Accountancy Firm Adopts Cloud Computer Technology to Deliver Cutting Edge Services to Clients

Oct. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Milton Keynes-based Connolly Accountants provides over 900 clients with the usual accountancy services including audit, business advice, tax advice and planning. But unlike many accountancy practices, it recognises the added value that IT can make to both its own business and its clients’.

Declan Connolly, Managing Partner, explained, “I have been running this business for six years and before that I spent 26 years in transport and logistics. In that industry there isn’t a day goes by when you aren’t thinking about how technology can make you a better business. Since I started Connolly Accountants I’ve put in place that same approach and rigour.”

Web-based IT systems or ‘cloud’ as they have come to be known, allow access from any device with an Internet connection, so clients can use the system without the need for locally hosted software or special hardware.

One of Connolly’s early initiatives was to put in place a cloud-based FuseMetrix® on-line accountancy system, developed for them by local firm Web Office Systems Ltd. Connolly markets the service under the brand name ‘1ne’ and being cloud-based it allows clients full access to their accounts at any time.

However, there was one area of the business that Connolly had yet to improve by technology – the handling and processing of invoices.  Declan Connolly explained, “Part of our service is to handle our clients’ invoices, both accounts payable and accounts receivable. They would come in to us by post or by hand, we then used to manually check and enter them into the clients’ accounting system, store them somewhere or send them back to the client.”

Connolly Accountants can handle over 40,000 invoices and receipts a year for their clients – an enormous task. “We had at least four people who were dedicated to doing this,” said Declan. “It was hugely labour intensive. You also have to remember that these invoices can come in all shapes and sizes from standard invoices right down to those odd shaped till receipts you get from retailers.”

Declan decided to automate the processing of invoices using a system developed by Celaton – ‘inSTREAM’™ - a cloud-based system that seamlessly integrates with the FuseMetrix® finance module.


The new system has greatly reduced the time spent handling invoices.  With the old manual system invoice details had to be keyed in by the operator; now they are immediately scanned, automatically identified, key data extracted and electronically filed, saving hours of time. Processing speed has been dramatically increased from 40 to 300 invoices an hour and retrieval is now almost instantaneous. “Clients often phone us to check on the details or whereabouts of invoices and with the old system it could take quite a while to locate them,” said Declan. Now we are able to find any invoice in seconds and respond immediately. We just have to look in the purchase ledger, click on that invoice in the FuseMetrix® system, and that takes us to the invoice in inSTREAM™.”

Apart from the increased processing speed the main benefits for Declan’s team is that clients now have the same level of access to invoices as they do, and because scanned images of every invoice are held electronically storing hard copies is no longer necessary.

“Our FuseMetrix® system is cloud based which means that our clients can access their own accounts at any given time,” said Declan. The beauty of Celaton’s ‘inSTREAM’™ is that, like FuseMetrix®, it is also cloud based so we now have two clouds in the sky that are seamlessly integrated. So, not only can our clients see their own accounts they can also see their invoices and can link one to the other. This gives them a great sense of comfort and security knowing that they can access their information when they want to, from anywhere in the world, from almost any device.”