The One After Accountex || Accounting Tech & Fintech News

[00:00:00] Maybe the Trojan Horse in Disguise that gets accountants hooked on this tool and then who knows Sorry, I still can't get rid of the image of Dwayne across your chest, Indi, which was not what I was expecting from this app movies Dwayne Jackson's new tool promises to simplify a notoriously complex process for accountants or contractors Announcements didn't stop there. They released two other additional features around this time They're on board in a vicious legal battle still with their main model deal

[00:00:30] The fact that Pre-Agent are specifically selecting key providers to integrate into actually triggers me to want to learn more about power This acquisition means faster, deeper integrations that will make managing your practice even more seamless Now how quickly they build in is obviously going to be critical but they are estimating summer 2025 To me this just demonstrates the same thing that we've spoken about in the past so many times Which is why this podcast is so important

[00:00:56] It is about trying to transmit the right amount of information in the right form and at the right time Hello, welcome to today's Digitals in Accrual World episode brought to you by the Digital Disruptors This episode has been brought to you by Iplicit, the mid-market financial system for those who have outgrown their entry-level cloud accounting system

[00:01:22] I'm joined today by my wonderful co-host Ryan Pearcy and not joined today by our second wonderful co-host John Toon Which is a shame But today we are talking all things post-account text and we've got a number of different app news Updates from the accounting tech space that we are delighted to bring you

[00:01:43] And we're also looking at the space in general in terms of post-account text and how we feel the market is evolving With the types of updates that we saw at Countex collectively And also to talk about the launch of a training platform that we are now spending a little bit more time Understanding how the market is responding to our training certification

[00:02:11] And I think on that note I can kick to Ryan who was at Accountex and unfortunately I was unable to make it Owing to a number of different reasons That were all very personal but all very boring as well so I was a bit gutted to miss out Ryan Tell me everything, tell me all the gossip and what happened and what did I miss out on? Your life is never boring Indy I'm sure there was some fascinating stuff that's going on But you did miss out on incredible

[00:02:40] Fair enough, you did miss out on an incredible Countex It was an insane first day I've never seen a show like that It was so rammed that they just could not cope with the people getting in the door That was mayhem Really? Yeah, and then the floor was just jam-packed At times it's hard to move around All of the talks that I went to were pretty much out of the back of the stages

[00:03:07] And our little help desk booth was helping endless people find the right solution So yeah, very exciting but I do have a new massive respect for vendors Because by the end of the second day I was exhausted I bet, I bet And your feet? Yeah, my feet were killing And also I think I spent quite a long time trying to find John He was definitely supposed to be helping me But obviously John is a social butterfly out talking to lots of people

[00:03:38] Yeah, you can't keep a hold of that man He is away with all of the good and the great in accounting But how did the events go? Because we ran a pre-Accountex event and also a breakfast morning To try and get some feedback from the market on how they would be receptive to Embedding new digital services into their practice So tell us both sides of that coin The social and the educational

[00:04:06] Well, Accountex, now with circus games Was in my opinion the best accountex we've ever done It was incredible Don't tell me that It was so much fun It probably helped that I quite awkwardly won Out of everyone that was there The 70 to 80 people that were there I got the top score and won a bear Which I think was quite hard for John to announce Was that because you were so used to clowning around?

[00:04:36] Yeah, that's it I don't know, I was having a lot of fun I was just laughing and joking, didn't expect anything And then yeah, at the end somehow got the top score But to be honest, I don't think anyone was taking it seriously It was just a lot of fun little circus and arcade style games So yeah, but great night Lots of people there Massive buzz, a lot of fun And a great way to kick off the show Nice And then the training session was a mixed bag

[00:05:04] We didn't get as many people turning up as we'd hoped But the feedback from the people that did was very positive And everyone I spoke to before and after our training session Said about how actually really helpful what we were covering was Which was helping those that are going to a show Make sure they're well prepared to engage with software vendors In the most effective way I think maybe it was just badly timed It's quite early Lots of people travelling into London

[00:05:33] 8am Maybe we just got it wrong Maybe we're so used to being there early Because we do the show before The night before that We just expected more people to be there And also I think that as we've seen at most of these events When people turn up to speak to you about where to go They are often quite ill prepared with all of our options And like most of us We leave it right until the last moment To understand how to coordinate that

[00:06:03] I do wonder whether there's better merit in trying to Like you say Come at a different time of the day But the problem is with the context It's so overwhelming There's so many people That trying to even schedule it for a perfect time Is it's sometimes a little bit impossible But you can see the need there Because I imagine that you Based on what you were saying The people that came to the stand You still spent the whole day Directing people

[00:06:30] For the optimal tech stack Or the kind of rollout I mean new product That would work within their practice Based on the things that they're trying to offer Or do for their clients Yeah and it wasn't just those in practice We had FDs and FCs from businesses come up Asking us like Well basically saying I've got this problem You know there's so many vendors here I'm not entirely certain Who I should be speaking to And we managed to navigate them To a number of vendors around the room Depending on the specific requirements

[00:07:00] And yeah they seemed very positive Very happy about that And that was really well supported By the Digital Disruptive community I think we had about 10 different members That took part during the day Joining us and helping those that came up And yeah it went very positively We had lots of positive reviews And we also had a number of those That want to learn more about The digital transformation accreditation Training scheme that we're launching Request to be put on the shortlist Which we now need to create

[00:07:29] That is often the way That we are so in demand And then all at the same time We have to try and navigate The diary politics Of getting everyone in the same space At the same time To me this just demonstrates The same thing that we've spoken about In the past so many times Which is why this podcast is so important It is about trying to transmit The right amount of information In the right forum And at the right time Because it is so impossible

[00:07:58] To make sure that all of the moons align For so many people in the same room Which I think is a big part Of what we're trying to do With our training certification program Given that it is something That accountants and CFOs And other people in the industry Can take part in And benefit from From their home Rather than trying to go to a location At a specific time And so I think that if anything It proves to us That there's still Like a very big interest In doing this Because when people come

[00:08:27] To the automation station stand The whole day I remember last year You weren't there Ryan It was a two days Solid lost my voice Kind of vibe Where we were really just Trying to direct As many accountants And CFOs as possible To exactly what type Of digital transformation They were hoping to achieve By using the different technologies In the room

[00:08:57] And the alternatives That would bed in for them And they really were interested In trying to figure out A standardised process To doing that Definitely It's all about choice And just as we have The podcast We've got the newsletter now And we've also got The quarterly app date That's just come live as well Everyone wants to Ingest information Whatever's the best way for them And it's our job To accommodate that So on that note Shall we kick on DAP News? Sounds perfect Let's crack on

[00:09:31] On DAP News today Big moves in the UK Practice management space With the acquisition Of Engager So we saw this At Accountex And I saw all sorts Of updates going live Across the industry That the cloud-based tool That quickly gained traction In the accounting community The beloved Engager Has now been acquired By TaxCalc It's their first acquisition Since their major investment

[00:09:59] From STG partners last year Marking a new chapter In their expansion plans Engager Which was launched In 2023 By Johan Gori And a number of people Within the accounting Tech spaces Has grown really fast Adding features like E-signing Client portals AML integrations And with 1500 users Already on board For accountants This is a big deal With TaxCalc's Existing products And Engager's All-in-one

[00:10:29] Practice management platform This acquisition Means faster Deeper integrations That will make Managing your practice Even more seamless TaxCalc's CMO Said this was a logical move To build on Engager's success And actually I think That's an interesting Statement to make Engager has been Incrementally growing Very rapidly Thanks to The organic process The organic reach Sorry That Johan Gori Has in this space

[00:10:59] And so if anything I think this is a Really great partnership For TaxCalc Rather than an acquisition With TaxCalc's backing We expect enhancements To come even quicker And what's key here Is a continued support For existing customers And the promise That Engager will remain As available As an add-on Giving firms More choice In how they manage Their practice As the demand for Cloud practice Based management tools Rises And we've seen That most of those That are in this space

[00:11:29] Have retrenched slightly I think TaxCalc Is positioning itself To meet that need Head-on It's a big win For the accounting space I think a really big win For the whole team At Engager And it shows That they're really Coming to the market To power up Something that was Already making A lot of partnerships Across the board With different types Of accounting systems What was the buzz From your perspective Ryan On how well This was received

[00:11:59] In the space This was really odd From my perspective Because I was on The complete other side Of the show floor And it took quite a while For the ripple effect To get to me From being there live But yeah This is probably The biggest announcement At AccountEx And you always need A big announcement At AccountEx Someone always saves Something up For that day And yeah I think this is Huge news For the Engager team And I think there's been A lot of questions On the back of this

[00:12:28] Like why have they done this They've talked a lot About not wanting to Sell Not too soon They wanted it To be all about community And they're very Protective of the community So I assume That was a very Critical aspect When they're considering Who to bring on board But They've been growing But they must have been Starting to lose speed Right Because it comes down To money in the end You need You need a big team The bigger you get The bigger the team you need And unless they Could get some investments Some money in Then there's always The risk you're going to

[00:12:58] Start to slow down And lose traction So that's my I guess gut Feel for why I'd have done this Interesting pop shit though I don't know if I think It's sad I think that In this space Where you've got More likely Engagers Picking up Massive steam And I don't know That you could say The same about Tax Calc They received an investment They need to demonstrate To their investors That they are growing fast

[00:13:27] I think it's logical That they would need To either Make an acquisition Of this nature Or have a very good plan How they're going to deploy Some sort of Value add product To their software suite And so It makes more sense That rather than Build it And rather than Partner They just buy someone That's actually Doing really well In the space And can benefit From the organic Halo effect Of the customer base That Tax Calc has

[00:13:58] Why So From an engagement Perspective Are you saying There's no real Strategic reason Apart from Financial Somebody makes you An offer That you can't resist Why not As well as that There was an acquisition Just before Accountex Which was That Bright Acquires Timekeeper Now I think This is an amazing Play by Bright Because Bright Payrolls Probably biggest weakness Has been their Timesheet Or lack of Timesheet functionality And Timekeeper Is a leading

[00:14:28] Timesheet Management capture tool In this space So the fact that Timekeeper Can obviously Track digital time But also attendance Job tracking And workforce management A deep integration Between these two platforms Would enhance Bright Payroll Massively And I guess Create a more Symbiotic relationship Than if In a much quicker time If they tried to Build this themselves They've already proven By moving to the cloud And having to Recall their Software early on

[00:14:57] That there's a big Challenge about Building deep Payroll functionality And building Effectively a deep Integration between Bright Pay and Timekeeper Would be a big Positive for Anyone that's a Bright Pay Customer Now how quickly They build in Is obviously going To be critical But they are Estimating summer 2025 Which is just Around the corner So the fact that They're expecting A deep integration Between these two Platforms That quickly Is a massive Win for the Bright Pay team If they can pull This off

[00:15:26] And they've Effectively said This is one of The biggest Areas that all Their customers Have been requesting They went out To find the Solution for it Timekeeper is the Bit that Fills that void Nice Sounds very good And although I Was not there I did hear my Wonderful lovely Ex-comrades at Capium had come In to check on Me so thank you Very much to all Of those people at Capium and that They have just Launched a new Tool Capium 365 Aimed at simplifying The digital record

[00:15:56] Keeping process Ahead of MTD for Income tax It's a simplified Bookkeeping solution That allows clients To upload receipts And invoices Through an app Or email And categorise Income streams Directly within The platform It sounds Pretty great And actually in the Time that I was At Capium That was something That was really The end game For working with A lot of the Smaller businesses That they have On the platform But here's the Catch

[00:16:26] While Capium 365 Promises to Mask the Complexity of Tax compliance We've not Let's not forget We've heard Similar promises Before It's built for Sole traders Individuals and Partnerships With automation Tools like Bank reconciliation And categorisation The tool pushes Client document Requests Saving accountants Time Well at least For clients With simple Returns Capium's pricing Starts at $11.99 per month With a special Rate for existing Customers

[00:16:56] And I think That at that Price we really Hope it would Streamline the Process for the Workflow for Those who have Fairly straightforward Records that Need to then Be reconciled It's about Balancing the Ease of Using it With the Accuracy So this is A solid option For accountants Handling fairly Straightforward Clients Even though we Know that There's a bit More complexity Around the Corner I think For the

[00:17:25] Majority of Those in The space Sole traders In particular When I think About the KPM-esque Customer and The businesses That they Support I think This is a Fantastic Very cost Effective Option Yeah I Think you Know that We've had A raft Of releases Aimed at The MTD Clients Well I guess Potential Client base Right there's So many Businesses That are Trying to Ramp up Be those Accountants Or software Vendors We've had Zero Simple

[00:17:55] We've now Got Well we Had Quick Wills Online Sole Trader And now We've got KPM365 As well as Sage's Product And Free Agent Which has Always been In the space We've now Got An integration Between Free Agent And Powder Which is A live Financial Reporting Tool Not One I've Actually Come Across Much Before So The Fact That Free Agent Are Specifically Selecting Key Providers To Integrate Into Actually Triggers Me To want To learn More About Powerless And

[00:18:25] We're Doing Some Digging Into This One It Shows That They've Obviously Got Their Their Finger On The Pulse Whenever They build Integration And I Want Text And You Didn't Go And See The Free Agent Stand You Wouldn't Have Got The Cute Little Genesis Robot But In White And Blue I've Got One Of Those I got them For My Daughter And Stole It But If You're

[00:19:10] Not Coming In Jack And You Can Handle The Entire Of The Purchase Invoice Processing Now Directly Into Free Agent But The Announcements Didn't

[00:19:41] Essentially My Understanding Is This Is The Same So Find And Fix Probably Because They Can't Call It Find And Recode You Can Edit Up To 100 Records At Once Changing VAT Rates Accounting Categories And Descriptions Without Resourcing To Journals Or Repeated Manual Input That Is Now In The Free Agent Tool I Think I'm Out Of Now Talking About Free Agent Yeah I

[00:20:52] I CIS Manager A Cloud Based Platform Designed To Make Life Easier For Contractors And Subcontractors Working Under The Construction Industry Scheme The CIS Scheme With Over A Million Subcontractors In The UK Let's Be Fairly Real About This Dwayne Has Always Done A Really Good Job Of Launching Products And He Does A Really Great Job Of Making Sure They Exit

[00:21:21] Historically Software Aimed At CIS Compliance Has Been Really Clunky And Buried In Desktop Systems And I Think Dwayne Is Perfect At Finding Those Gaps In The Market Where Most Of The Features Never Even Get Used And He Spotted Another Gap In The Market In Terms Of CIS Management But Here's The Real Kicker Charging For It Yet It's Free Oh Yet

[00:21:51] Yet And And I say That Because We Saw What He Did With Staffology We Saw The Pricing Mechanism He Had For Cash Flow It Was Very Good He Was He Finds An Alternative Commercial Model I Really Like The Way His Area The Question Is Whether This Is Just Another

[00:22:21] Gateway For Dwayne To Tap Into A Bigger Market CIS Manager Maybe The Trojan Horse In Disguise That Gets Accountants Hooked On This Tool And Then Who Knows Is It Another Exit To Iris But For Now It's Free So If You Are Struggling With CIS Compliance This Could Be When The Free Period Ends And I Say That With

[00:22:50] Absolutely If I Could Lift Up Top That Would Not Be Appropriate Right Now But Imagine Wayne Jackson Love Heart Around You Know Everything That He Does So I Am A Big Supporter Of An Evangelical Fan Of Everything That He Touches So There You Go I Say Bear That In Mind But It Sounds Like A Great Product For Any Of Those

[00:23:20] In This Space What Do You Think Lion Sorry I Still Can't Get Rid Of

[00:24:16] It needs to be incredibly easy and set me UI perspective. And let's hope that he's nailed it. All right, pivoting slightly into QuickBooks Online. Now we've talked, I think, a little bit about Xero and the fact that they've been bringing a fair usage policy. If we haven't, we definitely will do. But QuickBooks Online have now brought out or bringing out usage limits, depending on when you listen to this pod. They are bringing restrictions impacting users.

[00:24:42] So if you've got a certain user number or transaction volume or number of classes, then you'll need to upgrade to the next tier, subscription tier above. And if you don't do that, you'll have your access restricted. Now, I believe this is coming in June. Now, whenever there's an announcement where it's a big fundamental shift that affects client or user access, sometimes those dates slip. But this was announced.

[00:25:11] And this is what we're starting to see a lot in the small business space platforms, especially as a lot of those bigger businesses come in and start using the products because of the suite of integrations that are enabled means that you can do that. But it starts putting quite a burden on the servers. And unless they encourage or, I guess, drive their clients to an alternative, then they're going to constantly have this problem. Very nice. Very nice.

[00:25:37] And something from Rippling, the HR tech juggernaut that has raised a staggering $450 million in its Series G round, propelling its valuation to an eye-hortering $16.8 billion. Just remember when we were talking about unicorns. Do you remember the days? And now a jaw-dropping jump from just last year when it was valued at $13.4 billion.

[00:26:06] But here's where it gets even juicier. Rippling isn't just raising funds. They're also offering a $200 million tender to give employees a little more liquidity. But is this rapid expansion too good to be true? While Rippling has become a startup superstar with over 20,000 customers and 4,000 employees, it's not all sunshine and rainbows as we saw just recently.

[00:26:31] Just as a company rockets towards domination, they're abroad in a vicious legal battle still with their main rival, Deal. The accusations, corporate espionage. Rippling claims Deal hired a spy to infiltrate its inner workings and Deal isn't backing down, filing its own countersuit. Now in the middle of a lawsuit, Rippling is pushing its founder mode offering to wire combinator startups with an aggressive six-month free offer.

[00:27:01] But behind the flashy deals and the sky-high valuation, the question remains that can Rippling keep its empire intact while dodging legal bullets and growing at breakneck speed? Or will the drama catch up with them? So this is something that we need to keep our plus eye on. And for those who are interested in hearing or learning more about the HR tours,

[00:27:26] I'm not sure that I know enough about whether this is something that most people are asking for, but it seems like a good strike at partnership with wire combinator in the meantime. And what do you think, Ryan? Well, I mean, I don't know a lot of the details. Most of these products have come from abroad. We did have Deal definitely at AccountEx. I saw them, had a good conversation. But I'm not sure if Rippling were there. It was definitely not if they did have a stand obvious or easy to find.

[00:27:56] So I wonder how much of this is going to affect the UK market, or if it's just those abroad battling out. Yeah, I think it's nice to watch a company building and having so many embroiled in so many legal battles. Actually, I don't think it sometimes makes you feel like living vicariously in some way,

[00:28:19] watching something from afar and watching these guys do a really good job of navigating the complex doldrums of the space. So, yeah, we'll keep you posted. Sounds good. Well, I guess to wrap up news this week, I have something from Xero. They have fully announced tap to pay on the Xero app. And I really like the way this works. So simply powered by Stripe, as long as you open an invoice on your mobile device,

[00:28:47] you can put, take a payment or hit, take payment. And the customer can tap their watch or card directly to your phone. Obviously, you need a relatively new or modern mobile phone for this to work. But assuming that you do have that, it will take the payment through Stripe. And you've got the option to then send a receipt to your customer straight after if you want to. And the invoice goes directly into your system, fully marked, paid, ready for reconciliation as the transaction comes in.

[00:29:16] Definitely aimed at those smaller contractor style businesses, as we keep talking about on this episode. Those that are out in the field and just want to trigger a quick payment. And you don't need a card payment terminal, right? Straight from your mobile device. So it makes it cheaper and easier. So big, big release from Xero. And interesting to see how quickly this is adopted. Because I think we've had a lot of releases from Xero over the last couple of years where we're not been so sure about it. But this one is a big win, in my opinion.

[00:29:46] Is tap to pay cheaper? This is my question. Than. Than alternatives. I mean, you're still paying for it. So. Well, it's not. 1.4% and 20 pence per transaction. Right? Yeah, it's not cheaper than Cresco, which is free. That's my point. Yeah.

[00:30:12] But that uses open banking and not card. So card payments, I believe. And it would be good if anyone is listening and can correct me on this. I believe there aren't any free alternatives as yet. No. No. Well, I imagine that there's still... I think practically it's good to have optionality around payments. So that's one thing that we do encourage as much as possible.

[00:30:39] And the fact that it works on both Android and iPhone. And I don't think there's any restriction on it. Do you think it allows you to also tap with Amex? You know what? I don't know. Whether it's Visa and MasterCard only is not something that I have seen. Let me see if I can quickly see something on here. No. I'm curious. We all want to know if we can rack up our reward points, hey?

[00:31:10] Well, I don't have any reward points yet. I need to invest in an Amex card, I think. Then I'll know all this because I would have failed to pay if I tapped the phone. Well, that brings us to a close on app news this week. We hope you enjoyed some of the news on that. And if there's anything that you want us to talk more about, then feel free to obviously wang it across and we'll make sure it's covered. Way wang! To wang it across? Wang wang it across.

[00:31:40] What a use of terminology there. Thanks for joining us on today's episode of Digital Is In A Cruel World. We hope you enjoyed it and we look forward to hearing your feedback, seeing you join our newsletter, seeing you join our community, turning up at our next event and making sure that you join our digital certification program. And if there's anything that you've missed and you think that we're not doing enough, tell us about it because we're always interested in learning more.

[00:32:08] If you want to feature on one of our digital digests, which is a live stream that happens every single Thursday with myself, and or mine, depends on who's in the hot seat that day, then again, reach out to us and we're always happy to put you under the spotlight. Just wang those ideas across. Anytime. Thanks again, catch you on the next one.