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For every technology investment your Los Angeles CPA firm makes, you want to ensure you get a decent amount of return. Technology return on investment can take many forms:
- Increased employee productivity
- Improved client service, satisfaction, and retention
- Augmented security for sensitive client documents and data
- Provision of remote or mobile access to firm records
- Reduced strain on company resources to install, maintain, and upgrade systems
If your firm is struggling to produce adequate tech ROI, here are some easy ways to turn things around.
1. Adopt Cloud Solutions
Implementing online versions of popular accounting applications can realistically address all of the benefits described above. Accounting firms in California and New York are leading their peers in other states in terms of cloud adoption.
The application providers are making their solutions more intuitive and more in line with federal tax legislation than ever before.
Cloud solution “mashups” of different apps can eliminate duplication of effort and data. They can also break down barriers between systems and departments with the adoption of compatible productivity and client data systems.
Just like building a house with materials which are designed to mesh together effortlessly, interoperable, innovative cloud solutions do wonders to pay back your investment.
Cloud solutions require less maintenance and can be more secure than on premise software.
2. Ensure Applications are Easy to Use
If employees see the use of technology as optional, and if “low tech” short-cuts are available, you can be sure some employees will go down those paths.
Implement solutions which are user-friendly and provide adequate support. If you find some employees dodging the use of certain technology resources, ask for feedback as to ways you could tweak or replace the tool.
Carve the complexity out of the technology equation as much as possible, and you won’t be wasting your IT dollars on applications which collect dust on a shelf.
3. Practice What You Preach
If you are a CPA who is advocating the use of technology tools by your clients, community, and employees, you had better be using it as well.
Nothing is more discouraging to an employee who is mandated to use a specific CRM software or invoice distribution system than getting called into the boss’s office to give an update that the boss could retrieve himself.
If there is a flaw in a process, or function of your system which needs to be improved to optimize tech ROI, who better to identify the flaw than you, the senior CPA?
Call it eating your own dog food or drinking your own champagne, but just do it!
4. Establish a Hardware Maintenance Schedule
Just like with a car, having your laptops or desktop computers on a predictable, regular maintenance schedule can help them last longer, perform better, and generate better returns.
Contracting with a local IT services provider like FPA for proactive maintenance services, will help you avoid the cost of an unexpected failure. This will help to make sure your operating system patches are applied and security applications are up to date.
Getting more from your IT investments doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time and energy. Tech ROI is a highly manageable metric when you apply some simple practices.
Are there aspects of your technology which you feel are draining your operating budget? Do you feel you could get a better return on your technology investment with a few simple changes? Tell us about them in the Comments section below.
And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free guide, 12 Ways for CPA Firms in LA to Utilize Technology More Efficiently.
