Customer Story

Bruce Carr: Web Ninja

Background

Web Ninja is an Australian web-based service that integrates businesses' online storefronts with accounting software. Founded by Bruce Carr, a veteran of the software industry, Web Ninja was born out of Bruce's desire for a new challenge after selling his previous successful software business. Recognizing the growing importance of e-commerce, Bruce started Web Ninja from scratch, leveraging his team's reputation in the accounting software industry to build partnerships and share data with other companies.

"It was just so easy to sort of say, I'm committing to something here. I'm committing to get X done by X day. It's in the plan."

Bruce Carr

CEO, Web Ninja

Problem

As an experienced entrepreneur, Bruce knew the importance of having solid processes for tracking metrics and milestones. However, he faced challenges in clearly articulating Web Ninja's growth plans and creating a roadmap that would help attract the funding and personnel he would need to be successful. Additionally, Bruce needed a way to monitor the business's health on a daily basis, forecast financials, and hold his team accountable to their goals and commitments.

Solution

Bruce discovered LivePlan at a trade show in the United States and was immediately drawn to its user-friendly interface and integration capabilities with accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks. He implemented LivePlan not just for initial business planning, but as an ongoing tool for financial forecasting, milestone tracking, and business health monitoring. Bruce particularly appreciated LivePlan's dashboard feature, which allowed for easy visualization of key metrics and comparison of actual performance against projections.

Outcome

Using LivePlan has transformed how Web Ninja operates and plans for the future. The software has become an integral part of their business process. LivePlan's dashboard has made it easier for non-accountants on the team to understand financial data and track performance against plans. The ability to easily update and review the business plan has led to increased accountability and communication within the team. Carr now uses LivePlan for regular strategy sessions, even taking it to team lunches to update milestones and plans collaboratively. This approach has made their expansion into New Zealand much quicker and more organized.