How to use Ignition, FYI and XPM to power your practice growth

In the current economic climate, modern accounting and bookkeeping practices face a number of challenges. Top of mind for many firms will be how to get greater visibility over recoverability, efficiency, and productivity across their practice. You can find the answer in a simple three-piece tech stack for your practice: Ignition, FYI, and Xero Practice Manager (XPM). Leveraging the power of these tools, can help you future-proof your business for success.

These days, there’s a huge amount of pressure on accounting firms. In a nutshell, there are simply not enough accountants in Australia to do tax work. As a result of COVID-19, we’ve had next to no skilled immigration – hardly any incoming workers. The trick, then, for accounting and bookkeeping practices, is to use digital tools to increase practice efficiency without increasing that hard-to-find headcount.

Beyond staffing issues, the challenges for modern accounting and bookkeeping practices include:

• Managing compliance, security, operational and disruptive risk.

• Improving clarity on workflows and key practice insights.

• Increasing efficiency in your practice.

• Controlling cash flow and getting paid on time.

But with these challenges come opportunities. By integrating Ignition, FYI, and Xero Practice Manager (XPM) for instance, you can rise to – and meet – these challenges and capitalise on the opportunities.

Ignition is a convenient client engagement and payments platform that improves efficiency, optimises revenue and delivers seamless client experiences. With Ignition, it’s easy to sell, bill and get paid for your services – all in one place.

With Ignition, you can:

• Clearly define your services, scope of work, and prices for your clients with automated engagement letters.

• Send proposals in minutes with ready-made templates.

• Stay compliant with automated, legally vetted engagement letters and contracts.

• Automate invoicing and client payment collection to improve cash flow, reduce risk, and help manage scope.

• Automate job deployment into Xero Practice Manager, so no work slips through the cracks without a proper engagement.

FYI is a document management, process automation and client communication tool. Purpose-built for accountants, this cloud-based app stores all of your emails, documents and spreadsheets in one place, tied to a specific client and job. It aims to save your practice valuable time spent on repetitive compliance and administrative tasks, freeing up you and your staff for more profitable work.

• Automating the gathering, filing, and sharing of data, such as receiving and sending client emails and importing documents.

• Using templates to prepare work papers and crosslinking relevant documents.

• More quickly reviewing and supervising work by delegating tasks instantly, tracking progress at a glance, and fast-tracking document approvals.

• Collaborating more efficiently with your team and clients by delegating tasks, securely sending documentation to clients, and co-editing documents.

• Being able to visualise and manage tasks in XPM using Workflow Jobs in FYI, which facilitates task-based workflows for recurring monthly and quarterly work rather than using multiple jobs.

• Automating cascading tasks inside FYI, which enables workflows to automatically move through the firm to the correct team member once the previous task is marked as complete.

• Easing completion and lodgement of documentation by integrating with digital signing apps for client signatures and automated filing.

• Reducing daily admin with automated timesheets and exporting into XPM to generate workflows and enable time tracking.

Xero Practice Manager (XPM) is cloud-based accounting practice management software that aims to streamline your workflows and increase efficiency. It enables you to stay on top of how your business and team are performing and provides visibility into your key performance metrics.

With XPM, you can:

• Manage jobs by assigning work to staff, allocating tasks and providing deadlines.

• Track and invoice time.

• Integrate with Xero (the company’s ledger product) to sync invoices, payments, and clients.

• Create custom reports.

• Maintain a WIP ledger.

Ultimately, this accounting practice management software helps manage all your jobs from end to end.

Of course, each of these products delivers benefits on its own. However, what’s really important is integration. By connecting this small but powerful tech stack so that each piece talks to the others, you can:

• Ensure all clients are properly engaged for the work you’re completing.

• Minimise scope creep, by providing an easy facility to re-engage clients and by giving your team clarity over exactly what is included in an engagement and what isn’t.

• Easily monitor and manage work in progress.

• Eliminate double-handling and moving documents from one place to another.

• Improve cash flow by automating payment collection and invoicing.

For example, with your client database flowing freely between Ignition and XPM and FYI, you can seamlessly automate repetitive processes that impact job turnaround time. It’s an end-to-end option for your practice – from proposal to completed work.

By implementing this trio of tools to modernise and digitise your practice, think of the time you’ll have to focus on growth opportunities. Use this time to build better relationships with your clients. Think about offering more value and perhaps additional services. Better monitor your engagements and invoices to determine whether there’s scope creep and reduce ‘leakage’. Invest in marketing and attract new clients. Ultimately, you’re likely to be more profitable and more efficient, helping you remain competitive in today’s tricky market.

For more information on Ignition, its integration partners, and how you can use them to power your practice growth, watch our online demo