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Category: Industry Update

Import & Export documents seamlessly between SMSF Sorted & FYI

At Cloudoffis, we are constantly innovating to enhance your SMSF workpaper experience. Document management is a time consuming, yet important job to get right, which is why we’re thrilled to announce our latest integration between SMSF Sorted and FYI.  This exciting integration with FYI, a leading Document Management System (DMS), will revolutionise the way you work by saving you time and reducing effort, whilst keeping your important client documents secure.

“With the FYI integration, SMSF Sorted expands the Accountant’s ecosystem, empowering you to manage documents seamlessly. Together, we’ve unlocked the potential of document management.” – Manish Sheladia, Founder, Cloudoffis

Let’s dive into the details and discover how this integration will benefit you.

  • Import docs securely from FYI into Sorted
    To save you more time and reduce the risk of error, you have the option to select the default FYI cabinet to upload files to SMSF Sorted ensuring the correct documents are stored in the same, selected cabinet every time. You can also filter the results by year, and cabinet and search for the document name from the Search Bar while uploading any document from your existing FYI Cabinet.
  • Tag line items with ease
    Organising your line items just got easier. Our integration allows you to tag-line items against the documents you retrieve from FYI. So you can say goodbye to manual tracking and hello to an effortless organisation.
  • Upload final workpapers back into FYI
    Gone are the days of bouncing between platforms and having to download and upload final documents. Now, once your workpapers are generated, you can effortlessly save them back into your preferred cabinet in FYI, all from with with your SMSF Sorted portal.
  • Make sure you’re on Sorted Pro to enjoy the benefits
    If you are currently using SMSF Sorted Basic, you’ll need to upgrade to SMSF Sorted Pro to take full advantage of the FYI and Cloudoffis integration. To witness the full potential of the FYI and SMSF Sorted integration, we invite you to schedule a demo with us. Our team will guide you through the integration to demonstrate how it can transform your workflow.

Make sure you’re on Sorted Pro to enjoy the benefits

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How pandemic breakout affected the business & brought a breakthrough

It’s a trying time for businesses. The global economy is reeling from the effects of Coronavirus, impacting the livelihood of people worldwide. In Australia, auditing and accounting businesses walk a tightrope—on one side, remote work has become a safety challenge-on the other, there’s no margin for error in SMSF accuracy and compliance. With the help of Cloudoffis, SMSF business leaders-like hmh Advisory’s Sarah Molinaro-have been able to innovate amidst adversity. Cloudoffis was built for SMSF to be ready for tomorrow-so hmh Advisory used it to stay in front of the remote work revolution. For over a decade Sarah ran the SMSF department at hmh Advisory-in their physical offices of course. “When lockdown hit, we had to adapt fast,” she says. “From one day to the next, our entire SMSF team was confined to home. Our paper-based accounting audit system was great—but it wasn’t going to cut it during the pandemic.”

Poised for paperless.

As a specialist, Sarah came to hmh Advisory to run the SMSF department. She’d re-designed and re-built their paper-based systems for very high standardisation. Sarah supervises a team of 3 to 4 staff and personally reviews every fund before it goes to audit. She’d been looking at going paperless—but was wary of risking quality, and wary of the initial admin investment. “We have over 240 funds, from $100k to $15M—with about half of our clients using our financial planning services. There’s high complexity around member balances, pensions, investments such property and options trading”. “We’d seen Cloudoffis at the SMSF Association conference in the Gold Coast”, says Sarah. “We knew from using their SMSF Auditomation product that they offer great support—but we feared the admin burden, and had some older staff who were unsure about the technology side”.

Pandemic plug and play.

Then lockdown hit—and software was a non-negotiable. Remote work was suddenly required. After APES-110 industry changes, hmh found auditors using Cloudoffis SMSF Auditomation, and made the jump to using Cloudoffis SMSF Sorted for the accounting side. Fears of too much admin were soon blown away. “We were up and running in a matter of weeks,” says Sarah, “The tools worked seamlessly with Class and our existing software, and the onboarding process was smooth—even for hesitant members of our team.” It helps that the Cloudoffis team is based in Australia—giving businesses access to all the local support and guidance they need to succeed. We also run on Amazon Australia servers covered by Australian security law and protocol. “No other provider came close to giving us the reassurance we got from Cloudoffis,” says Sarah, “Having support—and our data—here in Australia was priceless.”

Remote and flexible with the cloud.

For Sarah and her team, opting for cloud SMSF software meant they could continue to service their clients even while working from home-at the same standard and quality they’d built their reputation on. “We have team members  working in different locations. With a secure digital ecosystem, we can confidently deliver anywhere and anytime.” says Sarah, “Working remotely has been a big success.” Digital transformation might be a necessity during the remote revolution. But the future of SMSF isn’t just about today. At Cloudoffis, it’s about getting ready for tomorrow. Our SMSF tools leverage technology to transform underlying processes and supercharge SMSF businesses. “Cloudoffis technology reduces time spent on routine, repetitive tasks, resulting in a much more efficient end of year process,” Sarah says, “It improves profitability, efficiency and allows the team to better leverage their value elsewhere.”

Ready for tomorrow.

The pandemic has changed the way we all do business. For Sarah and the hmh Advisory team, it’s shown them the way of the future. “We can work from anywhere. We’re saving hours per fund. There’s no double handling. And we have an excellent workpaper system that’s easy to use,” says Sarah. There’s also a buzz about what’s possible with the new Cloudoffis AI features. “We use BT Panorama for financial planning clients —we’re keen to try the new features like AI driven, automated platform statement reconciliations—they could be a gamechanger for our efficiency”, says Sarah. Cloudoffis features have helped hmh go paperless, optimise processes and enjoy an end-to-end workflow. It’s transformed their ecosystem into a streamlined, automated, well-oiled machine—all in the midst of a pandemic. Sarah’s advice to SMSF accountants and administrators poised to go paperless with Cloudoffis? “Just do it,” says Sarah. “More and more  of our clients are sending documents electronically, -it’s the new normal and Cloudoffis helps you get ready for it”. The future knocks on every door—at Cloudoffis we’re here to help you answer.

Book your live demo today. In 15-mins, our support team will show you how to get your SMSF business ready for tomorrow..

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Cloudoffis has joined the Accounting Business Expo for the 3rd time

Cloudoffis joins Australia’s premier virtual exhibition and conference for the Accounting industry for the third time around, happening on 16-17 November 2020! This year, the Accounting Business Expo will go LIVE online, and will be bringing together business owners, managers, finance decision makers, and accountancy and bookkeeping professionals, to learn, network, and explore the latest tools and innovations for business and career advancement. On 16th November 2020 at 15.30, Clint Estavilla, Cloudoffis’ Head of SMSF Sorted, will be presenting SMSF Outsourcing vs Automation – Advantages, Challenges, and Best Practices. During this session, the following will be covered to help firms make more informed decisions about SMSF processing:

  • Understand which solution is most efficient and best aligns with your firm’s strategy
  • Learn about the benefits and pitfalls of outsourcing versus automation
  • Find out the opportunity gap automation fills with workflow and efficiency in your SMSF process
  • Various use cases and workflows that technology supports in light of recent independence and firm structure changes

Cloudoffis will also be running two separate Tech Talk’s to make sure you entire SMSF workflow is covered end-to-end, look out for:

  1. An Integrated And Automated SMSF Workflow–No Matter Your Process
  2. Plug & Play your SMSF –The Power Of Cloudoffis Integration

Admission for this virtual expo is FREE, and one ticket will grant you access to all the webinars. Get your ticket through this link.

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Cloudoffis & Heffron’s Super Intensive Day joined as Gold Partners

Cloudoffis continues to make cloud-based SMSF Preparation and Audit Automation solutions accessible to more accountants and professionals through meaningful partnerships with other key players in the market. This includes information dissemination and education to improve the lives of many professionals. Next month, Cloudoffis gears up to join Heffron’s Super Intensive Day as Gold Partners, happening virtually on the 5th November 2020. During the event, Cloudoffis will be sponsoring the “Ethics In Practice” session happening from 10.30-11.30. This Q&A formatted session will be covering ethics requirements for both Accountants and Advisers through an SMSF lens with practical examples that many attendees will be able to relate to.

With all the recent Auditor Independence (APES110) changes, ethics plays a very important role. Cloudoffis is proud to strengthen an already very close working relationship with Heffron and further support this topic; by providing a very structured yet flexible process that allows for high quality SMSF workflows, no matter your internal or external structure. Admission for the whole-day Super Intensive event is $540. This includes access to the event platform for two months after the event for those who are unable to attend every session on the day, and other post-event Q&A webinars that will be announced. This event provides up to 14.75 hours CPD from all FASEA categories, not just technical competence — ideal for SMSF auditors, accountants and advisers alike. For more information or to register, visit https://www.heffron.com.au/events/super-intensive-day. And to see how Cloudoffis is supporting ethics in SMSF practice, schedule a private demo today.

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A premier event where Cloudoffis and BGL are together at RegTech 2020!

As one of the leading providers in Australia of cloud-based SMSF Preparation and Audit Automation solutions, Cloudoffis fully supports other key players in the industry, geared towards helping businesses supercharge their digital transformations for better customer experiences. This year, BGL’s premier event, RegTech 2020, is taking to digital space with a focus on ‘ENGAGE’. Cloudoffis returns for a fourth consecutive year as proud Platinum Sponsors to join in on a day of learning and inspirational experience, to encourage professionals to turn big ideas into even bigger actions.

This event gives Accounting businesses the tools and knowledge needed to go to the next level while strengthening connections within the community; from small to big firms–from company professionals to SMSF experts. Not to be missed in lead up to the event on 28 October 2020, 2 PM AEST, Cloudoffis will be talking about its industry-first integration with BGL Workpapers–and how SMSF professionals can maximize enhanced features to streamline SMSF processes and improve the ways they engage with clients, people, and technology.

The Cloudoffis and BGL Workpapers integration fulfills the vision of further streamlining the SMSF process from engagement through to completion. BGL RegTech 2020 is a free event.

Registrations are available via this link.

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SMSF Sorted 2.0 – Built for SMSF Administrators and Outsource Firms

The latest release from SMSF Sorted provides a range of new features designed to assist administrators and large outsourcing firms to manage their jobs, documents and data whilst at the same time, standardising and slashing processing time per fund. SMSF Sorted can now link to your customers (Accountants/Financial Planners), as well as to your Auditors, to ensure there is a single system to manage your complete workflow across multiple stakeholders.

1. Document Management System (DMS)

We’ve completely revolutionised document management by ensuring your document storage and lead schedule referencing is one and the same. The content in your PDF source documents is turned into structured searchable data for instant search-find referencing. Then, by using bookmark logic to save in-page reference points, you are able to build out a fully referenced lead schedule by simply saving docs in our DMS. Reviewers, customers and auditors can then click lead schedule links to specific in-page reference points saving document handling time all the way through the review chain.

2. Workflow Management (Internal & External)

SMSF Sorted offers you a single dashboard to manage your jobs, assign staff and track job statuses. This also includes management of external stakeholders; the added workflow functionality allows you to share, manage, communicate and track everything you need with your internal staff, customers and auditors. Our latest release incorporates a new itemised review/re-work/approval workflow for your external customers and auditors. Whether changes are requested by your customer or auditor, SMSF Sorted allows for document changes, re-importing of data from your admin software and then re-submitting for client approval or auditor sign off.

3. Portals Portals Portals…

To manage the external part of your workflow, SMSF Sorted allows you to create customer and auditor portals. Customer Portals Connect to your accountant and financial planner customers by creating them a free portal from SMSF Sorted. This allows your customers to share docs, review work, approve, raise/respond to queries, track statuses and request changes/re-work. Auditor Portals You can also connect to your auditor via SMSF Sorted. If they are a non-Cloudoffis auditor, you can create them a free read-only version from SMSF Sorted or for best in class automation, connect to a Cloudoffis SMSF Auditomation subscriber to further enhance the automation on both sides of the process.  Either option allows you to transfer data, docs and review/respond to queries.

4. Job Standardisation and Automation

End-of-year processing is standardised and laid out in a clear dashboard to aid in processing, this vastly reduces quality and human error risk. A set of automated compliance checks help to ensure consistency by raising red flags and alerting users to certain points of interest. This includes checking for work test requirements, how effective tax has been allocated as well as if there were any lump sum payments, contra bank entries or negative balances through the year, to name just a few.

5. Customisation and Integration

The features in our DMS and Workflow have been designed specifically for your SMSF process. If for any reason you cannot completely replace your current DMS or Workflow tool, or if you have other proprietary software such as a client portal, we have the ability and experience to integrate into your existing systems to ensure you gain maximum efficiency by adding SMSF Sorted into your tech stack. Cloudoffis specialises in automation and workflow technology for accountants, administrators and auditors in the SMSF space. All systems compliment and integrate beautifully with leading SMSF Admin software like, Class and BGL. See how our solutions can help your firm, get in touch with us here.  Want to learn more about the the SMSF Sorted 2.0 release? Join the upcoming webinar: 

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API integration of Cloudoffis + BGL workpapers is an iconic feature

Software SMSF Adviser Logo

Also published by SMSF Adviser, powered by Momentum Media Written by Miranda Brownlee on 20 July 2020 Cloudoffis, one of Australia’s leading providers of cloud-based SMSF Preparation and Audit Automation technology today announced the successful integration of their “SMSF Auditomation” platform with BGL Workpapers–an extension of the pre-existing integration with BGL Simple Fund 360.

Enhanced features brought together with API integration.

A major key feature of this industry-first API integration between Cloudoffis + BGL Workpapers is the time-saving potential this automation provides beyond any other solution available on the market. The bookmarking and tagging of source documents in workpapers flow through into the audit file and align with each lead schedule item. The automated observations improve accuracy and provide peace of mind by being automatically checked and flagged for any errors. The auditor can address red flags as they’re found – not go searching for them. An inbuilt risk matrix is created as data is pulled through from BGL and analyzed. The pre-audit risk value alerts provide an opportunity for appropriate management. As a result, Cloudoffis “SMSF Auditomation” users (Auditors) will get broader access to Simple Fund 360 generated financial reports and documents tagged to the trial balance. Combined with Auditomation’s document recognition, direct data sourcing, and automation capabilities, this integration will help SMSF auditors streamline their audit processes, sharpen accuracy and reduce upward of 50% of their time per audit.

BGL and Cloudoffis; a 1–2 punch

BGL Corp acknowledged the longstanding relationship between both the businesses and Cloudoffis’ vision in further streamlining the SMSF process from engagement to completion. “At BGL, we are a strong advocate of developing ecosystem partnerships to help businesses streamline processes. Partnering with Cloudoffis is an example of two leading technology providers collaborating for the benefit of both our clients. BGL currently has over 350 partners as part of our Ecosystem” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. Integration with BGL’s Simple Fund 360 (OR Workpapers) reflects Cloudoffis’ continued commitment to helping SMSF providers automate and streamline their processes.

  “At Cloudoffis we continue to refine our SMSF Preparation and Audit Automation solutions to help the industry and our users find efficiencies across processes and maximize return on investment,” said Viral Kanabar, Co-Founder & Director at Cloudoffis.

Workpapers were created by BGL to prepare and review workpapers from data in SimpleFund 360 and complete any necessary checklists. Cloudoffis’ other compliance preparation solution “SMSF Sorted” (for Accountants) can complement Workpapers by providing workflow notifications and tracking, dashboards, and a comprehensive query and review module; couple this with integration to Cloudoffis’ “SMSF Automation” solution (for Auditors) for a highly efficient, compliant, end-to-end SMSF workflow solution. Cloudoffis and BGL can be used as stand-alone products but operate with an integrated 1–2 punch, keeping SMSF together, as manual processes become siloed, to remain streamlined from SMSF accounting through to auditing.

Watch the industry-first Audit automation API integration with Cloudoffis SMSF Automation & BGL Workpapers

About Cloudoffis

Cloudoffis offers a brand new way of preparing an SMSF & conducting an audit. It is developed with a unique technology that individually saves Accountants & Auditors upward of 50% time per fund. Accurate, fast, and compliant, Cloudoffis fits seamlessly and combines with leading SMSF administration providers–completing the SMSF workflow process and enhancing the all-user experience. Cloudoffis not only automates the manual processes outside of existing admin software but also provides highly intuitive and intelligent tools to enhance an Accountants or Auditors ability to conduct critical analysis, make judgments and streamline their process to professional standards. Headquartered in Sydney, NSW, Cloudoffis is in its fourth year of operation and continues to carve out its lane for the SMSF industry. Chris Satchi – Head of Sales Email: sales@cloudoffis.com.au Phone: 0403 513 354 Website: https://www.cloudoffis.com.au/schedule-a-live-demo/

About BGL

With over 30 years of trust in the accounting software space, BGL delivers Australia’s leading and award-winning cloud-based corporate compliance management and SMSF administration software solutions to over 8,000 businesses in 15 countries. All through a user-friendly and highly intelligent web application. BGL’s market-leading Simple Fund 360 and Simple Fund Desktop solutions are used to administer over 60% of Australia’s 600,000 self-managed super funds. Our clients include all major accounting firms, law firms, many listed and private company groups, accountants, financial planners, and many individual SMSF trustees. Contact – Ron Lesh Email: marketing@bglcorp.com.au Phone: 1300 654 401 Website:  https://www.bglcorp.com

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5 key points to keep in mind when going through a software review

The software landscape is fast-moving and ever-changing. This article covers 5 key points to keep in mind through a software review. To begin a successful review, you will first need a deep understanding of your firm’s workflow and challenges and then secondly, be up to date and familiar with the latest technology available in the industry. Software is obviously not something you want to get wrong. Not only is it expensive to change but the change itself is time and resource-intensive. If it is done right you can keep changes to a minimum, maximise your efficiency and remain at the forefront of new developments without a worry in the world for years to come..

1. Automation

Technology is now at a point where rather than just helping with managing and organising tasks, they can be, to varying degrees, actually done for you. The AI and machine learning trend is game-changing and is offering firms new ways to gain efficiencies. If your technology is a few years old and hasn’t been actively developed, there could be new alternatives that can change the way you do things. If you are reviewing new technology, review it from the lens of “how much time will this save me or my team; can the machines do the mundane tasks my staff waste precious hours on?” This can also be considered when reviewing and improving outsourcing strategies.

2. Integration

It is important that software is flexible and plays nice with your other systems to ensure it complements your workflow. Always check the software you are reviewing already has, or is open to, useful integrations. Many software companies out there are effectively a closed-loop and try to build all the products/modules themselves, this can restrict your ability to utilise best in class technology whilst maintaining a connected workflow.

3. Tech stack context

Software products often focus on one area and do it well. e.g. a Document management system, a workflow program, a customer portal, etc. This often means a firm may have anywhere from 3 to 5 disparate software systems to fulfil a single work process. Integrations can help with this but a fully integrated 5 system solution is unlikely for most firms to construct and navigate. Rather than focusing on feature-rich or even overall best in class systems, review technology from the context of your own workflow and requirements. Is there potentially 1 system that does what you need instead of 3 individual systems?

4. Future development (A going concern)

Static software development is not a good sign. It’s basically going backwards. In such a fast-moving competitive market, you will be best served to enquire as to the growth and development plans of a software package you are currently using or reviewing. Partnering with a software firm that aggressively releases updates and new features means you are likely staying up to date with the latest tech and reducing your future risk of needing to change in the near future.

5. Cost vs Value

This is very specific to your own circumstances. The cheapest software or the most expensive is not necessarily the right option for you. It needs to solve a problem for you specifically. This sounds obvious but there are so many firms that either have low-cost solutions that don’t actually offer real value or firms with expensive pieced together solutions that can actually cause inefficiency. Understanding the actual value vs costs of software relative to your own situation is crucial. Inefficiency isn’t a line item on the balance sheet, unfortunately! Cloudoffis specialises in automation technology for accountants and auditors in the SMSF space, get in touch with us here.

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Our commitment during COVID-19: Free Subscription, Ongoing Support

We’re all aware of evolving changes in Australia and the world as a result of COVID-19. Like all of us right now we are coming to grips with the changes. But rest assured some things remain the same. Let us shine some light on your day with our way of saying we care about the important work you do, and need to continue doing. To make the most of a dire situation we’d like to offer support in saying…

  • You CAN work and support clients from home.
  • Your business WILL NOT need to stop.
  • Your team WILL continue to be safe & productive.
  • You DO need to think differently.
  • The financial impact DOES NOT need to burden you.

We are your partners in making your SMSF work simpler and far more time-efficient (at least 50% more!). And it doesn’t matter how much paperwork you have, how many clients you need to see, or how many team members you need to interact with – thankfully, with Cloudoffis, your entire SMSF process can be carried out risk-free, remotely and safely online by you or your team.

Here’s how Cloudoffis is adapting to the-fast-changing circumstances—to protect your health and keep business processes together.

Priorities

Our first priority is protecting the safety and wellbeing of people—including our team, partners and clients. Our next priority is ensuring uninterrupted support for you—even amidst the turbulence of social changes. That’s how we know you’ll be empowered to maintain efficiency and productivity together.

Uninterrupted service
Firstly, rest assured that we’ll continue to serve you with the same level of attention, dedication and insight you expect from Cloudoffis. We’re extending that care and service whilst working remotely as a team.

A token of appreciated extended to new users

For us it’s business as usual, for our clients they’re grateful they have the processes in place, but for everyone else we want to help make SMSF automation available for you as well. As a token of our support & appreciation enjoy 15 months for the cost of 12 – with this extra 3 months you will not only be able to continue SMSF operations smoothly and better than ever, you’ll save hundreds of dollars but also save the most wonderful asset we have – time. These solutions not only unblock workflow inefficiencies, they are also greatly helping Accountants & Auditors work remotely, securely and transparently. Simply request a demo and mention this offer to proceed.

Technology lifelines

As always we’ll be harnessing technology to deliver all our services. We’re lucky to be ahead of the curve here—as you know from day one we’ve been securing digital data, sharing knowledge online and using phone and email to provide you support. Our robust systems and processes enable us to deliver the highest level of technology to you, so you can continue to use the Cloudoffis solutions (SMSF Auditomation and SMSF Sorted) from anywhere in the world.

Your feedback valued

We will continuously work together with our integration partners, and with you, to enable an environment that supports your transition to remote work. For those of you who have been equipped for some time, we’d love to know how you’re doing and if you need anything. We are proactively getting in touch with all clients and as always, we welcome and value all your feedback.

Always supported

Being a critical partner to your business, we understand the importance of our ability to always support you and your team. If you have any questions at all please get in touch as you always would:1. Email your queries to us at support@cloudoffis.com.au
2. Call us on 1300 979 457 (Then Press ‘2’)

We’re never more than a call away—and during uncertain times we’ll always support you.

Thank you & take care,
The Cloudoffis Team

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Humanology (Humans + Technology) – Webinar “TECH TALK”

Be inspired by our diverse group of industry experts and thought leaders as we explore ‘Humanology’ (Humans + Technology) on this innovative innovative webinar discussion: When human genius and the best technology work seamlessly together to create remarkable outcomes for your business!

Panelists:

  1. Daniel Tramontana – BGL
  2. Chris Satchi – Cloudoffis
  3. Jamie Beresford – Practice Protect
  4. David New – Spotlight Reporting

What we’ll cover:

  • Is technology a threat or an opportunity?
  • How does technology help businesses to achieve their best?
  • Key steps to implement new technologies.
  • Engaging team members and ensuring effective implementation of new technologies.
  • The importance of building an A-Team and staying on top of the game. And much more.

Monday, 1 Jul, 2019 @ 11:30 am AEST

Register Now!!

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