Ms Smith, director and head of healthcare at the firm, notes that recent weeks have seen many SMEs adopt digital book-keeping systems to access and ensure the timely delivery of accounts during and beyond the coronavirus health crisis.

As part of its digital accounting offering, Wylie & Bisset recently achieved Xero Platinum Partner status. The highest possible level of the cloud accounting system designed for small and growing businesses is for the firm’s record in assisting businesses make the transition from traditional to cloud-based accounting software.

Xero Platinum status comes after the firm recently entered into partnership agreements with the main digital business banks, Tide and Revolut,

Providing real-time insight into an SME’s financial figures, with live data hosted in the cloud, Xero gives finance staff access to their cash flows, transactions and account details from any location at any time with all bank transactions imported and coded automatically.

Ms Smith said: “Many digital technologies and apps are significantly slicker and easier to use than the old-fashioned manual ways of doing things, whether paper or spreadsheet.

“The adoption of digital technologies for various business admin functions enables processes and procedures to be undertaken far quicker and far more efficiently than previously and the knock-on effect is huge efficiencies for SMEs and a lot less wasted time.

“Online book-keeping can be accessed anywhere and at any time – directors don’t need to be at their desk or tied to a desktop computer to see what’s going on with their accounts.”

Ms Smith notes that Xero has introduced a COVID-19 business reporting template add-on to give clients added value at no extra cost to the practice.

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