Having built a successful and sustainable business, the next challenge for Perth BAS agent and accountant Andrew Erkins is to trek in Patagonia.
Growing an accounting business from zero clients to more than 200, including a major retail chain and a media company, requires true grit and plenty of hard work.
It is not surprising then that BAS agent and co-founder of Perth-based Digit Andrew Erkins resets his physical and mental wellbeing regularly by packing a bag and heading out to camp or trek in the wilderness.
“Before accounting I did a lot of software development work, so I’ve always been behind a screen during my career,” says the accountant, who is currently taking a much-deserved hiking holiday in Tasmania. “Cultivating hobbies that help me reconnect with nature, and allow me time to relax and contemplate, is how I rebalance. I also enjoy doing drone photography.”
While Erkins has stuck to less travelled local paths so far, his long-term goal is to go trekking in Patagonia at the southern end of South America. He’d also like to hike the 221km Larapinta trail, one of Australia’s most spectacular bushwalking experiences.
Born in Geelong and growing up in Darwin, South Australia and the Pilbara in the north of Western Australia, Erkins finally settled in Perth where he has run a fully Cloud, Xero-focused accounting business from day one.
Established in 2013, Digit offers accounting solutions to businesses of all sizes around Australia and helps small business use cloud infrastructure, UX design and cloud accounting to be both agile and resilient. Its staff also use Receipt Bank and take pride in implementing apps and automation that helps the firm accelerate growth.
Testament to Erkins’ vision for his accounting firm – within 18 months of setting up, Digit was a finalist in the Telstra Business Awards and, today, is one of an elite percentage that is a Xero Platinum Partner. Its staff, who now number 30, are in both Australia and the Philippines.
“We’ve also grown the business organically, something of which we are very proud,” says Erkins.
Making the business sustainability compliant
Two years ago, he decided to combine his appreciation of the natural environment with a measurable commitment to sustainability by making Digit a B Corp, or a business that meets high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
“That’s important to us – the type of business we are,” says the accountant, who is a member of the WA Divisional Advisory Committee and a former member of the AAT Member Advisory Committee.
“We’ve always been conscious of understanding the impact of our business in the world and what actions we can take to be more sustainable,” he says. “That includes things such as carefully choosing our suppliers. The B Corp certification is a way to codify what we were already doing.”
Erkins adds that Digit is also very particular about the businesses it works with and, while its staff service those big and small, the accounting firm enjoys the challenge of handling bookkeeping, payroll, reporting, and complex projects such as connecting digital systems, for larger scale enterprises.
“It comes down to really understanding the nature of the business,” he says. “For example, our retail group client is currently restructuring and we are assisting with organising data and information to set them up for how to grow moving forward.”
Good communication and proactive steps help small business clients focused on cash flow management
At the same time, for small business clients who are finding the current economic outlook a challenge, conversations have centred around business and cash flow management, improving efficiency, and mergers and other structural changes.
Erkins says good communication is one of Digit’s keys to success, including easy but thoughtful actions such as alerting clients to their estimated BAS liability a month before statements are due.
“We send clients an email saying what we expect the bill to be, based on the balance sheet, and it has surprised us how something so simple has generated so much positive feedback,” he says. “It’s an easy way of making the BAS process smoother, by communicating upfront.”
Erkins says one thing he never expected about his current role is how much satisfaction he would get from seeing staff develop and grow.
“I’ve always worked best on my own,” he says. “All of a sudden, I’ve ended up with a team of people I want to support and get the best out of. That’s the part I found the most fulfilling.”
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