CPA Practice Advisor - 8

REVIEW: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

By Mary
Girsch-Bock

Reduce Manual Data Entry

*WITH VENDOR'S OWN PRODUCTS

8

MAY 2020 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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Mary Girsch-Bock is a freelance writer
specializing in business and technology
issues and is the author of her first book,
several HR handbooks, training manuals,
and other in-house publications. She can
be reached at mary.girschbock@cpapracticeadvisor.com

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Coreration w
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Help
/S u p
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application you choose to purchase.
Does the product you're interested in
offer good integration options with
the accounting software your firm
currently uses?
Of course, some of these features
are likely more important to you than
others, which is why we've included
them all in the chart.
Whether your firm has 10 clients,
or 1,000, practice management software is a must. Check out the reviews
in this issue, download a few product
trials and see which practice management software application is right for
your firm. ■

Man
a
Repo gemen t
rts

s
kflow
Wo r

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CR M

CANOPY PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
EMPIRE SUITE FROM WSG
OFFICETOOLS CLOUD/OFFICETOOLS WORKSPACE
THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICE CS
WOLTERS KLUWER CCH AXCESS & PROSYSTEM FX
XERO PRACTICE MANAGER

Time
Trac & Expen
k ing
se

Other solid practice management
applications available include BQE Core
and AccountantsWorld Practice Relief,
which were recently reviewed in our
Time & Billing reviews.
As always, we have included a
handy chart that clearly displays
some of the most important features
available in practice management

ds

In this issue, we took a look at several practice management applications
that can certainly make your life, and
the life of your employees, much easier.
The products reviewed include: (click
to read reviews)
■ Canopy Practice Management
■ Empire Suite from WSG
■ Off iceTools Cloud /Off iceTools
WorkSpace
■ Thomson Reuters Practice CS
■ Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess Practice/
ProSystem fx Practice
■ Xero Practice Manager

Rem
o
A c c e t e /C l o u d
ssib
ilit y
Mob
i
Avai le Apps
lable

Practice management applications also help managers better track
employee time, ensure that tasks
assigned are completed on a timely
basis, and handle work in progress
(WIP) billing, so you can bill today for
work completed while billing for the
rest at a later date.
While traditionally time and billing
has been the backbone of most practice
management applications, today, most
practice management applications also
include CRM, project management,
and financial management modules
as well, providing firms with an allin-one solution that allows easy client
management, time and billing, and
complete integration with accounting
applications. In many cases these
applications also provide managers
with vital information on employee
productivity and efficiency so they are
able to determine just how profitable a
job or a client actually is.

boar

amount of manual data that needs to be entered.

Dash

help firms manage clients proactively, while reducing the

icing

process, practice management applications today can

I nvo

with clients, and automate the entire time and billing

g&

firms manage workflow, maintain steady communication

Billin

from practice management software. Designed to help

applications. These features
include:
■ Deployment options: Is
the application available
on the cloud, as a SaaS
appl icat ion or as an
on-premise application?
■ Mobile apps: Does the
application include a
mobile app for both iOS
and Android devices?
■ Time tracking methods: Does the
application include timesheet entry?
Are timers available for immediate
tracking? Can you track time from
your cell phone?
■ Invoicing: Invoicing may be one of
the most important components in
a practice management application.
Does the product offer easy invoicing
capability? Can you create custom
invoices?
■ Dashboards: Dashboards certainly
make system navigation easier;
providing you with details about your
practice while providing a centralized
location to navigate from. Does the
application include dashboards?
■ Workflows: For larger firms with
more clients and more staff, having
workflow solutions in place can help to
ensure that project tasks are properly
assigned.
■ Integration: Integration can be an
important component of any software

Au t o
m
Time atic
rs

TODAY, EVEN THE smallest accounting firms could benefit

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http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
CPA Practice Advisor

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