Accountants are often known for looking into the past. Much of our work involves reviewing and collating historic financial data to prepare accounts, file tax returns, and calculate how much tax is due on past profits.

At Hive Business, we are keen to shift the focus from looking at the past, to assessing the present and helping practice owners plan for the future. The first step in that process often requires us to assess your practice’s current financial performance.

Gone are the days of old-fashioned bookkeeping where transactions were handwritten in ledgers and manual cashbooks. Now, using practice management software and Xero, it’s possible to see exactly how well your practice is performing in real-time enabling you to make informed, data-driven decisions.

Having said that, getting to that point where everything is at your fingertips can involve quite a bit of legwork. Data entry and keeping track of the daily finance function can be time consuming and tedious so we’re always on the lookout for new ways to help our clients (and ourselves) to speed up this process. With the rapid developments in AI and digital automation, there are exciting new opportunities to help our clients work more efficiently and access up-to-date information with ease.

One such exciting innovation we’ve recently embraced is Apron – an online platform where you can upload a supplier invoice, extract the details automatically, record it to Xero and pay it all in the same place. No need to manually enter data or enter the transaction more than once! Apron can also process batch payroll payments and has a pre-paid expense card facility, adding even more convenience.

Another innovation coming to the forefront is Xenon Connect – an assessment tool that can review your Xero bookkeeping data to detect common errors such as duplications or transaction misposting, as well as offering insights on the current financial position of the business.

Aside from the finance function, it’s also important to consider your practice’s payroll function – after all, a happy team is essential to a successful practice. Obviously, the most important thing is to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time, but there are efficiencies to be found in this area too, and that’s why Hive Business are embracing new payroll software from next year.

PayCircle offers automation and time-saving features to help streamline the monthly payroll process. Employers are provided with a secure online portal which can be used to send us payroll data, access historical reports, review current employee data, or to communicate securely with us. Employees will also be able to access their payslips, and payroll documents through their own individual secure online portals. A detailed step-by-step guide for this new software will be provided to our payroll clients early next year.

Our decision to upgrade our payroll software isn’t just about keeping up with technology — it’s about embracing efficiencies to ensure smoother operations which lead to better compliance and consequently improving employee satisfaction. Our PayCircle journey begins in early 2026!

If you’d like further information regarding any of the software solutions mentioned above or our payroll services in general, please get in touch.