VoIP case study: TaxAssist Accountants Surbiton

Bruce Burrowes of the Surbiton branch of TaxAssist Accountants explains the cost and practical advantages of hosted internet telephony.

This year will see many challenges for all businesses including accountancy practices. One of those housekeeping areas that are often overlooked is telecommunications.

As we have reported previously on AccountingWEB.co.uk, the technologies and costs of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) have radically changed the market and opened up a huge variety of telephony options. As cost-conscious organisations that put a premium on good client communications, large and small accountancy firms have been experimenting with online systems.

Last year TaxAssist Accountants in Surbiton joined this movement and installed a hosted VoIP system provided by Equinox Business Consulting based in SW15.

"We're an expanding practice and were moving to a new location that had a BT line, but was effectively a Greenfield site," explains Bruce Burrowes, who runs the TaxAssist franchise. "Having good communications with clients was our priority. I went through all my options, including Equinox, who recommended having a hosted VoIP system separate to our main broadband connection."

The new system was simple to deploy and coped well as the firm grew and added staff. "From day one you can have a very professional setup. What you see in my office are phones on desks and a router in the corner with the cables coming out. There is a bunch of software behind the system that allows you to manage the system. It's like logging into a general ledger system – except you log into your phone account," he says.

Phone and bill management is done in the software, which saves TaxAssist team members from having to tap in a string of numbers to transfer calls or call up messages. "It's practical and simple to use," says Burrowes. "Learning a PBX system is a bit like learning to use a DVD or VCR. I don't have to go through all of that."

One of his prior roles was as a finance director at an internet transaction company. "Everything we did was hosted, so I'm more relaxed than most about using a Cloud solution because I understand the technology," he says.

The Equinox phone system lets users divert calls to any other number and includes back-up facilities for business continuity. It handled the firm's first tax season in the new office with ease and if needed, staff could switch calls to their home numbers or take a handset home to plug into the web-based phone system.

TaxAssist Accountants is growing, Burrowes explains, and will be putting more desks into 300ft2 of office space. "From the telephony point of view, I've got a scalable system," he says.

Another member of the TaxAssist network initially pointed Burrowes towards the hosted-phone approach and both feel they are better off than colleagues who invested in traditional PBX solutions. "If I was to pick up the shop and put it three miles down the road, it wouldn't be a hard scenario to do. When I go to a second branch, Equinox will be able to manage it on the same number."

According to Equinox director Dave Millet, the actual cost of the telecoms service is important, but of just as much concern for accountants should be the hidden of cost of having the wrong sort of communications. "Whatever size your practice – superior communications are a key element to its success," he says.

The telephony market is moving so fast that many firms review their suppliers and set up what they think are good deals and then move on to more important issues. According to Millet, it pays to play closer attention to what's available. Another firm that Equinox helped had grown through acquisition and had several offices supported by multiple suppliers. Although the firm was convinced it had a good deal, Equinox did a detailed analysis of the type and duration of calls made and was able to broker a series of deals with network providers to reduce phone costs by almost 20% a year.

Every business should review its accounts every year – including accountancy practices, advises Millet, who offered to undertake free reviews for AccountingWEB.co.uk members. "Ignoring it for several years can have a detrimental impact on your business."

Further reading

• Focus on voice over internet protocol (VoIP)
• What you need to know about VoIP
  
• A small businessman's guide to VoIP
  
• What is VoIP and what are the benefits?