Nicoll Maligaya is a FIXE Senior Lead who lives in Cavite, a city that’s located south of Manila in the Philippines. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accountancy from De La Salle University, majoring in Agribusiness Management. Before a relative connected her with FIXE in June 2022, Nicoll worked as a shift leader in a convenience store, where she tracked sales for end of day reports she generated every day before closing. With FIXE, her understanding of accounting and bookkeeping has increased greatly. FIXE has become a family business. Nicoll’s sister, husband, and husband’s cousin also work for FIXE.
How did you find FIXE?
I think FIXE found me. A relative of mine was an employee here before in FIXE.. She already resigned, many months ago. She asked me to join FIXE and referred me to [co-founder] Scott [Leabman]. It was perfect timing, since I was on maternity leave at that time.
What initially appealed to you about working for FIXE?
1) Convenience. It’s a work from home set up, I do not need to commute or travel every day to go to work, and I have the whole day to take care of my baby and family.
2) Career Growth and Development. New environment, new learning, new skills to develop, new relationships to build, and then meeting new faces, even virtually.
3) Income. We all need money, and I know this will help me save more than my previous job, especially that I have a baby to feed and raise.
How has your role with FIXE evolved since you started in 2022?
I was a support member. I supported some of the Account Managers from the state side. Then in October 2023, [FIXE Director of Operations] Olivia [Buley] asked Team P – Team P was the name of our group here in the Philippines – who wanted to be a full time Account Manager. I volunteered because I felt I could do the job. Also I wanted to step up on my game. I said that I’ll take the chance, just like that. Then in June 2024, I don’t know what Olivia sees in me, but she asked me to be the Senior Lead of Team P. At first, I was hesitant, since I felt like I didn’t know a lot of things about bookkeeping, but I still said yes, because I know she trusted me that I could do the job, and my co-senior leads assured me that they will help me if needed, because they reminded me that on FIXE we’re a team.
What are some of the biggest life skills you’ve learned from working at FIXE?
1) Communication is most important. I am on the other side of the world, so avoiding conflicts and resolving issues right away is important when it comes to the clients.
2) Time management. Using time effectively so I don’t feel rushed doing things like sending the reports when they’re due, filing sales tax without penalty, and paying bills before their due dates.
3) Decision making and problem solving. When I became an Account Manager, I started to apply these skills, because I’m not a support anymore that I can rely on my AM. What’s this? What’s that? How do I deal with this? I should be confident enough to take responsibility.
What are some of your favorite ways to help FIXE clients?
It’s when clients ask me payment status for a vendor, and I already processed their payments. Meaning I paid them on time. Then when I get to clean their bank feeds easily, meaning I already mastered almost all of the transactions every day. Also when I give them accurate P&L reports.
What are some of your favorite aspects or most satisfying parts of your job?
Since I became a Senior Lead, the satisfying part is when I get to answer all of the questions and inquiries from Team P, AMs and support members. Then meeting them once a week, I get to bond with them and develop friendships virtually, since we don’t meet each other personally because they’re on the other side of Manila.
How do you prefer communicating with clients, email, phone, text, some other way? What would you say the best practices are for maintaining FIXE client relationships?
Most of my clients prefer email, but I learned that communicating through text if they don’t want to call is more convenient, easier and faster, especially if there are urgent matters to address.
Best practices for me are good communication and complying with their requests. Like if they need a copy of reports, or I update them with payment status in a timely manner. Satisfy them with service, why they choose FIXE in the first place. Don’t let them regret choosing FIXE.
Do you prefer if your clients over-communicate or under-communicate, and why?
I really do prefer if clients over-communicate. It doesn’t matter if every day I wake up with a bunch of emails. That way I could say I’m doing a good job with their books. I provide them with 99% accurate reports every month.
Do you have any favorite softwares or POS systems that you use with clients?
Of all the POS I have used, I think Taco Bell is more straightforward than Toast and Square, because when you log in, you just click a tab, and then you can see all the reports you need. Unlike Square, you need to click here, that, and there before you get the reports you need.
What are your goals for the future with FIXE?
As a Senior Lead today, moving forward, my goal is to keep my team productive, motivated and make deeper loyalty with each other. I would execute plans and goals that may help them develop skills and knowledge that will be enough for them to stay interested in their work. For me, when employees have these talents, they’re the perfect ingredients in FIXE’s recipe for success.
Who have been your biggest mentors at FIXE and what have they taught you? Could you tell us one thing that each of those people have taught you that it’s been really valuable?
I have spoken with most of the FIXE members from the United States side, and every single one of them taught me a different kind of approach on how they handle Ottimate (formerly Plate IQ), bank feeds, reports and how to communicate with clients. It’s a big help.
My biggest mentors were Scott and Olivia. Olivia molded me to be an Account Manager and a Senior Lead. Scott was so patient teaching me how to do accounts receivable for one of our clients, step-by-step process reconciliation, and then how to communicate with the vendors. Even though I was just a support member before, we were meeting for 2-3 hours every day in 2022. I won’t forget one thing he said to the person who referred me to him, “She’s the best recruit you had for me so far.”
