'CAVEMAN' EMBRACES TECHNOLOGY

When Andrew (aka ‘Cave’) Scott, owner of Cave Constructions Pty Ltd first met with Gabrielle Osborne, Practice Manager of PBG Business Services Pty Ltd, he was a little hesitant, to say the least about how technology was going to improve his business.

Having won HIA House of the Year in 2013, Andrew’s skill in building, project management and job-costing was never in doubt. In the throes of a marriage separation, where his wife had previously managed the books, Andrew seriously considered whether he could keep his business going. He was quite vocal about his aversion to computers and all technology – let alone bookkeeping.

“I guess I just struggled to see how it was going to work. I didn’t want to waste time mucking around indoors on a computer - I build great houses ! The thought of sorting the bookkeeping was overwhelming and I considered going back to a wage.”

Once his Xero account was up and running, it didn’t take Andrew long to see the benefits of the systems Gabrielle introduced.

“I SMS the team’s hours every Wednesday, and by the time I’m home, their payslips are waiting for me on my email. If it gets to about 3pm and Gabrielle hasn’t heard from me, she’ll shoot me an SMS to remind me”.

Gabrielle and Andrew now only need to meet up in person about once per quarter. The rest is done seamlessly using Xero. 

"Gabrielle is the reason Cave Constructions is still going"

Gabrielle says, “I knew I could help Andrew, but it just took some time to build a collaborative rhythm. I totally understand Andrew’s initial reservations, he’s worked hard to build up his business, so it takes time for him to see that I genuinely want to help him focus on what he’s best at”.

Most of Andrew’s suppliers now email a copy of their invoices to Gabrielle who then forwards them to Receipt Bank, which uses optical character recognition to create a bill in Xero. Receipt Bank also scans a copy of the original invoice and attaches it to the invoice, guaranteeing to store it for seven years.

Andrew says this has helped immensely when doing variations on quotes.

“Rather than hunting around in piles of receipts, I can now find them in a few clicks”.

As a specialist in micro-businesses in the Building and Construction Industry, Gabrielle has also helped with compliance.

“Having Gabrielle shoot me an email saying here’s your superannuation for your staff for this month and here’s when you need to pay by, is just one less thing I need to be thinking about” says Andrew.

And as far as testimonials go, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Andrew says “I’m not joking when I say engaging Gabrielle’s services have changed my life! I would have given up otherwise. After, all these years, I now understand my business more than ever and I am actually enjoying it. Gabrielle is the reason Cave Constructions has kept going.”

Gabrielle Osborne (BAcc) is a small business specialist who loves to help business owners focus on what they do best. An innovation enthusiast and determined problem-solver, Gabrielle can change your life too.   

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