AccountingWeb

IT Healthcheck ' Return to Cooksey Perry & Co. By Simon Hurst

Exploring practice management options
Perhaps the main issue highlighted in the first report was the use of a series of spreadsheets to cope with the firm's time recording. This system has been in place for many years and has provided Chris with the information he needs, but he does recognise there might be more efficient and reliable ways of recording his time. In addition, a proper time recording system might be introduced as part of a more general practice management package that could help with the production and management of documents, general communication with clients and keeping track of the ever-increasing number of deadlines that afflict accountants.

Chris already uses IRIS accounts and taxation software but not the practice management module. So he approached IRIS to investigate the solution more closely. After spending a day looking in detail at the application, Chris had mixed feelings. Whilst recognising the power and sophistication of the package, he was concerned that the amount of effort involved in implementing it in his firm might outweigh the benefits.

He already has a simple system for managing client documentation based on the structured use of Windows folders and felt that it might be easier and less time-consuming to extend his existing system rather than to replace it completely with IRIS Practice Management. However, he is going to take another look at the package, this time with a view to cherry-picking those elements that would benefit a small practice such as his. He is also going to look at IRIS's time & fees software - I look forward to finding out how this goes in the future.

Time & fees - the spreadsheet question
Time and fees led us on to a more general consideration of the time recording requirements for a small accountancy firm. One solution adopted by some firms is to abandon time recording altogether. For those that do wish to record their time, either to base their fees upon their time records, or to use them as a method of monitoring efficiency and profitability, there are several options.

Chris opted for the self-build option, based on the use of spreadsheets. Obviously there are lots of commercially available time recording applications ' many aimed specifically at the accountancy profession. For a small practice, there is a choice to be made between packages designed to focus just on time recording and billing, and more comprehensive solutions that include advanced practice management capabilities.

I appreciate Chris's reasons for persevering with the spreadsheet approach, but I would always see a bespoke solution as being a last resort to all but the simplest of problems. At the risk of unleashing a torrent of criticism, I would also see the use of spreadsheets to enter and process transactions as akin to putting up shelving with a Swiss Army penknife ' yes it can be done, but it's a lot quicker, easier and safer to use the proper tools.

If Chris doesn't find a packaged solution I will be trying to persuade him to consider using a database to deal with his time recording transactions, and restricting the use of Excel to analysing and presenting the resulting data. Put another way: "No small firm should use spreadsheets to record and process their time records ' discuss."

Small, but useful time-savers with Google Desktop and Word
Still on the subject of practice management we looked at the use of a desktop search engine to provide access to client data wherever it may be on the system. Chris had installed Google Desktop but hadn't had a chance to experiment much with it. As an example we used it to search for all documents containing a particular client's name.

Chris was impressed with the results ' "Brilliant, that's very powerful. I have to look for emails most days and that that could make a big difference" he enthused as Google Desktop came up with a list of dozens of emails and other documents almost immediately. We then used the search engine to try and find an email that Chris had wasted quite some time tracking down the day before ' we located it in a matter of seconds. While looking at finding and saving emails I was able to show Chris how easy it was to add folder locations to Word's 'My Places' list ' sometimes it can be the simple things that save the odd half minute over and over again that can save the most time.

Data back-up & business continuity planning
We moved on to discussing the progress on some of the other issues from the first meeting. Data back up and business continuity planning are vitally important for organisations of all sizes. Chris will be contacting his IT support company to look at automated backup solutions, but in the meantime he has been looking at the issue of accessing archive data created by non-current applications.

IRIS confirmed was happy for Chris to retain old versions of the software in order to access archive data and said that it would be able to help him access data created in earlier versions. Chris is planning to buy a new laptop and will use the old one to hold outdated program versions in order to provide access to archive data.

As long as I haven't upset Chris too much over the issue of spreadsheets and transactions, I hope to return in a month or two to see how the time recording project is proceeding and to catch up on the progress on some of the other issues.

About the author
Simon Hurst is a former chairman of the ICAEW IT Faculty and runs The Knowledge Base, a consultancy dedicated to helping practitioners make effective use of technology. He is also the author of AccountingWEB's Office ProductivITy Kit and '100 Microsoft Office Time-saving Tips'. For more information, visit the The Knowledge Base website. AccountingWEB members can also access his back catalogue and IT Clinic online email support via the Office ProductivITy service.

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