Joel Trethowan and Paul Scarf started independent media agency Alchemy One with the mission to “challenge and change” the media landscape.
“Then we discovered the realities of business," said Joel. "Things like BAS statements, even setting up the company. It’s a minefield.”
The pair is grateful to their accountant for guiding them through the process of setting up the business, leaving them to focus on strategy and marketing — all the sexy stuff.
While they initially used Xero, a business mentor recommended switching over to MYOB online accounting solutions, citing the ease of use of MYOB Essentials (now MYOB Business) and the time they could save in running their business.
“When we took a trial of MYOB Essentials, we did lots of things. We checked out MYOB social pages. We went on the website. We did comparisons,” said Joel.
“With that, there was this nice guarantee that they’re offering a free 30 day trial. It’s a good way to test it.”
“It was a quick transition process and incredibly easy. Everything was managed from a migration perspective.”
Joel said the switch had saved the company time, leaving them to focus on running the business rather than plugging away at the books.
“Our time spent using online accounting software on a monthly basis has actually decreased. It’s been beneficial [because] as a company, we don’t want to spend time running accounting software”
- Joel Trethowan, Co-Founder Alchemy One
“We’ve got bigger business priorities to focus on, such as new business and really preparing for where we’re going to be in one, three and five years.”
The less time spent on making sure the business is being run smoothly means the pair has time to create a business which works for them, rather than them working for the business.
“Success to me is designing a business where we lead a really fulfilling lifestyle,” said Paul.
“To us, work doesn’t really feel like work because we’re around working with passionate people that feel the same as we do about our business.”
Joel said other startups would be advised to look into a trial if they were thinking of switching.
“If bookwork’s getting in the way, take a trial. It’s what we did and we’ve never looked back.”
