London based accountancy firm happy in the clouds
28-03-2011
How was GKPP formed?
GKPP arose from a firm based in Ealing in the 1970’s, Burbage & Co. in the mid 1990’s. I formed a City based accounting firm and took over the Ealing firm, merging them into GKPP. Over the years we have grown from west London and beyond and now have a national and international client base, though the base is still in west London.
How did you come about cloud computing?
We researched the market place for a suitable online package to help us prepare client accounts and to be able to support clients. From a shortlist of three we evaluated and tested the available options and overall were most impressed with the support and knowledge base of Arithmo staff and their willingness to cater for our requirements and to train our staff in the software.
What are your thoughts on online accounting?
For an expanding firm online accounting has to be the way to reach a wider client base. In addition, the ability to service and work with clients without needing to travel means that service levels and resources are maintained to support a wider range of clients.
Do you see any benefits of the software for a small accountancy practice?
We are seeing an immediate improvement in the quality of the output from VAT returns and management accounts being worked on.
Being able to answer queries and review client input means that we can often prevent any mispostings and are able to ensure that the integrity and reliability of the information is protected.
We had a VAT inspection for one of the clients and the VAT man was pleased to see the schedules and it gave him considerable comfort and reassurance that the system being used was reliable and to be trusted.
In addition we have branded the product for our own use and this helps us in the marketplace as being seen as a proactive firm focused on client service.
What does the future holds for GKPP?
We intend to push our solution to as many clients as possible in order to improve the productivity of the practice. Our aim is to move away from the brown paper bags and shoe-boxes as much as possible and to educate and train our longer term clients in the most effective way to support their accounting effort. By improving their management accounting system they will be able to make better decisions and to seek advice from our practice as and when required.