The business of farming has changed significantly over the past 20 years but the brains behind Figured believed the financial tools for farmers and accountants had not.
Designed by farmers for farmers, Figured says it is the only cloud-based financial management software currently available on the market which allows entire farming teams to collaborate around the same data, in real-time, from wherever they are working.
Each individual is given access to the same financial and production information, so farmers can make confident decisions which ensure they are responding effectively to ongoing regulatory and compliance demands, while also improving their business performance.
James Higgie, Figured's channel manager UK and Ireland says: "From accountants and land agents, to financial advisers and farm managers, everyone can access the same data, in real time, to enable better on-farm decision-making and more confident planning for the future.
"Figured is a complete livestock, dairy and crop budgeting, production tracking, and forecasting tool that integrates with leading accounting software Xero to give you accurate data in one place."
The software is the brainchild of Carl McDonald and David Marshall, two farmers who were also accountants.
Frustrated by the lack of financial management tools available specifically for the agricultural sector, they believed that entering data into various systems and relying on historical information for significant business decisions wasn't a smart way to work.
"From humble beginnings to a global agri-tech innovator, Figured is a great Kiwi success story," Mr Higgie says.
"Figured is now used by more than 25,000 farmers in six countries and is continuing to build exponentially."
Figured has rapidly gained traction to improve the business of farming across
New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada.
Parallels
Mr Higgie says the parallels between the UK and New Zealand in particular mean that solutions which work for the one, often work for the other.
"Ãļ§Ö±²¥ in both countries face increasing complexities in the sector, from environmental pressures to automation and regulatory demands," he adds.
"New Zealand has a history as a breeding ground for innovation in the agricultural sector, and with a smaller population hungry for solutions, new technology can quickly gain ground and be tested locally before being taken to new markets."
One British farmer who has opted to use Figured on his farm is David Dunn, who farms 0.6 hectares (150 acres) at Grange Farm in North Lincolnshire.
Alongside his brother, he manages a Stabiliser suckler herd, a B&B pig unit, a full nine-stable livery and third party operation of an AD plant.
David chose Figured because he needed to be able to forecast and budget and couldn't find anything else on the market which could provide live month-by-month reconciliation and forecasting.
"With the various enterprises we have, what I needed from and was the live data," David says.
"I wanted a cloud-based platform that I could give advisers access to - I wanted my accountant and my banker to have visibility across my monthly performance, but also have the ability to view the budget and how that was tracking against reality."
Figured is also ideally placed to help those teams driven apart by Covid restrictions and unable to have face-to-face meetings.
"As a cloud-based solution, Figured is uniquely suited for remote and distanced working," Mr Higgie explains.
"We have long operated in a distanced environment and this has allowed us to be able to support our customers well through this period."
The company constantly invests in product improvement, driven by a deep understanding of the audience and sector.
For more information visit or follow Figured on Facebook at @figuredapp or Twitter at @figured.
To keep UK farmers up-to-date with new developments, LIC UK produces a quarterly magazine called GrassRoots which is available to read through their website at .
Videos and webinars can be viewed on the website or on . The team also produce a podcast which can be listened to at .
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