Summer's just around the corner, here in Australia – and your firm’s holiday shutdown won't be far behind. For many accountants, it’s a time to think about hanging up your Excel spreadsheet and swapping it for some BBQ tongs, or hitting the beach for some sunshine, relaxation and cocktails (or mocktails).
But will your holiday be stress-free if you're still worrying about client files, missing documents and data that was promised two months ago?
Keeping you up to speed with your client data and information is what Content Snare was invented for. It’s the simple way to request information from your accounting clients.
So, if you want a stress-free summer holiday, we'd suggest taking a look at these key ways to spruce up your client collaboration capabilities (we do love a bit of alliteration).
The stressful problem of missing docs and data
Completing a client job means tying up a whole heap of loose ends before you can complete the engagement, shut up shop and head off on your hols. There are GST receipts to hunt for, employee expense forms that may have mysteriously gone astray and bank statements that are needed for you to sign off on the client’s balance sheet for the period.
Being able to collect, log and review all of these different items takes time. A LOT of time, in the case of things like individual tax returns (ITRs). Even with the very best intentions, clients do sometimes forget to send you the right receipts, info and bank statements. And without these, there’s no way you’re going to wrap up the job before your plane leaves the runway.
So, what’s the answer to these summer season stresses?
How Content Snare takes the hassle out of chasing clients
The solution to your holiday worries is to sign up to Content Snare. It’s the stress-free way to request information and data from your accounting clients, whether it’s scans of hard-copy paperwork, digital documents and forms, or the client’s financial and banking data.
Use one of our checklist templates, tailor it to your client’s deliverables and share this online request with the key people at the client. With this clear list of items and deadlines, the client can work through the checklist and upload all the info to the Content Snare client portal.
It’s simple as anything and the easiest way to make sure clients send you all the items you need on time, every time.
Here are five ways using Content Snare removes those holiday stresses:
- Automate your data collection – Content Snare automates the collection of your clients’ data, whether its invoices, receipts, or bank statements. This frees up your practice team’s time, gets the job done and meets all your compliance deadlines.
- Streamline your firm’s communications – you can streamline your communication with clients by using our client portal. It’s a cloud-based hub for clients to submit their data and to answer queries from your engagement team. Instead of pinging emails back and forth, you can talk to the client in real-time, via the portal.
- Improve your accounting accuracy – using Content Snare improves the accuracy of your client engagement process by reducing the risk of human error. The software automatically checks for errors in data entry and reconciliation, giving you real confidence in the quality of your engagement deliverables and data.
- Increase the transparency of your jobs – clients like to know how their job is progressing. Content Snare gives the client real-time visibility of the status of their job, helping you boost your engagement transparency and raise trust in your team.
- Peace of mind (even from the beach) – with Content Snare chugging away in the background, you have real peace of mind in the progress of your outstanding jobs. Just log into your dashboard from the pool to get a holistic overview of job progress, completed engagements and outstanding tasks where the team may need a nudge.
The beauty of a secure and streamlined engagement process
If you’re looking to get in complete control of your client engagements, even when you’re off sunning yourself in the Pacific somewhere, Content Snare has all the additional practice management tools and online security features you might need.
What you get is the best of both worlds: a smooth and secure engagement process, plus a client experience that your clients will find a breath of fresh air. You get a better work/life balance and your clients don’t feel like you’re constantly hassling them for missing items.
And on top of the main data sharing features, Content Snare has a whole load of additional benefits to give you complete confidence in the quality of your engagements.
With Content Snare at the heart of your firm, you get:
- Secure data storage, with all your firm’s user data encrypted both at rest and in transit, to keep your client’s information as safe as possible at all times.
- Role-based access control, so only authorized users can access the client’s portal, data and confidential information.
- Audit logging, giving you a detailed audit log of all user activity within the platform, so there’s always a breadcrumb trail to follow when looking for what work’s been done.
- Complete compliance, with Content Snare meeting a variety of different industry regulations, including HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOC 2.
Content Snare: taking the stress out of summer break
Which kind of summer break would you prefer? 1) A holiday that’s interrupted by client emails, chaser calls and the ongoing worry of chasing up missing information? 2) Or a Content Snare vacation, where you can sit back, safe in the knowledge that your practice software is taking on the workload and keeping every engagement compliant?
