Roadshow Profile series: Michelle Barnett

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Xero’s epic annual NZ Roadshow has begun! We’re travelling the country through 16 locations across both islands, from Whangarei to Invercargill and several towns in between!

We’re showcasing some of our wonderful partners in the centres we pass through in our Roadshow Profile series. You can check out more of them here, and info about the Roadshow is here.

My name’ Michelle Barnett. I work at Strettons, which has a wide variety of clients from small start up businesses with mum and dad as the owner through to large well established businesses. Strettons has been around since 1964, and is the largest accountancy firm in Taupo.

We work with all kinds of businesses, from small start-ups to property investors and landlords; tourism operators; businesses in forestry, trucking, and agri; retailers, charities, professional services, and Maori trusts.

I remember doing a lot of manual work when I first started as a graduate accountant. Most jobs were entered by punching the bank statements or by punching from the clients’ big green ledger books. We had a a few clients on Banklink back then, and the majority of payments made by clients were done by cheque rather than DD, AP, or internet banking.

I don’t think robots will ever fully take over from humans. We have seen a huge change in technology over the past decade with more automation in the processing side of things, but you are always going to need people to offer the strategic advice and explain what the numbers mean. At Strettons we deal a lot more with what is happening now rather than what happened six months ago and we will continue to do that. We first went onto Xero after a client saw it and decided it would be the best fit for her. Now we recommend it to most clients going into business, and they love it. Those that used older programs installed on a desktop love that they no longer need to bring back ups to us in the office, and that we can log on at the same time as them to help from anywhere.

I tell new businesses that it is never too early to get an accountant. Lots of people wait until it’s time to file their first tax return, as that’s all they think they need an accountant for. But we do so much more than just file tax returns!

The best part about attending the Xero Roadshows have been hearing what new releases are coming. The last Roadshow I attended had lots of cool features coming out right after we attended, so I felt I was in-the-know. I also love the small tips and tricks you learn. Opening more than one tab was one of the best things I learnt.

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