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Digita Professional Suite helps accelerate growth for AccountingWEB Start-Up Practice Group Member

3rd Jun 2013
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Award winning Digita Software from Thomson Reuters.

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A member of the AccountingWeb Start-up Practice Group, Class of 2009, Elizabeth Eyre, captured the hearts of accountants through her blog that charted the challenges of setting up a new practice.

Her honesty won her many admirers and it was with their encouragement that Liz was able to confidently make the choices that have helped to secure her success.

Giving up the world of Financial Services to start her own practice in Malvern, Worcestershire, was seen by many as a bold move. However, it has paid off allowing Liz to spend valuable time with her two children, now aged 10 and 12, and to work with a range of businesses that appreciate the breadth of experience she can offer.

The advice she received in the early days from members of the AccountingWeb community, especially in relation to technology and software choices, has been pivotal to her success. On the recommendation of fellow members, Liz decided to implement the Digita Professional Suite comprising tax, accounts production and practice management software.

Choosing Digita software to run the practice was a great decision, Liz says. In a blog entry back in 2009, she writes: 'it does everything but make the tea.' As a ‘process-driven person’, it was important for Liz to find an integrated system that would make number crunching automatic and would free up time so she could get to know her clients and add value. The Digita suite delivers on every level.

"Our most successful clients are those where we provide an end-to-end service. Even if our clients are heavily involved with IT, they prefer not to get bogged down entering transactions into an online system; they like us to do it for them”, Liz says.

The practice now looks after around 120 clients and they range from lifestyle businesses to those with half a million pound turnover. Through a successful combination of local networking and recommendations, Liz now looks after several of the companies who operate from the new Innovation Centre in Malvern. These IT companies take security very seriously and like the fact that Liz files their returns electronically so that there is no threat of confidential information falling into the wrong hands.

Digita software supports the electronic filing of both Companies House and HMRC returns. The electronic filing capability impresses Liz especially as it provides a confirmation that the return has been delivered safely. She says: "I would not be without Digita Company Secretarial. It allows me to file electronically with Companies House and adds an extra layer of security that clients like. Security is an important issue and we have won new business because we have a reputation for using technology to file securely."

One of the key advantages of using an integrated suite of software lies in the absolute integrity of the data. Liz comments: "I take comfort that the figures are the same in the tax system and the accounts production software. This was a great help with iXBRL - Digita took all the strain so I didn't have to worry about it."

Liz has been able to increase her use of the software in line with the numbers of returns and sets of accounts she produces. The licence fee is paid in advance, and the practice knows exactly how much it costs to manage the affairs of the various client types. "I know I get value from Digita,”Liz adds.

The choice of software has played a significant role in accelerating growth by automating the ‘number crunching’ and allowing Liz to grow the business through adding value. A contractor now supports Liz three days a week and specialist tax associates are used when needed.

Listening to the experience of others has paid off and Liz has absolutely no regrets about choosing the Digita Professional Suite. For anyone thinking about setting up, Liz’s advice would be to “stick with one provider to achieve maximum efficiency."

For more information on Digita software from the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, visit www.digita.com/aweb

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