Pop stars on tour find the Cloud perfect way to keep on top of finances

May 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Milton Keynes, UK: MGS Bookkeeping is a Lewes based bookkeeping company owned and run by Melissa Scott, who aims to offer her clients across the country a professional, reliable and cost effective bookkeeping service. Melissa’s clients are as diverse as a primary school in Uckfield, the Annan Farm School (www.thesmallschool.co.uk), to music performer Keziah Jones and his management company Rugged Management - who’s owner (Phil Pickett) is renowned for writing Karma Chameleon, the 1980’s hit for Culture Club singer, Boy George and band member of still performing Seventies band Sailor!

Being on tour and travelling is no hindrance to filing expenses with the Cloud
Melissa says, “In terms of Keziah Jones and Phil Pickett, being in the music industry they are often on tour travelling through various countries for months at a time. In practical terms, that means I used to get reams of expense receipts on their return and would have to spend time getting them up to speed with the finances. Xero has transformed the way we work together. On the road, they use Receipt Bank, a Xero Partner, to scan and input receipts straight into Xero, giving them an immediate and accurate view of their position.”

Melissa has around 13 bank accounts between the artist and it’s management company, in a variety of currencies, on Xero. This has helped Melissa provide both the management company and artist a uniform view of their finances in an easy to understand way that all parties can look at, in real-time whether or not they’re on the road. “It’s helped me to provide information to them in a way that makes sense in business terms, wherever they are in the world.”

One package that suits differing needs
Such diversity brings differing needs from a bookkeeper, but key to all Melissa’s customers is the flexibility that the Xero cloud based accounting package offers. Around 18 months ago, Melissa realised that her existing Sage package didn’t give her the depth or type of reporting she was looking for to support her clients in the way they needed to be, or the flexibility to engage with her clients using current data. In her words, she needed something more ‘modern’ and something that would be accessible and understandable to both her and her clients.

Back to school with Xero
Moving to Xero has also improved the way Melissa works with Annan Farm School, a unique school set in a woodland rural setting in Uckfield, Sussex. Struggling on their previous system, working with Melissa and using Xero has revolutionised the way the schools accounts team keeps its books. Being able to review the overall position together, using tools such as Skype, means both parties can see up to date information and discuss details without actually having to be in the same office.

Melissa concludes, “Moving to Xero has been hugely refreshing for both me and my clients, and because of the diversity of the clients I work with I really needed a solution that would give me fast, accurate and detailed information that was easy to use and access. Xero ticks all the boxes, and I’m looking forward to integrating it into my newly launched company Songbooks which is a bookkeeping service specifically dedicated to the music profession – it makes a perfect fit.”

About Songbooks and MSG Bookkeeping
Songbooks is an innovative, web-based online bookkeeping practice providing financial services to artists, musicians and their management in the entertainment industry both nationally and internationally. Through their partnership with Xero they are able to function as an outsourced accounting department, both Songbooks and MSG Bookkeeping is owned by Melissa Scott. Melissa is an accredited bookkeeper, and member of the Institute of Certfied Bookkeepers.

About Xero
Xero is easy-to-use online accounting software for small businesses and their advisers. Through cloud computing, small business owners and their accountants have instant access to their financial records, such as cashflow, debtor exposure, invoice payment status and live bank data feeds, on any Internet-enabled device including smartphones and tablets.

For further information, please contact:
Maxine Ambrose
Ambrose Communications
+44 7976 652491
internetstuff[at]ambrosecomms[dot]co.uk

Distributed on behalf of Ambrose Communications by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)