S P O N S O R E D
When it comes to the decision about whether to implement a practice management solution, accounting firm management teams and firm owners tend have one of three views:
- The implementation will be too difficult and time-consuming. The potential benefits don’t outweigh the perceived negatives, which enables the status quo to be maintained.
- We have a practice management solution but there are so many components and capabilities, we’re just going to use a small portion of the platform’s functionality because the idea of diving deeper into the platforms full capabilities is too overwhelming.
- Our practice management solution is a true source of data, client communication and workflow efficiency for our firm. We love it and reap its benefits fully.
Of course, if your firm is going to invest in a practice management solution, the goal is to ensure your leadership and teams share the third viewpoint. But what happens when your teams are not aligned? How can your firm arrive at a consensus and leverage the numerous benefits of a practice management solution? The key to the successful adoption of an effective practice management philosophy is to simplify the process by starting with your firm’s goals for adopting new technology.
Practice management goals must align with gains your firm wants to achieve.
In order to simplify practice management adoption and implementation for your firm, it’s key to identify the gains or outcomes you would like to see by doing so. Some examples might be:
- To automate routine tasks to free up valuable time to spend on strategic planning, business development or client advisory services.
- Centralize your client communications to make it easier to track the flow of information between your firm and your clients.
- Maximize and manage workflow efficiency and team collaboration.
- Put a robust task and project management system in place.
- Track key performance indicators such as workflow efficiency, staff capacity, and annual per client revenue and overall firm productivity.
These are just a few of the gains that a comprehensive practice management solution can help your firm achieve; however, identifying the ones that are most important to your firm is fundamental to success.
Once you identify the outcomes you want, you can then evaluate practice management solutions that will help those goals. But be prepared - selecting and implementing technology - like a practice management solution - not only facilitates the gains you prioritized at the start of your journey such as increased project efficiency and team productivity, better data visibility, and improved client communication, but also should heavily contribute to the profitability, growth and client experience of your firm. It’s a win-win scenario!
OfficeTools Cloud practice management software supports the key goals of firms that want to build better practices including automation efficiency, team alignment and providing an elevated client experience. Learn more by requesting a free trial of OfficeTools or by scheduling a demo for your accounting firm.
Make sure to register for the Insightful Accountant webinar with AbacusNext, "Achieving Balance in an Imbalanced World – Understanding the Accounting Practice Management Lifecycle" on June 24. You can register here.