More Billable Hours Means a Better CPA Firm: Here’s How You Get There
If you want more billable hours for your CPA firm use DMS. Any outsider who takes a look at the accounting industry and foolishly calls it “boring” has never experienced the constantly looming deadlines, cutthroat competition around every corner, brutal struggle to gain and retain a client base and unpredictable hours that define the average workweek of a CPA.
More than perhaps any other industry, successful accounting is most dependent upon a constant and consistent dedication to increasing efficiency in an industry where a lack of efficiency can quickly result in the death of your business.
Accountant’s laugh at the idea of a straightforward, punch-in in the morning and punch-out at night 40-hour workweek.
With that being said, we believe that there’s no reason accountant’s shouldn’t strive to increase their efficiency and effectiveness with the goal of achieving some level of normalcy and control over their working schedule while also ensuring the satisfaction of each and every one of their clients.
Working smart is just as important as working hard or long, not only for the sake of your business but also for the sake of your sanity. Want more billable hours for your CPA firm use DMS
Fortunately, the past several years have seen the rise of a robust collection of systems and tools that can be lifesavers for CPAs all over the world. But some potential beneficiaries of these systems are slow or reluctant to implement them, worrying that making a dramatic transition in the way they do work will derail their effectiveness.
In this article, we’re going to address how one particular tool— the document management system— can help you address three goals when it comes to increasing your billable hours. But first, a brief definition of a document management system.
Want More Billable Hours for Your CPA Firm Use DMS
A digital software system used to scan, track, organize, edit and share documents securely in order to increase efficiency and organization while reducing the monetary and temporal costs associated with paper usage.
Now that we’ve defined a document management system, let’s look at three ways it can transform your ability to get billable hours under your belt.
More Justifiable Billable Hours
One struggle for accountants is the amount of hours they spend doing work that’s critical to their clients but doesn’t justify billing— time spent searching through filing cabinets for files, making copies of physical documents and sending faxes.
The use of an effective DMS effectively eliminates these busywork-like tasks, allowing you to submit more justifiably billable hours to your clients. By minimizing busywork, you can maximize your potential to be truly effective while doing concrete, justifiable work in the minds of your clients.
Defy the Idea of Billable Hours Entirely
Effective DMS users can virtually eliminate inefficiency, which might give them the opportunity to no longer be forced to distinguish between billable and non-billable hours— all of their work hours are billable because they’ve done away with the menial tasks that could be defined as non-billable.
Increased Security and Compliance
Certain DMS software providers create built-in, advanced security measures into their software that provides valuable peace of mind not only to CPAs but to the clients for whom they work. Guaranteed security of confidential and sensitive client documents is real value that could justify an increase in your billable hourly fee.
Security matters to clients more than many businesses realize, and those clients will pay a higher premium to accountants who can ensure the safety and security of their documents and files.
Other Benefits of DMS
In addition to the benefits highlighted above, a powerful document management system can offer other effective tools for your accounting firm that will impress clients and gain new business, including the following:
Ease of File Sharing
With DMS, sharing documents is simple and instantaneous. Security permissions can be set for individual users, meaning you can choose who has access to which documents and who can edit, share or remove those documents.
If you want more billable hours for your CPA firm use DMS and do it through correct sharing and security features.
A Consistent Folder Structure
Imagine a workday free from filing cabinets, searching through stacks of papers for the one that you need at a given time, and facing the ever-rising costs of paper document storage.
That’s the power of an effective DMS. Text-recognition capabilities allow you to search any document scanned or stored in your database with a few simple keystrokes and have it appear instantly. To get more billable hours for your CPA firm use DMS with the right implementation and vendor.
Safety from Data Loss
We all know the importance of backing up files, but effective DMS like eFileCabinet provide multiple physical and in-the-cloud backups of every file, so you never have to worry about an unexpected disaster resulting in lost business or lost time. Your documents will always be kept safe and secure— always.
If you’d like to find out more about how a document management system can mean the difference between a hellish week of unpredictable setbacks and an organized, efficient workweek where you are totally in control, fill out the form on this page to receive a free 15-minute demo of eFileCabinet’s powerful document management software. To get more billable hours for your CPA firm use DMS.