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PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 13 December 2021 - Cloud accounting adoption by Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will grow exponentially over the next three years and we're scaling up to help more Malaysians streamline their workflow, says Alfred Ang, founder and CEO of CAL Cloud Sdn Bhd (CALTRiX), a Small & Medium Practice (SMP) and leading Xero Gold Partner and Xero Certified Advisor specialising in retail & ecommerce industries.
Ang shared this after attending the Xero Asia Roadshow 2021 held virtually on International Accountant's Day earlier this month. Xero Asia's Managing Director Kevin Fitzgerald shared Xero's impressive growth in customer numbers and usage in the region, increasing exponentially over the previous financial year. Fitzgerald added that Xero is committed to capacity building programs across the region and is working with governments on Cloud First initiatives. Xero was named the 2021 Asia-Pacific SME Accounting Software Vendor of the Year by global research and consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, 2021 Best Practices Awards. Fitzgerald announced Xero's partnership with Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) to launch advisor certification programs in Singapore to boost the next generation of accounting professionals.
CALTRiX is one of 577 Coach n Grow grant alumni (Cohort 5) of the public-private partnership between the Ministry of Finance's Cradle Grant and Proficeo. "I started the company to promote Cloud Accounting to SMEs. A big challenge for us is company directors who are averse to change as they are used to desktop/offline accounting software. In our years of experience, switching to cloud-based solutions like Xero takes approximately three-months. The Coach n Grow program has sharpened my skills in generating leads, business communication and using business metrics to measure profitability. It's undeniable that the demand for cloud accounting solutions will increase and we are scaling our business to serve the industry and expect to triple our sales revenue by the end of financial year 2023. My confidence in the product and market acceptance is reflected by Xero's H1 FY22 performance with operating revenue climbing 23% year on year to US$505.7 million," said Ang.
The cloud computing market revenue in Southeast Asia is estimated to reach US$40.32 billion by 2025 as a result of an increased demand for cloud computing among SMEs according to a Gartner forecast.
Ang's sentiments were inspired from the recent Budget 2022 announcements. The Digital First Programme aims to increase cloud computing use in the public sector, reducing physical storage of documents and inculcating a paperless culture. The budget earmarked RM300 million allocated under SME Digitisation Grant Scheme and Automation Grant to support automation and modernisation activities, plus another RM700 million allocated to enhance digital connectivity which will facilitate digitalisation of SMPs and SMEs.
The 33 year-old accountant comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Ang started his career in the accounting backroom of a hotel, then turned business analyst before starting his first business as a software distributor and led 500 SMEs in Malaysia to adopt accounting software digitisation during the GST implementation period from 2015.
"I sold my software business in 2017 and took a short sabbatical. I was interested in cloud accounting, as it was one of the fastest growing sectors in business automation. In my research, I learned that company executives would require constant training and upskilling when transitioning onto cloud services. I started CALTRiX alone in January 2018 to provide services to companies looking to switch from tedious manual bookkeeping to having real-time financial information right from an app on their mobile phone! Our clients have given positive testimonials about the beautiful user interface because it is intuitive and easy to use," he shared.
"We work with accountants and finance departments of manufacturing and trading enterprises and one of the Xero features they're excited about is e-invoicing, a new B2B feature where invoices are not only generated but also paid on the cloud, distributed intuitively from software to software on both the client's and supplier's side. This results in faster payments for SMEs - an important feature for healthier cash flows," Ang added.
"One thing I have learned is to not hardsell. We initiate customers on a Clarity Call, where we learn about their business needs and understand their pains. Once we're confident we can serve their needs, we'll bring the client onboard and work with their team to streamline and consolidate their software needs." said Ang.
About CAL Cloud Sdn Bhd (CALTRiX)
CALTRiX is a leading Xero Gold Partner and Xero Certified Advisor specialising in retail & ecommerce industries. They also support other services sectors in accommodation, hospitality, construction, trades, ecommerce, healthcare, marketing and advertising, consulting firms and NGOs. CALTRiX is an MDEC approved technology solutions provider. Learn more about 
Xero's features that small businesses love, and get in touch with CALTRiX at connect@caltrix.asia for a 30 days free trial if you are keen to find out how you can grow your business with Xero - Cloud Accounting Software.
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