then,” he says. “That makes my life so much easier.”
IFX were also keen to ensure they had effective PO workflows in place. The company was growing at a phenomenal rate. Maintaining visibility and keeping control of costs across the business were key priorities for the finance team.
“The year before last we experienced 110% growth,” Steve explains. “We could not have done that without AccountsIQ. If we were still on Sage 50, we would have collapsed or at the very least we would have needed a much bigger finance team.”
The IFX finance team also needs to meet the demand for management reports from across the business, and from their external stakeholders.
“Different users require different information,” explains Steve. “But AccountsIQ has multi-dimensional reporting and analysis capabilities. That enables us to flip the data for different stakeholders using just one set of coding structures.”
That means IFX can produce the compliance data demanded by banks and the FCA quickly and easily. But they can also deliver granular, timely and accurate commercial reports for their own board.
“We can report by department, cost type and even by individual salesperson,” says Steve. “With AccountsIQ we can track the performance and contribution of every IFX salesperson. We treat them like another profit centre for reporting purposes.”
IFX have found that new team members can train themselves to use AccountsIQ simply by using the learning resources in AIQ Academy.
“One of the things I always rave about with AccountsIQ is the user experience,” says Steve. “It’s so easy to use; it’s fantastic.”
“With AccountsIQ, we really feel like we’re on the right platform to support our future growth,” concludes Steve. “We can integrate other tech with it as and when we need to. For example, right now we’ve decided to use AutoEntry; that integrates seamlessly with AccountsIQ.”“Starter systems like Sage and Xero don’t really meet the needs of a complex business. AccountsIQ is a proper accounting package. It’s Cloud-based, user-friendly and meets all the accounting needs of an international business like IFX.”
Find out more about our SaaS Accounting Software for high-growth tech companies.
Founded in 2005, IFX Payments has grown to become a leading global foreign exchange, payment and financial technology provider. Headquartered in London, with offices around the world, we’re positioned to be a significant participant in the new banking paradigm delivering advanced payment, treasury and financial management solutions. We replace operational inefficiency with streamlined processes and replace uncertainty with control.
