We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Jayne Smith from That’s Ideal, a thriving & growing bookkeeping business with a passion for software. We discussed the benefits of intuitive software and how Pixie is helping them remove the brainache of managing their deadlines. Watch or read the conversation below...
Hey Jayne, tell us about yourself & That’s Ideal…
That’s Ideal started life as a bookkeeping firm in 2010 and has been growing ever since. All of our work is done remotely, and if clients want to work with us, then the core app-stack we use is Xero, Dext, and a few other apps. We aim to build a business where all of our software integrates seamlessly.
Nice! So what made you start looking at practice management software?
As we continued to grow, it was becoming harder to keep track of all the different dates and deadlines. It was my worst nightmare to forget a client's deadline, and my brain was utterly overloaded, making me worry more and more. It took me away from being productive because my head was elsewhere and not focused on the work.
We tried using spreadsheets to start with, but nothing came together in one place. As more people joined the team, we needed a shared space to track things. We were looking for something that we could rely on, that was easy to use, and had everything we needed, e.g. services, schedules, dates, and notes, all in one place.
Can you tell us more about the other software you tried during your search?
We spent a lot of time setting up and using Senta (at the time, it was recommended to us). But over time, we found the interface clunky and not easy to navigate. Trying to add new tasks was a task in itself, and this held us up from doing work.
We also looked at other software like AccountancyManager and Karbon, but we needed something simple, intuitive and effective.
What was it that made you decide to switch to Pixie?
I’d heard from other accountants & bookkeepers in the community how much they were loving Pixie. You could feel their elation, so we decided to check it out.
My team are all young, tech-savvy people, and they didn’t like using Senta because of how clunky it was. As soon as they found Pixie, they loved it. It was just so simple and easy to use.
Another thing I really like is the integration with Xama for AML. I don’t enjoy doing AML (and my clients hate it), so having the integration with Xama just made things so straightforward and easy for everybody.
It sounds like you put a lot of time into Senta. Did you have any reservations about switching to Pixie?
Yes, I definitely had a few reservations. I felt like I’d put so much work and time into setting up Senta and getting it to an OK place that I didn’t want to go through that same process all over again. Setting up Pixie was nothing like that at all.
It was so straightforward to export our data and import it into Pixie. It even gave us a chance to clean it up a little beforehand to make sure that everything was right. The fact that Pixie comes with pre-built workflows that were very aligned with how we managed work in our firm meant that we only needed to make a few minor tweaks to set them up.
The help that was available during the onboarding sessions was amazing. The whole thing was so quick and easy.
I know it’s only early days for you. What have been some of the results and outcomes of using Pixie so far?
We’re only a few weeks in, but myself and the team are absolutely loving it. It’s so easy to keep organised with our work and to compile our client data into one place. Going forwards, it’s going to be the central hub for all of our workflows, deadlines, and client reviews. It’s like a to-do list, a regular list, and an alert reminder all built into one!
Is there anything else you’d say to people considering switching to Pixie?
I know the questions that they’ll be thinking, ”can I face doing it all over again and setting things up?”. Honest to god, it’s not the same. It has been so easy, simple, and intuitive. It has saved us so much brainache.
To follow That’s Ideal’s journey, you can connect with Jayne on Linkedin here. Start a 30-day free trial of Pixie today to discover how you can save yourself some brainache and take control of your deadlines with a simple, intuitive, and effective practice management software.
A Portuguese expat in London, Celso founded Pixie after learning first-hand about the challenges faced by small accountancy and bookkeeping practices. A product-focused leader with over 20 years experience in the software industry, at Pixie you'll frequently find him listening to customers and distilling their feedback into the product and go-to-market strategy.
