CPA Practice Advisor - 24

THE LEADERSHIP ADVISOR

Innovation for Small Firms
on a Budget
A GOOD PRACTICE for accounting firms of all sizes is to regularly assess your software
choices to see if you can identify upgrades to provide a better experience for customers
and increased productivity for team members. Swapping out one software for another may

AMY VETTER, CPA.CITP, CGMA

Mindful Technologist &
Keynote Speaker
@AmyVetterCPA

not feel like large-scale innovation, but it's one of the best methods you can add value to
your service offerings as a small firm on a budget. If your firm is one that finds it difficult to
innovate, if you feel like you're stuck in a rut, it's time to take another look at the technology
you're using, or not using.
A SOFTWARE-DRIVEN
PROFESSION
Accounting firms, like many businesses, use many different types of
software to accomplish their work.
When it comes to analyzing avenues
for improvement, you cannot tackle
everything at once. It's best to identify one or two types of software to
test in a given innovation cycle.
Rather than trying to cast a wide
net, instead thoroughly explore a
category to ensure you're making
the best decision. The quality of
the software you use affects client
satisfaction. As such, it's not a decision to be taken lightly.
A great starting point is asking
your team members which software
they find most cumbersome, or
which tasks they do create extra
time or duplication of effort. If
multiple folks pinpoint the same
software as the source of their
frustrations, that's probably the
first place to look for alternatives.
After all, the goal of technology is
to make your staff's jobs easier, not
harder.

EXPLORING YOUR
OPTIONS
A mistake you can make in selecting
and adopting a new software package is solely basing it on sales calls,

JULY 2019 ■

rather thoroughly going hands-on
and testing it. One piece of the
process is to review software based
on reviews or external opinions,
however; without testing with
your own clients or in your own
environment, you won't realize
its lacking in crucial features and
functionality.
When your firm has limited
time and resources, your best bet
is to choose a few software solutions
and either assign staff or take the
time yourself to test them over a
given period of time. You can budget
a testing period based on the software trial periods and subscription
fees you are willing to pay during
that time period so you can use that
time to make sure your decision is
the best one possible for your firm.

TESTING, INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL
The testing process is the most
important step in ensuring a software change is in fact an upgrade. A
quality testing system begins with
assigning dedicated staff or yourself
to work with the software. You don't
want team members trying to juggle
their regular workload with innovation assignments. A best practice is
to not only test it yourself, but test
the customer support you would

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eventually get if you become a
customer of that company. Try
calling in with questions and see
whether they tell you it's possible
to accomplish you want with their
technology or how responsive they
are to your needs.
Once you have familiarized
yourself with the software options,
it's time to bring clients into the
fold. Choose a small group of
trusted clients and demo the new
software with them. Let's say your
in the market for a new reporting
software. Present these new reports
or dashboards to a client and get
their feedback on them. Do they find
them more informative and easier
to understand than your previous
option? What else would they like
to see? What is it missing? You can
even send them multiple versions
of the same reports generated by
different software packages and ask
which they find most beneficial.
As you begin to narrow down
the option you think will serve
you best, begin getting everyone
who will use it involved. Foisting
adoption onto an entire staff in
one fell swoop can lead to confusion and frustration. Instead, bring
your team along for the ride so
they understand the why behind
the switch, and can provide their

feedback as well, so they will be onboard when you launch. Educating
your team in turn allows them to
explain benefits to clients.

MAKING THE MOST OF A
CHANGE
After taking the time to thoroughly
research and test options, you can
make the switch with confidence
and enthusiasm. If making this
change improves time spent on
menial task, it will create more time
to spend as a trusted advisor with
your clients, which provides new
ways for you to delight your clients.
Innovation may look different when you're at a small firm
compared to one with unlimited
R&D resources, but it is possible
on a limited budget, with the right
plan. ■

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