Cloudware Blitz: tackling the copious number of tools on the market.

• Author: Blitz, Adam
• Position: Tech Talk

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

CPA firms have a tendency to struggle through change, and more specifically, when utilizing new technology.

Xero, Quickbooks Online, Freshbooks, Wave Accounting, Bill, com, Entryless, Billquick, ReceiplBank, Expensify, Tallie, Avalara, T-Sheets, Zen Payroll (Gusto), Fundbox, Fundera, Karbon, Panalitix, Qvinci, Spotlight Reporting, Fathom, Hubdoc, File This ... oh my!

No, this isn't one big advertisement; this is one overwhelming topic taking the accounting profession by storm. CPAs are being offered tax and financial accounting solutions, as well as being hounded by cloud solutions that may make client's internal accounting experience a little friendlier.

At conferences, in daily emails--even in CPE courses--CPAs are being pushed away from the bread-and-butter tax and financial statement solutions, which clients need (but rarely value) for business purposes. En route, CPAs are being asked to become more in tune with clients daily activities through the implementation of technology that will supposedly provide the insight needed to make real-time differences.

As California CPAs sit along the coast, or up in the mountains this summer, and ponder the idea of taking steps to utilize these applications in practice, take this quick five-step approach to significantly reduce time spent on learning about every new technology that will be offered and how to implement it within an accounting firm environment:

1. Pick four applications: Choose a general ledger system, accounts payable management, receipt tracking with OCR capabilities and dashboard reporting for clients. Done! That's it. I'm leaving out several categories and other fringe type programs, but these are the four integrated systems that will ensure clients have reliable expense tracking data.

2. Find a leader in the firm: As employee evaluations begin (or continue), ask them about their interest in taking on new programs. Gauge interest and hand over the keys, with some guidance, and reporting expectations. Remove this leader's other client commitments and let them focus significant time in learning these new systems inside and out. Start by implementing the new systems on current bookkeeping clients and move on to clients that require intense triage during the busiest times. Lastly, market these services as a new product to potential clients.

3. Change in organization structure: As firms begin to implement these systems for clients, the speed and agility of the...