Relationships are key to my pursuit of happiness in life. I value them deeply. They are pivotal in my personal life as well as in my business life. My 3 beautiful daughters have grown up around FinTech. They get that mommy, and now daddy, are shaking things up a bit. Although they may not understand the full scope of FinTech, they do understand that we are striving to make it easier for small businesses' to succeed.
With so many apps that integrate with this and that. It's important to define your FinTech Family. Who's in your circle of trust? These folks should be the ones you can count on to listen to your challenges and work through them with you. The ones that will stop and have a conversation with you and genuinely care.
So the question is:
Does your FinTech app Stack resemble a family?
Recently we listened to the wisdom of Rachael Powell, Chief Customer People & Marketing Officer at Xero during a live Luminari event, as she articulated the Human Ripple Effect. The base of the ripple effect is the internal relationships of an organization. When the internal relationships are healthy and strong it's easier for everyone to be committed to a common goal. Magic happens when relationships formulate and begin to cast ripples outwards to customers and eventually the economy as a whole.
That's exactly what we have looked for in our FinTech Family. Apps that do more than process data. Apps with a Human element to make automation a tool for our existence. Not a replacement.
As Rachael says, trust is a human element. Trust can not be formulated by automation. It's the human to human relationship that builds and curates trust. That trust is used to communicate and solve problems for our clients.
Here are 3 basic questions to ask your FinTech apps when deciding if they should be part of your family.
Do you offer any product or service that directly competes with my offering?
Can you define for me how your application will benefit relationships with my clients?
What are your corporate values?
Firmly look at a FinTech app before implementing it. Does it fit with your vision for your practice or business. Does it feel right? Are you pressured or unsure? If so hit the pause button. Step back and look at what's troubling you, because I'm telling you right now the relationship is likely lacking trust. Look for apps that empower you. Apps that understand their role as a tool and who have a mighty passion to build a long-term sustainable relationship.
I think Anna Curzon, Head of Product for Xero, sums it up tightly by saying
Xero's job is to make things seamless, simpler, and smarter for us to give you better data so that you can give better advice to your clients.
Here is a quick list of notable FinTech apps to think about when you are building your accounting practice in Canada.
Xero - the home of all data. Easily export GIFI reports into Caseware for tax preparation
Hubdoc - for receipt capture and bank statement auto fetching
Wagepoint - for easy to use payroll processing & compliance
Veem - for vendor payment processing
Practice Ignition - to keep your engagements tight and your retainers paid
Helm - for cashflow projections
Live Plan - a living business plan made simple
Chata.AI - use AI to chat with your data & build insights
LumiQ - for continuing education and CPD credits
If you haven't already check out our 4 Reason's for Adopting Xero article or better yet check out some of the remaining Xero Roadshows.
Yours in apps,
