Cloud accounting software for technology companies

Continuum Commerce Adopts AccountsIQ's Cloud Accounting Software for Real Time Management Information

Continuum Commerce CEO, Eamonn O’Shea, states,

I would have no hesitation in recommending AccountsIQ to anyone that conducts business in multiple locations. It can significantly simplify your management reporting process, while at the same time significantly improving its output. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) pricing means we have a full accounting and business analysis system for a fraction of what I would have expected to pay to implement an on-premise solution.

The Challenge

Continuum Commerce was founded in 2000 (formerly known as GCX – Global Currency Exchange) as an independent online payments solution provider.  Based in Ireland, Continuum also has operations in mainland Europe, the UK and the Asia-pacific region and has a management team that spends much of its time abroad. Remote board meetings and management updates were previously handled by sending spreadsheets created by re-keying information from their previous accounting package to participants by fax or e-mail. This information was therefore often out of date before the meeting had begun and decisions were being made based on inaccurate information.

Gerard O’Brien, the CFO of Continuum Commerce says,

We evaluated many alternatives and found AccountsIQ offered the most compelling solution. While it provided all the functionality we needed and is available over the web at any time, its reporting capability and especially its Digital Dashboard has proven to be the ‘killer app’ for GCX. There is a wealth of standard reports, and I was able to customise a couple of key reports that I use on a daily basis. The senior team can log on at any time to review our performance metrics. It has really streamlined our business planning and measurement.

The Solution

Continuum Commerce adopted AccountsIQ for all its financial requirements consisting of:

• AccountsIQ online accounting platform
• Full multi-currency processing throughout
• Integration with Continuum’s billing engine
• Customised management information dashboards with specific KPIs

Results

Gerard O’Brien told us that benefits to Continuum include that AccountsIQ represents incredible value for money with no upfront capital cost. They find that reporting is a key strength – with them rarely needing to export to Excel or re-key anything. The digital dashboard capability significantly improves the management information available to them and a key benefit is that AccountsIQ has extensive functionality which can scale with them as they grow their business. With AccountsIQ’s open API, it was easy to integrate Continuum’s billing engine directly to AccountsIQ which has streamlined their processes and brought considerable efficiency advantages.

AccountsIQ provides a feature-rich Cloud accounting solution for Australian SaaS business, Educrowd

Based in Victoria, Australia, Educrowd launched in 2015 as an online learning and skills management platform for multinational companies. Educrowd is a rapidly scaling SaaS business and as their clients are based in 50 countries around the world, strong multicurrency capability was a key requirement for the business. The finance team will soon need consolidated reports as they look to acquire another business. For Educrowd’s small finance team, the accounting system also needs to be easy to use, saving time on everyday processes. Morag McKeand, Educrowd’s Financial Controller, tried several other accounting platforms including Sage and Xero before deciding that AccountsIQ was the best option for Educrowd’s needs.

The time-saving details that make life easier for small teams

For a small finance team with clients in many international markets, AccountsIQ not only provides detailed analysis in multiple currencies, it is also rich with features that make life easier when it comes to daily tasks. Compared to other accounting platforms for small businesses, Morag prefers AccountsIQ for its usability:

AccountsIQ is full of really user-friendly details. Being able to have more than one screen open at the time gives you really good visibility and makes referencing or comparing things much easier. The Transaction Browser will find anything; you might need to find a customer code, for example, and you don’t have to move away from the screen you are working on to find it. When I’ve tried to do this with Sage, it was just really clunky. AccountsIQ is much more intuitive. I just go to the main dashboard and everything is there.”

Educrowd’s client base includes self-serve clients who are billed monthly. The Educrowd team also works with other suppliers who bill on a monthly basis. AccountsIQ allows Educrowd to automate recurring billing on both the customer and the supplier side. “This is very handy,” says Morag, “And multicurrency, a key factor for us, is straightforward with AccountsIQ.”

“The Email Log is a feature I like a lot” she continues. “It’s very handy when a customer is unsure of whether or not they have been sent an invoice or reminders. You can find it really quickly in AccountsIQ’s log and resend it. It helps provide a better customer service as well as keeping payments and cash flow on track.”

Australia-based support and implementation

AccountsIQ collaborates with Sydney-based Saoi Business Consulting to provide a local implementation and support service for businesses ‘down under’ looking to move up a step from Xero or Sage. Darren Donohoe, an original Co-Founder of AccountsIQ and now Head of Operations at Saoi Business Consulting worked directly with Morag to set up AccountsIQ for Educrowd. His team continues to be her first point of contact for support.

Darren says, “AccountsIQ is the only financial management software available in Australia or New Zealand which offers accounting, consolidation and business intelligence, all on one platform and at an affordable price. It fills a real gap for evolving businesses like Educrowd which needs scalability without a large upfront investment.”

Morag sums up her overall experience with AccountsIQ:

I have used numerous accounting packages over the years such as Xero, MYOB, Sage, Reckon, and I’ve found AccountsIQ to be the most intuitive relative to the vast amount of functionality available. Its in-depth reporting functionality is a standout for me and when management often requires variations to the standard monthly P&L, the ability to tailor the reporting parameters saves me valuable time and a lot of frustration.”

Asavie Adopts AccountsIQ to Support Growth

As the Internet of Things (IoT) booms, the requirement for Irish-based connectivity provider Asavie gained demand. The Internet of Things is the next wave of internet evolution; IoT systems facilitate the remote control of electronic devices across a secure exchange. Asavie provides highly-secure middleware which enables the growing numbers of IoD devices in use to connect with the Cloud. At this time, the opportunity in the telecoms sector alone fuelled a year-on-year growth rate which, at its peak, consistently topped 100%. As the business developed further revenue streams and began working in multiple currencies, its accounting needs became more complex.

Outgrown Sage

Having outgrown an early iteration of Sage, Asavie’s accounts team led the way in finding a new business system which would tick boxes on consolidation; currency handling; Fixed Assets and workflow. Financial Controller Emma Whelan began the search which included more recent versions of Sage and FinancialForce. Describing her reaction to proposals from both vendors Emma said,

Neither product was comparable to AccountsIQ from a performance or price perspective.  We didn’t need the likes of SAP or Oracle but we have some fairly complex accounting needs.  AccountsIQ fits us perfectly.”

A “Successful and Collaborative” Relationship

In 2016, Emma began to work with the support team at AccountsIQ to plan the implementation which addressed needs in the short, medium and longer term. This plan still evolves today and is proactively evaluated by AccountsIQ’s Customer Success team on a two-weekly basis as the software is continuously tuned to meet changing needs. She says,

The best thing about AccountsIQ is the successful and collaborative relationship we have with the support team; we have completed a number of projects with them and they never seem to tire of listening to us and working with us to adapt the software for our own and for every other user’s benefit.  It almost feels like we are all part of the same development team.”

She adds, “Having qualified accountants at the end of AccountsIQ’s support line is priceless; they instantly understand the accounting problems we are trying to solve and this allows us to arrive at a technical solution quickly.”

Improving functionality across the business

Other projects on which Emma has worked closely with the support team have included an integration with Concur’s automated expense management and processing system; and the introduction of AccountsIQ’s Purchase Order Approval which uses workflow technology to enable more efficient processes, engaging budget holders across the business. Future plans include integrating AccountsIQ with the business’s preferred BI reporting app which will create a seamless data exchange between the accounts and the management reporting pack in a format which is already familiar to the business. Summing up, Emma says,

AccountsIQ solves so many problems for businesses like ours; it can be configured to tackle quite complex accounting issues but without the overheads and ongoing costs associated with some of the vendors at the higher end of the market.”