Strata Cloud Accountants are passionate, virtual CPAs with a mission to provide financial freedom to their clients. They started operating in the midst of the pandemic, focused on helping small and medium-sized business (SMBs) owners make better financial decisions.
Now, with the help of Spotlight Reporting, they’re consistently exceeding their clients’ expectations by presenting them with high-quality, engaging reports. Hunter Scott, a Partner at Strata Cloud Accountants, is a firm advocate for our software.
“Spotlight Reporting adds more detail and more value to our reports, which just takes it to that next level,” says Hunter. “For example, when you highlight the relevant numbers in the executive summary, clients really feel heard.”
Financial Freedom with Spotlight Reporting
Strata Cloud Accountants subscribed to Spotlight Reporting in late 2020. After implementing our software, they’ve been able to grow and scale their advisory capabilities by 150%.
But the real draw of Spotlight Reporting is the way it supports Strata’s mission to provide financial freedom. One of their biggest success stories, for example, was a new client who was on the verge of quitting their business. But once they saw a cash flow forecast laying out their potential future revenue, they realized their current numbers actually made sense, and they could see a reliable future income.
“The thing that we really like about Spotlight Reporting is how in-depth we can go on our clients' forecasting,” says Hunter. “We can project out their revenue and direct cost per unit. This actually helped us save a business from closing.”
Similarly, when a product-based business client was suffering from negative cash flow, Strata Cloud Accountants were able to save the business with a Spotlight Forecast. By mapping out future cash flow under different circumstances, Strata was able to pinpoint ways in which the business could manage their inventory more efficiently. The forecast also indicated that if the business was able to keep their balance down, their cash flow would no longer be negative. The owner was able to see that they no longer needed outside investment, and was able to turn their finances around completely.
Software Benefits
Spotlight Reporting’s powerful tools and features, along with exceptional customer service, were the main reasons why Strata Cloud Accountants initially subscribed to our software. But they soon found that through Spotlight Reporting, they were able to improve their customer professionalism and financial planning services.
“The clients get professional-looking reports, instead of the standard accounting files,” says Hunter, “and the graphs drive a lot of conversation in monthly meetings. Especially the cash flow waterfall chart where they can see where the cash came in from, and where it went out.”
Spotlight Reporting not only streamlines the reporting process, it also allows accounting firms to show their clients what’s possible in different scenarios.
“One of our favorite parts about Spotlight Reporting is the customer service that they provide us with. We have a point person who is willing to listen to any ideas that we have on how to improve the platform, and also any questions that we have on how to use it," says Hunter. "Spotlight Reporting’s customer service has been great. We love their reports and actually use it for our own firm.”
