Insights from an Accountant: Streamlining Your Firm's Operations

Accounting firms are under increasing pressure to maximize their resources. There’s a shortage in the talent pipeline complicating staffing and rising client expectations for always-available digital touch points. As a result, firms are trying to go above and beyond to avoid being seen as mere commodities. To stand out, accountants are putting greater emphasis on advisory services and strengthening client relationships.

It's a lot to manage, which is why the industry is so focused on efficiency to get it all done.

In a new webinar, Stacy Shrader, MBA, and Nayo Carter-Gray, EA, MBA, discuss how firms can enhance productivity in three key areas: administrative work, client touchpoints and taking on more engagements.

"The beauty of these three areas," says Shrader, "is that they all overlap, meaning changes in one area can positively impact your entire business."

Meet the Speakers

Nayo Carter-Gray is the owner and founder of First Step Accounting, which specializes in helping “hustle-preneurs” transition from full-time employment to full-time entrepreneurship. The firm’s goal is to make accounting “a little less taxing” for clients by helping them with accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, education and consulting services.

Stacy Shrader is the Progress® ShareFile® Lead Project Marketing Manager. She works closely with customers and product and development teams to make it possible that the next wave of ShareFile features directly solves customer needs and pain points.

Webinar Highlights

Shrader: In your own personal experiences and journey, can you share more about how you approach these three areas?

Carter-Gray: Admin work is the bane of our existence, right? It's the stuff we have to do to better serve our customers. I'm a big fan of trying to streamline everything. We use templates, checklists and basically the same general template for all the services we offer to all our clients. This helps when you know who you're talking to and working with and it keeps us from going outside of that scope.

It also helps us set up regularly scheduled touchpoints that can be automated in terms of communication. When we streamline all this admin work and those touchpoints, it means we can serve more clients because we have this system down pat. This approach allows us to increase our revenues, bring on more clients like the ones we love to serve and grow our team to continue this process over and over again.

Shrader: Why is focusing more on advisory work and creating more time for it crucial for firms?

Carter-Gray: Many of us can use software to create financial statement packages or prepare tax returns, but we can't do that effectively without understanding what's important to the client. This understanding helps create a long-lasting bond that retains clients for years. It's how they realize that our value isn't just in punching numbers into software, but in explaining where they are, where they could go and easing their fears.

The only way we can achieve this is by getting some of the admin work out of the way and focusing on the human behind the work. Once we're connected, the client tends to lock in. With AI here, we should utilize it to handle some of the admin work, allowing us to use our brains and emotions to connect with our clients in a much more meaningful way.

Shrader: You've done a lot to improve your firm's efficiency with automation. For firms just starting out, what are some practical steps to get going?

One thing I'm a big advocate for is focusing on the service that makes you the most money. This is where you'll see the biggest impact. Write out every step in the process, from how the client finds you to how the service is delivered. You'll discover ways to automate, delegate or eliminate tasks.

Shrader: What change have you made at First Step Accounting that has had the biggest impact on your clients’ experience overall?

Carter-Gray: Last year, we rolled out a welcome guide, which is like a one-page website with a video of me saying, “Hey, this is this year’s tax season.” It breaks down our process, includes links to all the tech we use, like ShareFile for uploading documents and provides resources on making payments and setting up payment plans.

We also send clients resources regularly, like tips on taking clear pictures of tax documents with their cell phones. This welcome guide really sets the timeline and stage for clients, giving them a go-to resource for any questions. Because of this [welcome guide], we got way fewer emails about taxes last year.

Shrader: A survey from AICPA found that about 70% of firms are increasing their tech investment to bridge the gap between efficiency and staffing challenges, especially with the current talent shortage. How has technology helped ease these challenges for you, Nayo?

Carter-Gray: I love technology but it can sometimes bog you down. As a solopreneur, I started freeing up my time with tech and now with a team, we continue to ensure our tech fits our needs. We test our processes yearly and make changes to improve client service, like getting things out the door sooner.

I look for mobile-friendly apps since our client base is getting younger. ShareFile, for example, has a mobile app that drew me to it. We show clients how to upload documents from their phones and set up email notifications for uploads, streamlining our processes.

Email is a big time suck, so we use a shared inbox with Missive, which allows us to manage emails in different buckets and use templates. This way, the team can share the workload and benefit from each other’s responses. We turn complex email responses into templates, saving time later.

When choosing apps, I focus on those that, one, share resources and, two, cut down time. Understanding what you need the app to do helps narrow down the options. Once you understand what it is you’re looking for that app to be able to do, then you can find apps that do that thing.

Shrader: Where’s a good place for firms to start improving how they service clients with tools, templates and automations?

Carter-Gray: I always say start with your clients. I know some of us are afraid to get feedback but I think our clients want us to succeed. Ask them, “How are we doing? We’re trying to get better.” Some will be brutally honest and you’ll learn a lot about your team, process or apps.

Utilizing client feedback to improve is always my go-to. We might think we’re crushing it, but it’s the clients who should tell us if we’re right. Keeping clients ahead of everything is crucial because they’re the ones bringing in business.

Next Steps

• Grab this free worksheet to log your processes and identify redundant and manual tasks
• Read this blog to understand the full breadth of workflow automation and how it can support other areas of your practice
• Check out the Income Tax Return solution to see if it can cut up to 4.25 hours off each client's tax return prep*

*This calculation is an estimate only based on internal research using current prices and is subject to change. ShareFile is not responsible for the content, results, or accuracy of the estimate information and actual results will vary.