Building a better business with Sidekick
Together Kieran and Trish Randall run Richmond Building Services, a property development and construction business with operations in New Zealand, Australia and the US. Working across multiple countries has its challenges, especially when it comes to accounting.
Three accounting systems = one big headache
The couple used to run MYOB, but because it was country-specific they needed concurrent versions for both New Zealand and Australia. Spending hours entering data by hand into two accounting systems was an unpleasant chore for Trish.
“I used to get really stressed out and worried,” says Trish. “When you’re doing manual data entry it’s easy to make a mistake and be a cent out somewhere, then you have to spend ages trying to unravel where you went wrong.”
When their business expanded to America they were faced with starting a third accounting system in Quickbooks, the de facto package in the US. Looking at three different systems with three accountants to cover their international operations was quickly turning into one giant headache.
Trish and Kieran met DJCA at a business expo, and given the prospect of ditching three accounting systems for just one Sidekick, they signed up immediately.
Less hassle, more confidence
“Sidekick is fantastic,” raves Trish, “a real life-saver!”
Having Paul on board as their Sidekick Accountant has eased Trish’s nervousness about doing the accounts. “It’s a confidence thing,” she says. “I feel good running stuff past Paul knowing that if I’ve made an error, he’ll pick it up. It’s a feeling of security, knowing you’re not on your own.”
“If I have an issue I just ring him up. He never makes me feel silly,” she says.
In addition to cutting her workload in half, Sidekick is saving them at least a quarter on their previous accounting bills by amalgamating their multiple systems into one efficient package. “And the monthly fee is so much better than a huge accountancy fee once a year that always takes you by surprise,” she notes.
Support when you need it
Trish recalls the convoluted procedures she had to endure to get accounting support before switching to Sidekick: “MYOB was horrible if you got stuck. You’d have to log a query and then send it off to them and wait for a response, and they charged huge fees for support.”
But with their Sidekick Accountant now just a free phone call away, Trish now has all the help she needs, on the spot.
“It’s great,” she says, “Paul can pull our accounts up on screen while I’m on the phone and fix any problems on the spot, and I can see the changes on my screen as he makes them. There’s no need to put stuff on a disk or email files around.”
Sound advice
Kieran appreciates DJCA’s forward-looking business and tax advice.
“Before Sidekick sometimes got advice from our old accountant that was detrimental to our business,” he explains, “because it was tailored for traditional large corporates, not a more unique business like ours. DJCA understands our non-typical business model and gives us solid advice and guidance.”
Easy to use, wherever you are
Because Sidekick automatically updates their cashbook online, Trish just has to approve the entries by ticking a few boxes. “Our biggest saving is that we don’t have to double-check everything. There are no problems with chasing down mis-entered data to get things to balance.”
And with the international travel their business demands, Sidekick’s internet-based system is a perfect fit. No matter what country they’re in, Trish just opens her laptop and can keep on top of things.
Everything in one box
DJCA now manages the couple’s New Zealand, Australian and US operations out of a single office. “With DJCA and Sidekick, it’s all come together perfectly,” says Kieran. “It’s unbelievably the right package for our multi-country business. Everything is in one box and we cover the world perfectly.”
