A small firm of accountants (20 people) has one manual system for monitoring client books from receipt through to a finished job, another manual system for remembering to keep in touch with clients on a regular basis, and another manual system to keep track of tax returns.
Because they are separate, manual systems, it is impossible in practice for anyone to get a decent overview. Sounds like a job for software, but which package?
I would appreciate suggestions / recommendations. Procost is used for the time recording.
Brian
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Replies (8)
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OK but
Hello again Brian.
If they already use that much of Iris, it really does make sense to at least look at "Practice Management" especially as it's a fraction of the cost of the compliance bits. They could always give it a go on a small basis & dump it if it didn't suit.
Also, as far as "eggs in one basket" is concerned Iris has been around since way before I bought my first PC in 1983 (yes I should have retired by now) and when it comes to client work/contact management having just one basket to deal with is a pro not a con.
A demo of PM would be worthwhile to at least compare using one system to using two.
All the best
Paul
DRIVE integration
Hello again Brian,
DRIVE can integrate with the Iris suite if this was the desired outcome.
Keytime also has a complete suite of practice compliance products including Final Accounts, Personal Tax, Partnership Tax, Corporation Tax, Bureau Payroll and P11D.
Thanks
Anthony
ACCA Practice Manager
Get them to send you a fully working trial copy. Much Much better than enduring some visit from a sales rep!
You don't get any of that nonsense about "how do you prepare your accounts? tax returns?" from this lot. In my view its not relevant HOW I prepared accounts or do tax returns I just want to manage the workflow.
Thanks everybody
Thank you for your various replies. Iris is used for accounts and tax / P11Ds. The owner is not keen on putting all his eggs in one basket.
On the face of it, ACCA Practice Manager ought to be the most suitable, but I'll ask more about the various possibilities.
DRIVE from Keytime
Hello Brian,
DRIVE from Keytime would meet this requirement perfectly.
Take a look at our COrporate Partner page for more details, or www.keytimesystems.co.uk
DRIVE is a revolutionary integrated client contact, practice management and time & billing system offering partners an unprecedented level of control and clients a return to personal service that will ensure you retain your valuable client base.
DRIVE for Accountants – the Database
Within one database, you will find –
• A CRM system
• Time and Billing
• Financials
• Planning
• Marketing
This is further broken down into –
• Time, Expense and Staff Management
• Bill Manager and Fees Ledger
• Contact and Communications Management
• Document Management
• Deadline Management
• Alert Systems
• Job/Project Management
• Staff Planners
• Marketing & Selling Manager
• Purchase and Nominal Ledgers
• Multi-Currency
• Compliance Integration
• Data Conversions
Available on a monthly rental from £50 per month, DRIVE meets the practice and client management needs of practices of all sizes.
Good luck and hope to hear from you soon - phone us on 0845 456 3103.
Thanks
Anthony
General
Brian,
I have provided consultancy to a number of practices of your size and they all face the same problems.
You have 2 options, best of breed or a totally integrated solution.
Conpanies like Star, Sage/Hartley and Digita seem to produce best of breed packages, but might not integrate as slickly as you would like.
On the other hand you can buy all in one packages, which appear to do most jobs quite well, but might not be the best.
There are a wide variety of systems, e.g. IRIS and Viztopia. I believe Viztopia now has a solution with document scanning.
My cleints have adopted both strategies and are quite happy with what they have.
It comes down to your priorities and you ability to manage the systems.
Paul
recommended software
Mamut Business Software will definitely help you at an unbelievable level of functionality for the money.
Use them and you will be able to get rid of most of your manual routines with just one piece of software + their support team are really helpful in getting you up and running and will answer your questions fully and honestly.
020 7836 7978 is their phone number.
IRIS
Brian - you don't mention what the firm uses for accounts & tax return prep? Please don't say "manual".
We are a smaller firm than this and use IRIS for the lot. The compliance stuff is good but for me the icing is being able to track all work ie accounts, tax, enquiries and even where the books are & who's going to return them.
There will be other work flow or practice management systems around that can handle job control just as well I'm sure but you may find it lacks IRIS's integration of all aspects of the client work, one database does mean one database.
A demo would sell itself or at least give you a benchmark and help you plan a course through to full integration.
I provide consultancy on this stuff but would be happy to have an informal chat about how we work all this in practice. If you're interested drop me an email: [email protected]
Cheers
Paul