Wayne James founded Next Accounting over two decades ago to deliver financial security and independence for himself and his clients.
“I grew up in a small business household,” Wayne explains. “My father runs small businesses and I’d witnessed how hard it can be.
“At Next Accounting, we want to be the first people a small business operator calls when things go bad, and our clients know that we’re always in their corner.”
Those clients are from a variety of different business operators across Queensland and beyond, with most in mining services, as well as doctors, lawyers and more.
But it hasn’t been a linear journey for Wayne or Next Accounting. After growing steadily for 15 years, the four-partner practice of 30-odd employees split in two five years ago.
“We were back to just two partners,” Wayne says, “but what we lost in size we gained in business agility. It was really a time to reflect and take stock before figuring out our next steps.”
Pursuing growth through business efficiencies
Before moving to MYOB, Wayne said Next Accounting was using software that was no longer being actively developed and supported.
“It hadn’t changed much in more than a decade,” says Wayne. “The reports we were getting out of it were clunky, it wasn’t meaningful and took a lot of time."
The team at Next Accounting went about researching the field for tech solutions with a comprehensive laundry list of requirements and some very high standards.
“We didn’t want anything superficial or sugar-coated, we wanted a genuine solution.
“We wanted to hear from others’ experiences about any flaws or weaknesses in every solution and the feedback we got from MYOB users was critical in helping us make our decision.”
- Wayne James, Founder, Next Accounting
Efficiency gains mean healthier margins
Despite undergoing a significant business transformation, Next Accounting set itself up for success over the past five years by considering its own digital transformation at the same time.
As a result, the team have found they’re working more efficiently and effectively, bringing results for clients and the practice overall.
“I can’t get away from the fact that we’re a lot faster at getting the basic jobs done than what we were previously.”
- Wayne James, Founder, Next Accounting
“With that speed comes inherent efficiencies and inherent gains – we can get more work done for the same cost, improving the bottom line.
“Our overheads are coming down, our wages are steady, but we’re bringing in more revenue through fees every year.”
Wayne and the team at Next Accounting estimate they’ve grown turnover by about 30% in the past four years, purely through growing and developing their list of clients.
“The fact that we haven’t changed our prices in that time shows how much more value we’re able to deliver.”
How MYOB is helping Next Accounting
Wayne says MYOB is helping Next Accounting be more efficient as:
Working with online files means everything’s available when you need it
User-friendly interfaces like the dashboard place all top-line details at your fingertips
Automated reporting means advisors can spend less time collating and more time collaborating
Having seen the business change and evolve over time, and having faced some serious tech challenges in the past, Wayne is more than satisfied regarding his practice’s new capabilities.
“From a partner’s perspective, now I have true oversight over the operations of my practice and insight into any challenges my staff or our clients might be experiencing when it comes to getting the job done.
- Wayne James, Founder, Next Accounting
“Best of all, it’s allowed us to get back to doing what we do best: looking out for the best interests of our small business clients.”
