25 Years of “Big Red” Irish Fin-Tech Celebrates 25 Years of helping Thousands of Irish SMEs

“I want to be a champion for entrepreneurs” – Official Presidential Candidate Sean Gallagher speaking yesterday at Big Red Cloud’s 25th-anniversary celebration. As guest speaker at yesterday’s event, Mr. Gallagher expressed the importance of Ireland’s entrepreneurs and their contribution to society.

The event, which was attended by over 200 SME Owners & Accountants from all over the country, was held yesterday at Microsoft HQ in Leopardstown.

Speaking to attendees Marc O’Dwyer, CEO of Big Red Cloud,

“The “Big Red” brand is a true Irish success story of an SME that has weathered a few economic storms, moved with the huge technological advancements we have experienced in the last quarter of a century and come out the other side smiling!

This is a huge milestone for our business – coming on the back of years of hard work and commitment – and is definitely something to be celebrated. From our beginnings as a financial services provider to where we are now, a leading fin-tech business, Big Red Cloud has gone through continuous change and growth over the years. We’ve always adapted to ensure we are able to fulfil our end goal, which is to provide excellent, timely and much needed services to our clients.

Today is not just a celebration of our own work, but of our clients continued and unwavering support over the years”

Attendees at the event listened to a presentation on PAYE Modernisation – something which Mr. O’Dwyer believes is going to come as a “sharp shock” to some businesses throughout the country,

“We recently conducted a survey which revealed that 66% of SMEs throughout the country are “short on detail” on the PAYE system overhaul due to come into effect on January 1^st, 2019, with 40% say they are “not at all prepared” for the changes necessary to their payroll systems in advance of the deadline.

This really drives home the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses throughout the country, have a lot of work ahead of them to ensure they are ready for the changes. Recent feedback from accountants and bookkeepers has raised some concerns about the additional compliance that PAYE modernisation will place on smaller employers. Such employers typically present payroll records to their accountant or bookkeeper on an annual basis for submission of the P35. A real-time system places both a cost burden on these smaller employers, as well as a logistical issue for how they will communicate payroll information on a routine basis throughout the year. It is, as yet, unclear how this will be resolved, but it would appear that there are no derogations planned by Revenue for smaller employers.”

The Future for Big Red Cloud

Always one to be ahead of the curve, Mr. O’Dwyer has been active in the alternative lending sector and recently raised over €30,000 in 24 hours using Flender, a ‘smart’ crowd financing platform which raises fast growth finance for SMEs. This success is on the back of another effective campaign with Linked Finance in 2016. Big Red Cloud has recently been approved for the Market Discovery Fund Grant from EI, and are ear marking both Malta and Cyprus as possible export markets ahead of the UK because of concerns over BREXIT. Both these markets are the highest English-speaking nations with the same accounting rules as Ireland.

Mr. O’Dwyer continued,

“The company is in continuous recruitment mode and we are currently looking to recruit a further 3 staff members in sales and customer service. We are also exploring opportunities overseas and are likely to bring on board an International Business Development Manager to begin our export business.

We are always looking at new markets and new ways of servicing our clients. We are committed to keeping pace with industry developments, and as such, have plans to align further with banks as there is a growing convergence between banking and accounting. This is helping to make the day to day bookkeeping process easier for business owners by synchronising transactions, giving better access to credit and helping with cash flow.”