A Client Story: Malaysian small businesses aim for the skies powered by CALTRiX

When AJ Heng founded Dr LeatherSpa Malaysia, his dream was to build not just a business but a brand that would be the most trusted handbag restorer in Southeast Asia.

Heng met Alfred Ang, founder and CEO of leading Xero Gold Partner and Xero Certified Advisor CAL Cloud (CALTRiX) when he learned about Ang’s experience assisting retail & ecommerce businesses in implementing cloud accounting solutions since 2018. Ang has held various accounting and finance positions in hospitality and consulting before venturing into his first entrepreneurial pursuit as an accounting software distributor during the time the Malaysian GST was implemented.

Within two years of setting up the business, Ang sold his software business then took a short sabbatical. Cloud accounting was on his mind and he realised that the timing was right as it was one of the fastest growing sectors in business automation. He learned that company executives would require constant training and upskilling when transitioning onto cloud services, and so he started CALTRiX 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.

Alfred Ang, leading his team in CALTRiX

The two entrepreneurs share a common vision for success built on reputation as they believed in word-of-mouth marketing that builds a sustainable and long-term business. It was a natural pivot for Dr LeatherSpa to transition to cloud accounting after being in business for over 10 years, providing customers renewed hope to “rekindle the magic” of their closet treasures.

For over a decade, the Klang Valley team at Dr LeatherSpa has been featured in the news and in magazines. They won numerous awards and worked with celebrities and prominent customers to rekindle the joy and love they have for their leather bags and accessories. A signature service is the Dr LeatherSpa Premium Handbag Bio-clean which offers an antibacterial (up to 99.99%) clean that removes dullness, mould, odour, oil stains or dust, a colour refresh, leather/fabric conditioning and strengthening followed by polishing. Specialising in restoring or cleaning handbags, wallets, shoes and belts in Klang Valley, AJ Heng wants to be ‘Your Only Trusted Leather Doctor’.

Cloud Accounting – a proven method to work remotely

As one of the only ones in the industry to promise RM1,000,000 compensation for loss or damage, satisfaction guarantee and six months warranty (standard terms and conditions apply), Heng shares that he holds on to the principle of working on the business rather than working in the business. He is also a big believer in smart resource planning, reducing paper and manpower by selecting software automation, giving his team more time to focus on developing the business, marketing activities, hence reducing mistakes and unplanned costs.

“I absolutely love cloud-based solutions,  as my entire company embraces cloud-based systems, not only accounting. This gives me the flexibility and easy access to vital information wherever I may be in just an instant, so I can make swift decisions whether I’m working or on a holiday.”

Since CALTRiX moved us over to XERO cloud accounting solutions, this is what we found, Heng added:

1. I have more flexibility in accessing vital data and move swiftly in the market
2. I save costs by hiring fewer people to manage accounting simply because Xero is more efficient
3. I can work on the go!

Cloud Accounting – a proven method to work remotely

CALTRiX is one of my favourite suppliers of all and my experience in the transition has been seamless, efficient and always delivering on their promises. I’ve never needed to remind CALTRiX of work not done. So, thanks to team CALTRiX for providing zero downtime to my accounting needs. Heng says “Kudos to the founder Alfred who is always open to questions I might throw at him every once in a while. Besides cloud accounting, I feel I have gained access to quality business advice as well,”.

SoundLife Hearing founder and chief audiologist, Alleya Cheng adds to that same tune. She says, “We were using Microsoft Excel to manage our invoices in the past. Along the way, we found it very inconvenient and disorganised because we were not able to track the stock in our business account well,”. SoundLife Hearing provides Malaysian adults and children with a one-stop hearing healthcare centre that diagnoses and manages hearing loss.

“As a start, it was actually very costly for us to invest in an accounting software and we also didn’t know how to use it as well. I’m thankful that we found CALTRIX Cloud Solutions, which were affordable for a startup like us. We were able to integrate Xero with our current usage of Cloud Payroll Software, Kakitangan, and Document Management Software,” said Alleya. CALTRiX has helped automate and generate faster claiming processes in a more organised and convenient manner simply by having our accounting data in the cloud,” she added.

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Both testimonials give credit to Alfred Ang who founded CALTRiX in January 2018, with a mission to assist companies like Dr LeatherSpa and SoundLife Hearing to steer away from time-consuming manual bookkeeping to having real-time financial information right from an app on their mobile phone.