3rd Nov 2017

“I don’t do Tech, I have not got time!” …Can you take photos on your phone? “Yeah, I am not a dinosaur!!!”

It’s surprising how many of these technophobes also strive to run their business as a pre-1990’s start up; before the days of email, before apps, before the cloud and definitely before paperless office. Change is not good, right? I am too busy to change. If it is not broken, why fix it!?

Hey, you might even be that business owner!!! Not sure?

Well, are you spending your Sunday afternoons printing off bank statements, photocopying expense receipts, populating spreadsheets, producing strange looking word invoices, hole punching, filing and then packaging it all up in lovely neat file to hand deliver to your accountant sometime just before the next looming VAT deadline…

Yes?

Well, here is some amazing news: it is 2017! And help is right there in your pocket. Yep, here it is; your phone is now cunningly disguised as a camera and as long as you can use that one bit of 21st century technology, you can start spending all day Sunday afternoon watching Blade Runner 1 (or in the pub) and help the planet by recycling all your paper receipts!!!

“Wooooo please tell me more!!! What is this 21st century magic?”

Well, it was about 18 months ago that I first experienced the feeling of getting my admin time back and no longer having a wallet full of receipts.

I had downloaded the Receipt Bank app to my iPhone on the first day of the month.

“Wait, what is this Receipt bank app?”

It’s a cool bit of techno kit that allows you to get your paper receipt to your accountant via a photo!!! Class, eh?

And here’s how it works. After having a quick demo (4 seconds) I was off to London and before me was my first chance to try out this new technology.

First up the taxi receipt, snapped and binned as I entered the rail station. Now for a Costa. Receipt snapped and binned before my coffee had arrived.

And so the day continued, Uber taxis receipt emailed to me and forwarded straight onto my receipt bank email address, lunch from Pret, receipt snapped and binned… Finally I arrive home after a great day of meetings and yes, no paper whatsoever! Result.

This new-found freedom continued throughout the month and suddenly is was expense authorisation day, my favourite day of the month at Blu Sky… Not!!! Usually I would put the full morning aside to check and double check everyone’s different version of the same expense spreadsheet and then manually key it all into Xero, the worst morning of the month. But not anymore!!!!

Suddenly, 3.5 hrs became 30 mins. Receipts were clearly visable, easy to read, everything came in the same format and was already posted into Xero. My Receipt Bank love affair had started. Now I have time to write Blogs and change the accountancy world!!!! Boom!

So, there you have it… If you are that technophobe dude who is too busy to dust down their beloved video collection or just wants to spend more time in the pub, simply snapping receipts with your phone can instantly bring you into the 21st century and give you some much needed time back.

Pub, anyone?

Jon Dudgeon Banner