Did you know that the average SaaS small business with fewer than 500 employees has around 172 apps in its tech stack? You might think managing so much software might be a challenge. But when done correctly, it can have a huge impact on your firm’s overall efficiency.
An accounting firm's tech stack is a variety of software technologies used to simplify different business processes. A carefully chosen tech stack can increase output, decrease mistakes, and improve customer happiness.
This guide will help you build an effective accounting firm tech stack along with suggestions on the best custom apps for accounting firms.
Best Software to Create an Accounting Firm Tech Stack - A Quick Overview
Creating the ideal tech stack for your accounting business is about more than simply staying current; it's about revolutionizing your working methods. These are some well-liked tools that you might want to include in your tech stack.
CRM Software
- Cone
- Zoho CRM
Project Management Software
- Cone
- Trello
Payroll Software
- Quickbooks Payroll
- Gusto
Communication and Collaboration Software
- Microsoft Teams
- Zoom
Proposal And Engagement Letters Software
- Cone
- GoProposal
Practice Management Software
- Cone
- Karbon
- Canopy
Importance of a Tech Stack in Accounting
For accounting businesses, a tech stack is essential since it:
- Boosts Productivity: Automates tedious jobs to free up time for more important work.
- Streamlines Workflow: Keeps tasks and procedures organized.
- Enhances Accuracy: Tech stack software reduces human errors.
- Increases Customer Satisfaction: Delivery of services in less time and with high levels of efficiency helps keep the customer happy.
- Promotes Growth: Grows with the company to accommodate more clients and tasks.
Essential Components of an Accounting Firm's Tech Stack
An accounting business can manage its workload more effectively by utilizing an accounting tech stack, which is a combination of software tools and apps. Similar to a toolbox, the accounting tech stack has different software.
Each software has a specific job, helping the firm with various tasks like managing client information, tracking projects, handling payroll, and communicating with clients and team members.
The tech stack typically includes:
- CRM Software: Helps keep track of client relationships and communication.
- Project Management Tools: Arrange tasks and ensure that due dates are met.
- Payroll software: This is responsible for handling matters related to the employee’s compensation allowances and taxes.
- Engagement and Proposals Software: Helps prepare and dispatch contracts, proposals, legal notices, to the clients.
- Collaboration and Communication Software: Provides easy communication between clients and team members.
Best Software to Build Accounting Firm Tech Stacks
CRM Software
The best CRM for accountants helps businesses manage and track their interactions with clients. To improve client interactions and deliver better service, it centralizes all customer information.
Cone
Cone CRM software is a great option for accounting businesses since it has a great cost-benefit ratio, intuitive functionality, and exceptional support.
Best Features
Client Portal: Cone offers a premium client portal for real-time collaboration between accountants and clients, speeding up decision-making during critical periods.
Centralized Client Database: Manage all clients and contacts in one organized place.
Document Management: Send forms, collect e-signatures, and request files easily.
Proposals and Engagement Letters: Send out proposals, engagement letters, invoices, and client billing through a single click with the help of Cone.
Integration: Also, with Xero, QBO, and Zoho Books, Cone can sync with other well-known accounting applications automatically.
Lead Management: Manage prospects, follow up, and successfully convert the prospects into customers.
Task Organization and Passwordless Logins: Efficiently organize and prioritize tasks, and offer clients passwordless logins for easy collaboration.
Pricing
- Starter: $5 or £4 per user/month
- Essentials: $10 or £8 per user/month
- Growth: $15 or £12 per user/month
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Zoho CRM
The Zoho CRM helps businesses track and manage their interactions with clients and potential clients. It provides tools for team collaboration, communication, and sales tracking. Learn more about Zoho alternatives.
Best Features
Full Sales Cycle Visibility: See every step of the sales process, from getting new leads to keeping loyal clients.
Team Collaboration: Improve teamwork and client interactions with features like discussion feeds, real-time chat, and notes to keep track of sales progress.
Performance Management Tools: Use AI tools for predicting leads, and benefit from features for sales forecasting and managing different currencies.
Workflow Automation: Automate routine tasks and set up triggers for actions based on specific conditions.
Pricing
- Standard Plan: $14
- Professional Plan: $23
- Enterprise Plan: $40
- Ultimate Plan: $52
All billed annually.
Project and Practice Management Software
To guarantee that projects are finished on schedule, teams can plan, arrange, and monitor work with the use of project management software. They simplify the process of allocating duties, establishing deadlines, and keeping track of advancement.
Cone
Cone’s practice management software is made for accounting and tax firms. It combines multiple tasks like proposals, emails, task management, and billing into one platform, starting at just $5 per user/month.
Best Features
Automatic Client Follow-ups: Seamlessly integrate forms and e-signatures within emails for easy client management communication.
Email-Based Task Management: By centralizing all client correspondence, you may lower the possibility of emails being overlooked.
Better Collaboration: Organize your inbox and easily share emails, tasks, and messages with your team.
Integrated Email : Quickly assign incoming emails to the right team members for prompt responses.
Client Portal: Provide clients with self-service access to view their appointments, invoices, and communications online. Enable online payments for added convenience.
Pricing
- Starter: $5 or £4 per user/month
- Essentials: $10 or £8 per user/month
- Growth: $15 or £12 per user/month
Trello
Trello, a visual project management tool for accountants, makes it easy to see the status of tasks and manage projects in a flexible and organized way.
Best Features
Templates: Trello offers various templates to help you get started quickly.
Boards: Boards act as workspaces where you can organize tasks for different projects or teams.
Integrations: Connect Trello with other apps your team uses. Power-ups allow for additional functionality tailored to specific needs.
Butler Automation: Automate repetitive tasks with no-code automation tools.
Calendar View: Displays your tasks on a calendar, making it easy to track deadlines.
Also Read: Is Trello the right tool for Accountants?
Pricing
- Free: Suitable for individuals or small teams.
- Standard: $5/user/month
- Premium: $10/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing starting at $17.50
Payroll Software
Payroll software helps you manage paying your employees. It calculates everyone's pay, including taxes and deductions.
QuickBooks Payroll
QuickBooks Payroll is an online software service that helps businesses manage payroll tasks, such as paying employees, handling taxes, and offering benefits.
Best Features:
Automatic Payroll: It has features such as integration with QuickBooks to automatically calculate paychecks, and deduct taxes accurately.
Tax Filing and Payments: It deals with federal and state taxes, including filing of tax returns and making payments, it also prepares and processes the year-end tax forms, such as the W-2s and 1099s.
Direct Deposit: It can also involve delivery of paychecks through deposit into the employees’ bank accounts with choices of either next day or same day delivery.
Employee Self-Service: Employees can view their pay stub, W-2s, and personal information through online access.
Time Tracking Integration: QuickBooks Payroll works well with time-tracking applications, and it means that companies can track employee’s working hours and sync it with payroll effortlessly.
Pricing
- Payroll Core: $22.50/month.
- Payroll Premium: $40/month.
- Payroll Elite: $62.50.
Gusto
Gusto is your online payroll as well as HR software designed to help small companies. It is one of the customs apps for accounting firms that helps in dealing with taxes and payment of employees.
Best Features
File Tax: Is responsible for filing all the local, state, and federal taxes and also ensures it meets payroll laws.
Automates Payroll: Perform calculation of wages, direct pay, and tax deductions to increase efficiency.
Employee Management: Assists in the organization of the company's staff benefits such as medical care and pensions.
Self-Service Portal: Gusto has an option known as a self-service website through which employees can view their pay, tax forms, and other personal information.
HR Reports: Delivers monthly performance reports as well as assistance in the recruitment of new employees.
Pricing
- Simple: $40 per month plus $6 per person.
- Plus: $60 per month plus $9 per person.
- Premium: $135 per month plus $16.50 per person.
Communication and Collaboration Tools
Communication software helps firms connect with their internal teams effectively. With the right tools, a team can collaborate on projects effectively, saving time and resources.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is an application and a collaboration tool that assists in projects and teamwork. It enables people to cooperate on paper, exchange files, conduct meetings, and communicate online.
Best Features:
Teams and Channels: Establish specific areas (channels) for various departments or projects to help you keep.
Video Conferences: Utilize integrated functionalities such as virtual backdrops and screen sharing to conduct online conferences, webinars, and video calls.
File sharing: Collaborate on documents by allowing you to share and work on files in real-time straight within Teams.
Integration with Microsoft 365: Collaborate with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other applications of Microsoft right within Teams.
Chat and Messaging: Create group conversations, exchange files and documents, and start an instant conversation with coworkers to accomplish fast communication.
Pricing
- Essentials: $4/user/month
- Basic: $6/user/month
- Standard: $12.50/user/month
Zoom
The Zoom video conferencing platform lets you video chat, share screens, and do audio and video conferencing virtually.
Best Features:
Recording: If you or your guests were unable to attend, make a copy of the meetings.
Screen sharing: Share your work screen with your team to show presentations, documents, or any other matters.
Video Meetings: Hold in-the-moment virtual meetings with your team.
Team Chat: Communicate as a team by setting up a chat room, exchanging files, and sending and receiving instant messages.
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: $12.49 (annually) or $14.99 (monthly)
- Business: $18.32 (annually) or $21.99 (monthly)
- Business Plus: Custom pricing
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Proposal And Engagement Letters
Proposal and engagement letter software helps businesses create proposals, send them, and get them e-signed automatically.
Cone
Cone Proposal Software is an effective tool to simplify the creation, administration, and distribution of proposals for companies of all kinds, including freelancers, small businesses, and startups.
Best Features
Flexible Proposal Editor: Cone lets you design your proposals from layout to content with its flexible proposal editor.
Billing and Invoicing: Cone manages billing and invoicing effortlessly, accepting multiple payment options like ACH, credit/debit cards, and direct debits.
Pricing Tool: Cone has an Excel-sheet-like capability that automatically determines service costs depending on the variables you enter, facilitating speedy and precise pricing.
Cone's Template Library: Makes it simpler to get started by providing a variety of well-created proposal templates for various fields.
User-Friendly Interface: Cone software is made to be simple to use and intuitive.
Pricing
- Essentials: $8 or £6.41/month
- Growth: $11or £8.83/month
You can also try Cone for free.
GoProposal
GoProposal is proposal software designed specifically for accountants and bookkeepers. It helps make creating proposals and engagement letters easier and more accurate, so you can communicate costs to your clients.
Best Features
Unlimited Clients and Proposals: Manage an infinite number of clients at no additional cost, and generate as many proposals as necessary.
Dynamic Engagement Letters: Automatically create engagement letters based on the services you choose.
E-sign: Integrate e-signature technology to have engagement letters and proposals signed electronically.
Customizable Templates: Create templates unique to your brand to make them appear consistent and professional.
Service Bundle Templates: Create and offer packaged service bundles to clients, making pricing more straightforward.
Also Read: Best Proposal Software For Small Businesses To Floor Clients.
Pricing
- Solo: £65 per month
- Basic: £95 per month
- Standard: £130 per month
- Premium: £205 per month
Key Considerations For selecting the right Software to Put in Your Tech Stack?
The efficient growth of your accounting firm is facilitated by an efficient accounting technology stack. To choose which software to include in your tech stack, follow these steps.
Step 1: Assess Your Firm’s Size, Client Base, and Services Offered
Recognize the unique requirements of your company first. Are you a big company with a variety of clients, or are you a small one with a few? For instance, big firms may require cloud-based business management software. Your services—bookkeeping, tax preparation, or advising services, for example—will also determine what kind of software you require.
Step 2: Balance Cost with Value
Set your software budget and compare the features and benefits of each solution. Purchasing software that adds genuine value and improves your company's productivity and client care is crucial.
Step 3: Invest in Scalable Tools
Select CPA firm practice management software that expands with your business. As your company grows, scalable solutions let you add features or boost capacity, preventing you from outgrowing your tech stack too soon.
Step 4: Choose Tools that Integrate Well
Select software that is easy to integrate with the rest of the devices in your technology stack. Less human data entry is needed, and errors are decreased when there is smooth data transmission between systems.
Also Read: Top Accounting Practice Management Software Options with Integrated Email in 2024
Step 5: Future-Proof Your Tech Stack
Consider the long-term needs of your firm. Choose accounting management tools that are regularly updated and have a strong track record, so your tech stack remains relevant and effective as your firm evolves.
Build Your Tech Stack Now
There won't be any more misplaced files, late-night work, or irritated clients with the tech stack that works well together. A well-thought-out tech stack positions you for success rather than just keeping you afloat. Thus, take some time to determine your needs and select the instruments that will be most useful to you.
Why wait? Start exploring and setting up your tech stack now with the right software, like Cone. Cone is a unified platform that brings together many of the essential tools accountants need, such as proposal, practice management, billing, and invoicing, time tracking for accountants—all in one place. Plus, with its seamless integrations, Cone allows you to connect with other software you already use, making your workflow even smoother.
Sign up today and see the benefits for yourself!
FAQs
- How to choose the right software for the accounting firm tech stack?
Determine the size, requirements, and pain issues of your company first. Examine software options according to their features, price, and compatibility with other programs you use.
- Can I update or modify my tech stack?
Yes, you can update or change your tech stack as your firm grows or needs change. Choose scalable and flexible tools to make future adjustments easier.
- How can I make sure the tools I already have work properly with my tech stack?
Seek out programs that provide integrations with the equipment you currently own. Check for compatibility, and consider using tools that support API connections to ensure smooth data flow.
- What aspects of a tech stack budget should I take into account?
Software costs should be weighed against the benefits it offers. Consider both one-time and ongoing expenses. Invest in scalable, high-quality technologies to get the most out of your money.
- How often should I upgrade the tech stack?
Upgrading the tech stack can be done ideally every six to twelve months. This will help ensure that it is meeting its evolving needs.