Business Rural North Winter 2021

56 | Building connections for better farm management Kim Newth F igured Ltd burst onto New Zealand farmers’ ra- dars only seven years ago to address a press- ing need for a specialist financial management software tool to track and manage farm finances and generate data to support farm planning. In a short time, Figured has achieved meteoric success with exponential growth both in New Zealand and the global marketplace. Figured is now used by over 25,000 farmers in six countries and the company employs a team of 65. Figured’s rapid success is not surprising given it is simple to use while providing invaluable insights for farmers and their teams. Farmers clearly love using the tool, as recent independent research shows Figured has the highest customer satisfac- tion rating by a large margin, compared with finan- cial software competitors. (Research conducted by CintaAgri Research, Spring 2020 National Omnibus Survey). Figured is a Cloud-based platform that also enables farmers to invite other people to be a part of the management process. They can invite their accountant, their farm consultant and their banker into their farm team. “Having this capacity to develop connected farming teams, all on the same page and sharing the same data, is a real strength that Figured brings to farming,” says John Gibson, Figured General Manager for Australia and New Zealand. RURAL SERVICES » Figured Ltd Through Xero, farmers can keep track of how they are spending their money and where their income is coming from. Figured can then pull that data across and use it to help track farm perfor- mance and show the impact of financial decisions on their plans. As well, Figured captures financial data with physical farm data, such as the size of farm, num- ber of stock units and farm production information. It means farmers and their advisors always have the full picture and can use fully integrated data to inform budgeting and planning decisions. Two visionary farmers who were also account- ants - Carl McDonald and David Marshall – created Figured Ltd in 2014 to change the game in farm financial management. Designed to work hand in hand with Xero accounting software, Figured is tak- ing the stress out of financial planning and reporting across the rural sector. It is helping farmers across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland, US and Canada. Having been around the farming sector all his life, John leapt at the opportunity to take up his role with Figured. “It combines my passions for agricul- ture and technology and provides a real platform for making a positive difference in the sector. We know that farmers’ time is precious and they didn’t go into farming to do bookwork. We are here to ease that financial management load and make their lives a little easier.” The main distribution channel for Figured is through the rural accounting and banking service sector, which values the software’s seamless integration with Xero. Along with Xero, Figured has partnerships with ASB, BNZ, Dairy Women’s Network and PaySauce. Certified Figured Advisors are available to make sure farmers get the most out of Figured and Xero, with set up specialists also available. Over half of the Figured staff team is focussed on product and software aimed at supporting and enhancing the customer experience. In spite of Covid, Figured has had a strong 12 months of growth in New Zealand. Following the lockdown, Figured opened up an opportunity to its accountancy partners to bring farmers onto Figured free of charge to help build financial resilience in the face of an uncertain trading environment. “That was very successful and we gained new customers as a result…While there are uncertain- ties ahead around compliance expectations, it would be fair to say that what we’re seeing across the board now is that the New Zealand agricultural sector is in a very strong position.” To find out more about how Figured can help your farm business, reach out to your accountant today, www.figured.com “Having this capacity to develop connected farming teams, all on the same page and sharing the same data, is a real strength that Figured brings to farming.” Richard and Matt Sisam with Farm IT accountant Brett Bennett. Figured, a cloud-based financial management platform, enables farmers to invite others, such as their farm accountant or consultant, into their farm team. 0800 888 055 Diprosemiller .co.nz As accountants, we understand the importance of compliance for our clients. But our genuine passion is fi nding innovative ways for them to do better business. So let’s talk. NEW PLYMOUTH 36 Eliot Street / 06 759 0105 ELTHAM 11 Stanners St / 06 764 8305 www.schurrireland.co.nz Empowering your farming future with Figured