New app lets users crunch figures

A British tech firm piggybacking on Xero’s software is helping businesses forecast their finances.

Online business CrunchBoards allows customers of New Zealand accounting company Xero to pull data from their Xero accounts and project future results for their business through financial modelling.

Brighton-based CrunchBoards has partnered with accountants BDO to roll out the software across its 15 New Zealand offices after it was launched at Xero’s annual conference, Xerocon, on April 30.

CrunchBoards was started by Amy Harris and Hannah McIntyre in December 2013 and only works with Xero as an add-on or plug-in. An add-on is software that adds a specific feature to an existing software application.

Xero has more than 400 add-ons that integrate with it.

At Xerocon, Xero chief executive Rod Drury said its software was designed to be open so other business could leverage it.

‘‘This phenomenon of the addon community coming in has just blown us away,’’ Drury said.

Of Xero’s nearly half-a-million customers, 20 per cent had an addon connected to Xero while 40 per cent of premium customers used an add-on, Drury said.

Harris and McIntyre had previous owned another technology business together and were looking for a software modelling programme that met their needs. Unable to find one, they decided to design their own.

CrunchBoards provided users analysis, forecasting and alerts for their businesses’ finances.

If users have multiple Xero accounts for different organisations, CrunchBoards allows them to view them at one time. It also breaks down revenue streams – for example, a hospitality firm could see how much income came from coffee sales and how much came from beer sales.

CrunchBoards employed 20 people and would hire another eight in Sydney, Harris said. Australasia was a key market for CrunchBoards.