Sponsored: Figured- Farming technology
Figured is the leading cloud-based financial management tool for agribusiness that integrates with accounting app Xero. Figured enables all members of the farming team to collaborate on one set of financial data, across all devices.
As an incredibly adaptive species, it’s easy to take our current and almost total reliance on cloud technology for granted. But we’ve come a long way in a short time, and further change is guaranteed. In this article we take a short history tour of ag-tech and highlight some implications for you and your business.
One of the advances in farm technology in the early 2000s was the adoption of desktop based software for farm management and accounting. The pivot from manual, paper-based records enabled farmers to manage information about their farms in a way that wasn’t possible before: insights into farm management that were only possible through the aggregation of data.
However, these systems had issues. Whether it was the periodic software updates (remember pesky updates on CDs in plastic wrap each year!), or a prescriptive list of compatible devices that could run the systems, users were often left to find their own way. And the 24 hour support we’re used to now was rare, or just for enterprise level customers. This limited the usability of these systems and hampered widespread adoption. They were also expensive and tied customers in for the long run.
Today, the farming team works across multiple sites, using different devices. More people require access to data - whether that’s farm staff, accountants, farm consultants, advisors, agronomists and more. Farmers have more data available than they once did, having introduced a multitude of systems over the previous two decades. The interoperability and synergy of software systems is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s essential.
By taking the time to understand the steps to get set up, and by liaising with technology experts - managing change becomes much more straightforward. Neil Adams, Managing Director at Promar International has first-hand experience managing this process with the recent launch of the new cloud-based financial management service, Agstute - powered by Figured and Xero.
“...taking the time to really understand what you want from technology is time well spent. Bringing the internal team, as well as with our clients, along on the journey means all stakeholders are on the journey together. Having that detailed understanding of the steps needed to transition away from legacy systems to cloud computing has been critical.”
Figured is the leading cloud-based financial management tool for agribusiness that integrates with accounting app Xero. Figured enables all members of the farming team to collaborate on one set of financial data, across all devices. By utilising cloud technology, gone are the days of manual software updates and prescriptive device requirements.
To understand more about the benefits that the platform can bring to your business, click below.