How tech tools can eliminate inefficiency and sharpen competitive edge

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Today’s accountants and tax professionals are operating in a fast-moving and demanding environment. Compliance requirements are changing all the time, client expectations around speed, value, and quality of service are on the rise, and maintaining healthy profit margins remains business-critical. Firms need to work smarter, delivering more for less and strengthening client relationships.

Tech solutions can help you meet these challenges and enable you to seize opportunities to gain a competitive edge. Armed with the right tools, you can develop accounting efficiency.

Cut out repetitive manual tasks

Entering the same information over and over again—when you onboard a new client, fill out different tax forms for various elements of their personal and business taxation, or even when you invoice them—is tedious and time-consuming. What if their details could be automatically populated in the right places as required each time, and all you need to do is check them and add anything new? That could be game-changing for your firm’s productivity.

When software tools are built around a centralised database, manually inputting everything afresh each time becomes a thing of the past. That database represents a single source of truth: a hub from which all your up-to-date information can be drawn.

Streamline accounts production and tax filings

By the same token, software solutions make doing calculations, preparing accounts, and submitting tax filings a much more streamlined process. As well as connecting to your centralised database, they should provide automated workflow features and compliance tasks to help you stay on top of all the steps and deadlines.

If they also allow a two-way flow of information to and from your bookkeeping software so you’ve always got real-time information at your fingertips, so much the better. Even more so, if they provide legislative and iXBRL-compliant financial reporting templates suitable for every industry sector and company structure, everything in the right format makes for easy, compliant filing to HMRC or Companies House.

Minimise human error

Having information centralised and processes automated and standardised not only saves time; it reduces the risk of mistakes creeping in, preventing people from inputting wrong or out-of-date information, which could lead to incorrect calculations, inaccurate filings, or missing something important. Instead, you can rest assured that everything is correct and consistent.

Communicate and collaborate with ease

Tech tools should not simply enable you to do a good job for clients – the best solutions allow you to up your game in terms of the overall customer service you provide. Now more than ever, clients like to be kept informed of status and progress of their tax matters. They want their accountancy and tax advisers to be both proactive and responsive in their communications. So software that provides clear, secure communications channels so that messages and updates are in one place, ensures everyone is on the same page.

Add more value to tax and accounting clients

Keeping clients happy doesn’t stop there. Clients also want their accountants to be trusted partners who deliver valuable business intelligence. The right tools can deliver rich insights into your client’s businesses that could save them money, and provide you with intelligent alerts about potential tax planning opportunities.

What’s more, by creating significant accounting efficiency gains in repetitive processes like data entry, your team will have more time to spend on complex or higher value activities. For example, they will be in a better position to give timely and valuable strategic advice, adding even more value to your client relationships.

Create business visibility

Technology delivers clearer oversight of your business, as well as your clients’ tax affairs. It lets you keep an eye on staff workloads to ensure no one is overburdened or that their skills are being under-used. It allows you to see whether matters are progressing as they should, and that all requirements are being met. It means you can manage invoicing and payments all in one place. Plus, it can help you spot where processes could be improved and where friction is occurring.

So, you’ve got the visibility you need to be confident your practice is running smoothly, effectively and profitably right now (or take appropriate action if it’s not), and make informed decisions for the future.

What’s the solution to drive accounting efficiency?

The Digita Professional Suite from Thomson Reuters covers all of this. It’s an integrated suite of software solutions built around a centralised database, designed to simplify personal and corporation tax requirements, streamline accounts production, deliver smart company secretarial services and facilitate practice management.

Comprehensive and versatile, the Digita Professional Suite has what it takes to save you significant amounts of time and reduce risk, and help you improve productivity and profitability, while enhancing the service and value you offer to your clients.

Learn more by reading customer FAQs, downloading our tax and accounting software brochure, or contacting us.