Former rural accounting firm partner and farmer David Marshall felt for a long time there had to be a more efficient way of managing farm finances.
And while working with farm investment company MyFarm, which is responsible for managing more than 50 farms, Marshall became increasingly frustrated at not having the right financial information at his fingertips.
“We were trying to communicate how well the farms were running or if there were issues looming but we seemed to be reporting different results, using different systems and getting different answers.”
Accountant, farmer and MyFarm worker Carl McDonald shared Marshall’sr frustrations and understood what was technically possible through the virtual cloud.
The pair, backed by MyFarm and two silent investors, teamed up with Wellington software development company Hashbang and set about developing New Zealand’s first farm livestock reporting, cash planning and rolling forecasting tool.
After successful trials with MyFarm dairy and sheep and beef farms, the value for any farming operation, big or small, became apparent.
Marshall said they then got involved with Xero because Figured needed what Xero had as its platform and Xero was encouraging farming add-on partners.
“We were providing the final piece of the puzzle.”
Figured project director Duncan Anderson says it will give accountants the chance to play a significant role in the financial management of the farming business because both parties will know everything about the financial position of the business – in real time and at any time.
There was already overseas interest in the product and there were no barriers to international use, he said.
