12 Essential Apps to Run a Successful Cloud Accounting Practice

August 2, 2017 Tom Gogan

There are so many benefits to running a cloud accounting practice. For one, you can work from virtually anywhere, as Chad Davis from LiveCA demonstrated last week.

I’d love to tell you that Hubdoc, QuickBooks Online and/or Xero are the only apps you’ll ever need to work from the foothills of Banff… But I can’t :(. To run a successful cloud accounting practice you’ll need apps to enable communication, collaboration, and productivity. Helping you keep employees on track and clients happy.

Without further ado, here are the top 12 apps to run a successful cloud accounting practice.
 

Apps for Employee Management

People are the most valuable asset in any organization. It’s important that they’re well managed and cared for. Use these apps to make sure they’re given the flexibility they need, and are compensated accurately for their efforts.
 

TSheets

TSheets is an essential app for time tracking, scheduling and monitoring overtime. It functions as a mobile punch clock that's available anywhere.

Our favourite feature? The “Who’s working” feature shows you who’s on the clock, how long they’ve been working for, and it even gives you their current location! It’s perfect for managers keeping track of employees, or for companies keeping track of contract workers.
 

Wagepoint

Wagepoint is a payroll management system, but it does a lot more than just payroll. It supports CRA remittances, T4s, records of employment, additional incomes and much, much more.

Our favourite feature? We love online paystubs! It’s a convenient and secure way to get employees the information they care about.
 

Apps for Communication and Collaboration

Technology has fundamentally changed the way we communicate and collaborate. Phone calls and letters have been replaced by video chat and direct messages. We can now be reached whenever and wherever we are. Whether your employees work in an office or from their homes, here are our favourite apps for communication and collaboration.
 

Slack

This is a Hubdoc favourite. Slack is the hands down best solution for internal communication and collaboration. It’s customizable, scalable and affordable. It supports one on one messaging, topic specific threads, video calling and private channels. Not to mention, it has an amazing mobile app!

Our favourite feature? Custom emojis and integrations. The great thing about Slack is that it's fully customizable, it allows for custom emojis, gif keyboards and custom plug-ins for data tracking. It’s truly a one size fits all internal communication solution.
 

Calendly

Simple and efficient appointment booking. Calendly makes it easy for your clients and employees to book meetings. It integrates with your existing calendar, and shows your actual availability to avoid double booking and missed connections.

Our favourite feature? It syncs with most calendar apps, including Google and Apple, helping you keep track of all your appointments.
 

Zoom

E-Meetings made easy. Zoom is the simple solution to video conferencing. It’s perfect for sales, success, onboarding and support calls, because it allows you to combine video with screen sharing. It’s also a great platform for hosting webinars and group meetings.

Our favourite feature? We love how easy it is for clients to join a meeting. All you have to do is send them your zoom link with a meeting time (it integrates with Calendly). And if they come early, Zoom has a lobby feature that holds the client and alerts the employee.
 

Karbon

Karbon is a great tool for coordinating, monitoring and executing client work. It’s a place where teams can plan and assign tasks, so that everyone knows their responsibilities. It also allows you to set due dates and workflows to keep everyone on track.

Our favourite feature? The Kanban Board. It's a display that shows all of your firm's projects in the same space for seamless project tracking. It's great for monitoring how much work each employee has on their plate and what stage each company project is in.
 

Apps for Work

Picking the right cloud accounting applications for your firm can be a game changer. Whether you’re trying to automate document collection, eliminate data-entry or go completely paperless – there’s an app for that.
 

QuickBooks Online or Xero

QuickBooks Online and Xero are great cloud accounting platforms. They’re easy to use and they offer a wide range of features and integrations (Bonus: Hubdoc seamlessly integrates with both). If you’re struggling to choose the right one for your business, you can always use both – like Cindy Henderson Magner from Beyond Bookkeeping.

Our favourite feature(s)? With Hubdoc’s integration to QuickBooks Online and Xero, you can publish transactions with source documents attached. QuickBooks Online and Xero will automatically match the transaction created by Hubdoc to the transaction in the bank feed, enabling quick and easy reconciliation.
 

Hubdoc

Hubdoc is the single point of truth for all your clients’ financial documents. It auto-fetches bank statements, bills, receipts and more from over 700 financial institutions, utilities, telecom providers and suppliers. With Hubdoc, you never have to chase after client documents again – helping you save time and focus on higher value activities (like traveling to Banff).

Our favourite feature? It’s difficult to pick a favourite feature (for obvious reasons). Although we get the most value out of auto-fetch, we also really like mobile and email upload. Employees can easily snap a pic of a receipt using their mobile device, or email forward a bill/invoice using Hubdoc’s unique intake email. Once the document is securely stored in Hubdoc, the key data is extracted (supplier name, date, total amount), making it easy for us to process and publish the transaction to our general ledger software for reconciliation.
 

ShareFile or SmartVault

No cloud accounting practice is complete without a cloud storage platform. With cross device functionality, bank level encryption and no file size limit, ShareFile and SmartVault are the best cloud storage options on the market!

Our favourite feature? Both ShareFile and SmartVault have developed Microsoft Outlook plugins that enable you to send files over email, far beyond the usual size limit. This is especially useful for large client file dumps.
 

Practice Ignition

Practice Ignition is an all-in-one practice management platform. It helps boost productivity, and makes your accounting workflows more efficient. Practice ignition handles invoicing, revenue forecasting, and can even be used for payment collection. It's a great firm management platform, and it’s geared specifically towards accountants and bookkeepers.

Our favourite feature? If you’re working “in the cloud”, you’ll need an application to manage client payments! Practice Ignition has everything you need from invoicing to payment collection and reconciliation.
 

Conclusion

And there you have it! 12 apps to run a successful cloud accounting practice. Now you can work from wherever you are. All we ask is that you send pics... and don’t forget to hashtag #hubdoc on your travels!

 

Want more helpful tips?
Download our whitepaper - "4 ways tech increases client trust".

 Get the Whitepaper!

 

Previous Article
Tips to Define and Attract Your Ideal Bookkeeping Client
Tips to Define and Attract Your Ideal Bookkeeping Client

As an accountant or bookkeeper, you want to work with the best clients. Those that value your work and expe...

Next Article
Case Study: How Cloud Bookkeeping Can Supercharge Your Practice
Case Study: How Cloud Bookkeeping Can Supercharge Your Practice

Learn how Beyond Bookkeeping, Intuit Firm of the Future and Hubdoc Top 50 Cloud Accountant, took their firm...