Your weekly go-to guide to transform your finance function into a strategic powerhouse.
Welcome CFO Techstack Community 👋,
In this issue of CFO Techstack, we're tackling a common question: who can I pay to help me implement a best-in-class tech stack for my finance function?
Last week, we launched our CFO Techstack Market Map. And just like climbers depend on Sherpas when scaling Everest, finance teams want tech stack consultants to help them achieve peak tech potential.
Now introducing the CFO Techstack Advisor Directory—a handpicked list of top consultants who are specialists in the Xero ecosystem.
Just like Xero’s advisor directory connects businesses with accountants and bookkeepers, our directory connects finance teams with expert tech stack advisors.
Need help with a tech stack implementation? Not sure if your current setup is working efficiently? We've got you covered.
FEATURED ARTICLE
The CFO Techstack Advisor Directory
Connecting you with the best in tech stack advisory
At CFO Techstack, we're dedicated to helping ambitious, tech-savvy finance leaders scale by building a best-in-class tech stack tailored to their specific needs. Time and again, members of our community embarking on tech stack overhauls ask us the same question: "Is there someone we can pay to help us with this?" The good news is, there is!
We know plenty of amazing people who can help. These are the best-of-the-best tech stack advisors.
The rise of the tech stack advisor
Over the last two decades, cloud accounting has really skyrocketed, bringing with it a flood of new apps and tools. This shift towards technology and automation has created a whole new breed of advisor: the tech stack advisor, also known as a "cloud champion".
We launched our CFO Techstack Market Map to help finance teams navigate the expansive Xero ecosystem. You can think of tech stack advisors as experts on this map. They're all about helping businesses assess their systems, bring in new tools, and build a tech setup that fits their exact needs.
What does a tech stack advisor do?
Technology moves fast these days, and it’s not always easy for businesses to keep up with all the new ways they can save time and money. That’s where tech stack advisors come in.
Here’s how they make a difference:
Assessment and optimisation: They dive into your finance operations to find spots where new technology can make things run smoother and more accurately.
Tool evaluation: Whether you’re already using apps or thinking about upgrades, they’ll give them a thorough check-up to see what’s working, what needs tweaking, and what’s ready for an upgrade.
Staying ahead: These advisors stay on top of the latest accounting tech solutions, making sure your finance team stays sharp and efficient.
Tech stack advisors don’t just suggest solutions; they roll up their sleeves and get things done. From setting up new software to training your team and providing ongoing support, they can provide you with the level of support you need to ensure your tech works hard for your finance team.
Their mission? To help you save time, manage cash flow better, and make smarter decisions—all with the help of the right tech.
Navigating the CFO Techstack advisor directory
Our advisor directory is your go-to map for finding the perfect tech advisor for your finance team. It covers advisors across the UK and APAC regions, with details on their locations, services they offer, industry experience, the types of software they specialise in, and any specific tools they know inside out. This makes it easy to browse and pick the best match for your needs.
Don't just take it from us
We caught up with one of our CFO Techstack certified advisors, Tyler Caskey, Partner at TheBeanCounters, to get his top tips on optimising your tech stack:
Want more advice like this?
Take a look at our advisor directory to find a variety of experienced professionals ready to improve your finance operations. Whether you're in the UK or APAC, our advisors are here to help you create a streamlined, future-proof tech setup.
Just announced: Xero takes centre stage as headline sponsor of Stacked
We love what Xerocon does for accountants and bookkeepers—cutting-edge tech insights, career inspiration, and unparalleled networking—and now we’re bringing that same vibe and value to in-house finance leaders.
Stacked is THE event for in-house finance teams looking to:
💥 Build the best tech stack: A day to learn how to scale with Xero and leverage it’s ecosystem.
💥 Become a better in-house finance leader in one day: Inspiring talks that will open your mind, build your network and transform your finance function.
Andrew Powell, Group Finance Director at QIG Holdings, shares their tech stack
Through its investments, QIG Holdings provides serviced accommodation across the globe. Focusing on Q Apartments which specialise in the London property market, providing leading serviced accommodation to corporate and leisure customers.
QIG is actively pursuing expansion opportunities to further meet the demand for high-quality serviced accommodations in the city.
Andrew told us, "We currently oversee around 20 entities, each with its own Xero company producing its own profit and loss statement, managed by our finance team of six."
Here's what Andrew and his team are using:
Hubdoc for Invoice Processing:Hubdoc is our data capture tool. What we find valuable is its ability to recognise past expenditures accurately, so it captures the right information and then also suggests the appropriate nominal ledger code for each transaction, which tends to be consistent across similar expenditures.
ApprovalMax for Financial Controls:ApprovalMax is really helpful for our internal controls. We use it to set up purchase orders and ensure that spending is authorised by the right people, within their approved limits. It also handles invoice approvals, which helps us delegate spending responsibilities and manage our approval processes effectively. Overall, it's a great tool for maintaining strong internal controls.
Pleo for Spend Management: We manage our credit card expenditures using Pleo. Since joining the company 18 months ago, we've made significant improvements to our tech stack from starting with just spreadsheets and Xero. Pleo was introduced over a year ago to manage ad hoc spending, particularly for our field operatives. It allows us to set individual spending limits and ensures a robust review and approval process for expenditures. The integration with Xero is seamless and enhances our workflow efficiency. We can easily update temporary spending limits, for instance, when launching new apartments or marketing campaigns to accommodate increased expenses.
Mayday for Intercompany: Mayday has been a significant improvement for us. We operate over 20 companies, and managing the recharges used to take about three to four days each month, with numerous journals containing 15 to 20 lines each. However, since we started using Mayday in February this year, we've automated the process, reducing the time spent on reconciliation to less than half a day. Setting up Mayday was time-consuming because we had to configure rules for each company and ledger code individually. Despite the initial investment of time, it has streamlined our reporting, saving us around two and a half to three days of work each month. While there are still areas where improvements could be made, such as simplifying the journal transfer into Xero—we currently handle 80 to 100 journals individually—I've been very pleased with Mayday's impact on our month-end operations. It also allows us to quickly to see if our intercompany balances match across all companies. Where there is a difference, we can quickly establish which companies have a discrepancy and where we need to look to correct.
Joiin for Consolidation: Joiin is integral to our FP&A analysis and board reporting processes. We input our budgets and forecasts into Xero, which Joiin pulls across seamlessly. One drawback of using Xero as a group is its repetitive nature—for instance, closing month-ends and adapting to new company setups can mean repeating tasks across our 20 entities i.e. closing down a period end we have to repeat 20 times! Despite these challenges of using xero across multiple entities, I am pleased with the progress made to date. Joiin has really enhanced our board reporting capabilities. While we still use Excel for certain reports, Joiin's ability to consolidate and present data efficiently has been a significant improvement. Our focus going forward is to further refine our board pack using Joiin.
Payhawk have updated purchase orders field management and introduced filter enhancements. You can now mandate specific fields or document attachments for submitting a PO request, and find purchase orders quicker with numerous new filters. See release notes.
Airwallex have made some additional upgrades to the transfer experiences for web app and API customers to further streamline the process. Check out the most recent updates.
Dext released Dextension, which integrates Dext into Xero with a browser extension. Read the product updates.
WHAT THE DATA SAYS
📊 Stat of the week
61% of CFOs have had to compromise on customer experience to stay afloat in today's challenging climate.
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