Will Reckon's cloud solution kill Xero?

Freedom was the big theme coming out of the Reckon One Road Show held in Auckland this morning where the company showcased its Reckon One cloud solution to a packed audience.

The Australian accounting software provider has been in the business for 25 years, 16 of those in New Zealand. Reckon has over 600,000 businesses using its software across Australia and New Zealand. "We know how to do software. We are really excited for the next step in our journey.

Reckon One's modular design allows businesses to design their own online accounting software based on what their business requires.

"With Reckon One, you can get true insight into how your business is doing at any time. If you're buying an out-of-the-box type product, you're not getting the full value out of it," Catie Cotcher, general manager business group, Reckon, says.

Reckon One is specifically designed for SMEs, while its Accounts Hosted platform, which was released in 2009, can have up 200 users at a time, placing Reckon at both ends of the business spectrum.

"It's exciting to see the change in our business, the changes in technology and the way people do business," Cotcher says. "We've also seen a change in the way people buy software. They are demanding more information, and they have the right to demand more information.

"We don't want to put you in box. No business is the same. We need to make sure we are offering you solutions so you have choice to enhance your business journey.

The Reckon One platform starts at five dollars a month, and users can add or remove modules as they wish so they only have to pay for what is needed.

Additionally, Reckon One modules can be turned off at any time, saving businesses money. Seasonal businesses can switch the software off for those months they are not in business, or during shut down periods and holidays. Furthermore, Reckon keeps these records for 7 years, even after you've turned the software off.

"This makes it a really unique proposition. This is where Reckon One is truly revolutionary," Cotcher says.

Reckon One's impressive dashboard is completely customisable to how a business wants to see their data. Users can add and remove functions, select different display options, as well as customise the dashboard depending on the role the person using the dashboard has in the company; locking people in and out of the database, including a read only option.

Louise Marshall, Reckon's national training manager, says the Reckon One platform was designed to help small businesses with everyday challenges.

"We know it's a challenge running small businesses. We are using our tools and technologies to alleviate stress and anxiety some people have running their businesses," she says.

Reckon says they surveyed a range of SMBs and found five common challenges small businesses face. Visibility, invoicing, reconciliation, budgeting and profitably were highlighted as the main areas SMBs struggled with.

The Reckon One dashboard aims to help SMBs look at these challenges in new ways. "With the cloud environment, information is at your fingertips. You can get information in real time," says Marshall.

This is just another solution to fit your needs, one size doesn't fit all," she says.

So what's next?

New modules

"We will be including modules as they are developed, and next up is Payroll.

No launch date for Payroll has been confirmed, but Reckon says it hopes to release it some time this year.

Migration

"Migration for Reckon One is available now. We can bring all your data and your current financial year history across now.

API

"We have an API in development to enable us to join third party software," Cotcher says. "You can seamlessly pull transactions directly into Reckon One, so it's easier to push and pull data. This feature will be coming within the next couple of months.

Support

"We want to make sure our clients have a relationship with us, so we offer different levels of support," Cotcher says. Support includes community forums, self help videos, live chat, and How To articles.

"There are so many different people using our software in different ways, and with that there are so many out of the box questions," Cotcher says.

Training

Reckon provides its clients with training, webinars, face-to-face and customised training. "We want to be able to discuss your needs and provide the support your require.

"Come on the ride with us, it's an exceptionally exciting time," Cotcher adds.