/U;/U/U – USA;/U/U – AUS;/U/U – NZ;/U/Technology;/U/Xero;/U/U – UK;/U/U – AUS/16-05;/U/U – NZ/16-05;/U/U – UK/16-05;/U/U – USA/16-05;

CEO and co-founder of modular building startup Dennis Wong launched about a year ago and has spent the past 12 months building out a team, implementing technology, gathering information and proving out his concept.

Building a business and building a team

“This has actually been an amazing process because we were able to stay very lean, we’ve only got a few people, yet we’re able to really figure out the problems. This first year has involved a lot of data gathering,” Wong said, adding to keep costs in check, he’s operating a cloud-first model to operate both his business and his facilities.

“All of the tools that we’re using are essentially cloud-based services, which enables us to keep our cost down, significantly down,” he said.

“We use Xero for all of our accounting and payroll needs. We have a small team, so all of our payroll is integrated with Xero, all of our payroll taxes are paid through Xero.

“We’re also able to pay our bills and create expense reports through our mobile, which has been really efficient. Some of the third party applications we’ve been integrating with include Bill.com and Stripe, and property management tools. It’s been really helpful to be able to stay lean.”

Cloud tech and its many uses

But it’s not just the back-office functions that are based in the cloud, many of the features incorporated in Campsyte’s modular spaces are cloud-based.

“We’ve integrated a lot of technology that would be very costly in a typical building. We use app-based door locks, app-based door bells and app-based heating and cooling sensors, as well as alarm systems,” he said.

“The benefit to having these different services integrated on one platform is time. We’re a small team, and instead of having to make sure that our information is inputted correctly in multiple locations, we just input it once and it syncs seamlessly.”

You can read more about Campsyte and how technology is influencing the small business economy over on Inc.

As we reach the end of National Small Business week, it’s important to reflect on how technology plays a pivotal role in most small businesses and, for businesses using Xero, how you can take advantage of its capabilities to achieve your business goals.

If you’re a small business owner, here are five reasons you should use Xero to help you run your business.

1. Work where and when you want to

Whether you want to use your smartphone or tablet, or your PC or Mac, Xero lets you keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. Xero also works hard to ensure you – and anyone else who needs to access your finances – are working off the same data, wherever you are, whenever you want.

2. Improve cash flow and get paid faster

Every business needs to get paid, and Xero equips small businesses with tools you can use to get paid faster.

Go beyond “traditional” printed invoices and start using online invoices. Rather than send your customers a PDF file – or, worse, a printed document – you can send them an online invoice. The advantages? Not only is it faster, you can also see whether they’ve opened it, and they have the ability to pay you online through your invoice. The faster the process, the faster you get paid.

3. Let Xero do the heavy lifting while you sleep

Smart software should be easy to use and also work behind the scenes to help you save time. Let Xero perform those tedious, repetitive tasks that take you away from doing the things that can add more value to your business.

If you use invoicing, then Xero’s automated Invoice Reminders can do the chasing for you. If your customers take a while to pay you, or you are spending hours chasing overdue invoices, then Invoice Reminders is a must-have. It will automatically send an email to your customers if an invoice is overdue (or about to become due).

And if you’re an advisor, then Find & Recode could save you hours. It’s easier than ever to find your way through a client’s records and then update those records en masse. Hundreds of records to update? Find & Recode will save you hundreds of minutes.

4. Collaborate with your advisors

We call it the Single Ledger, but think of it as the single set of data that both you and your advisor can work from. This means you’re both seeing the same set of data at the same time.

This saves you from having to export data and send it to your advisor – as soon as you sent it, it’s likely out of date. And as an advisor it saves you the trouble of importing the data into another solution, which not only means you may not be working off the latest information but, because it’s often unwieldy to do, then any problems in a client’s business may not be discovered for months.

What’s more, you’re free to invite your advisors into your file at no additional cost – we make it easier than ever to collaborate with those who matter.

5. Xero grows with you

Whether you’re just setting up your business, or you already use multiple systems, Xero’s ecosystem can help you. Xero works with more than 500 products so you can craft a solution that meets your needs.

Whether it’s integrating with your email (Xero integrates with Gmail and Office 365) or you want to use specialized systems – such as customer relationship management, inventory or industry-specific solutions (such as Vend or Shopify), then Xero’s add-on marketplace gives you the flexibility to create a mix that meets your business’s specific needs.

If you’ve yet to try Xero, you can easily sign up for a free 30 day trial. And if you’re a current Xero user, why not take the time to reflect on how you use Xero and explore our range of videos and courses to get the most out of it!