The Importance of Client Experience in Accounting

Accounting Today says, “the race to own customer [client] experience is on. Beyond the accounting profession, companies are recognizing the importance of delivering a rich client experience to differentiate themselves from the competition.” An example of a business that embodies this statement is Amazon. With one click, orders can be placed and returned, while providing full transparency into prices and delivery timelines. This online experience positions Amazon as a leader in client experience, worldwide.

Now, envision this standard of experience being applied to accountants and firms…

Accounting is a client-facing industry. As technology and automation eliminate the manual, number-crunching work and creates uniform quality, accountants will be able to spend more time working with clients. This means that client experience will become more important than ever. That said, the demand for a better client experience has surfaced as a key issue in accounting and will continue to be a differentiator as more automation tools are developed and adopted. Clients want to have a collaborative relationship and desire to work with your firm in the same seamless way as client-experience experts like Amazon.

Cloud accounting tools play a huge role in improving how work is conducted and, in turn, the client experience. Here’s are a few of the ways:

• Accessibility anywhere

1. 1. 1. Cloud technologies have allowed for advances in the ways that accountants and their clients work and have access to data. 
      2. Users in various locations, on varying devices, are able to see documents and work in real-time. 

• Improved collaboration

1. 1. 1. The cloud functionality allows multiple team members to access and work on the same information at one time. This accessibility promotes a more efficient workforce.

• Affordable adoption while placing a lower demand on IT 

1. 1. 1. With cloud applications, businesses don’t need to incur as much of an upfront cost to incorporate the technology.
      2. The savings in areas such as hardware, IT support and software updates also help make cloud-based client experience solutions more affordable.

• Flexibility with changing client needs

1. 1. With a cloud-based infrastructure, businesses can quickly and easily add licenses and gain access to new applications when the client demand increases.

Interested in exploring the cloud further? Discover more of the benefits of Caseware Cloud and one of our latest cloud-based apps, PBC Requests.