Digital document management might be the key to optimising the operations of your accounting firm. As an IT partner, the most complimentary things we hear accountants say about their practice’s document management system are: “It's all right” & “It does the job.”

In this month’s blog we deep dive into why digital document management is often one of the biggest headaches for accountants and how technology can change this for the better. Ready to find out how to streamline your digital document management? Then let’s dive in.

The current issue with document management

Putting ‘damning with faint praise’ to one side, many practices describe document management as among their most pressing problems within their accountancy IT strategy. Because it not only consumes a significant amount of their advisor’s time, both for filing and retrieval of documents, but it also often presents a GDPR nightmare.

Another rarely noted issue is the need for continuous context and application switching throughout a user’s workflow. The Harvard Business Review claims that the average desk-based employee suffered a 40% decrease in productivity due to having to focus on multiple systems in the course of completing a single task. (This issue is of course endemic for accountants.)

When speaking to junior people within a practice, there is a general lack of clarity as to what needs to be filed and where it ought to go. We regularly hear complaints that “people save the email but not the attachment”, and if there is automatic filing of emails, you have the issue that everyone on the chain saves duplicates. 

Some more traditionally setup practices still have a series of file servers, with a convoluted historic folder structure to match. The productivity sacrifice and potential for data loss are difficult to exaggerate. 

Software providers have finally solved the challenge

Thankfully there are modern solutions. One which we’re rather excited about resolves all of the reoccurring issues which are common to accountants, while simultaneously enabling significant advances in functionality and workflow efficiency.  

Specialists Repstor (from Intapp) takes the power of Microsoft 365 (which most have barely scratched the surface of) and enables a practice to use collaboration and file natively without switching applications. It’s easy and instinctive for users to access and collaborate on shared content. The brilliance of the system is down to providing seamless extensions to popular everyday systems like Outlook and Teams. The secret ingredient is that the Outlook plug-in is truly native. 

This is one of the best ways for a practice to drive greater efficiency, productivity, and robust information compliance in its client engagements. It provides a joined-up view of all activities that collaborating teams can rely on as the definitive view of the status of each client account. 

Another important plank that needs to be in place for a platform to be regarded as modern, is fully featured mobility. The smartphone should be as powerful as the desktop for getting things done. Another essential ingredient is intuitive design. Everyone should know how to use the new system, little to no training required. User adoption should be viral within a practice, that’s how you know you’ve implemented a system which pre-empted the desire path.  

It’s pretty exciting to watch a formerly struggling practice transformed by a single application.

Streamline your digital document management with T-Tech

As IT specialists in the accounting sector, we really do understand the struggle. We’re partnering with Intapp in order to help streamline our clients’ digital document management. We’re happy to help you too!

If you want to have a chat about how we can support your accountancy, reach out to one of our experts or, alternatively, click the link below to find out more about our digital document management services.

Digital Document Management

OTHER NEWS

Be Ready for the Automation Revolution

Its clear automation has the power to revolutionise the UK accountancy sector, empowering accounting firms to unlock their full potential. At the recent ICAEW Annual Conference AI was a hot topic and speakers spoke of practical applications of its...
READ MORE

Microsoft Copilot: what is it, why does it matter and what you need to know

You may have heard the words Microsoft Copilotbeing used when looking at recent trends in AIWell, the new AI offering from Microsoft is being released next year. Microsoft are betting big on Copilot, having invested 13 billion dollars over the...

READ MORE

Explore Microsoft's Copilot

Are you ready to revolutionize the way you do accounting? Imagine streamlining your accountancy practice, boosting productivity, and delivering exceptional results for your clients, all with the power of artificial intelligence. Microsoft's Copilot...

READ MORE

Streamline Success: 4 Lessons from the Intapp Webinar

Staying ahead in the accountancy industry is not just about crunching numbers; it's about embracing innovative solutions. More than just a recap, this blog will show the key takeaways of using a document management system from Intapp, which can shed...

READ MORE

Microsoft 365 Copilot is coming but is your organisation ready?

Technology is rapidly evolving and many industries like the accountancy industry are embracing the advantages it has to offer. Microsoft has finally introduced their ground-breaking AI tool namely Microsoft 365 CoPilot, designed to transform...

READ MORE

T-Tech Ranked on Channel Futures 2023 prestigious MSP 501 list

T-Tech has been named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the prestigious 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

READ MORE

10 questions accountants should ask their IT provider

As businesses increasingly rely on technology to operate efficiently, it's important for accountancy firms to have a reliable IT provider to help manage their systems. However, finding the right IT services for accountants and the right IT provider...

READ MORE

Why Antivirus and 2FA Alone Won't Suffice for an IT Security Strategy

Antivirus and two-factor authentication (2FA) are two commonly used security measures in the world of cyber security. While these measures can be effective when used properly, they should not be relied upon as the sole security strategy for several...

READ MORE

The Power of AI in Accounting: A Game-Changer

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming various industries for several years now, and the accounting industry is no exception. AI has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of accounting tasks, and it's time...

READ MORE

Practice Gateway: T-Tech’s answer to moving beyond the MTD conundrum

“For 30 years we’ve had the self-assessment tax return ‘season’ – a complete slog for tax teams to endure and navigate. That time is about to end, in dramatic change.”

READ MORE

Time to close the books on traditional accounting and upskill with automation

The accountancy market is going through unprecedented times. There is significant client demand, pressure on fees, and the market for recruitment means salaries are going up, and people have less loyalty toward their employers. Recruitment for the...

READ MORE

T-Tech 2022 Wrapped is here. Here are our most memorable moments.

To say this year has been busy would be an understatement. We have had a jampacked year full of highs and lows (but mostly highs!), so let’s take a look back at some of the highlights.

READ MORE

Over half of UK accountancy firms are making technology solutions a priority, report finds

More than half of UK accountancy firms are making technology solutions a priority over the next 12 months, but 88% feel overwhelmed about the options available.

READ MORE

Daniel Teacher named One To Watch in The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme

Daniel Teacher, Managing Director of T-Tech, has been named as a One To Watch in The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme for 2022.

READ MORE

MTD for ITSA: get ahead of the curve and prepare your clients

Making Tax Digital is evolving. We saw MTD-compatible technology take the industry by storm in 2019, and now it’s advancing even further with MTD for ITSA being introduced in April 2024.

READ MORE

The latest and greatest in Microsoft Teams

What more can Teams do for us that it isn’t doing already? From the shift to remote working, and now to hybrid, it feels as though we’ve got all the tools we need within Teams. But there’s always room for improvement, and we are lucky that Microsoft...

READ MORE