Changing the game with cloud technology

The problem: inefficiencies that led to ambiguity

Before switching to cloud accounting technology, Polay + Clark’s workflow was dominated by manual processes involving snail mail, data entry, desktop software, and, of course, paper.

“Receipts would be mailed in, taped to sheets of paper. Account managers would scan them and spend hours checking them against their desktop accounting software,” explains Tate Henshaw, Data Maestro at Polay + Clark.

Moreover, all of their documents were stored on a local server. Hundreds of checks were printed every month. All approvals had to be mailed in, and account managers were tasked with keeping track of all of these physical documents and processes.

These manual processes led to three major pain points:

• Time to execute administrative tasks – Relying on paper (which had to be scanned and mailed) and standalone, desktop systems (that couldn’t communicate with other programs) meant that even the simplest administrative tasks often took an unnecessary amount of time.
  
  
• Confusion & chaos – The general “back and forth” nature of Polay + Clark’s old workflow was the cause of natural confusion surrounding many processes. As an example, getting payment approvals from clients used to be particularly inefficient – they would receive a bill, put it in Excel, then send it to the client for approval. It was also difficult to keep up with the nuances of different billing situations (e.g., new billers, partial bill payments, etc.).

• Lack of flexibility & transparency – Between processes dominated by snail mail, physical document handling, and the reliance on desktop software, the Polay + Clark team was tied to their desks. Similarly, their clients in the sports and entertainment industries were also impacted by these manual processes, which didn’t create a great experience when clients were on the road (on tour, etc.).

It was the desire for increased flexibility and transparency that ultimately drove Polay + Clark’s transition to seek a cloud accounting solution. By enabling the ability for both the firm and their clients to work remotely, as well as access their financials at any time, anywhere, they knew they could drastically improve their workflow and their client experience.

The solution: building a harmonized technology stack

Working with clients in sports and entertainment demands a lot of travel (for both the client and Polay + Clark). According to Tate, the motivation to move to the cloud stemmed from a desire for increased flexibility and transparency.

“When Lorne Clark came on board, it was clear he was going to be travelling a lot and still wanted to be in the know. He had seen Xero while talking with another advisor and liked the look of it. We did our due diligence and came to the same conclusion,” says Tate.

An accounting solution such as Xero would not only enable flexibility and transparency, but would also help to eliminate much of the confusion and chaos surrounding their old processes.

Implementing Xero was just the beginning – Polay + Clark also started leveraging Xero products and add-ons (such as Hubdoc, Bill.com, and Futrli) to further streamline their processes and automate time-intensive administrative tasks.

“After beginning the shift of our accounting to the cloud, it just made sense to start adding some of the other pieces of the ecosystem to gain efficiencies,”
says Tate.

Hubdoc was one of the key apps that Polay + Clark introduced to help them gain efficiencies in a number of their processes – namely, with document collection and data entry.

In their old workflow, Polay + Clark relied on snail mail to collect their clients’ financial documents, which was time-consuming and often led to confusion. Moreover, their paper-based processes kept them tied to their desks and limited their ability to work remotely.

Upon adding Hubdoc to their workflow, Polay + Clark now send documents conveniently into Hubdoc via email, desktop (drag and drop), and Hubdoc’s mobile app (which enables their oft-travelling clients to upload receipts on the go).

Once documents have been uploaded into Hubdoc, they are automatically organized into folders based on supplier name and date. Moreover, Hubdoc enables documents to be tagged for further organization (e.g., tour expenses, trips, etc.).

Hubdoc has helped Polay + Clark save hours of time that used to be spent chasing after their clients’ documents, as well as eliminate much of the confusion that used to accompany their old workflow and enable their team to work remotely. In turn, this has helped improve their overall client experience.