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How to build an accounting tech stack that solves today’s problems and sets you up for success

July 18, 2022

Your current accounting software may have served you well over the years, but as your business grew and evolved, has it kept up with your needs?

Many firms struggle to see where to start – whether it’s looking to improve core functions across practice management, tax, and reporting, or add new solutions to enable future growth.

Alan FitzGerald, tech agnostic accounting advisor at Practice Connections Advisory, says that there are five questions you can ask to determine whether your technology stack will support your future success. These are:

Is your technology helping your business to be more productive?
Are your clients benefitting from it?
Are updates to software seamless?
Is your IT spend dropping over time?
Is your tech freeing you up to work on your business growth?

If your answer to any of these questions was ‘no’, it’s probably time for you to review the technology underpinning your practice to ensure that it supports your business goals now, and into the future.

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Knowing when an issue is a red flag

In this e-book, titled Getting your tech right for today and tomorrow, FitzGerald, aka ‘The Software Whisperer’ outlines some of the steps involved in getting that review right, and shares the insights he’s obtained from helping a wide range of firms to do so.

“One indicator that your technology hasn’t kept up with the growth and evolution of your business is when you realise something appears to be wrong – often a previously unobserved issue crops up as circumstances change,” FitzGerald says.

“This could be a result of your business diversifying into different offerings, or from new requests or expectations coming from clients – which is a very common one – or if you’re suddenly losing clients for no obvious reason. These are all red flags.”

Building a tech stack that meets the needs of your future firm can seem a little overwhelming, but as FitzGerald points out in the e-book, “that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The solutions available to you are many and can assist in improving virtually every area of your business.”

FitzGerald highlights that one of the most important steps a firm can take is to review its organisational chart, update it if necessary, and consult widely, bringing in as many people from across the business as needed to provide input and feedback.

Software should solve today’s problems, but have an eye on tomorrow’s success

The e-book outlines many of the key questions to ask as a firm gets started with this process. These are designed to reveal the issues you’re trying to solve and give you greater clarity for when you begin to approach software providers.

It also covers some of the common areas firms will be looking at for their software solution, with some further questions to ask, and some suggestions of services to consider.

Focusing on solutions that will solve today’s problems is key, but keeping the future state of your firm front of mind is vital. “Ultimately you want to build a tech stack that will enable you to be the business you want to be tomorrow. Anticipate not only your businesses’ needs into the future, but those of your clients’ too,” FitzGerald says.

“Starting small can often be a wise approach. All solutions have a learning curve and running them in parallel with your old systems will take a lot of stress out of the process. Build competencies in one solution before moving on to the next.”

Download the e-book now, and don’t forget to check out our Efficiency Hub for more e-books, videos, and tools to help you work smarter, not harder.

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