This firm released their accountants from the burden of chasing clients

Connected Accounting is an accounting practice that automates info and processes, gives clients access to real-time data and educates them on how to use it, allowing them to spend more time on their business and less time worrying about the numbers.

We spoke with Nicole Meloni, Operations Coordinator, to find out just how Content Snare was able to eliminate her previous battles with content collection.

An info-centric industry

Within accounting, there’s so much that we need in order to do our job well and so much documentation to collect. We need statements and other documents monthly. 

Accounting is a document-heavy industry, as all accountants will know.

Whether it be statements, tax returns, real estate documents or other documents to that effect, there’s a lot of information required in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly and that the partnership is a success.

On the onboarding side of things, there is so much information we need before we can really jump in, clean up people’s books and get them started with our services.

Adding onboarding documentation and information to the already lengthy stack of content needing to be collected only worsens the nightmare!

Getting all of that information up front in one go was really important to us.

Nobody wants to be in a constant state of limbo, waiting for the client to provide all of their information in dribs and drabs. 

This is why a fast, easy client onboarding process is extremely important for any accounting firm. 

Selective replies 

Before, we were just sending an email with a list of things that we needed. With emails, as we all know, people pick and choose what they respond to. If they have the answer to something, they’ll respond and just forget about everything else you requested in that email.

The issue Connected Accounting faced before Content Snare is all too common. 

Clients have a habit of only reading, acknowledging and responding to things that they’re 100% comfortable with and may avoid answering any additional questions. This being the case, if you request a list of documentation via email, you’re likely to receive only a percentage of what you were looking for. The rest will probably be overlooked until you’ve asked for them a second time. Or maybe a third time. A fourth?

The client may also only skim read your emails, especially if they’re fairly long, meaning that they may leave out certain elements unintentionally too. 

This created a lot of back and forth and we weren’t getting all of the information we needed up front. It was costing us a lot of time, money and frustration. 

As soon as email trails begin to crop up, navigating through the provided information for each client and figuring out what’s missing pretty much becomes a full-time job. 

We don’t bill by the hour but we still have to think of things within budget. So when you’re constantly going back to clients for information and following up, you find you’re missing a lot of pieces and you have to revisit what you were doing.

The last thing Nicole and her team wanted to do was put all of their time and money into chasing clients instead of focussing on what really mattered. 

With Content Snare’s automatic reminder feature, they were able to put those concerns to bed for good and allow the system’s polite follow-up emails to remind clients of their deadlines. 

Seeing the light

The amount of frustration, time and money Content Snare has saved us is immeasurable. 

This is the type of feedback we hear constantly from our users. 

Transitioning from a disorganised, temperamental method to an all-in-one platform with all the trimmings is bound to make a huge difference to your process.

It’s really clear to the client which information we need in order to keep going.

Content Snare’s simple client UI allows for a seamless transition between each information request - whether it’s a document or simple question. This ensures your client never misses a thing. Each question appears one-by-one in order to allow them to focus on one element at a time rather than being bombarded with everything at once.

You can also provide instructions throughout the process for further clarity. This will save you from receiving countless questions via email.

It also streamlines the communication for everyone. You can see all updates in real time.

This is one of the biggest plus sides of Content Snare: everything is saved automatically and immediately. 

Ever forgotten to press save and lost all of your progress? Not anymore. This no longer has to be a worry in your mind or the client’s mind.

I would absolutely recommend this to other accountants. 

If, like Nicole, you and your team find yourselves wasting hours on content collection, grab a free trial here and start winning that time back straight away.