Customers speak, vendors no longer control

• Tweet

• Tweet

Customers speaking out represent the most powerful voices. When they complain, the world knows. When they heap praise, the world knows. It’s something over which no-one has control and especially not the vendors. Professionals should take notice because we are starting to see a regular stream of customers saying both good and not so good things about the vendors that serve them.

Earlier today I showed customers making detailed points about the Sage 50 2010 release. It makes for ugly reading if you’re on the receiving end. Contrast that with the post I am reproducing below. Both messages are powerful in their own right.

In an interesting Twitter thread I had with Duane Jackson, CEO Kashflow he said:

This was most incredibly SaaS-skeptic accountant on earth. Now look at him.

Its hard to disagree with that assessment.

The issue for vendors is obvious: serve customers well and they will speak on their own. You don’t need to go looking for praise, you only need cull those comments for marketing on your site (all with appropriate links back to the original.) Mess things up and the same applies only now you’re into serious damage control. Customers will now look for the best networks over which they can amplify their message. That removes the vendor from the equation and means they have almost no control over what’s going on. Vendors that fail to understand the power this puts into customer hands are going to find it increasingly difficult to compete. As I said to Duane: people like he, me and other pundits can talk as muich as we like but it will be customers who speak with the loudest voice. After many years of railing at vendors to produce those customers they’re coming out the woodwork on their own. That’s different and a trend everyone should be thinking about. There is a huge warning in here for professionals as well. Those that are not serving clients best by addressing client needs in a connected world are going to lose out.

Now read on and see whether you agree that the message this accountant is putting over makes you think twice.

I fully appreciate the worries about online accounting and I sat it out for the first few years, continuing to recommend the likes of Quickbooks, but for the past couple of years, I’ve been a convert and my default advice is now Kashflow.

Cost is minimal – just £60 per client if you’re in the accountant’s scheme, which is easily absorbed.

Loss of service is obviously a worry, but you can get an automatic weekly email backup of your data, and like any good software, you can do you own data-dumps to csv/spreadsheet files, so if you’re organised, you’ll never lose your data. Of course, online firms can disappear, but so can “desktop” firms – look at the debacle with the withdrawal of MYOB, look at the withdrawal of MS accounting.

There are so many benefits of online accounting.

Firstly, there’s no updating to do – program enhancements and fixes happen seemlessly with no user involvement at all. The Kashflow system has evolved enormously over the couple of years I’ve been using it.

Secondly, and what I’ve found most useful, is the ability to log in live to client’s book-keeping whilst they’re on the phone – it never ceases to impress a client when I change or enter a transaction for them, or set up a new bank account, or talk them through the trading results, etc.

Thirdly, I can easily log in and review the trading results without all the hassle of transferring backup files between us. I can see whethe their book-keeping is up to standard and if not, contact them to give live on the phone training. I can monitor turnover (for VAT reg or dereg) and profits for tax planning purposes, at regular intervals throughout the year.

Most importantly, I can do the year end accounts far more quickly and efficiently because of the above points – the “books” don’t turn up blind, I know how things look, I have confidence in the book-keeping quality.

For such low cost, it’s a no brainer. I am sure that Kashflow will survive as it’s so popular, but if it didn’t, I’m sure it would be taken over. I can’t see it disappearing and such a vast number of users being cast adrift. Even if it did, other online providers would no doubt write conversion programs to convert the data to their systems. My own personal view is that Kashflow will become the number one online provider if it isn’t already and will continue to snap at the heels of Sage, maybe even over-take Sage one day as the most popular accounting software – the current ownership & management is certainly heading the right way.

For me though, the most important thing is that customers are making the saas case themselves. They’re seeing it and identifying those elements of a saas solution where they are discovering benefit. Again, the vendor doesn’t have to do much to make that work to their advantage.

Tagged as: Accountancy, Accounting, Duane Jackson, KashFlow, MYOB, quickbooks, Small business, Software as a service