Bright Software Group was formed in September 2021, as a result of a merger between BrightPay, a leading provider of payroll and HR software solutions, and Relate Software, a leader in post-accounting and bookkeeping software. AccountancyManager joined the group in March 2022. 

Bright continues to grow rapidly across the board, and in the latest organisational development, the business has announced that Kevin McCallum will be taking over as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect, with current CEO Paul Byrne stepping up to the role of Founder Board Director. Kevin will now assume responsibility for Bright’s overall strategy and continued progression, Paul will continue to assist the team with his insight and experience in his new role.

Kevin McCallum comments: “Since joining Bright earlier this year, I’ve been consistently impressed by the whole team and our shared passion and vision for the future of the accounting industry. We have such talented people across the whole group, working to build, deliver and support our best-in-class software solutions, allowing us to become the go-to solution for the accounting industry across the UK & Ireland.”

“Having originally founded Thesaurus Software, a mere 32 years ago, it is hard to overstate the importance of Paul’s role in getting Bright to where we are today. So much of what makes Bright a great business to work with is down to Paul, as is the fantastic opportunity we now have to create something very special for our existing and future customers. I’m also delighted that Paul will continue to be involved with the business on an ongoing basis. Continue reading...

The quality of client interactions can make or break an accountancy firm, creating an initial level of trust that has the potential to form a strong working relationship on each side. First impressions count so the onboarding process is a critical stage that will set standards for both parties as to the level of service quality the client can expect going forward. 

Ensuring the transition from one accountancy practice to another will help build up a level of confidence in your business from the offset. 

What is the main goal of the client onboarding process in an accountancy practice?

By having this conversation early on, both parties have realistic expectations and have opened a door of communication. Luckily, with a proficient practice management tool, you can keep a log of services and client details all in one place to reduce stress.   

The benefits of a strong accounting client onboarding experience

• When a client is looking for an accountancy firm, they will be researching various solutions so acting quickly will ensure you don’t lose the business. Having a smooth client onboarding process will mean you can take on the new client in a confident and timely manner, with little stress on your end.

• By adapting to the modern work style you can enhance the onboarding process by adopting virtual solutions that will eliminate the need for physical visits. As well as reducing the hassle involved in the process, it allows you to broaden your client base to a wider demographic and is perfect for businesses that work remotely.

• The digital process is much more environmentally friendly and practical than more outdated methods. Instead of having to make notes which will need feeding back to other team members, having a tidy digital document can be shared with all necessary parties making the process more efficient.

• First impressions are key in forming a strong bond with your client, and a smooth accounting client onboarding process will help you do just that. As your clients get to know your employees on a one-on-one basis, working relationships will start to be formed.

Using AccountancyManager for your client onboarding process

.The onboarding process starts with your first interaction with your client (or prospect at this stage). When they make the initial enquiry, you can set them up in AccountancyManager as a prospect. Their details can be pulled automatically through Companies House with our built-in integration and you can use AccountancyManager to automate time-consuming processes such as setting up proposal letters and completing anti-money laundering checks. Once you’ve had the initial meeting and obtained all the information you require in order to quote, simply select the services you want to quote for, add in the fees you would charge and send the proposal email, which arrives as an email in your prospect’s inbox.  Continue reading...

Disagreements can arise from time to time with clients. Whether they’ve missed a tax payment or submitted a document that was never signed, it is your practice’s responsibility to ensure that the correct procedures were followed, every step of the way. 

Of course, it can be difficult to show written records for every single interaction with your clients, but doing so can help to protect your practice’s liability. With practice management software, tracking your clients’ activity no longer involves a heavily complex system that requires constant updating. Audit trails can track and record every piece of communication with your client in the background, so you don’t have to. 

Think of audit trails like insurance for your practice; they’re available when you need them and you’ll feel relieved you’ve got them when issues arise. Here are 5 key ways audit trails can protect your practice while streamlining communication with your clients: 

1.  View all client activity from one location 

As John Groves, former HMRC Tax Investigator stated, “It’s not very comfortable for an accountant to be sitting at a meeting with their client and a tax investigator and be given information which they thought never existed.” 

That’s why it is so important to have an efficient digital audit trail in place. It provides an extra layer of protection by tracking communication across your entire practice. Whether it’s emails, texts or calls from clients, they are all recorded and accounted for.   Continue reading...

You’re running a busy accountancy practice with a million things on your to-do list – between processing VAT returns and preparing accounts – the last thing you need to be doing is chasing clients for missing information.  

Writing repetitive emails and requesting records from clients that don’t reply can be frustrating. You might feel like you’re stuck in a never-ending merry-go-round. This isn’t why you decided to become an accountant, and it’s taking up all of your time. 

It’s important to remember that your clients are busy professionals too, who have their own businesses to run, and will need to be reminded of things such as their records, payment reminders or other details. 

However, reminding clients of tasks they need to take care of doesn’t have to take an inordinate amount of time. Practice management software can automate these tedious, time-consuming tasks for you, providing you with more space and clarity around the running of your practice. 

Let’s specifically take a look at how automated client emails and text messages can transform your practice, in a bit more detail. 

 1. Keep the same standard of service, without feeling pushy 

Having a healthy flow of communication with your clients is essential for any practice. However, this can become strained when deadlines are approaching, and payments are due. It can be difficult not to sound pushy.  Continue reading...

For accountancy firms looking to grow their business and streamline their day-to-day processes, practice management software is the solution that could enable you to do that. But what is practice management software? It’s software which can be adapted to an accounting firm in order to cut out those administrative tasks that fill up all of their time and allow the business owner and employees to manage all of their information in one central place.

With the ability to securely store all client information and use it to send automatic reminders, share documents through the portal, and communicate online, maintaining strong client relationships has never been as easy. The software will also make missed deadlines a thing of the past by automatically generating daily task lists to help employees manage their workload and provide assurance to the business owner that all deadlines will be met.

Although there are various different software out there, finding one which ticks all of the boxes is a different story. Knowing what practice management software is and being able to pick accordingly will improve the likelihood of business success, transforming outdated processes for good. A key thing to keep an eye out for is a cloud-based software which keeps all data securely backed up online and is GDPR compliant. By being able to access the practice management software wherever you are, businesses are able to minimise the worries of privacy breaches when employees are working remotely or logging on from new devices. Continue reading...

We’re delighted to let you know that AccountancyManager is joining the Bright Software Group (Bright), provider of the BrightPay payroll product, recognised for providing award-winning software to SMEs and accounting firms across the UK and Ireland.

James Byrne, co-founder of AM, will continue as a shareholder in the combined group and remain involved with the business as an advisor to the combined Board. 

Kevin McCallum, CEO of AM, will become Chief Operating Officer of the new, combined group as well as continuing to manage AM, working closely with Bright CEO, Paul Byrne. 

James Byrne, Co-Founder and Chair of AccountancyManager, comments, “AccountancyManager recently celebrated its fifth birthday, and I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve achieved in this time, for our team but equally importantly for our customers. As we go forward with the full support of Bright, I’m excited for the future of AccountancyManager, the additional capabilities and solutions we’ll be able to offer, and the genuinely positive impact we will be able to make.”

Paul Byrne, CEO of Bright, commented: “I have been very impressed with the product offering and the reputation of AccountancyManager, and I am delighted that they are joining forces with us. Our respective businesses share the same philosophy; placing the customer journey above all else. Together, we will be well-positioned to make that journey even better. I am also delighted to welcome Kevin and James to our highly talented leadership team.” Continue reading...

What’s happening?

On 24th March 2022, AccountancyManager was acquired by Bright Software Group (Bright), provider of the leading BrightPay payroll product.

Why Bright?

Bright was formed in September 2021 due to a merger between BrightPay, a leading provider of payroll and HR software solutions, and Relate software, a leader in post-accounting, practice management and bookkeeping software. Today, Bright’s leading software supports over 7,000 accounting practices and over 30,000 small to mid-sized businesses across Ireland and the UK, with a headcount of over 200 people. 

Bright is backed by Hg, a leading software investor with expertise in tax & accounting technology businesses and a strong track record of supporting companies to scale.

AccountancyManager and Bright share a common philosophy focused on serving customers above everything else. BrightPay and AccountancyManager are two of the highest-rated products used by the accounting profession and we believe that by joining forces we can continue to support our users to be more efficient and successful. 

What is the benefit of the acquisition for me?

By operating as part of Bright, we will have access to additional resources to continue to improve the products, services and support we provide to our customers.

How will development be affected by this? 

We can only foresee a positive impact on our development. Bright wants to help us grow and improve the software we provide. To achieve this we will be looking to invest further in our development team, which will enhance the output from the team.  Continue reading...

It’s official. We’ve only gone and won the 2021 AccountingWEB award for Practice Management Software of the Year.  

Although it feels weird to be celebrating an award win in February, we’re not complaining. Quite the opposite.

For us, awards aren’t just badges for the website or new bling for the office. They’re recognition – from our users and the industry – that we’re genuinely making a difference on a large scale. 

And what could be better than that? The fact that we obtain almost 50% of all votes in our category. 

Constant progress – and never forgetting where we’ve come from

AccountancyManager has evolved substantially over our first five years, both as a company and as a software. We’ve grown from two people (Co-Founders James and Alex) – building AM in the box-room of an accountancy practice – to over 30.  

Last year we welcomed Kevin McCallum and Kath Tenner as our new CEO and CFO respectively. Kevin and Kath bring a wealth of experience to the table, both having spent many years at FreeAgent. James Byrne is still very much involved as AM’s Chairman, while Alex Hawke continues as CTO.

2021 also saw us listed 33rd on Deloitte’s UK Fast 50 and 1st for the Midlands.

The software too, continues to evolve, with new features being added all the time. Last year saw lots of new integrations released and the much anticipated white labelling. This means practices can fully brand the Client Portal so it looks embedded into your website. It went down a storm. Continue reading...

Members of our newly rearranged managerial team took part in an interview with XU magazine all about the future of AccountancyManager. Here’s how it went:

JB – James Byrne – Chair 

JR – James Reilly – Product Lead

KM – Kevin McCallum –  CEO 

XU: We were excited to hear the news of AccountancyManager’s leadership team expanding! The appointment of Kevin McCallum as the new CEO is especially exciting and we’re sure our readers would love to learn more about him. 

JB: It is an exciting time as this appointment demonstrates our commitment to developing the business and our ambition to continue growing.  

XU: Tell us a little about your background – where were you before AM?

KM: I spent the last 11 years at FreeAgent, in the role of Chief Commercial Officer. In that time I was responsible for a number of different aspects of the business including setting up and managing the team supporting accountants using the FreeAgent platform, as well as the relationship with NatWest both sides of their acquisition of FreeAgent in 2018. I first moved into the technology space in 2001 when I joined Pegasus Software having worked in business banking with Bank of Scotland for a few years. 

XU: What experiences do you think will help in your new position as CEO? Continue reading...