No job too big for Senta

Finance Box uses Senta for more than just compliance processes – it helps organise internal training and even credit control, explains its CEO Steven Case.

Everything you need from a finance function

“For Finance Box’s clients, it’s about bringing them today’s information today – and an understanding of tomorrow’s direction and beyond. For that we need our systems to be slick and efficient.”

“One part is on delivering that information; our management accountants have a rapport with the business owners to describe where they are and what they’ve achieved, or what problems and bottlenecks are – we prompt the next set of decisions our clients make.”

“Our firm has been running for six years; there are 12 of us across sites in Canary Wharf and the South Coast…we are growing!”

“From a services point of view we offer everything that you would imagine fits in a finance department – essentially business reporting, forecasting, cash management and compliance reporting.”

“Our sweet spot is to deliver current information that is relevant and can be actioned upon.”

Apps, efficiency, opportunity

“We’re passionate about our app stack. To have multiple platforms that can automate tasks or processes is high on our agenda. Zapier and FABio (a personified automated finance bot) help us, particularly with more job-specific automations.”

“When I was a bit younger and going through CVs in the team, some would talk about how many purchase ledger bills they could go through – but with tech you can do ten times whatever they claimed. So, we have to balance being tech-savvy but able to deliver the service. I challenge bookkeepers about their tasks being automated – do they see it as exciting, what are the other things they could be involved in higher up the chain – payroll or reporting?”

Quality and consistency of Senta

Senta is our hub – it’s in the middle of everything. We know what needs to be done, and what needs to be done next, using it as our main platform. Senta has a lot of its own native integrations – it can talk to Xero and bring sales ledgers and show client overviews alongside Companies House, really useful.”

“As a practice owner it gives me the confidence I need to let the team do what they need to – it turns a job into a list of stages and tasks, so I know they’ll approach things in a certain way and it will being done consistently regardless of who’s doing it or who they’re doing it for.”

“Because of this we’ve been able to create the ‘Finance Box Standard’: this sets levels for when we deliver things, how we respond and how we communicate with clients. Senta is at the middle to programme what we do – rather than having to teach our people what to do.”

“Senta’s particularly important because there’s internal compliance I need managed. For example, I know a client has been sent something and it’s been approved by the client. Templates that make sure things are done month-in and month-out, that every client is reminded to pay their tax on time – and it has their bank details to enable them to do so. Senta can automate that delivery. I can consistently and confidently know a quality of service is delivered at all times.”

Confidence check

“With anti-money laundering checks, it’s very well knowing somebody – but you can’t have that in your brain ‘I’ve seen their passport’. You have to document checks and evidence you’ve taken the right process path. File notes are very easy in Senta because you have to log what’s occurred. Before Senta I didn’t have a mechanism to document that particularly well. The penalties are severe and I was worried. Because Senta allows us to customise things, we can make workflows, processes and checks how we want and need.”

“How did I choose Senta? Three years ago, I went to Xerocon, and at that point in time I was on a different customisable CRM but not built for an accounting practice…so, as customised as it was, it didn’t solve enough problems for me. I made the effort of going round the marketplace and found that I loved the idea of onboarding tech GoProposal – its linkup with Senta was so attractive for me. You have to wow the client, so that starts at your first meetings and chats and certainly through onboarding – it’s all about customer service – and the best at that are Apple and Amazon: they are our competitors.”