Can sudden, spectacular success ever be dangerous? Yes it can, when you’re not ready for it.

Geoff Olds was taken aback by how well his IT and communications company, T360, was going. They had been ploughing along, heads down, working hard and then found they were rated in the BRW Top 100. They were a company on the rise. But Geoff felt a pressure of a new kind. How on earth would he cope with leaping to this new level?

Geoff admits there was no plan in place:

We were disorganised. Organised chaos would be a great way of putting it.

How ATB Accountants and a Virtual CFO package helped T360 turn a $2 million turnover into $7.5 million in just five years

Confidence from the start


But it was also just after the GFC when many businesses were taking a major hit.

One of the key issues was around future proofing our business or forecasting our budget. Things to help us make decisions. It is a very critical thing for business to have. Because you might be rosy today but then fall off a cliff tomorrow.

Clearly Geoff’s company, T360, was at a major crossroads. In the charred landscape after the GFC it was a nervous time and the consequences of failure could be seen everywhere.

Geoff had a tough decision to make.

We were with a small accountant. They were good but the ATB guys were were just that next level.

A magical partnership


Geoff knew ATB was the right choice, right from the start.

When you have a values led partnership it allows you to trust and when you trust you can get on with business without second guessing.

This meant Geoff and T360 were able to focus on what they did best – servicing their customers.

Confidence from the Start

We didn’t have to spend valuable time trying to understand financial services and accounting services and doing all that and being compliant.

How ATB Accountants helped T360 survive the GFC and make $7.5 million

Help across all aspects of operations


Geoff nominates the three things that ATB really helped them with:

1.Strategic advice – big picture in mind when we are buying stock or making any financial decisions

2. All the things that lie below – tax, super, compliance, those are the things that can get you into lots of trouble. Entrepreneurs are not proficient because we’re not passionate and you can slip up. Luckily ATB take care of all that for us.

3. When we talk they listen and they don’t drop the ball. We know that we’re not their only customer but they will message you and say we will get to you and let you know.

Technological know how


Geoff says that ATB’s deep understanding of technology and the latest cloud based platforms was highly important to his company.

We are looking for forward thinking accountants.

And because they are tech savvy that makes the conversation so much easier.

You have to eat your own dog food.

If we are out there pushing technology in delivering service we would expect everyone on our ecosystem to have a similar ethos.

How ATB Accountants helped T360 survive the GFC and make $7.5 million

“We had some issues around streamlining payroll for our business as it was growing so quickly. Mike and the team were able to look at the whole situation, pick it up and run with it – come up with a solution that saved us all time and money.

And the before and after shots are telling. Before ATB, we had no transparency. We literally had no understanding of our figures. After ATB we had total transparency.

How ATB Accountants helped T360 survive the GFC and make $7.5 million

Adopting real time cloud technology …


When a company specialises in technology solutions for business, you’d imagine they would have adopted a winning cloud strategy.

Wouldn’t you? They had … in a way.

“We had a similar set-up to Xero before we moved our accounting needs over to ATB, but it wasn’t in the cloud.

Migrating our data over to Xero was a simple yet groundbreaking decision.”

When a business like T360 adopts a real-time accountancy solution, it puts them in a powerful position. They know about cash flow problems before they become a problem. They anticipate change and progression.

Where would they be without ATB?


Geoff admits that the business would be in a much poorer shape if they’d never chosen to work with ATB.

“We’d be stagnant, making poor decisions, going round in circles.
ATB has helped us get more visibility of the future and the right advice to help make difficult decisions.

How ATB Accountants helped T360 survive the GFC and make $7.5 million
How ATB Accountants helped T360 survive the GFC and make $7.5 million

Forward thinking, proactive advice


For Geoff Olds, an hour a day across their group is what he dedicates to maintaining the successes with ATB.

After an initial three-month lead in to get all the leg work done and a period of extended meetings, Geoff feels they’ve hit the sweet spot and have the mix just right.

“They key is consistency and ATB delivers consistency of service every single time. You don’t want genius.

Genius and brilliance cost money and are inconsistent. You want consistency, clarity and confidence.”

The proof is in the pudding


Numbers don’t lie. In a little over five years the turnover for the T360 group has soared from $2 million to over $7.5 million.

And that speaks far more loudly than anything else could.

Lean more about our five step process to build a sound financial blueprint for small and medium businesses everywhere.

Contact ATB Chartered Accountants today