Australian FinTech

Published by Australian Fintech on 02 October 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions have announced the release of its integration with national property valuation company Acumentis, to simplify SMSF property valuations.

“We are excited to add Acumentis to the BGL Ecosystem,” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “This integration will provide BGL’s Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 clients with seamless access to compliant SMSF property valuations and tax depreciation schedules for a wide range of property types, including residential, commercial and agribusiness, spanning the entire nation.”

Acumentis’ registered valuers are uniquely equipped to deliver cost-effective valuation and assessment reports with their extensive expertise, local and asset-specific knowledge and invaluable market insights. Acumentis SMSF assessments are completed using methodology and data to ensure ATO compliance, providing clients with the information and confidence required for SMSF reporting.

Nathan King, National Director Advisory at Acumentis, said, “SMSF trustees and administrators struggle with gaining access to relevant market data to substantiate the market value of SMSF property assets. This often leads to auditor queries or valuation reworks. An Acumentis SMSF property assessment provides an audit compliant market value in a cost effective and timely manner. BGL clients can now easily order a fixed price commercial or residential property assessment online and receive an ATO compliant property assessment within five working days.”

Jeevan Tokhi, Head of Simple Fund 360 at BGL, said, “The partnership simplifies the landscape for SMSF property assessments, providing BGL’s clients with seamless access to compliant SMSF property valuations and tax depreciation schedules for a wide range of property types. Under the ATO’s Valuation Guidelines, there is a limited range of professionals who can provide valuations, and with the rapidly changing property market, obtaining an independent property valuation ensures trustees, SMSF professionals and auditors have a correct valuation of SMSF assets and that the valuation is based on objective and supportable data.”

BGL’s SMSF administration and investment management software, Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360, now support integration with 4 property valuers. “BGL is committed to providing our clients with choice and flexibility through our growing ecosystem,” added Lesh. “This gives our clients the freedom to choose which service provider they connect to in their BGL software.”

BGL’s free and open API is used extensively across the industry with 350+ data feed and integration partners in the BGL Ecosystem, delivering a holistic experience to BGL clients.

Published by Australian Fintech on 25 September 2023
Click here to read on the Australian Fintech website

BGL Corporate Solutions (BGL), Australia’s leading provider of company compliance, self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), investment management and AI powered paper-to-data solutions, has announced the launch of its CAS 360 Certification Program.

The Certification will recognise CAS 360 clients who have successfully completed all the CAS 360 Training Courses.

“The launch of the CAS 360 Certification Program is the result of months of dedication and hard work from our team. I am incredibly proud of everyone involved in the creation of this certification,” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “This certification not only equips BGL clients with the tools to get the most from their CAS 360 software but also offers well-deserved recognition for their skills.”

The CAS 360 Certification Program empowers clients to showcase their proficiency in BGL’s complete company, trust and AML management software, CAS 360 and gain recognition for their expertise from employers, clients and peers.

Norman Michael, Training and Documentation Manager at BGL, said, “Becoming CAS 360 Certified is available to all BGL clients through a series of on-demand product training courses and assessments.”

The program includes 4 online courses:

• Company Secretary 101: A Beginner’s Guide,
• CAS 360 Level 1,
• CAS 360 Level 2, and
• CAS 360 Certification.

“The courses incorporate interactive videos, practical exercises and a short test. Participants will earn 2 CPD hours for completing each course and receive a certificate and badge to proudly display their expertise.

“Clients already well-versed in CAS 360 have the flexibility to skip directly to the tests, quickly earning their certificate and badge to enhance their professional portfolio,” added Michael.

The CAS 360 Certification program is currently offered to BGL clients free of charge. It is available through the BGL Learning Channel – an exclusive, on-demand training platform for BGL clients.

“BGL is committed to enhancing the skill sets of our clients. We are currently working to extend this certification program to include Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 Professional Editions. Watch this space!” concluded Lesh.

Published by Australian Fintech on 18 September 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions has been recognised as an ABA100® Winner for Business Innovation in the Australian Business Awards 2023 for its AI-powered paper-to-data solution, BGL SmartDocs 360.

The Australian Business Awards are an annual comprehensive awards program that recognises organisations demonstrating the core values of business innovation, product innovation, technological achievement and employee engagement via established business and product award categories.

“This is a truly remarkable achievement and a testament to the extraordinary efforts and dedication of our product development teams,” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “I couldn’t be prouder of their hard work developing our unique, innovative paper-to-data solution.”

BGL SmartDocs 360 is a multi-award winning, AI-powered paper-to-data solution that helps businesses unlock their full potential by transforming paper documents into smart digital data.

The solution provides both Retail and Developer versions (currently in beta), meaning it can be integrated into any software solution or used by any business to convert paper into data.

“Unlike other solutions that require the creation of templates for each document layout, BGL SmartDocs 360 learns from documents submitted through its unique training engine,” added Lesh. “Once BGL SmartDocs 360 has learned the document type (it takes approximately 10 documents of the same type), it will permanently process the document type even if the layout of the document changes. The document can be either a PDF or an image.”

As a flagship product, BGL SmartDocs 360 positions BGL to expand its global reach by delivering a paper-to-data solution to organisations across the globe and industries seeking to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Published by Australian Fintech on 11 September 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions has announced the release of its enhanced integration with leading business management platform MYOB GreatSoft practice management.

“We are excited to roll out our new and improved two-way practice management integration with GreatSoft,” said BGL‘s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “This integration streamlines the management of company, SMSF, trust, and individual client and contact data across four apps in a single database. This eliminates the need for manual and duplicated data entry, freeing up valuable time and resources for clients.”

Valantis Vais, Head of Product – Enterprise for MYOB, said, “Accounting Practices are struggling with an industry-wide shortage of Accountants, so reducing the amount of precious time wasted keeping data in sync between BGL’s suite of products and MYOB GreatSoft with a seamless 2-way workflow will help reduce pressure on the existing teams. Plus, this integration demonstrates our commitment to creating an Open Business Management Platform for Accountants.”

The new and improved two-way BGL Practice Management Integration (Version 2) connects MYOB’s GreatSoft practice management software with the BGL Suite, which includes company, trust and AML management software, CAS 360, SMSF administration software, Simple Fund 360 and accounting, investment and tax software, Simple Invest 360.

“The integration features client and contact level synchronisation, prompts to review a client/contact before syncing to an app and provides notifications for duplicate clients/contacts,” continued Lesh. “It also includes the ability to add clients/contacts in bulk, view client/contact relationships and change history. All clients/contacts can be searched and filtered in the Client List screen.”

“So, if a client’s details change in the BGL Suite (CAS 360, Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360), this change is automatically updated in GreatSoft,” added Lesh. “Also, when client or contact details change in any app, our company compliance software, CAS 360, will prompt clients to prepare all the relevant ASIC compliance documents.”

BGL plans to extend this integration to other practice management partners.

BGL’s free and open API is used extensively across the industry with 350+ data feed and integration partners in the BGL Ecosystem, delivering a holistic experience to BGL clients.

Published by Australian Fintech on 05 September 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions has announced the release of Annual Tax Statement automation using BGL SmartDocs in Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360.

BGL SmartDocs is a multi-award-winning, AI-powered paper-to-data solution fully integrated with BGL’s SMSF administration and investment management software, Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360.

“This release is a huge achievement by our Big Data, Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 Product Teams and I’m extremely proud of everyone involved,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “This amazing new feature will free up valuable time for our Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 clients by eliminating the need for manual data input or the hassle of deciphering tax statements from Managed Funds, ETFs and Trusts.”

“BGL clients can simply upload or email Annual Tax Statements (image or PDF files) directly to their Simple Fund 360 or Simple Invest 360 software,” continued Lesh. “The built-in BGL SmartDocs feature will read the statement, extract the data and calculate the distribution tax components pre-filling the relevant fields in Simple Fund 360 or Simple Invest 360. The BGL SmartDocs feature displays the statement alongside the calculations providing a simple reconciliation process.”

Jeevan Tokhi, Head of Simple Fund 360 at BGL, said, “BGL continues to innovate and remove manual data entry for clients. In 2019, we released a tool that automated tax data processing by calculating the amount of each tax component and applying this to distributions received during the year. We extended in 2021 by automatically creating year-end accrual transactions and warnings in our built-in workpapers. Now, we have the incredible feature of extracting the tax components from the Annual Tax Statement PDF. This release is yet another step forward in the evolution of our zero-touch technology.”

BGL SmartDocs is currently reading two million pages per month and loading the extracted data into Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360.

Published by Australian Fintech on 23 August 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions has announced the release of a Division 7A loan calculator and manager feature in its accounting, investment and tax software, Simple Invest 360.

“We’re thrilled to introduce the Division 7A loan manager in Simple Invest 360,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “This feature equips BGL clients with cutting-edge tools to help them tackle the complexities of Division 7A loans, a fundamental component of contemporary accounting management that affects trusts and companies.”

Andrew Paszko, Simple Invest 360 Product Manager at BGL, said, “The Division 7A feature is the result of feedback from clients on the challenges faced by businesses dealing with Division 7A loans. This feature will not only calculate the minimum repayments and interest payments but will then post the journals for these payments to the ledger. These transactions can be posted for both companies as the lender as well as a trust or shareholders as the borrower.”

“Our Division 7A feature goes beyond traditional financial management software,” added Lesh.

“With its integrated capabilities, users can easily reconcile ledger balances, ensuring financial accuracy and compliance. But what truly sets this feature apart is its seamless integration with dividend payments. We understand the common practice of offsetting minimum repayments, and our feature is designed to accommodate this efficiently.”

The Division 7A feature introduces a global entity view to Simple Invest 360, providing a comprehensive overview of Division 7A balances across entities and simplifying monitoring processes. Additionally, the feature offers clear differentiation between secured and unsecured loans, catering for varying loan terms. The intuitive user interface allows easy access to loan worksheets, ledger balances and documents linked to loans, streamlining the process of posting journals for dividends and interest and ensuring a cohesive and integrated workflow.

Published by Australian Fintech on 21 August 2023
Click here to read on the Australian Fintech website

BGL Corporate Solutions (BGL), Australia’s leading provider of company compliance, self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), investment management and AI powered paper-to-data solutions, have celebrated the resounding success of its BGL REGTECH 2023 event, which drew 22 sponsors and 1,300 clients and prospects across 6 locations.

BGL REGTECH 2023 is BGL’s 6th annual accounting and technology event, which took place in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Melbourne through August 2023. The Melbourne event was also live-streamed to BGL clients in rural and regional Australia and overseas.

“BGL REGTECH 2023 has been a resounding success and I’m immensely proud of the BGL team for organising such an impactful event,” said BGL’s Managing Director Ron Lesh. “I’m also incredibly grateful to our event sponsors, guest speakers and clients whose support has been instrumental in making this event possible.”

The event featured an all-star lineup of industry experts, including Sharon McClafferty, Co-Founder and CEO at Slipstream and Steph Hinds, Head Ninja at Growthwise. BGL’s Ron Lesh, Founder and Managing Director, Daniel Tramontana, CEO and Warren Renden, General Manager – CAS 360, Ecosystem and Brand, also presented at the event.

“This year, BGL REGTECH focused on helping people Retain, Educate and Grow themselves, their teams and their clients through the power of technology, people, processes and experiences,” continued Lesh. “We also announced a slew of innovative new features, integrations and products, or what we like to call our WOW moments.” Notable highlights included the BETA release of BGL SmartDocs 360, our AI-powered paper-to-data software solution and BGLiD, a client identity verification solution available to all BGL clients in late August 2023.

“We’ve seen and will continue to see many positive changes and innovations happening at BGL, benefiting our clients and our team. Sharing this journey with the amazing attendees of BGL REGTECH 2023 has been truly exciting and humbling. We can’t wait to welcome everyone at BGL REGTECH 2024!” concluded Lesh.

Published by Australian Fintech on 08 August 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions (BGL), Australia’s leading provider of company compliance, self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and investment management software, has announced the launch of its client identity verification solution, BGLiD.

BGLiD launched at BGL REGTECH, Sydney on 1 August 2023. BGL REGTECH is BGL’s annual event that this year is focused on helping its clients Retain, Educate and Grow.

“This is another great achievement by the BGL team and I’m extremely proud of everyone involved,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “BGLiD will simplify the client identity verification process for CAS 360 clients, eliminating the need for manual ID verification.”

BGLiD is a simple client identity verification solution seamlessly integrated with BGL’s CAS 360 – the world’s leading company and trust management solution. BGLiD validates IDs across various datasets, including Government ID, Anti Money Laundering, Global Sanctions and Adverse News databases to verify an individual’s identity in seconds. BGLiD is powered by FrankieOne.

Warren Renden, General Manager – CAS 360, Ecosystem and Brand at BGL, said: “We are in the business of solving problems for our clients. BGLiD allows any CAS 360 client to complete ID verifications and AML checks using their existing CAS 360 contact data, with no set-up required.”

BGLiD will be released to all BGL clients in late August 2023. CAS 360 now supports 3,300+ clients managing 850,000+ companies and 150,000+ trusts across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with releases in Hong Kong and the United

Kingdom in the not-too-distant future. “We are still at the beginning of the CAS 360 journey. With Hong Kong and the United Kingdom coming soon, 1,000,000+ companies is next on our charts,” concluded Lesh.

Published by Australian Fintech on 07 August 2023
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BGL Corporate Solutions (BGL), Australia’s leading provider of company compliance, self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), and investment management software, has announced its partnership with FuseSign, a cutting-edge digital signing provider, has reached a significant milestone with over 100,000 documents now signed with FuseSign in BGL products during the 2022/23 financial year.

“This is a huge milestone for the BGL and FuseSign teams,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “Our partnership continues to transform how accountants manage their clients’ compliance and streamline document delivery and signing processes.”

FuseSign has quickly risen to become the most widely used digital signing provider for BGL, a testament to its industry focus, efficiency and reliability. As a result, BGL has seen remarkable growth, with over 100,000 documents signed with FuseSign in the 2022/23 financial year. This achievement translates to nearly 400 documents signed by clients on every business day, showcasing the platform’s indispensable value.

“Our partnership with FuseSign aligns perfectly with our commitment to delivering exceptional solutions built for professionals,” continued Lesh. “Together, we aim to revolutionise the way our clients manage compliance and enhance the client experience through seamless digital signing.”

The synergy between BGL and FuseSign extends beyond their shared focus on the professional services industry. Both businesses are driven by a passion for innovation, client-centric values and a commitment to providing first-class services. This collaboration will pave the way for further advancements and growth in the industry.

To celebrate this partnership and showcase the power of FuseSign in action, BGL is excited to have FuseSign as a platinum sponsor of BGL REGTECH, its annual event that kicked off in Sydney on 1 August 2023. At the event, attendees visiting FuseSign’s booth can see firsthand how this integration simplifies document management and enhances productivity.

For those yet to experience the benefits of digital signing in CAS 360, Simple Fund 360, and Simple Invest 360, BGL encourages you to start a trial today, connect to BGL and witness the transformative power of FuseSign.

“BGL’s partnership with FuseSign marks an exciting chapter in our industry, where cutting-edge technology meets seamless client management. Together, we empower our clients to reach new heights in compliance management, setting a new standard for efficiency, accuracy and client satisfaction,” concluded Lesh.