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As a business owner, you are constantly asking questions and it almost seems like each answer leads to even more questions. It is exciting and you enjoy learning all kinds of things that move your business forward and help you to become better prepared to put out any fires that spark. Workflow software for accountants provides many tools that can give your business the organization and improved efficiency to prepare not just you but also your employees keep delivering the level of service your clients expect, or better.

  1. Know Your Strengths

The best way to be prepared is to know where your weaknesses lie so that you know where the problems might turn up. These areas should not even be considered weaknesses, more so areas to improve. View each thing you find as a problem you have pre-solved. Workflow software for accountants gives you reports on these areas that show you how they are progressing and if your programs for improvement are working. Through these reports, you’ll be able to learn if there is more you can do or if the system’s you’ve put into place are doing what they should.

  1. Learn More about Your Clients

Being prepared means knowing the needs of your clients and you can do this by knowing who they are, knowing their files backward and forward (using client management software really helps!). As soon as you install your workflow software for accountants, upload your client files and go through them. Make sure they are complete and if they are not, you can correspond with your clients in a congenial manner. If you haven’t spoken to them in awhile or they’re clients that don’t come in often, that’s no reason not to keep in touch. Let them know you are there and that you care about their needs so that when the time comes when they need an accountant, you’ll be the one they think of.

  1. Involve Your Employees

Any change, even one of reorganization should involve your employees as much as possible. It can be tempting to leave people out of things while you’re trying to get a handle on what you’re doing but if you involve everyone, you can delegate and use the tools of your workflow software for accountants to make task lists and track their progress. All training is a learning process so you have to be positive and teach instead of reprimand during the time you’re changing the way things work.

  1. Rearrange the Furniture

Workflow software for accountants might improve your organization and prepare you for anything inside your computers and within your client files but it will all look even better if your physical offices reflect these improvements. Take a good long viewing of the layout of your office. How easy is it for you and your employees to get around? What might your clients think when they see the place for the first time? Consider safety as well during this assessment. Do you have a fire safety plan? Is the office too cluttered to move around without getting hurt? Take this time to see if there are changes that can be made that look good and improve safety.

  1. Utilize Social Media

Reach out to your clients after you’ve organized all of your files using your social media pages. These platforms give you free advertising and ways to see where you can make clients happier through the ways they interact with and comment on your posts. Workflow software for accountants gives you mobile access to all the information you need so you can keep posts up to date and provide relevant content all the time.

Enjoy Increased Productivity

Planning for every occurrence is a feat that some deem nearly impossible but if you can stop even one mistake before it happens, you can enjoy increased productivity due to the time you save not dealing with extra problems. Workflow software for accountants helps you stay on top of things, giving you and your employees a happier work environment and your clients a level of service that will make them feel like royalty.

See Jetpack Worflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.
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Finding a robust VAT Return Workflow Software can be challenging, which is why we’ve outlined key components and questions to ask before investing in a workflow software.

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Baseline questions around VAT Return Workflow Software

Do you currently have a strong process sheet in place? 

As a chartered accountant, it’s important to have a robust process sheet in place to track VAT returns as well as additional services you provide. Having a solid process sheet in place is a great foundation and can help make a seamless transition in workflow software when you’re ready.

Do you have a workflow diagram for VAT returns? 

Another important component of setting up VAT returns is a workflow diagram, outlining how all the steps come together. The workflow diagram is a great, high level blueprint for how work moves through a VAT return. This is also a great way to identify bottlenecks in the process, or areas that need to be added, redesigned, or removed. Much like a process sheet, a workflow diagram can set a great foundation when implementing a new workflow software.

How does your team adopt technology and software? 

Is your team tech savvy and excited to embrace technology? Or nervous about learning a new system? Whatever type of team you have, it’s important to understand how they feel about technology, and this will determine how and when you implement new tools in the practice (for example, support, training, and new app on boarding become critical when your team is not tech savvy).

What is the goal of VAT Workflow Software? 

As with any initiative, it’s important to define the end goal (or as Steven Covey would say… “The End in Mind”). Ultimately, if this tool was successfully implemented, what would your practice look like? Would it become more profitable? More productive? Less stress and communication errors? Defining the ultimate goal of the new VAT workflow software can help your entire team understand why the initiative was taken on in the first place.


Components of Workflow 
The required:

You need to define the “required” components of your workflow software, This will vary between firms, but most will need a comprehensive feature set which includes:

  • Ability to have a central client list and database
  • The ability to create recurring projects and one-off jobs
  • The ability to assign team work, add notes and reviews, and schedule work for the week
  • See work in progress, what needs reviewed, and what’s falling behind
  • Document importing and uploading
  • Email digests and reminders

As previously mentioned, it’s important to define your “core features” for your workflow software. Some firms need time and billing, others do not! Some need specific integrations to start, while others can implement and see results immediately.
It’s important to define your criteria for a successful VAT return workflow software implementation. As always, be sure to communicate this with any key stake holders as well!

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See Jetpack Worflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.