Comments on: Another race to the bottom?

By: Crunch: avoiding the substance, classic error | AccMan

Crunch: avoiding the substance, classic error | AccMan — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:57:34 +0000

[...] as I said in my original post about Crunch, I like the disruptive nature of a service that combines the benefits of saas accounting with a [...]

By: Crunch Gets It So Right, and at the Same Time So Wrong | CloudAve

Crunch Gets It So Right, and at the Same Time So Wrong | CloudAve — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:32:30 +0000

[...] why I was pretty excited to read a post from fellow SaaS evangelist Dennis Howlett discussing a new accounting SaaS startup called Crunch. [...]

By: Health warning: Crunch giving wrong advice as saas provider | AccMan

Health warning: Crunch giving wrong advice as saas provider | AccMan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:28:31 +0000

[...] The other week I wrote about Crunch, a software and services offering operating out of Brighton. I re-posted the piece on IT Counts with some minor variations. Imagine my horror when I found out that Michael Rose (I’m assuming of Crunch) wrote the following comment on the IT Counts site: Hi Emily Crunch is designed to handle all the paperwork for Ltd companies including VAT returns and year-end. Crunch act as agents for VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax. The company currently deals with Freelancers, Contractors and Independent Consultants and we advise them to form a Ltd Company (if not already) and business and personal tax are kept separate – most users, therefore, don’t need to file separate personal assessment forms. You can get a guided tour of the system at http://www.crunch.co.uk/join/index.html to see how the online software works. [...]

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:25:33 +0000

I loved this piece and, as someone who uses Crunch, I feel happy to be part of something that'll shake up the industry a little.

As for 'face time' Crunch agents are available to me via phone and email which I think I prefer to having to make an appointment with a real live accountant.

If I had huge turnovers and complex arrangements and deals then obviously I'd require detailed, personalised information from time to time but, as a freelancer with typical clients, costs and a simple structure why should I pay through the nose for advice that can be built into an online, automated system?

By: Internet Strategist

Internet Strategist — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:55:12 +0000

Changing technology always creates winners and losers and requires repositioning. No matter how commoditized something can be made there will always be a demand for exceptionally talented and highly experienced and skilled advisors and implementers beyond what free or inexpensive services can provide.

Newspaper advertising was not extremely effective for many advertisers and Craigslist is similarly ineffective for many purposes. Little has changed in that regard except that the risk of testing is now more time and less money.

By: Phil Richards

Phil Richards — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:58:46 +0000

Thanks Dennis for the comments regarding our services for Professional Contractors and Freelancers. A couple of points that I would like to add:-

1. We rebranded as BFCA Limited on the 6th April
2. Our current services include FreeAgent Central as you say. We have a good relationship with FreeAgent and took the decision to package their accounting solution with our services, which does exactly what we need for our clients, rather than offer an in-house system. For me that was important – a) So that clients are not tied to us for the accounting system , they can leave us as clients and still use FreeAgent with another accountant b) FreeAgent are focussed on developing their system, we would never have the resource or skill to do this as well as they do.
3. Frank suggests we are trading in "non value added services" – I do not think so – The value of our service today is the package – Information ( available free ) + Speciality & Focus ( years of experience in a niche market ) +Tools ( FreeAgent ) + Advice ( bespoke to each client as required ) + Compliance ( protect and serve clients )
Phil

By: Dennis Howlett

Dennis Howlett — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:37:44 +0000

Great point Frank and one that I talk about often on these pages: Value Add is the ONLY viable place to go but…you need to have that entree via commoditization. It will be painful but for those that see where this goes, the rewards will be enormous.

By: Frank Scavo

Frank Scavo — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:32:14 +0000

I would note that both examples–classified ads, and the sort of accounting services you describe–involve services that are basically non-value-added. They thrive on information gaps: in the case of classified ads, the inability of buyers and sellers to find each other. In the case of accounting services, access to the specialized knowledge on how to set up a legal entity. So, if the Internet closes these information gaps and drives the costs of such services, so much the better. Forces accountants like Dennis to do more value-added work.