Dext helps Fresh Accounting scale without borders in APAC
About Fresh Accounting
Fresh Accounting was founded almost by accident when Paul Gardner arrived on a one-way ticket to Hong Kong in 2014, after a varied career spent in in-house accounting roles within the UK. Within one month of his arrival in this vibrant city, Paul’s network immediately expanded to interesting businesses and SMEs, all who needed help with their accounting, systems and processes.
What started as a stop-gap project quickly evolved into a full-service advisory and accounting firm. From there, Fresh Accounting was born, and is now staffed by a group of “uniquely weird and wonderful people.”
What was meant to be an interim solution to a problem, blossomed into an organisation of 25 people, with a Singapore office established in 2016, along with an office in Nepal in 2021 serving APAC markets, primarily Hong Kong and Singapore. The team is able to assist over 200 clients, with 125 clients using Dext across APAC and support businesses across multiple currencies, even despite the occasional language barrier.
The Challenge
From the outset, Paul and the team understood that modern accounting goes beyond crunching numbers — it is about building scalable, repeatable processes and using selected systems that help businesses grow. The Fresh team already believed in the power that these types of scalable systems could pose to their operations, so it wasn’t a struggle to “embrace software and use it as our friend.”
Fresh needed a software partner that could not only support their own internal efficiencies but also enable them to implement consistent financial processes for their clients — especially those expanding across multiple jurisdictions.
The software partner they chose needed to be robust and durable, providing the longevity they needed to rely on it. They didn’t want to undergo the whole change management process, only to find that their software partner of choice was going to “be out of business in 6 months.”
They also needed software that would seamlessly integrate with the Xero ecosystem, as the company was primarily reliant on their accounting software.
Another recent challenge that the business was facing both in Asia was a shortage of talent. There weren’t enough accountants in these regions to fill open roles, which then meant that the business needed to rely even more on its technology partners to fill in the gaps that might have otherwise been done manually.
The Solution
Dext was an early relationship that Fresh Accounting fostered to help bring their offering to the next level. Where many businesses previously relied on Excel spreadsheets and manual filing, Dext allowed Fresh Accounting to implement standardised data capture, expense workflows, and real-time reporting.
Dext became a key part of the onboarding system Fresh Accounting built for clients expanding into new countries. Whether a business was entering Singapore or setting up operations in Hong Kong, Fresh would configure their finance function to use tools like Dext and Xero from day one — avoiding the common pitfalls of legacy processes and paper trails.
“Everyone loves paper in Asia,” Paul explained.
Rather than coming to Fresh Accounting with a stack of stapled receipts, their clients could simply upload their expenses on the go with the Dext app. The Fresh team also found that many people within their client roster were eager to use the app, so it wasn’t difficult to advocate for its use.
“Everyone hates doing expenses the old school way. But if you do things in a new way, people are happy to use apps and get things done efficiently and faster. This means possibly getting expenses reimbursed quicker.”
But that wasn’t the only way that Dext was making life easier for Fresh Accounting’s clients. They were also able to submit their purchase invoices directly through Dext, allowing Fresh Accounting to manage accounts payable more efficiently. In addition, supplier statements could be uploaded and reconciled within Dext and matched against records in Xero — reducing manual work and ensuring greater accuracy across the board.
Paul notes that, with Dext, they were able to find the right software that fit with their clients – because you can’t possibly pick every single tech solution. But by sticking with the one that works for the challenges you most need to solve, that relationship becomes even more rewarding over the years as the software continues to improve.
“Dext gets incredibly better with age – like a good wine.”
The Impact
Dext also allowed Fresh Accounting’s clients to save a significant amount of time, both in terms of uploading their expenses but also when being audited. In Hong Kong, every business has to be audited, but Dext was able to make this process even easier by creating digital copies of uploaded documents that are then intelligently stored in the cloud and easily accessible.
However, the biggest impact that Dext had on Fresh Accounting’s operations was that it can be used anywhere, anytime. This allowed their team to cross-collaborate, so that the Nepal office could support Hong Kong and Singapore clients.
Dext’s best-in-class AI extraction capabilities allowed Fresh Accounting to create scalable systems that have made them a go-to partner for businesses looking to grow in the region — not just for accounting, but for establishing operational readiness in new markets.
Paul insisted that “Dext is really chasing the right software that can allow us to work without borders.”
Moving Forward
Fresh Accounting continues to help clients transform the way they work — implementing cloud-based systems, building regional finance functions, and helping SMEs expand into new markets with confidence.
To other firms that are considering moving into the APAC market, Paul shares the following advice:
“Anything is possible and you have to believe in yourself. I was an accidental business owner and I never intended to be doing something like this.”
He adds that accounting firms, especially in Asia, are still quite slow with their digital transformation journey. To be successful, businesses should be reviewing their systems and processes every five years, but many businesses are keeping theirs for over 20 years in some cases.
Nevertheless, this presents a ripe opportunity for those young-minded accounting firms who are willing to step into new territory and adopt a relationship with helpful tech tools like Dext.
Are you an accountant, bookkeeper or business owner in APAC, wondering how you can take the next step? Take a look at what Dext has to offer and start your free 14-day trial today.
