Creating Time in Your Business... the 'Cashflow Manager' Story

Our mission is to provide small business owners with the simplest accounting software on the planet that empowers them to do their own bookkeeping and build a successful business.

Hello,

My name is Wayne Burgan and I began ‘Cashflow Manager’, a company dedicated to simplifying accounting for small business owners, in 1990. I wanted to take a quick moment to talk with you about how you can save time and money in your business by implementing a simple change to the way you keep your accounting records.

In actual fact I’m proud to say that ‘Cashflow Manager’ is the preferred time saving device for thousands of business owners on three continents, for one simple reason... it is designed to be the simplest accounting software on the planet.

The best part is you don’t have to be an accountant, or even understand anything about accounting, or be some sort of computer whiz to implement its many time-saving devices in your business.

It is simple, intuitive and keeps accurate records that will withstand the most stringent of audits.

You see I’ve always been interested in the workings of business. My first foray into business took place when I was 14 and I ran a guitar school. (I learnt a lot about profit and loss and cash flow!) I really wanted to take the guitar thing further and be a musician but dad insisted on an education first, so at 17 I moved from my rural community of Port Pirie to the ‘big smoke’ of Adelaide to study accounting.

While at University I took a job with the Australian Taxation Office. I achieved my degree and spent 10 years at the ATO.

It was here that I reconnected with the plight of the small business owner. It had been a few years since my guitar school days, but I felt drawn to helping small business owners when I saw firsthand the many problems that arose simply because many failed to keep accurate records.  It was very frustrating for me and in some ways sad because I saw countless really good businesses struggle when they should have thrived. And it was all due to poor record keeping.

In 1986 I left the ATO and got back into the game, starting my own accounting firm, Burgan & Associates, a year later. A focus on helping small business was a natural flow on from here and the South Australian Small Business Development Corporation soon recognised this and began referring clients to me.

Little had changed...the biggest problem facing most small business owners could be traced back to not understanding the bookkeeping side of their business.

So I decided to do something concrete about it and developed a simple, step-by-step system to help business owners keep better books. This was a ‘paper’ system because in the early days of the computer revolution many small business owners did not own or understand computers. My wife Jan was an integral part of the business. She worked out of our basement binding and dispatching them. Funnily enough this paper system is still used in many businesses today!

Just a quick side note, as proof you CAN work with your partner, Jan and I have worked together for the past 23 years. And yes, we’re still happily married! Back to the business...

I then developed a software version in 1996 which was based on this simple ‘’single entry‘’ cashbook system. Small businesses began to take up this software at a rapid rate and within a few short years over 3,500 Australian accountants were recommending it to their small business clients. I was pretty happy that in real ways I was at last making a difference.

We launched in North America and the UK with similar success. In fact, Lloyds TSB Bank in the UK provided our manual record keeping system to their small business clients for over 10 years.

Things were growing steadily until the GST arrived in 2000. With the mild panic this produced in the business community we went from 6 to 28 staff in just 2 months. Over 41,000 small business owners discovered the solution to their compliance issues and signed up with us in a few short months putting unbelievable stress on our systems. Thankfully we coped and many of the staff we employed then are still with us today. And so are the business owners. 

As you can see it’s been quite a ride.

I’ve written two books, 'Secrets to Unlocking the Profit Potential in Your Business' and 'Starting a Business – How to Avoid Losing Your Shirt' and was featured in two business books 'State of Mind (The Success Secrets of 50 South Australian Entrepreneurs)' as well as 'Secrets to Small Business Owners Exposed'. In 1997 I was a finalist in the South Australian Entrepreneur of the Year.

I’m a Fellow of CPA Australia and spent 9 years on the South Australian Public Practice Committee and 6 Years with CPA Australia’s Small Business Centre for Excellence.

So from our humble beginnings, the time and money saving benefits of ’Cashflow Manager’ have ensured that our systems are used not just in Australia but also in the US, Canada and the UK, and I’m really proud to say that over 400,000 systems have now been sold.

Kind of puts my musician dream into perspective doesn’t it? Maybe my father was right after all.

If you’re interested in doing things better in your business, keeping more accurate records in a shorter amount of time while saving money in the process, and protecting yourself against an unfavourable audit, then I urge you to give 'Cashflow Manager' the attention it deserves.

So please, take a few minutes to review our products and services thoroughly. You’ll find them informative, interesting and hopefully “possibility expanding” as to ways you can operate a better, more efficient business.

I hope we can work together to help you secure your business’ future in this most exciting time for building wealth in this wonderful country of ours.

Warm regards,

Wayne Burgan (FCPA)