Hammond & Co. Accountants
“I don’t think we will ever not use it because it is just so easy and effective.”
Hammond & Co. is an accountancy firm based in Chesterfield, offering company accounts, VAT, payroll, bookkeeping, and more. The company provides growth and advisory services including business coaching, investment, recruitment, strategy and planning. Supporting a range of businesses, Hammond & Co. prides itself on giving honest, clear and simple advice to its clients.
The problem
For Michael Bussey, Head Bookkeeper, and Joe Hulse, Bookkeeper, at Hammond & Co., receiving incorrectly dated bank statements and statements with missing information was a regular issue. Relying on conventional methods of data retrieval was proving time-consuming.
According to Joe:
“For bookkeepers, chasing clients to share relevant information takes time. When they do share the information, nine times out of ten there is a statement missing. This means a full year’s bank reconciliation can take up to two days to complete.”
Michael concurs:
“We have to call or email clients individually or schedule face-to-face meetings with them to be able to access financial data. This slowed us down a lot, especially during lockdown when clients couldn’t visit our office.”
“In cases where the information needs to be copied into software, we would need to manually type it out in a spreadsheet. For a years’ worth of data that would mean an entire day’s work – and that’s just to upload it.”
How Armalytix solved it
Armalytix is a platform that uses Open Banking to help accountants and bookkeepers quickly access relevant and timely financial information from their clients. Hammond & Co. discovered Armalytix after searching for third-party software that would help with the collection of financial data.
As Michael puts it:
“Initially we trialed Armalytix with some of the firms’ biggest clients and, without needing an explanation or demonstration, they were able to easily use the software. It has also helped to get clients who we would only see annually onto monthly bookkeeping. The clients are really happy with it.”
Client convenience drives productivity
The speed and simplicity of Armalytix has helped Joe, Michael and the team save hundreds of hours, improve their workplace productivity and increase client contact. Armalytix allows data to be downloaded as a PDF or csv file, eliminating the need to manually input data into a spreadsheet.
Michael explains:
“I can send a request via Armalytix at 5pm on a Tuesday and by Wednesday afternoon the request has been approved and the data is ready for me to start working on.”
Joe adds:
“Armalytix pulls bank statements from clients quickly and easily, which saves us so much time. Our clients can approve the data request from their mobile phone.”
The benefits of precise data collection
For Michael, whose role is to compile annual accounts, the ability to specify the dates of the data requested means no excess data is downloaded and the data is always accurate:
“The ability to pull 12 months’ worth of bank statements is invaluable because that is the fundamentals for filing annual accounts for limited companies. All the clients do is login and accept the request. My jobs are done quicker and therefore annual accounts are completed sooner.”
So easy and effective
Through deploying Armalytix, Hammond & Co. has significantly cut down the time spent on data retrieval. It has also simplified the sharing of financial information, both internally and for its clients, becoming an integral part of the day to day.
Michael concludes:
“Armalytix is a brilliant idea presented in a simple and sophisticated software. We are always taking on new clients and each time we do, we try to implement Armalytix. I don’t think we will ever not use it because it is just so easy and effective.”
