‘Superheroes’ keep businesses humming
A DESIRE to take back control of her mortgage saw Lisa Martin become a personal trainer who regularly lifts weights – off your financial accounts, at least.
And more than 10 years on, her team of bookkeeping ‘‘superheroes’’ has doubled, accounting for the business health of more than 600 clients.
Wellington-based GoFi8ure, established in 2002, provides small businesses with everyday bookkeeping and accounting support.
Executive director Lisa Martin said she was not initially sure whether people would pay for a part-time financial controller.
But for small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) Martin found it was an ‘‘incredibly attractive’’ proposition.
‘‘So many SME businesses could not afford to have a 40 houra-week office manager doing their accounts and their front desk and their facilities management.
‘‘It was just a blessing in disguise ... I never had to worry about money or work, I was busy from the get-go.’’
Martin established the company after she was made redundant from an international architectural and product design firm when the owner decided he had had enough after 18 years.
She said she wanted to put herself in a position where one person was no longer responsible for her mortgage, and after completing a New Zealand Diploma in Business she set up shop.
GoFi8ure’s approach is based on the idea bookkeeping and accounts are not for everyone, but they are essential for business.
Providing that service, frees up small business owners to do what they do best – run the business.
‘‘You could go to the gym and do a training programme, do a couple of sessions with a trainer and you’ll get much better results and stay accountable, rather than just going to the gym and trying to wing it on your own. It’s the same with your accounts, your money, your taxes, your situation with your suppliers, your reputation with clients and delivery and collecting money and cash flow – it’s just all too important to not know what you’re doing.’’
Last year, GoFi8ure expanded to Auckland and, more recently, to the Hutt Valley following the acquisition of another company, Active Admin. The team has doubled in size to 12, and with it the number of clients to 600.
But only about 270 were subscribed with Xero, which Martin wanted to push past 500. Then, GoFi8ure would become the first bookkeeping firm in Australasia to achieve ‘‘platinum’’ partner status with Xero, she said.
‘‘There’s only one bookkeeping company in the world that’s reached platinum, the States.’’
‘‘We would like to double our turnover this year, think it will be 1.5 times more, but I fully anticipate that our revenue target for 2016 will be achieved.’’
Martin, who is also the vicepresident of the New Zealand Bookkeeping Association, said the introduction of cloud-based accounting software had transformed the industry, having come from desktop systems back in 2002.
GoFi8ure had always provided ‘‘mobile’’ solutions but no longer
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in needed to go to every client’s site, and as such it provided services in Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia, as well as throughout New Zealand.
The cloud also allowed GoFi8ure to provide information in real-time, Martin said.
‘‘If we’re giving information to people now, they can actually make better, more informed decisions, faster.
‘‘If you actually just take a shoebox to an accountant and they do it manually and you don’t see the financial statements until a year later, it’s too late.’’