Who we are

Sidekick's Legacy

We’re proud to have been serving the modern accountancy industry for over a decade now, and we consider ourselves pioneers of the cloud based, fixed fee model that is so prominent today.

We were one of the early adopters of Xero and are proud to have been right alongside them on their rise from small kiwi software start-up to being at the forefront of the global market for accounting software! We were the first ever Xero platinum partner – and not just in NZ, but anywhere in the world!

Our History:

2006

  • Dave Jessep founded Dave Jessep and Associates – the very first stage in the evolution of what is now the Sidekick group.

2007

  • Dave began researching and recommending Xero. At this stage Xero was still in its infancy, so we were one the first accounting practices to start using their software.

2009

  • DJCA won the fastest growing Xero Partner Award!

2010

  • We became the world’s first Xero Partner to reach Platinum Partner status! Over 100,000 accountants and bookkeepers are now using Xero within their practice, so we’re incredibly proud we were the first to reach platinum status!
  • We also won Xero Partner of the year!
  • Rebranded to DJCA and implemented Sidekick
  • The Earthquakes struck which were a big disruptor for everyone in Canterbury, but because we used Xero it allowed us to be more flexible amongst all the turbulence.

2011

  • We won the Xero partner of the year award (again!)
  • Offices continuing to grow and averaging 3 new Sidekick clients a week
  • After the earthquakes, our Auckland office opened up!
  • Post-earthquake boom and lots of rapid growth in Christchurch!

2012

  • We opened a London office (which now operates separately from the Sidekick group as ‘djca UK’)

2013

  • Two new Sidekick offices opened up through licensing ‘Sidekick’ – this was important in helping us realise the benefits of using a Joint venture model moving forward.

2015

  • Sidekick Christchurch was set up.
  • The Sidekick Tasman office opened for business!

2017

  • The Sidekick Timaru office opened its doors!

2018

  • Findlay & Co in Wanaka & Queenstown were purchased and renamed Findlay Sidekick.
  • The Sidekick Rangiora office opened in North Canterbury
  • Sidekick Commercial was formed to offer specialised services for bigger, commercial clients.
  • Set up our Sidekick Rural offering, which operates out of the Timaru office.

2019

  • Sidekick Cloud was formed – adding a software specialist to the Sidekick group.
  • The Sidekick Ashburton office was also opened!

2020

  • Dave Jessep, founder of DJCA & Sidekick, stepped away from the business after a health scare whilst solely owning DJCA. The owners of Sidekick Christchurch and Sidekick commercial stepped up to take control and keep the Christchurch team together by merging all three entities into Sidekick CA.
  • These changes and the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic meant the leaders of all the offices took active steps to unite as a leadership team and strengthen their vision and purpose together.
  • We opened Sidekick Selwyn, which has a physical office in Rolleston.

2021

  • Findlay Sidekick renamed to Sidekick Wanaka
  • We were nominated for 2 Xero Awards including Large Partner of the year and Advisory Partner of the year!

2022

  • Beanie Accounting merged with Sidekick Wanaka – taking on all of their clients and two new team members.
  • We were nominated for 3 Xero awards (including National partner of the year, Advisory Partner of the year and App Integrator Partner of the year).
  • Sidekick Holdings was formed, this centralised function helps coordinate group activities, streamline operations and allows the group to innovate at pace

A look at where we are now

  • 8 Branch locations around the South Island

  • Almost 3,200 clients using Xero (and growing!)

  • Now over 60 employees in the group!
  • Plans to continue growing our team, opening more offices and continuing to get more SMEs on Xero!
  • Specialised service offerings; Cloud, Rural, Commercial and SME

The next steps in our journey

It’s been a long and epic ride so far, but we’re only just getting started. We can’t wait to see how our offices continue to grow, how our team members continue to develop, and how our clients continue to succeed. Accountancy is changing, and we’re proud to be right at the forefront, helping to create more freedom in the lives of small business owners around NZ. If you’re wanting to gain more freedom in your business, we’d love to help you be more successful.

If you want to become a part of our growing team, check out our careers page.