If you’ve seen our new home page you’ll have encountered a question we at Beyond ask all our clients to get to the core of how we can help them.
Are you telling yourself a story about your business, and is it true?
A company’s brand tells a story too. Last year we realized that the story our brand was telling was no longer truly reflective of who we are, who our people are, and how we’ve grown.
At the start of our rebrand process, we knew one core thing to be true: we’re not the type of firm to get stuck in a ‘this is the way it has always been done’ mentality. Not with the technology we adopt and advise, not with our learning, not with the way we serve our clients. We’re innovators and we’re always looking for ways to better our client’s lives.
We realized our brand was no exception. It needed a refresh.
A new visual identity we can all relate to
We kept the name Beyond Balanced Books because it means something to us, and it means something to our clients. It will always be our strategy to help you look beyond your financial data, at what the numbers are telling you about your business.
But we were getting tired of our logo – we were ready for a logo that would speak to our values at Beyond. For our existing clients, what we’re saying shouldn’t sound unfamiliar. As part of our rebrand, the new logo represents what we’ve always known about ourselves, and about the kind of clients we love to work with. It’s a logo for us, but also for those who are also committed to standing behind these principles.
They are:
Integrity -We will always choose honesty. There is no wiggle room for sneaking around laws here. We’ll always do what’s right and what’s fair, not just what’s easy.
Respect – We do our part and you do yours. We will honor your time and resources and know you’ll do the same.
Innovation -We always look for the very best for our clients. We are open to new things and don’t get stuck in a “this is the way it’s always been done” mindset.
Calm – We don’t believe success is a product of overworking. Nothing is unsolvable. We’ll be the calm through the storm. We’ll work out issues together without getting out of balance or shaking the peace.
When we compare the logo side by side, you can see where we how we brought these values to life in our brand:
We refreshed the colors – The green brings a calm energy, and represents freshness, newness and possibility. The colors make the logo look less formal.
The books are balanced! – The words themselves are balanced to give the feeling of stability, and it’s a subtle nod to the fact that we’re still true to our name.
Our font tells a story – The logo looks more ‘storybook’ than the original to remind us all to be curious, and to represent our mission to help small business owners understand their story.
Our brand goes beyond the logo
We love our new logo, but the logo itself was just the start.
We want to make sure our online identity matches the kind of relationships we’re having with our clients offline.
Not a lot about the way we do things is changing. That being said, we’re always aware that we’re growing and learning, and we want to share our growth with you as you do with us. Here are some of the things outside of the logo that we’ve refreshed our thinking on:
- We’re saying yes to both QuickBooks Online and Xero – As early adopters of Xero, in the past we’ve leaned towards Xero when we’ve advised clients about their software. But we don’t want you to get hung up on the options, because there’s no one-size fits all solution. Having seen the individual benefit of both software choices, we’ll look at which is best for your business and what you really need.
- We’re continually looking out for the best tech – We’re not nailing our colors to the mast in this area either. We’re always looking out for the best apps to offer you the most efficient integrations, whichever software you use.
- We’ve documented our way- so that you feel confident from the get-go about how our partnership is going to work, and what the possibilities are long term, going beyond bookkeeping into strategic growth.
Beyond Balanced Books is a firm built around the businesses it serves. We hope our period of growth and development is an encouragement for you to look at your own business and think about your next phase.
Though we’ve reshaped the face of our brand for all the reasons above, we’re still the same people behind it, and you know where to find us if you want to talk. Go ahead and take a look around the place, and let us know what you think.