Running a successful accounting firm can leave you feeling like you’re drowning in details with limited time to focus on the big picture.
Even if you can juggle multiple clients and projects without missing a beat now, overwhelm can set in over time if you’re missing the proper tools to manage your client work. One of the most important tools in today’s digital business climate is software.
But should you go with software that’s built specifically for accounting?
Rather than considering industry software alone, we recommend looking at platforms that are built to meet the unique needs of a client-based business. That means thinking about functionalities that connect each stage of the client journey. Here, we’ll talk about one of those stages.
You probably already use at least one platform, such as a CRM or tax software for accountants, but you may be missing a core technology function for your industry: project management.
No matter how your firm is structured or what specific services you offer, the right project management tool can help your team move seamlessly from onboarding a new client to completing their work and communicating with them about project status.
Let’s discuss:
Client work is the crux of your accounting business, and you’ve been successfully managing client projects since day one. But as your business grows and your client list expands, that work can become too daunting and inefficient to do manually.
In the accounting world, the smallest details are crucial, and you can’t afford to commit unintentional errors that negatively impact those relationships you’ve worked so hard to build.
Embracing tech solutions to assist with project management can streamline your existing business processes, therefore boosting efficiency, reducing human error and supporting your business’s growth.
Whether you’re seeking a better way to manage mounting tasks, improve collaboration across dispersed teams or gain insight into the work your team is doing, project management software can help.
With the right tool in place, you’ll be able to:
If you’re ready to transform your accounting firm, here are some of the best project management platforms to consider adding to your tech stack.
Accelo is a cloud-based client work management platform designed to help professional services firms, including accounting firms, manage client relationships from prospect to payment. The platform provides customizable solutions to expand visibility, improve collaboration and increase profits.
➡ READ MORE ABOUT WHAT ACCOUNTING FIRMS ARE SAYING ABOUT ACCELO
Asana is a work management platform built to help teams organize, assign and track projects. With its templates, automation and reporting tools, team members can use the platform to manage their individual tasks, collaborate across projects and improve visibility into project progress.
➡ LEARN ABOUT THE CORE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACCELO AND ASANA
ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform where teams can plan, organize and collaborate on work using tasks, Docs, Chat, Goals, Whiteboards and more. The customizable platform can fit the needs of teams of all types and sizes.
➡ COMPARE THE FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF ACCELO VS. CLICKUP
Sage Intacct is a cloud-based accounting software with planning and automation tools to streamline your business processes. The platform helps businesses manage projects, resources and budgets and increase visibility. It can function as an ERP software connecting multiple entities.
➡ READ WHY ONE YOUNG ACCOUNTING FIRM INVESTED IN ACCELO
Trello is a visual collaboration tool built on the Kanban framework that offers teams a shared platform to manage work, build projects and track progress. Because of its flexibility, the platform can meet the needs of multiple industries and work styles, and it offers more than 200 integrations to connect to other tools.
➡ DISCOVER WHY ACCELO’S REPORTS WERE KEY FOR ONE TAX CONSULTANCY
While assigning tasks appears to be a simple enough job in the early days of running a business, it can become overwhelming when you have a long list of clients and a full menu of services. If task management has become a primary responsibility for your project managers, it’s time to free them up and allow them to put their efforts toward more profitable work.
Ideally, the software you choose will help your team consolidate, manage and properly assign tasks with as little effort as possible.
Automating task management via a tech tool built for professional services can make true resource management achievable.
➡ WORRIED ABOUT THE CHANGE? PREP YOUR TEAM FOR NEW SOFTWARE
To track your individual contributors’ workloads and properly assign tasks, you’ll want to accurately collect data about what they’re working on — and for how long.
Only a couple of the platforms mentioned above offer what we consider to be an essential feature of a good project management platform: time tracking. For the employees whose time is billable, time tracking is key to gaining accurate insights into your business’s profitability.
A great time tracking software should:
When time tracking is integrated with your project management platform, your employees won’t have to waste time logging in to a separate tool to complete time logs. Choosing a solution with automated time tracking — such as Accelo’s convenient timers — make this process far more effective than going the manual route.
From a leadership perspective, the data that comes from accurately tracking time is priceless. You can use insights about your team’s time to make key decisions about hiring, training, bringing on new clients or expanding your services without guessing.
➡ SEE HOW ONE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE CONSULTANCY BECAME DATA-DRIVEN
The benefits of project management software on your internal communications and operations are likely apparent, but the positive effects of new tech adoption can also trickle down to your clients.
When you get organized about project management and tighten up workflows using project accounting software, your team will have:
In turn, your clients experience:
Furthermore, if you choose a platform with a client portal, you can make communicating with clients and uploading documents much simpler. As you know, the value of this simplification cannot be overstated when you’re bogged down during tax season.
➡ SEE HOW ONE ACCOUNTING FIRM SIMPLIFIED TAX SEASON WITH ACCELO
Finding the best project management software for your firm will depend on the unique needs of your team. The above list is just a getting-started guide.
Take time now to decide what problems you need to solve in terms of project management and dig a little deeper into how each platform can help.
Determine if your accounting firm needs a tool to do more than simple project management — if you’re ready to fully streamline your client journey from prospect to payment, Accelo’s client work management software could be a great choice.
See what Accelo can do for you by requesting a demo.