Automate Your Practice: A Guide For Accountants And Bookkeepers

In this day and age, most people are looking for ways to automate their lives as much as possible. The good news is that there are tools out there that can help you do just that - even when it comes to your work. This guide will show you how to use some of the most popular automation tools to make your accounting and bookkeeping practice more efficient.

Automation can save you time and money while helping you to avoid errors. In this guide, we'll discuss how you can automate your practice, from digitising your paper records to automating your accounting software. We'll also provide tips for getting started with automation and overcoming any challenges you may encounter.

As an accountant or bookkeeper, you likely wear many hats. You may be responsible for bookkeeping, preparing taxes, and other accounting tasks. Wouldn't it be great if there were a way to automate some of these processes? Luckily, there is! This blog post will discuss how you can use automation tools to make your job easier.

Are you tired of doing the same tasks over and over again? Are there aspects of your job that you would love to automate but don't know how? If so, this guide is for you. In it, we will show you how to automate your practice using some simple tools and techniques. We'll also provide tips on overcoming common obstacles.

There is no getting around it – bookkeeping and accounting can be tedious, time-consuming tasks. But with the right tools and automation in place, you can make these processes a lot more efficient and headache-free.

In this guide, we will show you how to automate your practice using various tools and services. So whether you are just starting or looking for ways to improve your current setup, read on for helpful tips and advice.

Let's get started!

It Doesn't Matter If You Stay Out Of It, Automation Will Change Accounting

Even though it has the potential to completely revolutionise businesses, the concept of workflow automation continues to baffle a significant number of people who work in the accounting field. This is despite the fact that workflow automation has been around for quite some time.

• Automation is most effective when used to jobs that are repetitive and involve transactions. This frees accountants from performing menial tasks and tasks with a low value-added contribution.

• It is not an IT project, nor is it solely the purview of a leader; rather, integrating automation or any other kind of digital transformation constitutes a fundamental shift in company operations.

• Automation does not in and of itself ensure success; you will still need to make investments in talents and, frequently, in a shift in culture.

In a matter of seconds, a robotic auditor may perform an analysis of millions of transactions, relationships, and trends. After that, it provides an interpretation of the results and highlights any findings that would be of interest to the auditing team. It completes the task in a matter of only seconds, when it could take an accountant many months.

Although PwC was the company that constructed him, it is essential to understand that automation is not just a solution for big businesses. Instead, cloud-based services give smaller and medium-sized businesses access to enterprise-level computing, which enables them to compete on an even playing field with larger businesses.

If it is properly implemented, it can also serve as an accelerator, expanding the capacity of the company while simultaneously lowering its operating costs. Workflow automation that has been properly implemented not only increases performance but also enables businesses to accomplish more with fewer resources, increase productivity, and carry out activities with greater precision and speed.

Automation not only frees up accountants' time but also allows them to focus on more valuable tasks, such as providing corporate advising services. According to research conducted by Xero, companies that provide added value to their clients through advisory services generate 25% more revenue than companies that do not provide such services. This research reveals the influence that this has on a company's bottom line.

If you choose to disregard the potential that automation presents, however, you run the risk of being outcompeted by rivals who have already taken advantage of those possibilities. Those that take advantage of automation will, to put it more succinctly, find themselves in a better position to focus on strengthening ties with their customers as well as other aspects of the business that are focused on human interaction and input.

Resistance to automation is not a new phenomenon, and it is inevitable that there will be obstacles; nevertheless, these can be circumvented. For instance, you can have the impression that you lack the capacity and competencies necessary to execute automation. You could also be dealing with problems caused by previous generations of technology or even societal opposition to change. However, this is something that is common among many businesses, and it is not a deal breaker if you prepare ahead adequately.

It is Common Knowledge that Accounting Software on the Desktop Is Going the Way of the Dodo

In the same way that the primitive token system was superseded by more sophisticated approaches, the traditional techniques of bookkeeping are currently going through a period of transition.

Especially now, when smartphones and other forms of mobile technology are becoming more user-friendly and widely available, proprietors of businesses of all sizes are moving more and more of their operations online. In addition, owners of businesses want to be able to access their accounts from any location in the world and on any device they choose.

Accounting is progressively becoming more automated thanks to the cloud-based accounting software provided by Xero. We are currently living in an age where there is less need for data entry or book balancing because offices are becoming paperless, mobile, and global. As a bookkeeper whose entire line of work has been based on entering data for the past several thousand years, the notion can be somewhat unsettling.

But it isn't necessarily the case.

Both the Books and the People Who Retain Them are Undergoing Transformations

The influence of cloud technology should not make bookkeepers afraid; rather, they should welcome it with open arms. Accounting done in the cloud is a lot more effective than traditional bookkeeping. It is not a portent of impending disaster for your company but rather a tool that may be utilised by you to improve your system.

Consider the implications. You can get any and all of the information that you require at any time, day or night. There is no need for either you or the client to print out reams of paper or go to different parts of the city in order to deliver the files. Your bookkeeping firm can be conducted from anywhere in the world, and you can serve customers located all over the world.

Accountants and bookkeepers do not have to pay anything to use Xero, and you do not need to worry about upgrading your licence whenever there is a change because that is all taken care of for you as part of your subscription. As a direct consequence of this, the money you have to spend on software will be cut down dramatically.

The client does not find the low monthly subscription charge to be difficult to handle. The automated bank feeds and rule-based reconciliation have made it possible for bookkeepers to reclaim a significant portion of the time that was previously spent on reconciliation tasks. Therefore, what do you plan to do with the remaining time?

To start, you might think about expanding your client base. More clients = more revenue. And that is always a cause for celebration. As a result of the recent economic downturn, an increasing number of people will want the services of a bookkeeper. This is particularly true of smaller businesses.

Because a person needs the financial understanding to understand what is happening with these systems, cloud-based accounting software will never eliminate the need for bookkeepers. The majority of business owners would rather hire someone who already possesses this knowledge rather than educate themselves on it themselves.

On the other hand, bookkeepers have the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities when they use cloud-based accounting. It is possible for the bookkeeper to expand their repertoire with a wide variety of additional services so long as they do not operate outside the boundaries that have been set for their company by the applicable legislation.

The bookkeeper is responsible for anything and everything pertaining to the company that involves a sale, payment, or invoice of any kind. Consider the additional services that you might be able to offer in the categories of payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, stock, point-of-sale, e-commerce, and so on. Helping your client become more productive and advising them on the most effective strategy to keep track of their information are the two most important aspects of this service.

Where Can Automation Change Things?

Automation is most effective when used to jobs that are repetitive and involve transactions. This frees accountants from performing menial tasks and tasks with a low value-added contribution. Workflow automation for accountants has thus far been implemented in the following four domains: client accounting, compliance, practise management, and advisory services.

In a field such as client accounting, one of the sources of annoyance can be alleviated simply by ensuring that the banking platforms and the accounting software are able to work together. In the past, accountants would pull data from their clients' systems (often Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, invoice books, etc.) and enter it into their own system. Alternatively, they would upload bank information and code it. This double counting is wasteful, prone to error, and a process that may stand to benefit greatly from being automated.

In a similar vein, there are a great deal of chances for automation in areas such as compliance to achieve efficiency improvements. This is because compliance is a significant amount of the work that accountants do.

Compliance can consume as much as 80 percent of an accountant's time. This represents a significant portion of their work, and it diverts their attention away from other responsibilities on which they would rather concentrate.

Making the switch to an automation solution is a significant step towards reaching optimal performance and establishing effective management of a practise. If you have a tool that allows you to see all of your customers at once, replicate information in a way that is accurate and secure across all of your processes, and eliminates the need for double handling, then you have the opportunity to expand your business or you will have more time for yourself.

There are already businesses who are thinking ahead who are capitalising on automation to provide services that are more focused on the customer. These companies are devoting more time and resources to their clients, doing in-depth data analyses, and providing actionable insights in order to maximise the positive influence they have on their customers.

What Is the Need for Automation?

The revolutionary effect that technology has had on society as a whole is at the heart of this movement, which has spread far beyond the realm of accounting alone.

Several members of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) stated that the need to gain a competitive advantage drives their organization's need to automate, which results in the organisation being more nimble and responsive. As the practise expands, it also helps to produce favourable returns on investment and keep cost growth under control thanks to this factor.

Increasing regulation, which calls for more operations that do not contribute to revenue, is another factor that supports automation. For example, the enquiry into the anti-money-laundering system in New Zealand uncovered the rise of a new set of technologies particularly geared at making compliance easier. These tools specifically attempt to ease the burden of maintaining compliance.

Your customers, just like consumers everywhere else, operate in a world where the quality of the customer experience is of utmost importance to their evaluation of the businesses with whom they do business.

In today's world, customers are expected to generalise their most positive findings to fit a variety of scenarios. In a similar vein, your customers anticipate that the process will be quicker, less complicated, and less difficult, and automation is essential to achieving this result.

What Potential Obstacles Exist?

There are always going to be difficulties associated with change.

The majority of difficulties associated with practice management can be attributed to change. It is a significant undertaking to alter a procedure and the way you run your practice. My recommendation is that you do not underestimate the change, that you plan the project thoroughly, and that you assign stakeholders to it. In addition to this, make sure that the team is kept completely informed. At this point, it is necessary to bring the team along on the trip.

Even if a partner may have been considering a change to the systems for some time, the team is frequently taken aback by the news. When we are taken aback, we have a tendency to become defensive and focus on the bad aspects of every situation. A good leader will articulate the desired outcome, discuss the benefits and drawbacks, and get input from their team. The most effective strategy is one that involves teamwork.

There are still openings despite the fact that the proliferation of an inventive ecosystem of developers has automated a significant number of accounting workflow operations.

There is no definitive answer to the question of whether you will be better served by an all-encompassing platform that excels at the majority of tasks or whether it will be more beneficial to take a best-of-breed approach to the many services you require. The appropriate answer for you is going to be determined by the specifics of your use case.

Where To Start

The incorporation of automation or any other type of digital transformation is not merely the purview of a leader or an information technology project. This is a significant paradigm change in the commercial world. Although the tech-focused leader plays a significant part in developing and implementing the plan, it is ultimately everyone's responsibility to adjust to the shift, and it is something that needs to be handled throughout the company. There are a few important points to take into consideration:

• Create comprehensive plans that include your goals, and seek advice from experienced people.
• Simply using more software or automating more processes will not necessarily result in improved outcomes; therefore, it is important to define a consistent set of success factors.
• Spend some time determining which solutions would work best for you and your customers, and be prepared to put in further effort to make sure they are compatible with one another.

Larger companies frequently benefit from the availability of dedicated technical resources. However, it is common for smaller and mid-tier enterprises, particularly fast-growth businesses, to discover that the best approach to make it happen is for one partner to take the lead. This partner will typically have a personal interest or background in the area being led.

Other accounting firms can reap benefits from collaborating with technology partners who have dedicated success managers on hand to guide them through the customer adoption journey and who have an understanding of the customer adoption journey.

When undergoing any kind of corporate transformation, it is absolutely essential to locate and conquer points of resistance. For instance, acknowledging that resistance to change is frequently rooted in personal concerns or the culture of an organisation rather than being motivated by technical considerations or business processes.

For instance, some partners may not want to cause a commotion within a company if things are going according to plan, especially if they are planning to go away from the company in the near future, whether for retirement or for some other reason. In such a scenario, the most effective course of action is to explain how automation boosts the value of the enterprises as assets, which is an obvious benefit for the businesses in question when they are wanting to cash out.

The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open and to fully explain the reasons for change as well as the impact on the stakeholders.

Possibilities for Cooperation Between Accountants and Bookkeepers

As a result of the fact that bookkeepers and accountants sometimes perceive each other's services as competitive rather than complimentary, there is occasionally friction between the two camps. However, if you establish a working partnership with a company that specialises in accountancy, you will be able to provide your customers with the advantages of both worlds.

A blog article was written by Xero and published on their website describing a collaborative partnership between a bookkeeper headquartered in Australia and an accounting business. The fact that she could trust that incoming information would be correct and completely reconciled was the primary advantage of working directly with bookkeepers. Because of this, the accounting firm is able to concentrate on the company's profits, cash flow, and overall growth.

When using the older desktop accounting systems, there was always a gap between the work that the bookkeeper and the accountant did. This gap frequently produced friction between the two parties because each considered their function as distinct from the other and did not communicate with the other.

However, if both parties are using Xero, then they are able to access all of the information at the same time. Furthermore, if WorkflowMax is added to the mix, then it means that collaboration and job tracks are made even more accessible.

The question now is: how should this relationship function? In most cases, the bookkeeper is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day accounting tasks, but in the event that any complex issues develop, the bookkeeper can defer to the accountant.

In most cases, accountants will focus their efforts on establishing new businesses, calculating depreciation, and optimising the results of tax filings. Bookkeepers are able to take care of any extra work that the accountant has and bring any difficulties that they discover to the attention of the accountant before the conclusion of the fiscal year.

Accountants and bookkeepers can also share resources in order to increase wealth for all parties involved. This can be done by producing leads together, finding new business, and referring clients to one another.

Through training, webinars, and the annual Xerocon conference, Xero actively promotes the idea that accountants and bookkeepers should collaborate on client projects.

But what if I'm not Interested in Changing?

You don't have to do that, do you? Nobody is making bookkeepers use cloud-based accounting software against their will.

The fact of the matter is that not all bookkeepers are eager to use technology that is located on the cloud. In addition, there are a significant number of customers who are of the same opinion.

There will be many business owners who are even more resistant to change than you are, and they will wish to continue utilising the same techniques they have been utilising for decades. If you are not interested in learning new technology, you should concentrate on delivering solutions related to bookkeeping for these customers.

Be aware, however, that those who have not yet adopted cloud computing represent a market that is in the process of contracting rapidly and that the earnings of their businesses are frequently decreasing.

Maybe it's time for you to give some attention to the reasons you're holding out against change. Is it because you believe you are too old to make changes to your company? Are you nervous because you're being forced to do something that's outside of your normal routine?

Do you ever feel like you can't keep up with all the new technology? If you were to educate yourself further on the capabilities of cloud-based accounting software, do you think you would come to a different conclusion? There is just one way to find out, and that is...

Setting Up Shop as a Consultant

What steps should you take if your customer wants to take charge of their own bookkeeping in order to reduce overhead costs? Customers and business owners alike are keeping a close eye on their spending habits as the ongoing economic downturn continues to be a primary consideration in many business choices. Their first method for reducing costs is to spend less on professional services like bookkeeping and similar activities.

Because a customer using cloud accounting can automate a significant portion of the process, they may start to assume that they do not need your assistance. In today's rapidly shifting environment, this presents the greatest challenge for bookkeepers.

However, you shouldn't automatically dismiss the possibility of working with that client. We are all aware that bookkeepers give value that extends beyond the mere act of data entry; nevertheless, the customer may be unaware of this. If you take the time to listen to their concerns, you may be able to come up with a solution that addresses both of your needs.

You may show them that it is more cost-effective for them to engage you rather than do the books themselves by calculating the cost of their time on an hourly basis and comparing it to your hourly fee. You could, for instance, utilise their financial records to show them where else in their company they can make cuts to save money. This would be in a different aspect of their firm.

They are going to need some training to grasp how the system works and what they need to do on a monthly basis with their accounts if they are truly bent on keeping their own books, but they are going to need that instruction either. Then, once the exercise is over, they could require continuous coaching as they navigate the complexities of the system. You, specifically, are the best person to deliver this training, aren't you?

Demonstrate to them ways in which they may improve the efficacy of their operations in other areas, possibly by implementing workflow management software such as WorkflowMax, which will both save them money and boost their output. For instance, a bookkeeper can be especially useful in the use of technology in a commercial setting. Show how valuable you are by giving further recommendations and suggestions.

Provide a service that is scaled back such that you are just responsible for a subset of the typical responsibilities and they take care of the rest. You might, for instance, offer to perform a monthly bank reconciliation or conduct a quarterly assessment of the company's bookkeeping. However, the cost to your client will be lower than it would be for your entire bookkeeping service because this will assist them spot problems before the end of the year. If a freelance bookkeeper just had this kind of job, it might be plenty to keep them busy.

This type of arrangement is suitable for your bottom line because your fee as a trainer and consultant should be at a higher rate than what you're charging for essential monthly bookkeeping services.

Steps Bookkeepers Should Take

Therefore, what steps can you do right away to assist in bringing about change within your company? If they want their bookkeeping businesses to expand and thrive in the years to come, bookkeepers should give some consideration right now to the following straightforward actions.

• Learn as much as you can about the technology. This requires you to become familiar with all of Xero's capabilities as well as its add-ons and the value that those features can bring to your customers. This includes putting the various available technologies to your own personal use, participating in all of your neighbourhood training sessions, making use of the various online training resources, and going to events like Xerocon.

• Gain knowledge from people who are considered to be thought leaders in the field of accounting and bookkeeping. Observing the actions of others and gaining insight into the thought processes behind their choices is one of the most effective ways to determine the path that your accounting firm will take in the years to come. You get the opportunity to participate in industry gatherings such as The Bookkeepers Summit and Xerocon, as well as study online case studies and blog postings. There are many excellent locations to begin, but some of the best include the Pure Bookkeeping Blog, The Freelance Bookkeeper Blog, and the Xero Blog.

• Determine your new product or service offers. The bookkeeper's job is evolving from one focused on data entry to one that emphasises data management. Think about the different kinds of services and bundles you could provide for your customers. Consider the areas in which you excel and are most interested, and ask your customers where they are experiencing the most difficulty in their businesses. For instance, you might be able to add value by providing software solutions to aid customers in managing payroll, e-commerce, and point-of-sale systems, or you might be able to support customers who want to handle their own accounting by providing monitoring services.

• Learn new skills. Examine your skill set carefully to identify any holes that would hinder you from supplying your new services (as decided in 3). Now is the time to begin educating yourself in order to become a company consultant and improve your IT abilities. At this vital time in the development of your company, it may also be quite advantageous to learn more about marketing your company, networking, and focusing on solutions rather than problems.

• Think about the different ways you may rebrand your company. For instance, are you planning to transition from the model of a bookkeeper to that of a vital business consultant? Keep in mind that "consultants" receive higher pay than bookkeepers; hence, you may choose to modify your branding in order to reflect the changes in your business model. You may find that you require the assistance of a branding agency, graphic designer, or copywriter at this stage of the process.

• Create new business partnerships that focus on collaboration. Many individuals and businesses provide overlapping services, such as those of accountants, tax agents, and business advisors for cloud computing, for example. Work together with these individuals to share resources, provide references, and provide each other with advice. Your company's success will be directly correlated to the strength of your network.

• Collaborate with the companies that provide the technology. Ensure that they will continue to offer the most effective software solutions for your customers. You are frequently the ones who are closest to the day-to-day operations of the firm, and as a result, you can provide useful insight into what they require.

Bookkeepers are currently operating in an exciting new environment; yet, this does not mean that their function is obsolete. Bookkeepers, on the other hand, are more important than they have ever been, but technology is shifting its function away from data entry and towards data management.

Bookkeepers have the opportunity to improve their efficiency, as well as their levels of productivity and profitability, by taking use of the new cloud-based technology made available by Xero. In addition, the fact that bookkeepers have information that they can share with business owners makes them a great source of advise, which is something that is always worth paying for.

Bookkeepers that have an entrepreneurial spirit are expanding their services to encompass broader consulting and are cooperating with accountants and other B2B services to get better results for their clients and themselves.

The practise of bookkeeping is not at all extinct; rather, it is only developing. The bookkeeper who is willing to work with others and make improvement will never be without a job.

How has the introduction of new technologies affected your bookkeeping business?