The Agricultural center of expertise and management (CEGA) launched a very innovative platform, with the aim of simplifying the daily management of agricultural enterprises of Quebec.

The fundamentals of Aleop

Officially available since November 23rd of last year, the ALEOP accounting system facilitated traditional tasks associated with paperwork, such as manual accounting entry and the filing of documents. Aleop is the producers' new administrative assistant. 

Established in May 2009, the  Agricultural center of expertise and management (CEGA) is a non-profit organization that aims at supporting Quebec farmers and their agricultural management advisors. Its administrative council represents “Agricultural Quebec” as a whole, whether the representatives of the industry, the agricultural farmers union, La Financière agricole du Québec (FADQ), financial institutions, the field of education, expertise centers or even young farmers.

The origin and functioning of the accounting system

Several inquiries, discussion and survey groups conducted by CEGA have confirmed a notorious problem in Quebec’s agriculture: the administrative and financial tasks have become quite heavy. Farmers are stuck with the paperwork and numerous government requirements. According to Patrice Carle, executive director of CEGA: “people have very little time to invest in analyzing their business results throughout the year because they are too invested in the operations related to production”

Functioning

In 2013, CEGA was mandated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) to develop a platform to meet farmers' needs. The accounting system ALeop quickly processes paper and electronic documents in an efficient way as the company receives them. Once they are entered in the system, ALEOP allows you to file and easily transfer pertinent data to your compatible accounting system. The performance indicators, chosen according to your business needs, are automatically brought up to date through this new data. This way, you have a personalized dashboard that “speaks to you at all times throughout the year”.  

“It is a clear advantage that allows you to react much faster to the current situation of your business. It helps you find out sooner than later if your company is not performing as planned” says M. Carle. As ALEOP facilitates the daily accrual accounting, it portrays where the company is “currently” at, rather than three or six months prior. “2017 is about time for farmers to current and quality information in order to react quickly”, states the director of CEGA.

Secured filing 

In addition to automating accounting entries, ALEOP solutions also consists of an “intelligent” filing system. You can easily find all invoices and other digitized documents: no more frustrating searches through boxes and paperwork piled on your desk! Your files are accessible at all times through your computer or even tablet and smartphone.

“The security and confidentiality of your data are based on the same type of technology that protects financial institutions' transactional websites, as Accès D for example”, points out Patrice Carle. “And all the data is stored in Quebec” he proudly states.

Bringing agriculture to the newer generations 

ALEOP is easy to use for all age groups and, for the new generation of young entrepreneurs from the digitized era, “this new platform will allow them to manage their business paperless” adds Patrice Carle. According to ALEOP client reviews, the technology  makes dreadful tasks much more interesting, such as following the company’s financial results in real time for example. They particularly appreciate being able to quickly access the information they are looking for. Moreover, CEGA’s team has found several young farmers in the previous years. Their preferences are very different when it comes to business management support; they would rather talk to their advisors “more often, but briefly”, in order to have ongoing advising services. One thing is true about the Y generation: “things must be simple and efficient, but fast!” 

Time to act

With Aleop, you no longer spend hours looking for documents! You have current accounting data at your fingertips at all times. You can quickly start your own digitized data bank when subscribing; benefit from it and add to it over the weeks, months, or years. There is no longer a need to wait for the beginning of a new fiscal year: Aleop adapts to your accounting throughout the year. From the moment it is installed, Aeop is ready to transfer your data to the accounting software SigaFnance. Therefore, an overview of the document reflects all the data that was transferred to the accounting system and it is available to the client and their accountant at all times. 

Aleop solutions is the first application to automate accounting data entry, file documents and offer personalized support, in real-time, to SME farmers at an affordable price: enjoy now!