Accounting firms manage multiple complex client projects at the same time. The scope of work for every client involves unique variables and details to their work, but each project involves streams of communication, documents attached to key decisions, and deadlines that must be met.
In addition to the juggling act of remaining up-to-date with every project and its intricacies, firms striving to scale need a way to maintain this level of accuracy and service when pushing beyond their normal project capacity. After all, no one wants to hire the juggler who will inevitably drop the balls.
We’ll discuss how accounting project management software provides the support accounting firms need to stay organized, focused, and aware of the many details that matter most to their clients.
Meeting Deadlines with Automated Task Tracking
Meeting deadlines is foundational for a successful accounting firm. Project management software provides automated real-time visibility into tasks, deadlines, and projects, helping your firm keep pace with every client.
In the case of Canopy’s Workflow Management module, accountants can assign specific due dates to tasks and projects, set up automated reminders and notifications, and track real-time progress to ensure every unique project is on schedule.
When teams remain informed of their responsibilities and due dates, it boosts client confidence and satisfaction and helps managers allocate human resources efficiently.
Managing Deliverables with Organized Workflows
Accounting project management software helps firms overcome the chaos of scattered emails and missing files so they can gain control of client deliverables like financial reports, audit documentation, and other important client data.
Accountants need an ever-present, comprehensive view of active client projects, task dependencies, and up-to-date information to stay organized and efficient. Project management software provides the structure needed to eliminate ambiguity so nothing important falls through the cracks.
Deliverables are managed with secure, centralized storage and sharing based on the proper credentials.
With the platform’s standardized processes, firms can focus on high-value tasks without taking their eyes off day-to-day details.
Streamlining Team Collaboration for Better Efficiency
Real-time collaboration makes it easy for firm members working on the same client projects to share relevant data from one step to the next. This helps teams avoid delays and bottlenecks from poor communication or lack of project details.
Firm-wide visibility allows every accountant working on a project to be notified regarding status updates and progress, helping coordinate decision-making and avoid unnecessary duplicate efforts.
Enhancing Client Communication and Accountability
Clients want transparency, consistent updates, and frictionless document uploads and downloads. Automating these updates and client follow-ups reduces the need for manual reminders, ensuring deadlines are met without the need for constant intervention.
By automating routine communications, firms can save time while keeping clients engaged and accountable.
Accounting firm project management software assists with client follow-ups and other communications with automated routines that save time and keep clients engaged and accountable.
Client portals provide a secure platform where clients and firms can share documents, request files, and process payments. Clients can view the status of their projects, download deliverables, and remain in control of their data. Now, it is easy and instantaneous to provide clients with invoices, files, and other data with the highest level of security and simultaneous ease of use.
Clients see regular updates as a sign of quality communication, which builds trust and helps form long-term relationships.
Ensuring Compliance and Reducing Risk with Smarter Workflows
Failure to comply with financial reporting standards, tax laws, or data protection regulations can easily become a compounding issue for accounting firms. Falling out of compliance comes with legal penalties, fines, new audits, and potential loss of public trust. The best way to remain compliant is to be proactive in managing each requirement.
Project management software doesn’t only provide you with visibility for client work and communications. It provides the secure storage, encryption, and account protections that safeguard client data and materials. Software also helps firms manage workflow for compliance-related tasks so regulatory deadlines remain on the team’s radar, including automated notifications and alerts.
Additionally, this software helps accountants manage regulations around document versions, so every document change or update is handled correctly, with complete records of version orders and accurate records for routine audit reports.
The Right Project Management Software for Your Firm
The right project management platform frees you from checklists and endless back-and-forth, letting you focus on delivering quality service.
This isn’t just vital for maintaining long-term client relationships. It’s equally important for firms looking to scale operations.
With the right project management platform, firms are able to reduce regulatory risk, boost efficiency, and give every client the attention they deserve.
A Glimpse at Success with Canopy
One of our clients, Unity Business Advisors, is a 25-year-old firm in Lynnwood, WA, with 15-18 team members and an additional outsourced team.
Unity faced the all-too-common struggle with outdated data management solutions that became increasingly cumbersome on the team’s path to growth. Insufficient project management translated into the inability to prioritize tasks, analyze workloads, and manage teams.
Canopy helped Unity clean things up with:
- Assignable team permissions
- Customizable workflows
- Job tracking
- Centralized document storage
- Communication tracking
- Client portal features
- Data analysis
After finally having the features Unity’s team so desperately needed, they saw significant improvements in efficiency, client communication, positive feedback, and onboarding and offboarding. Now, they also have the data analytics needed to keep tightening up processes.
Accounting firms choose Canopy because it is built for the exact process scenarios they face every day. Efficiency isn’t a generic term splashed across templated options: It’s a promise that comes from all the right features, leading to the benefits that help firms scale while providing the best service to clients.
Canopy’s all-in-one platform centralizes client management, document handling, and billing, integrating everything accounting firms need to maximize efficiency.
Ready to enhance client management with secure cloud storage, a powerful client portal, bulk messaging, and workflow automation for firm-wide visibility over all your client projects?
Start your free trial today!
