Stephen Long

J&P Services, Vending Specialists
Welwyn Garden City

Stephen – please tell us how you first came across RS Accounting, and why you appointed them.

“Our previous accountant suggested we use SAGE and whilst it was okay for our needs initially, over time it became increasingly evident that it was not appropriate for our business, and the advice we were getting was out-of-date.

“It was at that time that Chris asked me whether I’d considered moving our accounts to Xero but to be honest, I didn’t know much about it. I asked a few friends whether they’d heard of it, and they all said ‘yes, we’ve been using it for ages!’.

“With that reassurance, I asked Chris to show me what it could do, and quickly realised what we’d been missing. Chris explained how he could adapt the system to our specific requirements, and the system was installed in March last year. We haven’t looked back since.”

So what was it about RS and Xero that impressed you?

“The system itself is intuitive, but flexible enough to be customised to our needs, with the knowledge RS accountants have. I can get onto it any time I want and it shows me exactly where the business is, with sales figures and graphs that make it clear what is going on at any particular moment in time.

“Chris ran three training sessions for us, and showed us everything we needed to know in a calm patient manner. Even without all its other functions, the ability to be able to create invoices on my tablet and upload and reconcile my receipts has made it worth it, because I’m sure there were times in the past when I’ve done jobs and simply been so overwhelmed with work that I’ve actually forgotten to issue an invoice altogether!

“Now it’s simple – as soon as the job is finished, I invoice it there and then, and I can track how and when it’s paid, so I’m confident that non-payments will be picked up at an early stage.

“Xero has all our pricing built in to it too, so that saves me time and avoids any mistakes. And I save more money because previously, invoices were posted out to our customers, whereas now they go out electronically, saving all the postage costs.

“But the system alone is only half the reason we moved to RS. They really are superb in the way they support and advise us. We have a virtual portal for all our all our Accounts, Tax, payroll & PAYE documents, and a dedicated client manager, Joseph, who is always accessible and always eager to help us.”

So what advice would you give to anyone who thinks they may need to update their system – or their accountant?

“Sometimes it takes me a while to find the right people to work with, but I wish I’d spoken to Chris sooner. Xero is a great system, and the RS team deliver it so well, which is why I’d have no hesitation in recommending them.

“You have nothing to lose by speaking to them, and it could transform your business as it did for ours.”

Stephen Long, J&P Services, Vending Specialists, Welwyn Garden City