Opportunities provided by the government's drive towards digitising the tax system, mean that all VAT registered businesses with turnover in excess of £85,000 now must record their accounts digitally. This allows the interrogation and analysis of the farm financial data to be prepared at the click of a button.

Software such as FarmPlan has been around for many years and is well trusted and used in the agricultural sector. Users will be aware of its ability to report on many different levels. There is also a new entry into the market, Figured, which is a New Zealand backed bolt-on to Xero, the accounting platform. Based in the cloud the real benefit of this is that this will allow you to benchmark against similar farms and forecast the next 12 months and then scenario test, with some ‘what if’ analysis, as well as budget.

Once you have all of this data of course, it’s not just there to be looked at, it needs an experienced professional to interpret it, help you plan for the future and drive your business forward. It should also be reviewed regularly and updated for any changes.

Baldwins, one of the UK's largest agricultural accountants, believe strongly that only the best prepared will move forward into the digital times.

The power of data is vital to your success. Baldwins are the only accountancy firm that have platinum status with all software solution providers to the Agri-sector. If you would like to discuss the options available to you, please call us on 0845 894 8966 or email rural@baldwinsgroup.com