How accountants and bookkeepers can create a blueprint for software-powered growth 

When you’re looking to grow your small firm, your upgraded software must work for your team and help them stay on track.   

There can be no compromise. Software is there to power your unique workflows and approach. That means whatever solutions you chose must fall into step with your team’s way of doing things. 

But how do you begin to build a software system around your practice?  

Which solutions will you need? 

What you read here is an important part of a complete guide to choosing the right software for your firm.  

In this blog, we look at the essential ingredients that create a strong, unified system focused on growth.  

Tax  

This seems like easy software to decide upon, but it’s not. Different software can handle different levels of client sophistication. You quickly come unstuck if you buy something and realise it cannot handle all your clients’ professions, for example. 

Double-check all your needs before you go shopping – from personal capital allowances to partnerships. 

Core qualities you need: Good tax software has to handle clients with varying needs and stay updated to handle the latest legislation. It also needs to be part of a joined-up system so the data you use is the most up-to-date and stays error-free. 

Company formations and accounts 

Good systems enable company formations to happen swiftly and securely, handling all the steps you need to take before sending information directly to Companies House. 

Core qualities you need: Look for a solution that stays on top of tasks beyond formations – for example, letting you know what needs to be done the following year. 

Check that it uses a portal to protect information moving between yourself, your client, and HMRC. 

Anti-money laundering (AML)  

If you need to get one thing right, it’s anti-money laundering. The problem is that doing it manually feels like a chore as you scramble for client information.  

It’s essential to have software that 1) works seamlessly with your other solutions, so if anything is missing, your team knows, 2) links with the rest of the onboarding process, and 3) automates information “chasing”, maintaining a reliable checklist.  

Core qualities for an AML solution: Ensure it can stay up to date and that it sits as part of a process that encompasses everything – from the proposal phase to deciding and allocating first tasks. 

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Practice management  

Practice management systems keep your firm on track. They ensure you know how all work is progressing, automate the to-do list for every client, and give you a bird’s eye view of your team’s workload.  

Essential qualities for a practice management solution: Make sure it handles client interactions, automates workflows and makes light work of other admin tasks – allowing you to lead, not manage. 

Choosing a system: what else do you need to know?  

Consider looking at software platforms rather than separate pieces of software. A platform is different because it’s the launchpad for all your solutions.  

Other applications by the same vendor link into this ecosystem – from tax to AML. This means you sign in once to get started. Meanwhile, all client data is synchronised in a central database, so whatever the task, there is no more retyping or checking that you are using the latest figures.  

What you need to know about the cloud  

It’s also worth making sure your software is in the cloud. The benefits of the cloud are that your staff can work anywhere, and you don’t need to invest in a server. Updates also happen seamlessly. 

However, not all accountancy and bookkeeping software is cloud-based. There might be a balance to be had: some work can only be done with desktop software. Often, these are very specific, complex operations. We can only speak for ourselves, but where that happens, we make sure that our desktop and cloud solutions can synchronise. 

Read the full guide 

How do you build the right system to propel you forward? 

That’s the difference between success and frustrated plans, and it’s the reason we created the guide Bigger, faster and stronger: building the perfect growth system for small accountancy and bookkeeping firms. 

It covers: 

• The impact of a good system 

• What happens when you have the wrong system in place 

• How to build a system around your firm 

• What functionality you may need 

• What technologies to think about 

• The best questions to ask a vendor 

• How you can create a system in just one day 

Click here to download the FREE guide.