Is it recommended for a start-up to implement Accountancy Manager from the start or is it better to wait until client base has built to 20-25+?
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Hi there
Although you can start using AccountancyManager at any time it would be perfect to use AccountancyManager from the beginning. At this stage, you’re likely to be onboarding new clients frequently as you build up your portfolio. AccountancyManager makes onboarding new clients a quick and efficient process so having the system in place from the start will save you significant time.
Going forward using AccountancyManager will ensure your running the practice in the most efficient way, leaving you more time to focus on developing your business and servicing your clients.
Please feel free to give us a call to discuss this further (01926 355 366).
It may be biased but it is also true. I am an AM customer, but wish it had been around when I started out, as we had to implement so many systems to pull together onboarding clients, and the process is so simple with AM, especially for limited companies where you can pull in data directly from Companies House. Just do it, it will be scaleable for your practice for a long while into the future, so is an investment in the future of your business.
We've been toying with AM (similar to iris package) the moment we started 3 years ago. Now we're nearly at 200 clients and still using Excel trackers.
Combination of spreadsheet, big white board and outlook calendar works well for us. So far the team of 2 + payroll person and we not once missed any deadline, failed to submit cs01 or missed a tax return. It's all about having a good process.
If there is only one of you, do you really need it? Only you can answer that. You’d be paying more for AM than you will for your tax and accounts prep software combined, but only you can decide how important that is to you. Most startup firms manage fine without but some like the comfort blanket. You’ll get very mixed responses here but only you know what works for you.
If I could go back in time and do one thing differently when I started my practice 8 years ago, it would be to get a good management system like AM or Senta from the very start.
As someone put it once, the human brain makes a lousy filing cabinet. Dump the info and deadlines into one good system from the very beginning.
And they come with the nice little extras like digital signing etc.
Trust me, putting a system in place years down the line is a pain in the proverbial.
Using different systems and trying to remember everything, coupled together with helping with the furlough scheme process caused me to have a seizure 7 weeks ago. Checks revealed nothing wrong just probably stress. Will be sorting AM out once things have calmed down...Can't go on like this..
Sorry to hear about that, and I hope you manage to take some of the pressure off of yourself.
The low level but almost constant stress that we, and many others, have been under for a consistent period now is a very unhealthy thing.
I know what you mean. Fingers crossed the stress has not yet impacted too directly on my health but the stress we are under during Covid is huge. Just remember, you are not alone in feeling this way. If one more person tells me how lovely it is to be furloughed and have the summer off I may just scream. One such person looked very surprised when I said we were snowed under until I asked her who she thought was running these payrolls that were giving her such a nice summer.
I know what you mean. Fingers crossed the stress has not yet impacted too directly on my health but the stress we are under during Covid is huge. Just remember, you are not alone in feeling this way. If one more person tells me how lovely it is to be furloughed and have the summer off I may just scream. One such person looked very surprised when I said we were snowed under until I asked her who she thought was running these payrolls that were giving her such a nice summer.
Definitely use AM (or similar) from the beginning. We started years ago and developed various tracking and development spreadsheets over the years. When we moved to AM it made everything so much smoother and more efficient. It will be so much easier to start with AM rather than spend time developing your own ways and then converting to a package later.
I would suggest that you have a good look at all the CRM and dont just plug for the first one. We use Santa because although it took longer to set up it is very very flexible.
I too wished I had use a CRM from day 1. I believe it is around £29 per user per month.
We used spreadsheerts etc in the past and they let us down
Don't bother if you have less than 20 clients, you are paying for nothing. A good spreadsheet at the beginning
Once you get to 20-30 clients and deadlines become difficult to track then yes
But why all the recommendations for Accountancy manager, there are other systems out there.
We use Senta. I trialled accountancy manager, but opted for Senta as it was more configurable
I would recommend that you set up from the start.
This will enable you to grow quicker without the systems changeover costs later on.
AccountancyManager is also a great time saver.
I couldnt get on with AM maybe I need to try it again, I thought Senta was better as it was more intuitive.
Although I wonder how much could be covered by say TaxCalcs etc offerings.
I agree that some sort of management of deadlines is good. I am sole trader and managed with a simple spreadsheet system at first but have since used the management functions of my professional accounts suite. I currently use TaxCalc for accounts and tax etc and the practice management module is more than enough for my needs. Being integrated is also updates so when a tax return is filed the practice manager is updated, when a client signs something I am notified all in one place.
I would say go with a integrated system from day one, if you intend you to grow your practice to anything more than a handful of clients. I have worked in several large firms who still run spreadsheets as controls years after they thought they would just start with them and then get something later. They just become unreliable and unwieldy. Having a central system that controls all of your client information and deadlines is worth it. Whether Accountancy Manager is the right for you is down to your individual requirements. Take a look at FibreCRM, Xero Practice Manager, they are decent top and bottom end alternatives.