may2021 - 8

FROM THE TRENCHES
CLIENT EXPERIENCE FOR TODAY -
PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
FOR TODAY
HAS YOUR PRACTICE evolved to a new way of working, or are you doing things pretty
much as you did a decade or more ago? Through the years, I have tried to show you a
safe way to upgrade your practice tools with technology while still serving your client
well and making a profitable living. If you have left your practice management system
alone, it is time to upgrade to benefit from and enjoy the improvements available from
these platforms.
During the pandemic period,
many of your firms didn't make
a lot of changes. That was understandable.
You had plenty to do
supporting clients. The tax season
was disrupted with extensions,
PPP support, and other activities.
Not to mention that many of you
worked at home for the first time
while others of you carried on in
the office, treating your practice
and team as essential. While I pause
to remember the many CPAs who
succumbed to COVID-19, and the
many long-haulers suffering from
the after-effects, it is a blessing to
have many in the U.S. population
vaccinated at this time. We have a
pathway for normality. This year
is a great year to tackle practice
management to prepare your firm
for the future.
The pandemic provided me with
time to review products in-depth
that I hadn't enjoyed in years. While
every month and almost every week
gives me a chance to review new
products, I have reviewed products
at a pace unparalleled in my career
for that past year. In my previous
two columns, we've been speaking
about portals and collaboration.
These are just two components of
a complete practice management
system. The other components
include time and billing, document
management, workflow, due date
monitoring, staff management,
and management reporting. The
idea, of course, is to control the
practice while managing resources
effectively.
HOW DO WE PICK A
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM THAT MATCHES
OUR FUTURE?
What do you want from your
Practice Management
system?
Control? Visibility? Time & Billing?
Management Reporting? Integration
to Other Systems? Microsoft 365 /
Google Workplace (formerly G Suite
Integration? Business Development/
CRM? AutoPay? Due Date Monitoring?
Yes, all of these and more? Are
you getting what you want and need
from your existing practice management
system? Do you see a future
We have a pathway for normality.
This year is a great year to tackle
practice management to prepare
your firm for the future.
8 MAY 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
RANDY JOHNSTON
EVP & Partner
K2 Enterprises &
CEO of Network Management Group, Inc.
randy.johnston@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@RPJohnston
vision from your preferred publisher
that matches your future vision?
Does your practice management
tool support your service offerings
effectively?
As the year progresses, we
will cover tools to help us serve
clients better in specialties such as
Advisory Services, Client Accounting
Services (CAS), in addition to
traditional tax and audit. Further,
we'll look at new tools you need
in your practice like Corvee for
simple, sophisticated tax planning
or Ledgible powered by Verady
that
supports
cryptocurrency
valuation on a tax return. We'll
be covering many of these tools in
our Technology Lab Podcast (https://
cpapracticeadvisor.com/21222848),
including several of the practice
management systems named below.
We have already covered some CAS
tools in The Technology Lab Podcast.
For example, QuickBooks Online,
Fathom, Bill.com, SmartVault, and
OnPay are five silos of applications
that can work together to create a
single CAS solution. Several entities
have tried to help specify the tools
to build a CAS practice, like AccountantsWorld's
90-day practice guide,
the Woodard Institute, RootWorks,
Xero, or CPA.com's CAS certificate.
But many of you need to prepare
https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/21222848 https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/21222848 http://www.Bill.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
may2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of may2021
