We have some news to share.
Tracey Newman who heads up Bean Ninjas Australia has recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and will be undergoing a major operation and treatment over the next few months.
The good news is that Tracey is expected to make a full recovery after treatment.
This has come as a huge shock for us all.
We’ve been working hard to give Tracey the space she needs to focus on her health and her family, while also making sure our team and clients are taken care of.
Tracey’s clients and the team will be moving to another accounting firm called businessDEPOT.
We did look into supporting all of Tracey’s clients with the existing Bean Ninjas team, but we aren’t licensed to provide income tax services to our Australian clients.
businessDEPOT has strong tax capability, an eCommerce specialisation and seems like a great fit.
Jason Daniels (director) and Simon Bullet (manager) from businessDEPOT will be taking on Tracey’s responsibilities while she recovers from her breast cancer treatment.
Tracey will also be moving to businessDEPOT as a part-time consultant and will have some availability to support clients around her treatment.
In this article, we aim to provide some more context around this decision.
Is Bean Ninjas merging with businessDepot?
The short answer is no.
Bean Ninjas will continue to provide bookkeeping, accounting and tax services to clients around the world.
Only the clients and team that Tracey managed (the division known as Bean Ninjas Australia) will be moving to businessDEPOT. Jason and Simon from businessDEPOT will be taking on Tracey’s responsibilities while she recovers from her breast cancer treatment.
Here is an extract from a letter, Tracey Newman, Director of Bean Ninjas Australia, sent to our clients.
As you know CloudCounting, and then Bean Ninjas Australia, has been a one-partner firm – so I’ve been responsible for the delivery of services to you for the duration of the business. While the other Bean Ninjas partners are responsible for the delivery of services in their regions (eg US and UK)
Despite trying to resource our business so we could better serve you and your business, together with significant changes in the accounting industry as a whole, it has now become unsustainable for me to continue as is.
In addition, I’ve recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and the next few months will require me to undergo a major operation and recover – reinforcing the importance for me to make changes in my own business structure that reduce the reliance on me and better deliver upon your needs. I’ll be unavailable for approximately six weeks whilst I have this operation, which is scheduled for 4 June and receive treatment for the cancer.
The Solution
Never being one to provide problems without discussing the solution, we have a solution that we believe will be a win-win for everyone.
Over the last year, we have been working closely with businessDEPOT to ensure we are providing a high level of tax advice to our clients. This relationship has been very successful, partly due to their own specialisation and experience with eCommerce businesses.
We will be merging our Australian fee base with businessDEPOT effective 1 June 2022.
businessDEPOT is an innovative concept within the accounting industry where they offer all the financial and professional services a business owner needs under one roof. If you want it, you would be able to get support on legal issues, financial planning, and of course all of the usual services such as tax, bookkeeping, and advisory.
I’ll be consulting with the businessDEPOT team while needed and will be available to you to book advisory sessions through them if that is what you require.
Most of our existing staff will also be joining the businessDEPOT team and continue to work with you as normal.
What does this mean for you?
Not much will change and it will predominantly be ‘business as usual’. You will be working with many of the same Bean Ninjas Australia team members together with some new ones from the existing businessDEPOT team.
Leading the provision of services to you from businessDEPOT will be Jason Daniels [Director] and Simon Bullot [Manager].
I will have limited availability over the coming months and Jason and his team have the expertise to cover this gap. I will be working as a consultant at businessDEPOT and will still be available for advisory sessions once I return to work.
Who is businessDEPOT?
The businessDEPOT team are similar to Bean Ninjas in many respects – very much a modern, innovative accounting and bookkeeping business, especially with the additional services they can offer if you want to use them down the track. You can check them out at businessDEPOT.com.au.
The Founder and MD of businessDEPOT, John Knight, is someone I have got to know over the years within the industry and someone I trust to take care of all of you.
Leading the eCommerce industry niche is Jason Daniels, he has amazing experience in the eCommerce space and shares my passion for implementing technology to streamline processes and make the accounting and bookkeeping processes as simple as possible. I’m confident in his technical skills, and the ability of Jason and his team to be enjoyable to work with.
What is next for Bean Ninjas?
Our short-term focus is on ensuring Tracey’s clients and team members from Bean Ninjas Australia have a smooth transition to businessDEPOT.
Then Bean Ninjas will be back focused on our vision of being world-class eCommerce Growth Accountants.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Tracey all the best for her upcoming surgery on behalf of the entire Bean Ninjas team.
