CherryTree Nursery

Taking the pain out of payroll and bookkeeping

Slash the hours you spend on administration

As staffing is the single biggest cost for many businesses, payroll administration is often one of the biggest headaches – but it doesn’t have to be.

Streamlined, efficient payroll and bookkeeping systems can transform the way your company operates, saving time and stress for business owners and administrators alike.

Established Kent business CherryTree Nursery School came to us because they wanted to improve their payroll reporting and simplify their holiday pay calculations, while reducing the number of hours  staff spent balancing the books. With 40 employees working across two sites in Ashford, they also needed a better understanding of the operating costs of each site. Their systems had been adapted over the years in response to changes in legislation and employment law, but now more substantial change was required.

Our solution: a three-step process to replace time-consuming spreadsheet-based systems with easy-to-use software and improved processes:

1. Updated payroll software enables the company to process hours more quickly and simply while minimising the risk of errors. Payslips are automatically distributed by password-protected PDFs.

2. Swift consulted with HR advisers to find a simpler way to manage employees. From staff contracts to managing holiday pay, systems were simplified and improved along the day, slashing processing time and ensuring the company was legally compliant.

3. Finally, bookkeeping was overly complicated because of a lack of integration between the nursery’s bank and their accounting software. As Xero partners, we advised changing software and setting up bank feeds to automatically download transactions every day, dramatically reducing bookkeeping time as well as providing more insight into transactions and enabling more accurate records.

The result is transformational.

Swift freed up four days a month in staff administration time and:

• reduced the likelihood of errors
• improved visibility across company accounts and expenditure
• enabled trading results to be compared between the nurseries, as well as
• made it easier to identify overspending.

The nursery is now able to proactively respond to changes in the organisation and focus on adding value and providing services. 

Here’s what CherryTree Manager Ann Gigg had to be say:

“I just would like to say a heartfelt thank you for all of your help and support since taking over our accounts and wages. The whole procedure has been a really positive experience and we are now able to access wages documents very easily and quickly which is saving us a considerable amount of time. You have also put into place a brilliant new system for our accounts which means we will now be able to see how our nursery branches are performing individually. 

Thank you so much for being available to offer training and assistance when needed so promptly. We are very much looking forward to continuing our great working relationship with you in the future.”

Whether your accounting system needs transformational changes or a spot review, Swift can help make accounts the easiest part of running your business. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat to find out more.