Brighter Accounting | Gemma Wheatley

Using A2X to create valuable partnerships with clients

Brighter Accounting has integrated A2X into its well-curated digital tech-stack to help it step into the world of eCommerce accounting and add true value to its clients. Discover how Brighter Accounting uses A2X, alongside other digital tools like QuickBooks Online, Xero, Zoom and TaxCalc, to bring seamless automation to tedious, time-consuming tasks.

Committed accountants and business partners

Gemma Wheatley was a high-level corporate accountant with demanding hours. Looking for more flexibility and balance in her life, she started freelancing as an accountant for small local businesses – and loved every second of it.

In 2017, she started Brighter Accounting, which not only handles clients’ books but also becomes their committed business partner. The team goes the extra mile to help clients with strategy and ongoing compliance, adding value wherever possible.

Today, Gemma’s team now includes three bookkeepers, two accountants and a payroll specialist – and the firm is only getting bigger and busier.

Interest from eCommerce clients

12 months ago, Brighter Accounting decided to slowly open the eCommerce floodgates when it received enquiries from a couple of Amazon and Shopify clients.

Since then, the firm’s focus has been on supporting UK-based online sellers, particularly in the Northwest, who sell on Amazon and Shopify across an array of industries.

From the start, Gemma knew that if she was going to work in the eCommerce space, she needed the best digital tools in the market to help manage the huge quantities of data that online sales create.

“A2X has made it possible for us to enter the eCommerce market. We wouldn’t want to be doing it manually with such large volumes of data. A2X has facilitated this and allows us to build on that side of the business.”

Before: manual entry a thing of the past

For Gemma and her team, manually reconciling online transactions was never an option. With the sheer volume of data and hidden costs, Gemma understood the vast amount of time that could be saved if the firm used the right digital tools.

She highlights how much time they save with A2X by comparing it with one small-volume client who still does the books manually:

“Once this client pulls three reports from Amazon, another report from Stripe and then prepares it all, that’s around three hours of his time. With A2X, you click the button and it’s done! This is just one small-volume scenario. If you multiply that per month, you’re saving valuable time.”

After: ability to grow in eCommerce accounting

As with its clients, Brighter Accounting has big plans to grow its reputation in eCommerce accounting over the next 12 months. Gemma says that’s only an option because of A2X.

“We’re looking to grow, and we want to work with companies that are also growing. A2X will facilitate us on this journey as it saves time and it’s scalable. We can use it with a variety of clients in a variety of locations and as they grow, it will just keep on working.”

As it grows, Gemma wants to make sure the firm can give individual clients the support they need to scale. A2X allows it to achieve growth while maintaining client partnerships – and adding more value above and beyond data entry.

Even with the time difference, Gemma notes that “the support we get from the A2X team is fantastic. Being able to have sessions to run through the technicalities in the background makes everything accessible.

“A2X works, it’s not glitchy. When we contact customer support, it’s to aid our learning, not because we have a problem with the software. We know we can trust it.”

“eCommerce and A2X go hand in hand – they complement each other”

Brighter Accounting uses QuickBooks Online and Xero as its main accounting software. It also uses TaxCalc for sales tax and Zoom for client and staff meetings. This software line-up complements A2X well, and Gemma says she has no complaints.

“As an accountant, I can go into Xero or QuickBooks Online, see what A2X has generated for each client, and it makes sense. I understand it. I like how A2X attaches the report so I can see the detail behind it.”

With the UK government on a mission to build the ‘most digitally advanced tax system in the world’, Gemma says “digital record-keeping, whether we like it or not, is becoming the norm” and A2X is making that transition for her clients much more seamless.

Gemma believes that if you want to sell on eCommerce or work with eCommerce clients, you need to be using A2X. She and her team are grateful for the automation and the extra time they have for focusing on their client’s needs.

“Yes, there is setup time and learning time. But once you’ve done that, it’s almost instantaneous. The amount of time saved on manual reconciliations and better financial reporting capabilities is infinite.”