When you’ve been in the bookkeeping industry for as long as Kerry Underwood, you have an intimate understanding of the pressures facing business owners.
The year 2000 saw the introduction of GST in Australia. It’s also the year Kerry started her bookkeeping business, today called Your Bookkeeping Angels Vic (YBAV). Two decades later, YBAV is a team of seven.
“Over the past 24 years, most of our customers have come through word-of-mouth. We have a great team and always provide our loyal customers with the best service.”
Part of that, she says, is keeping up with industry and technology changes. In 2017, she upgraded most clients to MYOB Business and set them up with bank feeds. It’s a move that won her fast-growing business MYOB Innovator of the Year.
But the accolades don’t stop there.
Kerry’s 20+ year partnership with MYOB has been integral to the growth of YBAV, and more importantly, her clients’ businesses too. It’s no surprise that in 2022, she was awarded MYOB Certified Consultant of the Year and was MYOB’s Hall of Fame inductee.
MYOB reduces admin time by 60%
Kerry has been a fan of MYOB Business for many years.
“MYOB is a great program with a range of products to suit any type of entity,” she explains.
Migrating hundreds of clients to a new system might scare some people, but for Kerry, it was an easy decision.
“I put a lot of time and effort into transferring and upgrading at least 90% of clients from other software programs – MYOB has always been my preferred program to work with.”
- Kerry Underwood, Owner, Your Bookkeeping Angels Vic
She says being an MYOB Partner has helped her team work faster without sacrificing accuracy or the customer service they’re so well known for.
“With MYOB, we’ve reduced the time we spend completing a client’s tasks by at least 60%.”
It saved her team so much time that she even offered to pay a client’s first 12 months of an MYOB subscription, so they’d swap from their existing software provider.
“That time saved has allowed us to take on more clients – today, we work with 300+ businesses.”
300+ clients
Supercharged for max efficiency
Kerry says MYOB also makes it easy for her clients to run their businesses more efficiently. It’s the combined effect of many small wins that, most of the time, has the greatest impact.
“MYOB allows them to do invoicing on the job, lets employees manage their own timesheets – even something as simple as filling up their car and being able to store a digital copy of the receipt.”
Those benefits have a flow-on effect, helping make YBAV’s bookkeeping processes smoother and faster.
“It just makes the whole process a breeze for the client and us,” Kerry says.
In the early days, Kerry used to personally visit all her clients. She does a lot less travelling these days, and MYOB has been a big part of that change.
“When a new client comes into the office for training, we set them up with MYOB Capture, Invoicing, Timesheets and Rosters if needed.
“MYOB has saved me and my clients hours and hours of travel and data entry.”
20+ year partnership
Clients trust MYOB recommendations
Over time, MYOB has become a seamless part of YBAV’s process for onboarding new clients. Kerry uses a recent client referral as an example.
“I called them to chat about their business, and they were using Reckon.” She sent one of her team members to meet with them.
“While we have one team member who’s efficient with Reckon, we’re all efficient with MYOB, which means anyone, at any time, can help a client. We recommended that the business move to MYOB Business Pro. It also has three other SMEs – we recommended MYOB Business Lite for those entities.”
MYOB Hall of Fame 2022
Big goals for the future
YBAV might have already reached Diamond status in MYOB’s Partner Program, but that doesn’t mean Kerry plans on slowing down any time soon.
The practice has recently expanded its services to include Admin, OHS, WorkSafe and HR advice.
“My idea is to create a one-stop shop for business. Next on our to-do list is IT support and insurance advice.”
- Kerry Underwood, Owner, Your Bookkeeping Angels Vic
Kerry says her partnership with MYOB will continue to be a great support for her business and clients even as they grow.
“I can focus on growing our business knowing my clients have access to the knowledge and training to get the most out of their software.”
