Flashpoint Accounting
Flashpoint Accounting have gone from accumulating piles of papers to easily sourcing client information with SuiteFiles.
SuiteFiles has become the central depository for all our clients' information, new work is dropped into their current year file, workpapers and supporting docs are all saved in as we work on it.
The problem
We were spending a fair chunk on stationary costs between paper, coda files, new storage cabinets and toner (which is a real killer).
Relying on paper comes with a lot of manual processes, especially when preparing document packs and storing clients’ financials. Each time we’d prepare a new pack for clients, we’d have to print out the documents or supporting documents behind each section, run a draft set of accounts and tuck those in. So every year we’d end up with a thick coda file and mountains of paperwork.
We effectively had a mini storage unit with boxes full of paper.
How we solved it
In moving to the cloud, we’ve gone from spending about $2500 a year on office costs like paper and toner down to $500.
SuiteFiles has become the central depository for all our clients’ information, new work is dropped into their current year file, workpapers and supporting docs are all saved in as we work on it. Draft copies of tax returns and accounts are saved there and once approved we use the SuiteFiles electronic signing system to have them approved.
From a review perspective I can bring up SuiteFiles, work papers and the accounts over 3 monitors and see everything. I’m not working with paper on my desk or anything like that. It’s just faster, maybe not by a huge amount of time, but over the course of a year it adds up.
We can also create document packs by publishing PDFs from Xero like tax returns and accounts, saving them into SuiteFiles and using the PDF merging functionality.
It feels like you’re operating a modern firm – that’s why we like using it. Compared to having piles of paper and folders it feels a lot safer and a lot tidier. We can’t recommend SuiteFiles enough, we love it.
Before
- Expensive document storage costs
- Manual processes reliant on paper
After
- Down from spending $2500 on office costs to $500
- Faster review processes
- Able to create document packs between SuiteFiles and Xero
Key benefits
- One source of truth for client information
- Practice feels tidier and more secure
Tips & tricks
- We’ll publish tax returns out of Xero and then save them into SuiteFiles. Once saved, we’re free to click the edit button and drag other documents from our site into the PDF.
Integrate Xero with SuiteFiles
- Although becoming a cloud-based practice came with a bit of a learning curve, using a combination of Xero and SuiteFiles had made life much easier for our team. For instance, last year was a breeze – I think we finished with a couple weeks up our sleeve. We weren’t twiddling our thumbs but not far off it.
