AccountancyManager Archives - Page 5 of 8

Category: AccountancyManager (page 5 of 8)

Appy Wednesday

August 26, 2020

We’re delighted to be involved in Appacus’ Appy Wednesday – our opportunity to introduce ourselves to the Appacus Community.

AccountancyManager is a multi award-winning ‘Onboarding and Practice Management Software’ built by accountants, for accountants.

Why AccountancyManager (AM)?

AM has focused on building a solution right from the onboarding process, which includes automatically populated LoEs, e-signing, document storage, AML ID and Credit checks and client portal, right through to task management and client communication via email and text.

Our aim is to automate as many back-end processes as possible to alleviate the administrative burden.

To achieve this, you need to constantly be evolving…

Our development team is a busy bunch. They turn user feedback into features at an impressive speed – we’ve launched seven new releases in the last two months alone. All of our features are aimed at reducing your admin time to zero… because who has time for admin?

Here’s a quick round-up of the brand new features that have made us ‘appy in the last month.

Bring your credit checks in-house

We’ve added in-system individual and company credit checks, making AM your one-stop-shop for onboarding new clients.

Automate your VAT payment reminders

Our automation has been enhanced even further, so not only can AM send payment reminders for CT and SA tax, but it can now also send automatic VAT payment reminders. AM will chase your clients for you, so you needn’t lift a finger. Continue reading...

Automated client reminders – and new feature ‘VAT reminders’

July 29, 2020

The whole point of AccountancyManager is to take as much off your plate as possible, help you organise your practice and free up hours of time.

“The time saved with automatic chasing means that we have more time available for our clients.”
Sharon, review on Capterra

One of the main ways our users save considerable time is with automated record requests and reminders. First, AccountancyManager automates the process of gathering everything you need to complete your clients’ compliance jobs throughout the year. Then, if your clients don’t respond, AM will do all your chasing for you. Finally, once you’ve submitted the tax return, AccountancyManager will send reminders for your clients to pay their tax liability.

All without you lifting a finger.

New feature – remind clients to pay their VAT

As well as reminding your clients to pay their Self Assessment and Corporation Tax, AccountancyManager can now remind your clients to pay their VAT too. (Just one of 8 new features released over the last two months.)

1. Automated record requests

When you onboard a new client – or bring your clients over to AccountancyManager – our integration with Companies House populates your client’s details, accounting deadlines and period end dates in their client file. These dates control when your client is contacted for their records. So there’s no need to set dates manually. Continue reading...

We’re diving into the world of podcasts

July 17, 2020

From Peter Crouch to Louis Theroux, everyone’s got a podcast these days and we’re excited to be joining them.*

We could wow you with our knowledge of 80’s pop music or gardening, but sticking to what we know best, we’ll be shining some light on the issues facing accountants and bookkeepers right now.

Join our podcasts live – or listen later

Familiar faces from across the industry will join AM CEO, James Byrne. So bring a coffee and come armed with questions. We can’t predict the future, but together we can make it a bit less murky.

Tune in on Tuesday 28th July at 10am

James will be joined by Matt Flanagan of Appacus (see what he did there?). Matt is a cloud accounting and technology specialist, who has spent the last six years supporting accountants in their transition to cloud accounting. His advice is based on three elements: Knowledge, Process and Commerciality – ensuring accounting firms and their clients are getting the most out of cloud accounting.

To watch live on Zoom, sign up here or listen later by downloading the session from your preferred podcast provider. We’ve saved our first podcast with Simon Chaplin, also known as ‘SocksUpSimon’, in case you missed it: watch it here.

* For clarification, Crouch and Theroux may not be on our podcasts. Continue reading...

Client Timeline: A full history and audit trail for every client

July 14, 2020

Although it doesn’t seem like it at a glance (due to the uncluttered interface) there’s a lot going on in AccountancyManager. Automated emails and texts to your clients, tasks being completed by different people and information and documents flowing in and out of your practice daily.

“The amount of client information that you can enter – including details of any communication that has occured – is extremely useful.”

– Jennifer W, AccountancyManager review on Capterra

The overview pages for clients, tasks, time tracking and profitability give you high-level oversight, but what about tracking and recording your interactions with specific clients over time? That’s where the Client Timeline comes in. A much-appreciated feature as far as our existing users are concerned.

Record every interaction, change, document shared – and time spent

Client emails, texts and calls

The Client Timeline keeps a time-stamped record of every email and text your practice sends to your clients – and any reply emails and texts. Crucially, AccountancyManager will also record whether your client has opened your email.

Whenever you have a meeting or impromptu call, you can also capture a summary of items covered by entering it into your client’s timeline. This keeps everyone in your practice on the same page.

Changes to client details

All updates to the client’s details – whether made by a member of your team, your client or an integration – are tracked on the timeline. The entry will detail who made the change and whether the change was made by an integration like Companies House, Xero or FreeAgent. Your client can also change their details in their portal. Continue reading...

AccountancyManager: Bend it, shape it, any way you want it

July 6, 2020

We’re often asked ‘is AccountancyManager customisable?’ Think of AccountancyManager like play-doh. It may start off looking the same for everyone, but check back once they’ve added some personalisation and creative flair… Each system will be unique to each practice – and better than how it began.

“We’re often surprised by what our users create by using AM in their own way.”

– Rachel, Support Lead at AccountancyManager

When we say ‘it works out of the box’, that’s because AccountancyManager will work straight away. But when you tweak the system to suit your practice and processes, AM becomes all the more powerful.

“When you buy something ‘off the shelf’ it might work straight away, but you have to change your processes around it. The key is to customise your software around your existing workflows.”

– Matthew McConnell, Certax – Durham

Mould AccountancyManager to your practice

Once you’ve uploaded all your clients onto the system, the fun begins.

With every tweak you make, AccountancyManager transforms into your very own automation machine and X-ray goggles in one: automating your existing processes and opening up invaluable sight-lines across your practice.

“We only discovered AccountancyManager a week ago and already it has become the most fundamental part of our business. Internally we refer to it as the “Control Centre” of our operations.” Continue reading...

Automated task management – now with target dates

July 1, 2020

The kicker about time, is that it takes time to manage it. You write endless to-do lists, only to reshuffle them when things inevitably change or clients get back to you.

With everyone planning their time separately and following different processes, it’s impossible to keep track of job progress or guarantee that the correct procedures are being followed.

For practices using AccountancyManager (AM), the whole team’s time is managed for them. Using a combination of your clients’ accounting dates and deadlines you set yourself, AccountancyManager builds personalised, highly detailed task lists to keep you and your clients’ accounting on track.

Now set your own target dates

We’re excited to announce a significant new feature to AccountancyManager’s task management. Now, as well as external deadlines, you can also set internal deadlines. This gives you an extra level of control over your time and allows you to customise AccountancyManager to how your practice works.

“This will change people’s lives, I mean they may not call and tell their friends, but you know what I mean, this is big.”

– James Byrne, AccountancyManager CEO (on today’s team Zoom call)

How to use Target Dates

When you create a new Task or edit an automated Task, you set your ‘external’ Deadline and now, ‘internal’ Target Date. You can enter Target Dates manually or set them for each service based on either the period end or when you’ve updated the task to records received. Continue reading...

We talk mosh pits, brain chemistry, self-worth and curry

June 26, 2020

Following our first online panel discussion, we invited some of the brightest minds in mental health to join our host Rob Brown and AccountancyManager CEO, James Byrne.

As Rob reflected in his closing comments – “It’s been a bit vibrant and edgy and we don’t make any apologies for that, because this is life.”

Andrew Salkeld

Andrew Salkeld has two introductions. As we all do, if we’re honest.

First, he is a chartered accountant. He trained at PWC and specialised in corporate finance. “I worked on millions of pounds of transactions across the world,” he says “then I left practice, moved into industry and specialised in business intelligence.” Andrew is now an investor, co-owner and director at a small startup in Leeds.

“…And that all sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?” he admits, “Sounds like I’ve got it all sorted?”

Then comes introduction number two. “So my name is Andy. I live with depression. I have been suicidal at three points in my life. I spend most days trying to figure out what happened, how it happened and where I’ve gone wrong.”

Live a life by happiness, not a life by numbers

Andy was on the partner track after following a life dictated by a familiar external measurement. “You’re born at time zero, start school at four, choose GCSEs at 14, A-levels at 16, become an adult at 18. (I still don’t feel I’ve reached that at almost twice that age.) Buy your first home around 27. Get married at 28. Have your first child at 29. Start your first management position at 30. Start your first leadership position at 42…” Continue reading...

Transform client processes for future success

June 25, 2020

With lockdown restrictions starting to ease, what will the future look like and what part will technology play. AccountancyManager has been working in partnership with Alternative Events to deliver a series of Accountancy Hangout sessions. In our recent session the discussion focused on what’s next for the accountancy practice as we delve into how we retain the new ways of working and the momentum that has gathered, and look at what is essential when it comes to supporting both employees and clients in this journey.

The starting point of most discussions at the Hangouts is employees

How best to support employees and make them as efficient as possible in their work environment. And as the country moves towards re-opening the office, the debate is no different. Office safety and social distancing measures dictate a reduced office capacity, which for Andrew Yearsley, Chief Technology Officer at Bishop Fleming is around 20-30% capacity of their workforce in the office at any one time, compared to 80-90% previously.

So with the majority of staff having to work outside the office environment, employee productivity becomes a focus. Sisi Lagrem, Director, Advisory & Transactions, Financial Services Sector, CBRE, shared the survey statistics that 93% of employees felt more productive working from home. And when looked at from the perspective of the practice, there was equal confidence in employee effectiveness. This was backed up by the Hangout audience, who when polled on the question of how essential it is to return to the office to operate efficiently, the majority of 63% stated that it is not crucial and that staff will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future. Continue reading...

Are these the cheapest AML and credit checks around?

June 16, 2020

We’re always listening to our customers, but over the last few months we’ve dialled our speakers up to 11.

AccountancyManager users have been: telling us about their lockdown lives, requesting new features (in our new user group webinars) and asking – in no uncertain terms – for cheaper AML and credit checks. But we went a little further, reducing the price and releasing a new feature: in-system, one-click credit screens.

New price: AML checks now from £1.25 each

Now, thanks to the AccountancyManager community, when you buy 500 anti-money laundering identification checks through AccountancyManager, each check will cost you just £1.25.

Our pricing works on a sliding scale, so if you don’t need 500 checks, AccountancyManager still comes in at the cheapest price we’ve found for 110 checks – at £1.95 per check. PLUS (it’s a big plus), your credits can be used for both AML/ID checks and credit screens.

AccountancyManager's AML and Credit Screen pricing - sliding scale

In this example, 155 credits cost £1.50 each – £232.50 +VAT total.

How do these prices compare?

Current prices for AML ID checks:

Veriphy: £4.00

AMLCC: £3.00

Senta: £2.80

TaxCalc: £2.00 (in bulk)

AccountancyManager: £1.25 (in bulk)

New feature: Carry out credit screens in AccountancyManager

We’ve also just launched in-system credit checks for individuals. So now you can complete your KYC due diligence when onboarding new clients – all in one place.

Credit checks in AccountancyManager are the same price as AML ID checks, so the credits you purchase can be used for either type of check. Credit checks for companies will be coming soon. Continue reading...

Automated emails and texts: Save hours, weeks, months of time

June 11, 2020

You probably didn’t go into accountancy to write the same client emails over and over again – or endlessly chase for responses. You might be thinking, ‘A 10-minute email? That’s no big deal.’ But let’s do a quick calculation…

Take one client. They are VAT registered, complete self assessments and pay PAYE – on top of the usual submissions and ongoing bookkeeping. Let’s put some rose-tinted glasses on and assume you never have to chase them (ha!).

You’re spending months – maybe years – just writing emails

If you have 20 clients, that’s 613 hours a year (77 8-hour days). If your practice has 300 clients you’re looking at over 9,000 hours across the firm. That’s over a year just writing emails. And remember, this doesn’t include the time spent chasing them or checking whether they’ve replied.

You might equate this to extra time for your team, or replacing the need for one whole staff member. Either way, that’s 9,000 hours which practices already automating their admin, aren’t having to spend.

Gather everything you need – without lifting a finger

When you automate all requests for client records, signatures and payments, quite a few time-consuming jobs are taken off your plate: Keeping track of each client’s accounting dates, writing repetitive emails and chasing clients.

Hit every deadline

Your clients’ accounting dates are pulled through the Companies House integration and you can enter any others manually. When a task reaches its period end date, this will trigger the automatic request for that particular service. As well as controlling client emails, these dates manage your team’s daily task lists. Continue reading...

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