Jill and Mark have done a great job in setting up and training our team in the use of our new Xero accounting system, answering our queries and helping us to understand our new way of working. While our need for the new system was borne out of necessity, we are benefitting from the various features cloud accounting has to offer. We are looking forward to working more with PM+M as we continue to grow and serve the community.Neville Wilkinson, Blackburn Foodbank
About our client
Blackburn Foodbank is a charity helping local people in crisis. In addition to food, they also provide money and benefits advice to those who need it. They are also a member of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks.
Due to the growth in demand for its services, Blackburn Foodbank sought and won additional grant funding. This success brought with it significant additional record-keeping, compliance, financial monitoring and reporting. These additional requirements proved to be a step too far for their spreadsheet-based accounting.
How PM+M helped
Jill Morris and Mark Sharples from our Cloud Accounting team spent time with Blackburn Foodbank’s finance team to get to know the charity and its work within the community, and to understand the challenges it faced.
The charity had previously used more traditional methods of financial record-keeping that was no longer suitable for its purposes, becoming increasingly inefficient to maintain and report on. As regulatory demands also changed over time, the need for more robust and compliant record-keeping also became an issue. PM+M were engaged to provide a solution to this problem.
As a Platinum Champion Partner with industry-leading cloud accounting platform Xero, we were able to implement a comprehensive solution tailored to meet the charity’s needs, using many of the features offered by Xero such as its powerful reporting suite, automated bank feeds and collaborative approach to record-keeping. By utilising tracking categories to manage and report on Gift Aid declarations and funding sources, the system we put in place met the challenges faced by the client that complimented their way of working.
Our skilled team also provided training to the finance team at the client’s premises, using the time to demonstrate the features of Xero and focus on key areas relevant to the charity. By getting to know the client through the process, we were able to answer the questions the finance team had and conclude the training assured of their confidence in using the system.
Going forward, we endeavour to continue to support our client in their use of the system we implemented and work with them as they strive to serve the local community.
THE OUTCOME
- MORE EFFICIENT RECORD-KEEPING & REPORTINGFinancial information is easily recorded and reviewed in Xero through automated processes, and can be used to prepare a range of reports for the client, reducing preparation time and making full use of the comprehensive cloud accounting system
- IMPROVED SECURITYBy making use of the robust security measures in Xero, such as two-step authentication and modular user permissions, the client is assured that data is safely stored and confidential to all but the necessary team members
- ACCESS FROM ANYWHERE, ANYTIMEMultiple users can access and add to the charity’s records through the cloud, greatly improving functionality and communication between the team based in different locations, and facilitating support from our team
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