Glide has taken advantage of cloud computing to create an online workflow engine suited to the needs of accounting practices of all sizes.
The application currently caters for more than 170 user firms with customisable templates for jobs ranging from accounts and tax preparation through to VAT, payroll and management accounts. All of these can be adapted, for example by adding prominent “action” buttons. Each button is set up to trigger a new action, such as moving the job to a new stage, alerting its alert status, setting new target dates or sending a message to those affected by the change.
Staff using the system can call up and activate all these processes for individual clients. There is also a separate workflow process for tracking prospects and engaging new clients. Glide includes facilities for recording time manually and generating bills from work in progress, which can both feed directly into Xero ledgers and pull recurring bills out.
At the manager/partner level Glide offers customisable graphical dashboards that ensure they have a constant overview of job progress, targets, deadlines and priorities.
Glide allows each user to create visual dashboards showing the user where they stand in terms of current job progress, targets, deadlines, job completion rates and financials such as outstanding work in progress. Each widget can be filtered to show information on the entire practice, a specific office, the users own portfolio of clients or the jobs they are holding at that moment.
“These dashboards give managers and partners the oversight that is otherwise hidden away in spreadsheets,” says company founder Ben Norwell.
Strengths
- Glide is a very adaptable workflow engine designed with the practitioner in mind. Once they have been configured, the program can direct and monitor internal activities in great detail.
- The comprehensive homepage dashboard includes specific measures such as deadlines, turnaround times and outstanding WIP that will immediately attract the attention of practice managers.
- Configuration options are extensive, ranging from “auto creation” where the user sets up a basic job date and elapsed time calculation for the work and the program will come back with a prompt when work needs to start. Each stage of work can be defined with responsibilities assigned to different users. As one task is completed, the program will default to the next job holder and set their target date.
- Onboarding template: Glide comes with a built-in onboarding sequence, but as with any other workflows in the system, this can be tweaked and tailored to separate out into different sub-tasks with different timelines if needed. Work is underway to complete an engagement letter sequence.
- The program ensures staff don’t take short-cuts to the “finished” state, so they have to manually confirm that each stage has been completed. However, it will also allow the user to create custom jobs not covered by existing processes.
- Includes a WIP ledger that can generate a client bill by checking off time assigned to their work. It can also issue a pro-rated fee for work in progress on fixed-fee jobs or for advance time where the client is billed in advance of work being completed.
- The program can record time directly on the job card or to categories for more general work. The timesheet bulk entry screen allows quick entry of multiple time entries.
- An Excel tool is available to import clients in bulk using Companies House integration.
- The calendar-like Scheduler is an impressive resourcing tool, allowing the user to drag and drop client tasks into free timeslots.
- Alerts and messages can be set up as templates within the system to warn clients, staff and managers when deadlines are about to fall.
- Integrations: Glide can run alongside and interact with CCH and Digita. An IRIS connector is in development. Glide also integrates with the Xero cloud accounting engine, so that when you raise bill in Glide it’ll cross over into the firm’s Xero ledger. Glide will also pull recurring bills in from Xero.
Weak spots
- With adaptability comes complexity. Glide can handle a wide array of challenges, but at the outset somebody needs to learn how to configure the workflows. The developer offers a range of implementation packages, but those wanting extensive extra configurations will need to budget for extra costs.
- The Glide configuration areas were not the prettiest screens we saw at the workshop, but the underlying functionality is all there.
- Lacks some of the client relationship management and communication tools that market-focused practitioners are looking for. Glide indicated that it is prioritising enhanced comms on its development roadmap in response to rising requests for MTD management capabilities.
- Pricing may be a bit high for smaller practitioners
Pricing
The Glide starter pack costs £39 a month and includes five users, with additional users priced at £8, £15 or £25 a month depending on the features used. Glide Time and Glide Scheduler cost extra.
This “snapshot” product review was compiled following a software workshop with Glide and three competitors at the end of February 2017.
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For a detailed comparison of best practice management software for accountants and individual software user reviews, visit AccountingWEB’s Practice Management Software category page in Software Reviews.
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John Stokdyk sadly passed away in June 2023. He had been with the site since 1999, rising from news editor to editor in chief, global editor and head of insight. As a roving editor, he investigated the profession's use of technology around the world. He devoted his spare time to technology history and an oddball collection of stringed...
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Please help
Pricing
The Glide starter pack costs £39 a month and includes five users, with additional users priced at £8, £15 or £25 a month depending on the features used. Glide Time and Glide Scheduler cost extra.
How many clients does the system allow.???
We use it with 16 users, their website says to call for pricing for over 50 users so it seems to be pretty scaleable - It is a web based program so I would doubt there is a maximum. If you are unsure contact them, they have always been very approachable.