On Wednesday 18 October 2023, we hosted our very first Syft Training Day at our beautiful office in Johannesburg. More than 40 people attended the event to learn how to make the most of Syft and become Syft Certified Pro Advisors within just six hours.
The day covered all the information included in the Syft Certified Pro Advisor bundle on Syft Campus as well as additional information to take your practice even further.
Why become Syft certified?
Becoming a Syft Certified Pro Advisor is about more than knowing how to use the tools on Syft; it's about knowing how you can use Syft to add value and increase your offering to clients.
Acquiring this certification means that you have the skills you need to leverage the full power of the Syft feature set to grow your practice and provide the services your clients will value most.
By having a team of Syft Certified Pro Advisors, you can be confident in your staff’s ability to provide in-depth analysis, valuable insights, and efficient, scalable solutions.
Getting your Layouts in order
Customer Success Manager, Kessia Kroon, got everyone started with setting up entities' chart of accounts. She reminded all attendees of the importance of saving as you go. Other key takeaways include:
When it comes to creating layouts for Budgets, you can apply a custom layout to the Budget by navigating to Budget, editing the layout, and then applying the new layout you've created
You can visualize Xero budgets in Syft's P&L
We have exciting new functionality with the ability to include a journal column in your layout
Someone in the audience asked, "What does "lag" mean?" The answer: If you select a lag, it will show one period back from the date you have chosen.
Diving into non-financial data and Spreadsheet Link
Jamie Bezuidenhout, Head of Sage Partnerships at Syft, illustrated how you can add both standard and custom KPIs on Syft. He also investigated visualizations and harnessing the Spreadsheet Link to bring non-financial data into Syft. In his words:
"This is the way the industry is moving – towards providing more insights for clients."
Jamie asked the room how many people were already bringing non-financial data into Syft. No one in the room raised a hand, which means there's so much more value still to be unlocked!
Did you know that there's no limit to the number of non-financial data sets that you can bring into Syft?
Making operational decisions
The Training Day also covered all the information you need to advise clients on growing their businesses. By combining financial and non-financial data in your Syft reports, you are equipped to have better advisory conversations. With Syft, you can:
Visualize customers and product data
Work with non-financial connections
Monitor dependencies on suppliers
Visualize AR and AP, creditors, and cash
None of this would be possible without the ability to bring through transaction-level detail, something that only Syft can do.
What is advisory?
Kieran Lotze, our Head of Outbound Sales, broke down the Analyze section of Syft, encouraging everyone to put on their business caps and ask: "What is advisory?" Advisory is a big buzzword in the accounting world but what does it actually mean?
Advisory is born out of the marriage of financial and operational data and, most importantly, asking the right questions.
A big part of advisory involves identifying risks for clients, risks that can be identified by an over-dependence on certain suppliers or customers, for instance. Think no further than the baby formula shortage of last year as an example of the dangers of supplier dependency!
Evolving the client relationship
Customer Success Manager, Teegan, covered reporting on Syft. She looked at how you can create your own template specific to a particular client or a template that can be used for any entity.
Pro tip 💡: Using a template for any entity can provide you with one standard template you can reuse to streamline your reporting process.
Syft can play a key role in evolving the client relationship by giving you the tools you need to progress from basic reports to more advanced offerings and advisory discussions. The more you learn about Syft and its various features, the more value you can add while improving efficiency, partnering with clients, and providing impactful scenario planning.
Closing thoughts 💭
Our inaugural Syft Training Day in Johannesburg marked a significant step in empowering accountants to become Syft Certified Pro Advisors. From delving into the intricacies of financial data to harnessing the power of non-financial insights, the event was a comprehensive exploration of the capabilities Syft offers.
As we emphasized the importance of advisory services, we sought to foster a deeper understanding of how to use Syft to cultivate stronger client relationships and drive informed decision-making.
Looking ahead, we are committed to expanding our reach and bringing this transformative learning experience to more professionals seeking to elevate their practice. We invite you to join us on this journey of growth and mastery, either by reaching out to us for a potential Training Day in your hometown or by exploring the wealth of knowledge available through our online training modules.
Together, let's continue to unlock the full potential of Syft and redefine what it means to deliver exceptional accounting and advisory services.