We have a large network of amazing Business Partners worldwide who can specify which Unleashed option is most suitable for your business, and we wanted to highlight a few of our particularly exceptional Partners over the months to come.
We will be asking our Partners about their experience using cloud software, specifying Unleashed (and other solutions) for their clients, any advice they have for small businesses, and their thoughts about how businesses will evolve over the years to come.
First up is Peter Jonsson, Smile IT’s director and business consultant, who recently took the time to answer some of our questions, and offer his thoughts on future opportunities for anyone doing business in the cloud.
How did you get into the cloud technology game?
When I started my consulting business in 2012 after leaving the corporate world a number of my clients had started using Xero. I found Xero to be quite simple to use, and as a consultant having access to clients important business information instantly, this really excited me as it allowed me to start to provide far more proactive support which is fantastic.
From there I found one of the key aspects of a business, being inventory management, really needed a boost as Xero is just not built for this, and through trialling a few different add ons, I found Unleashed to be the best cloud based inventory management system in the marketplace. Since then my clients and I have not looked back. We have continued to add to our cloud service offering over the years and are now partnered with the best cloud solutions providers.
You’ve probably heard that inventory is our thing. What’s yours?
My passion for the last 10 years has definitely been around helping and supporting businesses to grow. It is extremely rewarding and satisfying seeing businesses flourish through the use of the systems and processes that we have implemented as well as the advice we have passed on to business owners.
How have your customers benefited from using Unleashed?
Unleashed is simple to use even though it is not a simple inventory system. Our clients love the reporting available to them and the ability to manage all aspects of their business’ inventory so easily. Probably one of the best features of Unleashed, I believe, is the ability to add costs to inventory. Many of our clients are importers and the ability for them to add import duties, import freight, foreign exchange rates and other costs to their inventory allows far more accurate margin reporting.
What advice would you give to small businesses looking to implement cloud based software?
Ignore the sceptics and old ways of thinking about business systems and processes. I have seen firsthand cloud based software working seamlessly for numerous businesses of all different sizes and industries. We all know that moving systems and processes to a new platform has its teething issues but the long term benefits are immense. Businesses no longer need to rely on one system or multiple systems that are not integrated to run successfully and efficiently.
Now with the cloud there are so many different add ons that integrate seamlessly with one another that I find it difficult working with clients that run multiple older systems with no integrations. We also need to remember that the cloud is still fresh, you just need to see how many more systems are available today than there were 12-24 months ago, the industry is changing quickly and dramatically. I can’t wait to see where we are in the next 12-24 months, it is quite exciting.
How do you think software will transform the way Australians do business?
Systems and technology have already changed the way we do business in Australia. The technological advances we are seeing with smart phones and tablets are making business easier. Business owners now have far more useful information at their fingertips and they can make far quicker decisions than they were ever able to before.
It is really exciting seeing the changes businesses are currently going through and any business not starting to think about making changes from a systems and technological standpoint is already behind their competitors. The technology and software we now have available is so powerful and it is great to see so many businesses interested in adopting these.
Which industries do you think will experience the most growth over the years to come?
I still believe that importers and businesses that have a combination of import and locally sourced product in their business model will continue to be successful in the years to come. Basically any business with a low cost base will continue to be at an advantage in Australia.
That being said, any business can still be successful as long as they have the right systems and processes in place as well as having the right support structure in place. Businesses that are taking advantage of all the technological changes with smart phones, tablets and cloud based systems in this more mobile workplace are going to be the most competitive.
Find out more
If you’re considering employing the services of one of our Unleashed Business Partners, Peter and the Smile IT team have offices in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast of Australia, and would love to hear from you. Here are just a few quotes from their satisfied clients!
“Unleashed has been fantastic for our brand. We are now using Unleashed across all of our brands and locations around the world. Adding costs to inventory has made our lives so much easier. Before Unleashed it was far too difficult to allocate all the costs of importing our products to each individual item which made margin reporting so inaccurate. Now we know our exact margin on each and every item we stock across all our different markets. This is just one of the features that is making a difference in our business. Peter was great in assisting us in making the decision to move to Unleashed after we compared a large number of alternatives. By spending the time with Peter mapping out our processes and overall goals we are now reaping the rewards”. – Declan Wise (CEO) Afends
“We changed to Unleashed in July this year after Peter demoed how Unleashed could work in our business. We decided to move away from our old accounting system that included a large number of processes and paperwork. Now we are using Unleashed with GeoOp and Xero as a fully integrated system. The implementation process has had its teething issues (which we expected) but the information and reporting we can now see through the integration of these cloud systems is far superior to anything we had before. Peter has been a key partner throughout the process”. – Tom Aldridge (Director) Suburban Pest
Click here to find out more about Smile IT and how they can help get your business up and running in the cloud.
