Farmer J serve honest food, that rolls with the seasons, is mindfully sourced (from as many, high-welfare British farms as possible), is bursting with flavour and most importantly, is scratch-cooked on-site.
With four sites across London, Farmer J is fast-growing and has secured the support of investors. They outsource their accountancy function through Accurise.
The challenge
Farmer J’s CFO, Mike Thorne, wanted to outsource to an accountancy practice that already knew the food and beverage sector and could support their growth with a scalable system. They needed accurate and timely information at their disposal, and transparency over their financial data to maintain control.
The solution
- Accurise are an accountancy practice with expertise in the hospitality industry
- Xledger is a cloud-based finance software that Accurise have re-configured to meet the known financial needs within the hospitality sector
Why was Accurise and the Xledger partner model the right fit? Mike Thorne, CFO, Farmer J
“When I met the Accurise team, I could see that they were knowledgeable and together with the Xledger platform had a very scalable model which would support us to grow. Their CEO, Rob, spoke very highly of the Xledger product and its functionalities. He revealed how we could have full transparency over the system, even when working on sites, with real time insights, live data, and full approval workflows with role-based dashboards. The fact that we could access a superior system that should typically be for a business with a much bigger turnover felt like a real asset.”
Implementation and training
Since Accurise has undergone the full partner training programme with Xledger, they can pre-configure the software for their end-clients with a common chart of accounts and roles. Accurise can then onboard and train new end-clients quickly, and at a fraction of the cost of full-scale implementation.
As Rob, CEO of Accurise said, “Because we know how companies operating in the food and beverage industry work, we can pre-configure Xledger to suit their shared requirements. That makes our solution very much out-of-the-box as our template is tailored predominantly to our customers’ needs from the get-go.”
Mike added, “Xledger is really easy to use, and as industry experts, Accurise help us to pull out the relevant data so we get the most out of the system.”
Results
Despite outsourcing, Farmer J maintains full control over their financial data. Mike explained, “I have 100% visibility over everything that’s going on in Xledger, budget holders have access to timely information, managers can process approvals onsite, and staff can submit and authorise items such as invoices and expenses on the go. We can see what we have delivered and where we’ve missed out, and, for example, are able to drill down differences to the specific invoices. We are in full control.”
Mike emphasised that outsourcing through Accurise “Is working incredibly well for us. We have accurate, timely information at our fingertips, and the workflows and approvals capabilities in Xledger are great. Xledger is integrated with our stock system and we are close to integrating Xledger with our bank which will streamline the payments process.”
He explained, “Stock orders come into Xledger and Accurise match it against the invoice. Accurise only query the invoice if it doesn’t match, so we don’t have to approve each one. It’s great that Xledger integrates so nicely with external systems; it’s easy and gives better control.”
Rob added, “Xledger empowers us to provide a premium service to our clients where they experience the benefits of outsourcing services while maintaining visibility and control.”
How has Accurise and Xledger improved your business? Mike Thorne, CFO, Farmer J
“Accurise, together with the Xledger platform, gives me full visibility and control over the finances of the business. We have complete information in a timely manner which enables us to make decisions that support the growth of the business.
Being able to access accurate and timely information during the COVID-19 crisis has enabled us to forecast properly which has been vital. Fundamentally, Accurise and Xledger have provided us with a solid groundwork and deliver on everything we want.
Xledger is a great system, and we have definitely chosen the right partners with Accurise and Xledger. I would recommend Accurise and Xledger to other businesses.”
