September 2022

As much as I love summer, I’m always glad when September arrives. Not necessarily because the leaves start to change colors or it’s tailgating season—although that’s certainly part of it.  

No, there’s just something about September that feels—at least to me—like opportunity and optimism. Especially for those of us in the tax and accounting profession.  

The best way I can describe it is to explain it as part of a cycle. January through April represents all tax season…all the time (enough said there, I’m sure). Following tax season, most of us make note of the victories and challenges we experienced during tax season to celebrate what worked and try to fix what didn’t. Then, we’re into summer, our season for relaxation and reflection—and a progressive ascent of marketing and selling services. 

And then comes September. Summer vacation is over, and our lives swing back into gear—work, school, extracurricular activities, holiday prep. Here’s where the opportunity and optimism come into play. You have four months (a decent stretch of time) to put what you learned from the last tax season into practice before the next one rolls around and then hit the ground running in January.  

To help get you thinking about ways you can position your firm for a better tax season experience, here’s a deeper dive into the area I think is most important to consider for not only the upcoming tax season but for many years to come. 

The efficiency of automation  

I know, I know…I tend to talk about automation a lot. But when the number one challenge in your profession is staffing, you have to constantly be on the lookout for ways to maximize the efficiency of your firm to reduce the burden of tax season, protect your staff from burnout and maintain a positive culture.  

That’s where automation comes in. It’s not only helpful for you when you don’t have enough people to do the work; it’s helpful to your team as well. It lifts the routine and boring tasks from their shoulders, freeing them up to do more interesting and meaningful work.  

Consider just a few examples of how automation can help transform your firm and get your firm tax-season ready: 

• Appointments—An automated calendar app is a lifesaver. I no longer have to worry about the back-and-forth of phone calls and emails to set appointments. I simply include the link to my calendar in my communications, and the recipient uses it to schedule a meeting right on my calendar. I’ve saved so much time over the past few years that I really can’t remember how I lived without it. 
• Payroll—With automated payroll applications, you can say goodbye to manual time entry and cutting paper checks. You can also process payroll; track time; give employees the options of direct deposits, 401(k) management and more through an online dashboard; and file payroll tax returns and W-2s. 
• Expense management—Your employees can automatically enter expenses, upload receipts and even, with some apps, trigger reimbursement—all of which make expense reports a breeze. 
• Bank reconciliation—You can use the built-in functionality offered by most accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks®) to automate the reconciliation process for bank statements. And the time your staff previously spent manually reconciling statements can now be allotted to higher-level (and more profitable) advisory work.
• Accounts receivable—Automated bookkeeping applications can now issue, track, scan, set up and pay invoices. You can also use automated reporting to stay on top of delinquent invoices. How great would it be to have all those capabilities without manual intervention?
• Financial reporting—When you integrate accounting software with a dedicated reporting application (e.g., Rootworks Insights), you can dive deeper into financial data to see what is and isn’t working well within your firm or your clients’ businesses. You can even set up automated reports to be sent to your clients on a regular basis.  

Think about all the manual processes your team performs now, and then consider all the processes that could become automated. Performing these tasks in automated cloud-based applications will cut down on time and reduce human error.  

The best part is that you don’t need to automate everything all at once. If you’re not ready for full automation just yet, take a hybrid approach. Figure out the tasks that are the most time-consuming and would offer the most value to automate. Then start small, implement automation one process at a time and grow into full automation at a pace that’s comfortable for your firm.  

The rewards of automation  

Earlier, I mentioned how automation can eliminate repetitive tasks and enable staff members to focus on work that challenges and excites them. That’s not only a definite win for your employees, but for the firm as a whole.  

Why? Well, let’s say your firm offers payroll services, as so many firms do. You start out with three employees who work on payroll (complete with all those time-draining manual tasks). When you move to an automated payroll process, you can reduce human effort down to just a single employee. 

Then, one of the former payroll processors decides she wants to work with clients on advisory services. She’s happy because she’s challenging herself to learn new things, and she loves working directly with people and building relationships. You soon find out she’s a natural at this kind of work, and your clients absolutely love working with her. In fact, they are so impressed that they start referring colleagues to your firm, and your advisory business continues to grow. 

And let’s not forget about the other former payroll processor. He’s currently learning every job he can because he wants to know the ins and outs of each firm offering. You’ve discovered that his passion and real talent lie in marketing and PR, so while your firm’s not big enough to have a full-time marketing department—yet—you’ve given him free rein to use half of his work time to set up and maintain social media platforms for the firm. He’s also set up a Google Business Profile and worked to ensure your website is modern and up to date in order to extend your firm’s reach. Your online engagement has risen to a level you never thought you’d see, and you’re seriously considering taking on more ideal clients from across the country. 

Not only do you have a happier team, but your firm’s profitability is also steadily rising—and you’re making sure everyone benefits. No one (including your clients) has shown any signs of wanting to flee the firm for greener pastures. In fact, you recently overheard one of your employees tell a friend what a great place this is to work and that, yes, she’ll let them know if a position opens up. Win, win and win! 

The opportunity of automation 

I promise, my story isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky fairy tale. It’s a story we at Rootworks hear over and over from firm leaders who have decided that it’s time to seize the opportunities that automation presents. They cite faster turnaround times for clients; happier and more motivated employees; the ability to hone their service offerings to attract and keep their ideal clients; and increased revenues due to those higher-profitability services.  

All right, friends, that ends this episode of “Darren Root, Automation Evangelist.” (Of course, if you know me, you know there will be more <cough next month cough>, but you’re good for today.)  

And really, it’s not about automation so much as it is the opportunities it presents to firm owners and leaders to create the business of their dreams. If you take nothing else from this column, I hope I’ve inspired you with some of that September optimism I look forward to each year. You’ve got some time, you’ve got the ability and drive, and you’ve got so many cheerleaders and potential helpers on your side in the Rootworks family.  

Now go forth and do remarkable things, my friends.