“The last thing I want is to worry about getting into the office on Monday and wondering if we can make payroll. Having regular payments come in without me even lifting a finger has removed all of that stress.”
- Sarah Stein, Director, Miss Efficiency
Industry: Bookkeeping
Location: Australia and Philippines
Founded: 2002
Team size: 6
Clients: 83
The core purpose of Brisbane-based Bookkeeper, Miss Efficiency is to eradicate financial stress. So when Executive Director, Sarah Stein found herself under a mountain of stress running her own business, the irony wasn’t lost on her.
Sarah was stressed out chasing client payments, managing irregular cash flow, and wondering how she would cover payments to her team, her suppliers, and herself.
Sarah resolved to run her business in line with the values she promotes to her clients. And that meant implementing systems and processes to make her business more efficient, more profitable and ultimately, more enjoyable.
The challenge: improve cash flow and eliminate manual workarounds
Understanding a thing or two about cash flow, Sarah knew the obvious solution was to move her clients to direct debit. Sarah chose a platform that would enable this but soon found there were still a lot of small, but time-consuming, tasks involved.
“I didn't have to worry about chasing payments but I still had to raise the invoice and reconcile the payments. And if I wanted to get visibility I still had to put them in the system and update the details.”
“It was all quite clunky and cumbersome.”
The solution: Ignition’s automated payments and seamless workflows
Ignition’s seamless connection to critical business software filled the gaps in Sarah’s workflow. Putting the whole process on autopilot freed up Sarah to focus on delivering excellent client service instead of tedious tasks.
“Now I’m using Ignition, I don’t have to raise invoices and I don't have to do any receivables. It's just so much more stress-free for me now.”
For Sarah, it also meant the end of chasing payments - and the associated awkward calls.
“I don’t mind chasing payments on behalf of our clients but that’s absolutely not what I want to do for my own clients.”
“Now, the money just hits my account every week which is awesome. I don't have to make those really awkward phone calls chasing money anymore.”
Since implementing direct debit and with the help of Ignition’s automated features, Sarah has seen improved cash flow and now has zero debtors.
“Before moving to direct debit, the invoices would go out when I had time to send them out. And the money would come into my account when the clients had the time or the funds to pay me.”
“Now cash flow has evened out on both sides - it’s a win-win for both me and my clients.”
As for her stress levels? Ignition has taken the guesswork out of being paid, providing a consistent stream of funds that has relieved much of the stress Sarah was under.
“The last thing I want is to worry about getting into the office on Monday and wondering if we can make payroll or wondering if that direct debit that's coming out of our account will push us into overdraft.”
“Having regular, systematic payments come in without me even lifting a finger has removed all of that stress.”
Of course, Sarah acknowledges that no business is perfect and things can still go wrong. But with Ignition on her side, she’s confident it will be able to handle any curve balls that are thrown her way.
“Even when a payment is dishonoured, I still don't have to do anything because Ignition takes care of that as well.”
