Marc Oegema is one of the founders and owners of Afier Accountants from Tynaarlo. In their services, the personal aspect always takes precedence; especially in the search for smart tools and software. For Oegema, it is the reason they chose Payt.
Unstructured and Irregular
Before the accounting firm used Payt, they struggled with their debtor management. That may sound strange for an accounting firm, but it is well explained. “Afier Accountants really stands alongside the entrepreneur; we actually engage in a bit of entrepreneurship with them. We connect as a partner to our client’s organization. But as a result, our invoice often ends up at the bottom of the pile when a company is going through tough times. We understand that, but our chimney also needs to keep smoking. Moreover, it didn’t help that our debtor process was dependent on one person. We reminded our debtors of outstanding invoices on an irregular basis. The accountant’s invoice may have the least priority; an unstructured debtor process certainly doesn’t improve payment behavior.”
Better Payment Behavior While Maintaining Personal Contact
Payt turned out to be the perfect solution for Afier Accountants.
“With Payt, we now send our reminders at fixed times. The software helps us structure our debtor process while maintaining personal contact. We now signal even faster if an invoice is causing problems and then personally contact the respective debtor. For example, we agree that the amount will be paid in installments. We can easily set up such a payment arrangement in Payt’s software. With Payt, we can actually better put our distinctive capability into practice,” Oegema says enthusiastically.
Small in Size, Great in Service
Afier Accountants was founded in 2005 when four colleagues decided they wanted to do things differently. At that time, there were three people on the payroll – as of 2018, there are nearly 40. Although the Afierists, as they call themselves, have experienced rapid growth, the accounting firm is a relatively small player in the Netherlands. Therefore, it is all the more admirable that the company is one of the few with an AFM license. With such a license, an accounting firm is allowed to conduct audits for companies that are required to do so. These are companies with a turnover of 12 million or more. “It takes a lot of effort to keep up with the AFM’s laws and regulations,” Marc explains. “Many accounting firms drop out because of this, but we see it as a challenge. We are quite proud to be one of the remaining 289 firms in the Netherlands with such a license. At the end of 2006, there were still over 700!”
It is clear: Afier Accountants serves its clients with high-quality service and a personal approach.