Over the past months, the real and digital worlds have morphed into one.
And with the help of a whole range of technology solutions, it has been possible to bridge the digital divide and make it ‘virtually’ possible to sit at the same table as clients, colleagues, friends and family. These tools have become a lifeline as we all learn to cope with varied levels of restrictions across the globe.
The other day, I heard someone describe the countless technology solutions at play in the practice environment as ‘a patchwork quilt’ and there’s some truth in that. The more progressive accounting firms were in a good place when the pandemic hit with tools already in place to make the transition while others who had put off change, are still catching up.
At the end of last year, we hosted a Masterclass session with Jennifer Brazer, co-founder of one of America’s first fully completely cloud-based accounting services businesses. In ‘4 Practical Steps to Take your Firm Forward’ Jennifer explains how firms can add value every day with the use of tools that allow the firm to become fully digital.
For those that haven’t started on their own digital journey, the Masterclass offers some valuable hints and tips and Jennifer stresses that no one should be afraid of going digital. Having made the transition, she makes the point that it doesn’t have to be expensive and it’s perfectly okay to start small and build up.
To help make it simpler to work out where your firm is on its own digital journey, here are a few questions that you may want to consider:
1)What are your firm’s objectives for 2021?
- Grow my firm
- Protect my client base
- Communicate with clients to keep them closer
- Become more efficient
2)Where are you on your digital journey?
- Beginning our journey to the cloud
- Partially there
- Firm is fully digital run
3)If you are not on a digital journey, can you say why?
- We don’t understand it
- It’s going to be expensive
- I worry that we will lose control of the client relationship
- Concerns about data security
- Concerns about the work it will take to make the transition
4)How are you communicating with clients?
- We use email
- Through the client portal
- Through our own App
- Push notifications
- Add direct calling & SMS messages
5)What tools have you got in place?
- We have a client portal
- We use cloud accounting
- We have an App
- We use data collection tools
6)When it comes to digital implementation, what resources have you got?
- An internal team
- A tech champion
- External partner
- It’s all on me
Your answers to these questions will deliver valuable insight and help work out what you need to do to reach your goal. To help further, our Technical Director, Justin Mays, will be hosting a Technical Workshop on Tuesday 19th January at 3pm to demonstrate how firms can utilise technology to increase client engagement and position themselves as technically advanced.
With an increase in digital client engagement of 3623% (no, that’s not a typo) over the last lockdown, we believe there’s a better way of keeping your clients closer,
The workshop is designed for firms that are looking to increase the frequency and effectiveness of their client touchpoints over the coming months, without increasing their workload.
If you would like to attend please register here
Dan Richards
Business Development Director
