“Ignition has standardised our entire process. From proposal to payment, we now have a clear process in place that everybody follows.”
Robert Erb, Senior Business Advisor, GENFOCUS
The challenge: Grappling with inconsistent and manual processes
Canberra-based accountancy firm GENFOCUS focuses on uniting personal, business, and financial objectives into one balanced strategic plan. To deliver on this promise, GENFOCUS needed to start automating its processes and freeing its people from the time-consuming daily admin tasks.
Inconsistent client experience
When Senior Business Advisor Robert Erb joined GENFOCUS in 2020, he noticed more than a few inefficiencies had crept into their process over the years. He also saw some inconsistencies in how they communicated and serviced clients, which didn't reflect well on their reputation.
"Consistency is very important to us. We want to make sure that we project the same image to our clients every time we interact with them. But we were finding that there were a lot of variations in our client engagement letters and proposals," he says.
Lack of process standardisation
Those inconsistencies weren't just client-facing; behind the scenes, GENFOCUS lacked standardised processes for things like billing and payment collection.
As such, the team was inefficient and spent excessive time on administrative tasks such as sending proposals out and ensuring they got paid.
The solution: Ignition's smart integrations systemise processes and plug efficiency gaps
Robert had used Ignition at a previous firm. He knew it had the powerful yet simple-to-use tools needed to plug the gaps in efficiency and create consistency in client interactions at GENFOCUS. So, he led the firm's transition towards Ignition's revenue generation platform.
Integrating systems and workflows
Never one to do things by half, Robert invested time upfront integrating Ignition with Xero and Xero Practice Manager (XPM) and ensuring the workflows were fit-for-purpose. And while it was admittedly a fair amount of work, this investment has certainly paid off. Since implementing Ignition, GENFOCUS has doubled its revenue growth.
"Immediately prior to implementing Ignition we had 10% annual growth. Last year, we saw 20% growth," Robert says.
With the help of Ignition, the business has automated its entire client engagement process—from crafting and sending proposals to creating and managing jobs in XPM, billing and invoicing, and even client payments. All in all, Robert estimates this has saved his team around 400 hours a year in admin time.
Not only that, but the firm saw massive time savings, which translated to more money in the bank.
"We've crunched the numbers and estimate we're seeing $100,000 per year in productivity gains."
Creating a streamlined and cohesive client experience
Ignition has also allowed GENFOCUS to establish a clear process that everybody follows, which is a big step towards their goal of achieving more consistency. "Ignition has standardised our entire process," Robert says.
"Our engagement letters still have slight variations, but they are much more standardised. We now have a clear process in place that everybody follows."
Data-driven decision making
Ignition has given GENFOCUS the insights needed to make confident decisions about the firm's future. One feature that has been a game changer for Robert and his team is the ability to break down revenue by service — a small but powerful tool when planning for future growth.
"At the end of the year, we can clearly see how much we billed in each revenue stream and whether the revenue is recurring or non-recurring, and we can compare that to previous years and see which streams are growing and which aren't. We can then start planning our capacity and the types of staff we need," Robert says.
"Ignition certainly makes life a lot easier and frees us up to spend more time with clients," he concludes.
