may2021 - 10

FROM THE TRENCHES
for years because most partners
grumble about the amount of the
software renewal bill and pay it
because the pain of payment is
lower than the perceived difficulty
of making a change.
However, if your future view of
the world is a view that includes a
practice management system that
does everything but tax, I have
good news for you. The number of
choices is significant, and many of
the systems are wonderful. Further,
many of the practice management
systems include the core functions
of time & billing, workflow, and
document management. Many of
the systems have more features,
and some of the systems lack either
workflow or document management.
Consider the Venn diagram on the
prior page.
If you could get all these
features, plus portal, due date
monitoring, and more, in one place,
would that help your productivity?
Wouldn't it be nice to get a system
where all you had to add was a tax
or audit software? That is possible
with today's practice management
systems. Now consider the following,
reasonably comprehensive list
of 34 options, most of which I've had
the opportunity to review in the last
twelve months:
■ AccountantsWorld Practice Relief
■ Acumatica
■ Aero Workflow
■ APS Practice Management
■ ATOM-Automated Tax Office
Manager
■ ATX Total Tax Office
■ Avii
■ Canopy Practice Management
■ CCH Axcess Practice
■ CCH Practice Management
■ Clarity Practice Management
■ Core
■ Drake Practice Management
■ ImagineTime
■ Intuit Pract ice Management
(powered by Karbon)
■ Karbon
■ Maconomy
■ MY CPA Dashboard
■ NetSuite
■ OfficeTools
■ On Premise TPS
■ Onvio Firm Management
■ Practice CS
■ Practice Engine
■ Practice Manager (by Xero)
■ PracticePro 365
■ ProSystem fx Practice Management
(was CPASoftware/Sage
Visual Practice Manager)
■ Quont
■ Senta
■ STAR Practice Management
■ TaxDome
■ Time
■ Time Matters
■ TPS Cloud Axis
If you know a practice management
product that I did not name
above, please let me know. While
these products vary widely in
capability from ERP-like functionality
in the high-end systems to
straightforward billing in the entry
systems, each product has enough
momentum and installed user base
to be a viable product. I'm acutely
aware of the current strengths and
weaknesses of each product, too.
For The Technology Lab podcast
review purposes, I've scored each
feature of each product on a scale of
1-5 and developed an overall average
score, too. You'll want to perform a
similar exercise for your firm when
choosing an appropriate practice
management product.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING
TO ACCOMPLISH USING
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
WITH OUR CLIENTS?
Don't let the exhaustive list above
frustrate you because there are so
many options. Instead, consider how
the choices support a philosophical
way to run your practice. Many of
you won't need the complexity or
capability of a high-end Practice
Management system. For example,
10 MAY 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
STAR Practice Management is
designed for firms of 150 people or
more. While I admire the comprehensive
features of STAR, APS, or
AVII, many of you don't need this
capability.
The traditional products of CCH
Practice Management or Thomson
Reuters Practice CS have probably
served you well. But the new
generation replacements of CCH
Axcess Practice and ONVIO Firm
Management must be in your future.
On the other hand, for those of
you running traditional compliance
practices with tax and advisory
services, I don't know how you could
do much better than ATOM, Canopy
Practice Management, Clarity Practice
Management, or TPS. Canopy
has comprehensive, integrated IRS
Tax Resolution handling along with
document management, project
management, CRM, and a portal
that includes secure file exchange,
eSignature, and payments.
Clarity Practice Management
supports Frank Stitely's meet-tocomplete
business model
from
The Relentless CPA, which means
professional services can be
delivered conveniently. Clarity is a
client-centric practice management
that helps you grow your firm's
value while significantly reducing
burdensome (non-billable) practice
management tasks. Clarity provides
real-time visibility into tax, audit,
or accounting engagements while
covering everything from the first
meeting through completion.
With visibility into each engagement
comes a sense of control and,
in today's on-demand marketplace,
clients must be put in the driver's
seat - being served how, when,
and as they want. TPS is the most
like the traditional CCH Practice
Management or Practice CS with
robust billing and reporting but now
delivered as a SaaS product with TPS
Cloud Axis. The workflow in TPS is
based on the premise that firms
want to know four things:
1. What Work (Jobs) are coming up
or due?
2. Is the job in? (has the client
brought in the information)
3. Who is Working on it?
4. What Stage is the job at?
The employee is reduced to having
one task, and that is to advance
the job by simply changing its status!
For those of you with a heavy
focus on CAS, then AccountantsWorld
Practice Relief, Aero
Workflow, Karbon, or Xero Practice
Manager can drive your workflow,
due date tracking, and billing
efficiencies. However, as pointed
out above, there is more to a CAS
practice than practice management.
A suite of CAS solutions has client
and operational benefits.
SO, WHAT CAN WE DO
TODAY?
We must plan for the future of our
firms. If you want organic growth,
I'm happy for you. If you want to
practice as you have been, I'm happy
for you. If you want to acquire firms,
I'm happy for you. If you want to add
a specific focus like CAS or Advisory,
I'm happy for you.
But most importantly, there is a
practice management solution that
fits your needs. It may or may not
be the system that you are currently
using. Technology changes or vendor
publishing decisions may affect
what you can do in the future.
Those of you who know me
well know that
I'm concerned
about excellent client service, team
member experience, and maximizing
profit to the partners. What type
of practice management experience
are you creating for you, your team,
and your clients? ■
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
may2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of may2021
