Welcome Paul and Julian

We are delighted to welcome Paul Wright to Edtech.  Paul joins us as our new Tumuaki/CEO working alongside Jeff Stirling. 

As a very experienced principal and an Edtech client for many years, Paul brings a fresh customer perspective to the company and a wide network of relationships within the sector. He understands that where school finances are concerned, surprise is not a wonderful thing and is keen to extend our advisory services for principals and finance officers.

Paul will be out and about in the coming weeks and is really looking forward to meeting with our client schools.

This term we also welcomed Julian Austin. Julian is an experienced business manager with an extensive background in accounting, administration and operations in both private and public sector organisations.  He has a depth of understanding in all aspects of school finances - from planning, execution and management as long-serving Business Manager at Pukekohe High School, through to oversight and governance responsibilities in his 15 years as Board Chair of his local primary schools.

Hubdoc now included in your Xero subscription

Term 2 in distance mode is underway this week and we know that this is an immensely challenging time for all schools. One small piece of good news is that Hubdoc, Xero’s automated data processing app, is now included in your Xero subscription.

Hubdoc is a great productivity tool. It makes it easy to get your bills and receipts into Xero by sending them directly to your personal Hubdoc email address, by drag-and-drop from your desktop  or by scanning them from the mobile app. Once uploaded the data is automatically extracted and the transaction published to Xero. Transactions are accurately categorised to make it easy to match them with your bank feed in Xero.

Not only does Hubdoc reduce data entry and processing time significantly, it also stores copies of the original documents in one secure location so that they can be easily viewed for future reference and audit purposes. It can also push copies to a connected cloud platform if required so there is no longer any need to keep paper copies on file.

For familiarisation, Xero Central has a modules to help you put Hubdoc into practice and an introductory webinar next scheduled to run on 22 April. Edtech also offers a training module if you would prefer one-to-one guidance.

Now that cost is no longer a barrier we strongly encourage all our Xero clients to proceed with implementation. Set up is a simple process – just let your consultant know that you would like to go ahead and they will action this for you.

COVID-19 response

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, our staff are following Ministry of Health guidelines. They are aware of, and taking, the necessary hygiene precautions.

Should a staff member become unwell or know they have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus, they will stay home and self-isolate for the required period of time.

It is also possible that movements of personnel between schools may add an extra element of risk. If any of our staff are concerned that the nature of their role places them at greater risk of exposure, their request to work from home will be granted. If, for similar reasons, schools place restrictions on visitors, our staff will understand.

Regardless of the circumstances, all Edtech staff are able to work remotely online from either our offices or from home. We can therefore provide assurance that there will be no impact on your accounting processes and no loss of continuity should we be unable to maintain our regular schedule of visits.

A great day at the Xero Roadshow

The Xero NZ Roadshow is in town and last week a group of Edtech staff headed to the the Manukau City Events Centre to hear first hand about the latest news and updates.

Key takes for us were:

• How Xero is capitalising on artificial intelligence to make things simple, seamless and smarter.

• The latest updates to the platform.

• The features progressively being added to the mobile app.

• Xero’s new online learning platform which consolidates all their education resources in one place helping both us as advisors and you as clients to become more confident and knowledgeable.

Don’t forget to check out the seminars and workshops on our website if you would like our help to build your confidence with Xero.

Welcome Susie and Tim

We are delighted to welcome Susie Lo and Tim Merriott to the Edtech team.

Susie joined us at the end of June when her young son started school. She is an experienced accountant who has worked in chartered and non-chartered accounting firms for many years. Susie has a Bachelor in Business from Auckland University of Technology and is Xero certified. As a busy working mum Susie continues to give back to the community in her role as treasurer for the Central Auckland Parents Centre.

Tim is a Chartered Accountant with an MBA from Southern Cross University in Australia. During his career Tim has been responsible for financial management and planning at the Faculty of Health Science at Auckland University, has worked for various local authorities in London and southern England, and held positions in the corporate sector in Auckland. Tim has had a hands-on role raising his two sons and has used his accounting expertise to contribute much in a volunteer capacity to Mangere Bridge School and the Scouts association.

Join our Free Trial

Receipt Bank is a wonderful productivity tool. It integrates directly with Xero to create an end-to-end bookkeeping solution.

Just send your receipts, bills and invoices to your personal Receipt Bank email address or scan them with the handy mobile app and publish them to Xero in one click. The data syncs with your Xero Chart of Accounts and pushes the extracted information to your Purchase Ledger or Bank Account for effortless reconciliation.

Not only does receipt bank reduce data entry time, every creditor transaction has a PDF copy of the authorised invoice attached for future reference and audit purposes. These can then be easily accessed by school staff, your Edtech consultant and the auditors.

If you are using Xero and would like to trial Receipt Bank at no cost for 2 months just let your consultant know or drop us an email to enquiries@edtech.co.nz .