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BGL Update

BGL cleans up 2020 SMSF awards

By BGL Update, Homepage, Simple Fund 360No Comments

BGL was today announced the winner of the 2020 CoreData SMSF Software award.

This is a clean sweep. First BGL achieved highest overall satisfaction among accountants using SMSF software providers in the 2020 Investment Trends SMSF Accountant Report.

Second BGL was recognised by Momentum Media as the 2020 SMSF Software Provider of the year –  for the third year in a row!

And then today, BGL is announced as winner of the 2020 CoreData SMSF Software award.

This confirms it. BGL and Simple Fund 360 are the #1 SMSF software solution in Australia. No buts. The results are in and they are very clear.

BGL won these awards because of the work of our amazing team. The software is sensational – a great job by the Simple Fund 360 Team led by Matt Crofts and supported by our team managers James Luo, Jeevan Tokhi, Anthony Fernandez, Joanne Ng and Brad Wilkinson and of course all our business analysts, developers and testers. You guys have done and amazing job and you should be very proud of yourselves!

But great software is only part of the story. Its is the work of the account managers and sales team, the admin team, the API / integrations team, the client success team, the data services team, the devops team, the IT team, the marketing team, the people and culture team and the support team that helps make BGL #1.

We also can’t forget of course that Simple Fund 360 is only 1 part of the BGL story. Without CAS 360 kicking goals and the upcoming release of Simple Invest 360 and the work of these teams, BGL would not be where it is today.

It is the fully integrated product suite and our extensive ecosystem that makes BGL THE supplier of choice for SMSF admin, corporate and trust compliance.

This post is huge shout out to the team. Great teams with awards. Even greater teams win multiple award. But only the best teams clean up winning ALL the awards in one year. So guys – give yourselves a huge round of applause – you deserve it.

My challenge to the teams: back to back and then let’s head for the 3peat. Let’s do it again in 2021!

September 10, 2020
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CAS 360 Software Update Release August 2020

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Product UpdatesNo Comments

Another month of lock-down has passed in Melbourne, however this does not stop the CAS 360 team from delivering some great features.

In the August release we have a number of new integrations where you can connect to CAS 360.

My BGL

First of all, we have the MyBGL. MyBGL will allow you to see all the information related to your CAS 360 subscription. From here you are able to view your usage, upgrade or downgrade your subscription level as well as view all of your billing and payment information.

To see MyBGL in action – watch our video 👉

GreatSoft

A new addition to the CAS 360 integrated Practice Management suite of applications. You can now share contact information between CAS 360 and GreatSoft to ensure that your data is always update and accurate.

To see the GreatSoft integration in action – watch our video 👉

ChangeGPS

Blueprint by ChangeGPS is now connected to CAS 360. This will allow you to create beautiful structure diagrams based on the Company, Trust, Super Fund and Contact data inside CAS 360. Perfect for that next client meeting where you need to discuss their corporate structure.

To see the ChangeGPS integration in action – watch our video 👉

LightYear Docs

The integration between LightYear Docs and CAS 360 is now live. This will allow you to connect CAS 360 to your LightYear Docs account and push newly registered companies from LightYear Docs to CAS 360.

To see the LightYear Docs integration in action – watch our video 👉

Trust Improvements

This update continues on our previous releases around trust management, we have released 23 improvements to Trust Events, as well as adding a new Trust Report allowing you to prepare a full report for each and every trust. We have also released Trust Distributions for New Zealand trusts.

Interface Improvements

We have updated the icons used in the left hand side panel to give a greater feel, we have also improved every table view in CAS 360 from the Company Selection screen, Annual Review / Return screen and the Shareholders screens. We have also improved all the popovers in CAS 360 for better feel and performance.

Other new features

A range of other new features have also been added, with improvements to the registers, improvements to the share / unit transfer forms and new merge fields for document customisation.

Oh, and one last thing...

We have released our electronic filing of the Singapore company annual return with ACRA from inside CAS 360.

This includes the whole box and dice for Singapore Annual Returns with integration with CorpPass, support for the Singapore jurisdiction across the CAS 360 application, a new Singapore Annual Return screen, with the ability to prepare the Annual Return, sent it to your client, and then file the Annual Return, and make the payment to ACRA all from within CAS 360. It’s Brilliant.

September 2, 2020
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BGL announced integration with LightYear Docs

By BGL Update, CAS 360, HomepageNo Comments

BGL announces integration with LightYear Docs – one of Australia’s most advanced legal, tax and superannuation document creation and strategy automation engines.

“We’re thrilled to launch this new service with LightYear Docs”, said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “LightYear Docs is an industry leading provider and has been part of our Ecosystem for a while now. This seamless document integration represents a huge time saver to our clients by enabling them to create companies, trusts and super funds as well as other documents from within the LightYear Docs platform and then send the data and documents to CAS 360 with the click of a button. It has never been so easy to prepare documents – It’s just simple and quick!”, added Lesh.

LightYear Docs CEO Grant Abbott said, “We have spent the last year building strategy automation, with our longest being our comprehensive estate plan of more than 10 documents bundled into the one interview, plus we continue to instal a new document or strategy every week. With our low maximum $99 per single document pricing we have seen many accountants comparing what they spend and making the move. The next and most important step has been our BGL integration and we thank Ron and his team for making it happen. Strategy just got that much easier.”

“When software talks seamlessly to each other, it is a win-win for BGL, LightYear Docs and our clients”, stated Lesh. CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 now support over 350 integration partners including banks, brokers, wraps, platforms, registries, practice management solutions, actuaries, document providers and many more.

August 31, 2020
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BGL passes 750,000 entities in the cloud…

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Simple Fund 360No Comments

Many people think business is all about numbers. But it’s not.

Business is really about people. Business is about building a great team and supporting that team through thick or thin.

BGL has great people who have built absolutely extraordinary computer software products. CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 are sensational software solutions and are clearly #1 in their classes. Let me repeat that: Clearly #1.

They are #1 when it comes to numbers but they are not #1 because of the numbers.

They are #1 because they solve many problems for our clients in innovative ways and with software that is of exceptional quality. They are #1 because we listen to our clients and we put into our software what our clients want.

And because we look for new ways to help our clients be more efficient. Accounting workpapers, BGL SmartDocs and digital signing in Simple Fund 360 are examples of unique features only available in our software solutions. Automation, reliability and ASIC compliance are exceptional features in CAS 360.

Passing 750,000 entities in the cloud is a fantastic achievement. My team should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved over the past 6 years. BGL set its BHAG of connecting 1,000,000 people to our products by 2020 in 2014. This was a big hairy audacious goal when at the time we had maybe 10,000 connections. We would never have thought in our wildest dreams that we would reach this target – and reach it 1 year early – but we did. We did because of the contribution of every current and past member of the BGL Team.

Our new BHAG is even more audacious. But I am confident that working together with the right people in the right seats on the bus, the right culture and the right focus we will achieve this too.

The past 6 months have been pretty depressing in Victoria. And I hope by now our team realised they have done nothing wrong. They have not caused this mess. They have done the right thing all the way through this government caused disaster.

I am really proud of what we have achieved working together so far this year. We have won many awards for our software and the national Australian Achiever award for our customer service. Providing first class customer service has always been a priority at BGL so it is fantastic see a 99%+ CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) score across our support services.

But none of this happens without leadership. I am really proud of how the BGL leadership has worked together through this time to ensure our team are happy, healthy, safe and productive.

We will get out of this mess soon. And we will come out stronger for the experience. I have always been an optimist. It is a shame my optimism does not extend to our politicians – what a sad and (not) sorry bunch they are. I am confident about BGL, our business and our country eventually getting out of this mess caused by a plethora of incompetent politicians and public servants. These people are simply out of their depth.

To my Team, a HUGE thank you. You are a great bunch of people and you thoroughly deserve all the success and rewards that have come and will come your way.

And guys, please do check out our 750,000 entities commemorative video on YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

August 29, 2020
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BGL has won the award for SMSF software provider for the third time in a row!

By BGL Update, Homepage, Simple Fund 360No Comments

Software SMSF Adviser Logo

Published by SMSF Adviser, powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA

BGL has won the award for SMSF software provider for the third time in a row!

It has been another tumultuous year for the SMSF sector, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn impacting everything from investment to compliance. The ATO and the SMSF sector in general has worked tirelessly to address some of the unforeseen issues arising from the current environment. As always, SMSF professionals and their clients have relied heavily on SMSF service providers to guide them through this period of change. Partnering with firms that are adaptable and agile is critical at the moment and has a direct impact on the confidence and satisfaction of clients.

Now in its seventh year, the SMSF Awards recognise the excellence and innovation of the best performing operators servicing SMSF professionals. The winners are based on a survey which was distributed to SMSF Adviser’s database of SMSF professionals. The results were collated and determined by an independent analyst.

With the impact of COVID-19 requiring reviews of investments and changes to strategies, having access to timely information on assets and balances and being able to execute changes quickly is essential. SMSF software plays a critical role in this for SMSF professionals. With the advancement of SMSF software in recent years removing more and more manual processing, it has also given advisers and accountants more time to assist their SMSF clients with critical decisions in this volatile environment. This year’s winner, BGL, has made significant leaps in the areas of artificial intelligence and deep learning.

From BGL’s Founder and Managing Director, Ron Lesh

“We’re thrilled of being recognised by Momentum Media as the SMSF Software Provider of the year – for the third year in a row! This is recognition for all the effort put in by each member of the BGL Team and the continued support of our clients – we’re immensely grateful for each and every one of you.

Established in 1983 as a consulting firm to assist accountants and small businesses to gain more value from their computer systems, BGL has evolved to become Australia’s #1 provider of SMSF administration and ASIC corporate compliance management software solutions – CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 – providing remarkable customer experience to over 8,000 clients in 15 countries.

We believe the key to success relies on commitment, focus, team and technology. With clients at the forefront of our business strategy, we are committed in combining a unique first-class customer experience with innovative technology solutions to help our clients automate processes and succeed.

Clients today are looking for Zero Touch SMSF processing so they can focus on what really matters – their clients. BGL is getting closer and closer each day to this level of automation through the use of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning. We developed the world’s first AI processing assistant and the first Deep Learning transaction review/matching process for the SMSF software industry. As a result, our clients can work faster, smarter and with more accuracy! Recently, we have released BGL SmartDocs, an intelligent document reader able to quickly turn paper documents into data in seconds! And our innovations don’t stop there. With a significant number of proprietary technologies, our applications are by far the most technically advanced in the industry.

We see the future as a world of opportunities. Our focus will always be on improving automation, supporting our clients, providing an excellent customer experience and expanding the BGL Ecosystem.”

August 19, 2020
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BGL announces integration with GreatSoft

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Simple Fund 360No Comments

BGL announces a two-way integration with GreatSoft.

The company has recently announced a two-way integration with GreatSoft. This two-way integration will allow any changes made to client details in GreatSoft Practice Manager to automatically update the CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 database. Plus, in CAS 360, the user is prompted to prepare all the relevant ASIC compliance documents. Furthermore, if the contact details are changed in either Simple Fund 360 or CAS 360, this change is automatically updated in GreatSoft Practice Manager.

“This is a huge achievement for the API team”, said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “It will help many clients using both software solutions as mutual GreatSoft Practice Manager and BGL Simple Fund 360 / CAS 360 clients are now able to have just a single database – the ultimate goal of any professional firm.” Added Lesh.

“The challenge for firms is to improve the quality and accuracy of their data by eliminating data silos and reducing the number of out of sync databases that have been created as a result of lack of integration across suppliers”, said CEO of GreatSoft, Brian Armstrong.

“Accurate and easy access to client and compliance information is important to any accounting firm, and our integration with BGL provides the industry with a scalable cloud-based practice management and compliance solution, which delivers a 360° view of the client and a single source of truth. This gives practices the freedom and flexibility to create a truly integrated cloud practice ecosystem built on an open platform” added Armstrong.

“When software talks seamlessly to each other, it is a win-win for BGL, GreatSoft and our clients”, stated Lesh. CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 now support over 350 integration partners including banks, brokers, wraps, platforms, registries, practice management solutions, actuaries, document providers and many more.

About GreatSoft

GreatSoft addresses the gap that exists in the market for a scalable, integrated cloud practice management solution that meets the needs of progressive accounting firms, including mid-tier and large firms.

GreatSoft is a proven solution that is used by over 1000 accounting firms in 15 countries. We work with some of the leading Accounting & Auditing firms in Australia and New Zealand to connect their practice ecosystems and use APIs to build a 360° unified view of the client and a single source of truth.

August 13, 2020
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BGL announces integration with ChangeGPS

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Simple Fund 360No Comments

BGL proudly announces integration of Blueprint by ChangeGPS with CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360. Blueprint is designed to help accountants provide structure advice to their clients by generating easy to understand and automated structure charts.

“It’s great to have ChangeGPS as part of the BGL Ecosystem”, says Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “ChangeGPS provides Australia’s leading tools designed to help automate day-to-day tasks for cloud-based accounting firms. The integration with BGL’s CAS 360 will save our mutual clients time and money, remove complicated data entry and time-consuming chart creation as well as provide efficiency gains and improve the communication with their respective clients by extracting CAS 360 data through our API to automatically generate smart, easy to understand and complete business structure charts”.

Blueprint by ChangeGPS extracts data from BGL’s CAS 360 and creates a structure chart using relationship information. Traditionally, clients find it difficult to understand their business structure and a chart is great but can often take up to an hour to prepare. Using BGL’s API, Blueprint will extract company, trust, super fund, officer, shareholder, beneficiary, unit holder and other entity relationships. Once the data is extracted, users will be easily be able to modify the chart to meet their needs and the needs of their clients. Blueprint is designed to help clients instantly understand the accountant’s advice – making it much easier for them to say “yes” to structure advice. Blueprint can also generate $1,000’s of extra revenue each month.

“We are thrilled to boost our legendary blueprint structure advice with information from BGL’s corporate compliance data set. This will give accountants more time back whilst having powerful information to communicate structure advice to clients” David Boyar, CEO

“At BGL, we are a strong advocate of developing ecosystem partnerships that help our clients to work better with their clients. Partnering with ChangeGPS is an example of two leading technology providers collaborating for the benefit of both our clients”, adds Lesh. BGL currently has over 350 partners in our Ecosystem.

August 6, 2020
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CAS 360 Software Update Release July 2020

By BGL Update, CAS 360, Homepage, Product UpdatesNo Comments

Hi All,

For the July CAS 360 update, we have focused heavily again on Trust management. Our aim has always been to have the best trust management feature set in Australia and New Zealand. Building on our release of Trust relationships in June, our new feature Trust Events takes this to the next level.

Trust Events is a new tab that has been added to all the trusts in CAS 360. Inside this tab, you now have a huge amount of new functionality. You can now store and record all asset, liability, gifting, income, and expense transactions for a trust.

This will give you a snapshot of all this information for each trust. Also, as years go by you will be able to add transactions for capital improvements, changes in value and forgiving of loans.

Best of all when any of these transactions takes place, CAS 360 will prepare the required supporting documents, which can then be reviewed by your Partner or Manager and delivered by email to your client for electronic signing.

In this release, we have also added a dedicated Documents tab to each trust allowing users to see all stored documents for each trust and also upload any other documents associated with the trust.

Also, new options have been added when preparing company registers. As CAS 360 supports up to 10 decimal places for unit registers and share registers, we have added an option to allow you to select how many appear, so for those difficult companies or unit trusts that go to 7 or 8 decimal places CAS 360 has you covered.

Users are now also able to select the name order to the Company Members Register & Unitholders Register, users can select to have this register ordered in First Name, Surname or Surname, First Name.

We have also improved the way joint members are ordered on Company Member and Trust Unitholder registers, the joint member will now be ordered by the First Name or Surname of the first representative.

This update also includes improvements to the officer’s screen and updated NZ form 9 template and API improvements.

To gain the most from our new features, attend our webinar on Wednesday, 19 August 2020 at 11:30 AEST. Register Now >>>

To read the full release notes, please visit the BGL Community >>>

July 28, 2020
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