Jeremy has been a BGLer for an incredible 8 years and is an essential part of the CAS 360 team!
In a matter of weeks, we adapted our software to meet our clients’ changing needs and improve their experience; implemented innovative ways to keep our teams connected and productive; and sought out ways to help the community. Now, we want to share what we’ve learned so far in hopes that it might help you during this transition. Here are some tips from the BGL team to help you nail WFH:
Everyone has their own way of planning their time, however, one great tip is to get into the habit of writing your to-do list for the day and week ahead. Also, consider your most difficult tasks and try to get them out of the way as early as possible to avoid procrastination. Using Project Management platforms such as Jira, Asana, Monday.com can be quite helpful.
Since you’re no longer close to your co-workers or manager, it’s good to schedule 1:1 check-in meetings with them on a weekly basis to chat about your goals, upcoming projects and daily tasks. Use this time to clarify any concerns or questions you might have, plus inform about achievements and future tasks. Using communication, video conferencing platforms such as Slack, Skype, Zoom or GoTo can be quite helpful.
Your morning prep routine – People often joke that they would love to work in their pyjamas but, in reality, getting dressed as if you are heading to the office can help put you in ‘work mode’. It also ensures you look professional in all video meetings. The same mindset applies for a proper workstation set up, it can help you stay focused on activities while WFH, so make sure you have one!
To feel supported and stay connected to the “real world”, become part of a remote community. We’ve found that being surrounded by others who are successfully working remotely inspires us to remain productive while embracing the flexibility. Plus, human interaction can make all the difference in your productivity as well as your mental and emotional well-being. Participate in Facebook Groups, Slack Channels, attend online events and other community initiatives 🙂
Automate processes as much as you can. Take advantage of the perks of using cloud-based apps for greater collaboration when working remotely: Cloud computing has made it incredibly easy for workers in a company to collaborate and being able to keep providing the same service level to clients! At BGL, we use a number of cloud applications and that is allowing us to keep providing next level service to clients and collaboration between teams. Make sure you and your team have the right resources in place and are making the most out of it.
Working from home can be a big transition. You might feel any combination of lonely, isolated, stressed, frustrated, anxious, unmotivated, or — on the other hand — relieved, relaxed, energised, or productive. It’s all OK and normal. Take it easy on yourself and make sure you remain positive!
If you want to find out more about BGL’s updates, click here.
Working from home can be a big transition. You might feel any combination of lonely, isolated, stressed, frustrated, anxious, unmotivated, or — on the other hand — relieved, relaxed, energized, or productive. It’s all OK and normal.
“I am really proud of the BGL Team” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “Through this really tough period and with the whole Team working from home, they have continued to provide our clients with first class customer service and responded to legislative announcements in a timely manner. Being able to pivot within a sprint to handle the pension and other changes shows exactly how agile development processes should work”.
Yesterday, BGL released Stage 1 the COVID-19 SMSF changes, enabling users to perform reviews of Account-Based, TRIS and TRIS retirement phase pensions for the 50% minimums. At the same time, we released integration with Cointree, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, allowing users to download transaction files from Cointree and import directly into Simple Fund 360 and an update to the Investment Income Comparison Report for the 45-day holding period rule and much more.
“In just 3 months, the Simple Fund 360 and API teams have delivered 4 releases, including an accounting workpapers update, property dashboard, mobile app Engage by BGL for Android users and more! No other industry player has delivered so many new features to their clients over the past 3 months” noted Lesh.
“The ability of the BGL Team to operate “as normal” through these difficult times is a tribute to the quality of our people” added Lesh. “This is why both CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 are clear market leaders in the corporate compliance and SMSF admin space with over 7,000 firms maintaining 650,000 entities subscribed to our software solutions”.
For a full list of new features, check out the BGL Community.
The rapid transition of the SMSF industry towards working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic has meant accountants, advisers, auditors and administrators “have to be more available than ever” for their colleagues and clients, says a leading administrator.
Thank you for being resilient, brave and committed to your cause and to your clients.
At BGL, we’re closely monitoring the impact of the virus and following the Australian government recommendations to support our people, customers and community during this difficult time. We encourage you to check out our update, stay connected and put in place a strategy to get you, your team and your clients through this difficult time.
Commencing Tuesday, 24 March 2020, all BGL team members will be working from home.
Our systems enable us to continue to deliver the highest level of support and service to you. Your ability to continue to use your BGL products and access the online help and resources will not change.
We would like to encourage you to:
Incoming calls – Our phone lines are still open for general enquiries and will be answered by our administration team.
Outgoing calls – If you are expecting a call from a BGL team member, please be aware that all calls from BGL will display as a “Private Number”.
The Simple Fund 360 team has been working through the recent Coronavirus Economic Response Package. We are conscious that you may be receiving queries from trustees wishing to review their pension payments and also firms looking to implement possible strategies before the TBAR Lodgement dates. We have therefore broken the changes down into two stages. With Stage 1 and Stage 2 now complete.
For more information, visit: https://sf360.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/articles/360040874312
Investment Opportunity
After receiving many calls about migration to cloud-based apps and understanding this is a tough time for all businesses, BGL is offering an investment opportunity to get you up and running – Buy now, pay nothing until 1 July 2020 (offer available to new clients, desktop clients migrating and cloud clients upgrading subscriptions). Click here to find out more >>>
All BGL product training will now be held online indefinitely. So, you can learn from the comfort of your home office! The content provided in our virtual classes will be exactly the same as our classroom training – only the delivery format will change to be via Zoom.
Here is our online training schedule for March – April:
Week 1
Week 2
Course Fees: $150.00 + GST per person, per course
For more information, visit: www.bglcorp.com/hub/training
We will continue to work within government guidelines and recommendations, placing the well-being of the BGL team at the core of our actions. We are also committed to you as our clients and we will do all we can to support you during this difficult time.
Feel free to contact your Account Manager on 1300 654 401 if you have any concerns or queries.
We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Scott Murray, Partner at Accounting Firm Tester Porter Services, to talk about the challenges he has faced and overcome in his endeavours to help clients.
Since joining Tester Porter in 1996, Scott has implemented many new tech systems to keep the firm up to date and in some cases ahead of other firms. After migrating his team to Xero Practice Manager, Scott looked to BGL’s CAS 360 to simplify the annual review process and automate some of the steps with their corporate secretarial services.
“We had recently migrated to Xero Practice Manager and were hoping to integrate the client database and remove the need to maintain 2 client databases, which did happen with the integration with CAS 360 & XPM”.
It wasn’t long before Scott and his team started to see the benefits of CAS 360.
“The process of preparing documents and tracking documents with ASIC (and the clients ASIC fees) is easy in CAS 360. It takes less time to do more work”.
“We are spending less time processing ASIC documents since implementing CAS360. Plus, with the XPM integration, all the company information (client database) to complete documents is automatically merged so you are not typing the same information over and over. Client details are integrated from XPM so very rarely is there doubling up of the same client”.
“Multi-company documents – for producing the required documents for multiple changes within a company and the Automated Reminders for Annual Review fees, debtor reminder (email or SMS)”.
“We’re more efficient – definitely saving time so we can focus on other activities”
“CAS 360 is easy and efficient. Details of companies and company contacts all set up within CAS 360 make it easy to produce documents, lodge documents with ASIC, follow up payment of Annual Review fees and so on”.
“Just DO IT! CAS 360 practically does everything for you”.
Tester Porter Services has been providing accounting, tax and compliance services for over 100 years from its base in Young, New South Wales. Its clients include primary producers, small businesses, investors, professional sports people and superannuation funds. Visit their website to learn more – www.testerporter.com.au
BGL has partnered with TAG Financial Services to release a Fact Find Document Pack in Simple Fund 360.
BGL is proud to announce that Evans Dixon has made the decision to move the administration of its 4,500 SMSFs to Simple Fund 360.
© 2024 BGL Corporate Solutions Pty Ltd.
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