Four ways FreeAgent can help improve your client relationships

Ahead of International Accounting Day we’re reflecting on some of the changes technology has brought about in the accounting industry over the last few years.

FreeAgent has been at the forefront of this wave of innovation, empowering practices and their small business clients by digitising and automating accounting tasks. Here are four ways that FreeAgent can boost your client relationships.

1. Go from number-cruncher to valuable adviser

Even in this digital age some small business owners continue to visit their accountant once a year with a shoebox full of paperwork to organise, which isn’t the best use of an accountant’s time! To show these clients where your true value lies, introduce them to FreeAgent and encourage them to store their finances digitally, letting the software crunch the numbers instead. Your clients will save time on admin tasks and you’ll have more time to review their data and offer valuable advice that could help their business flourish.

2. Work from accurate figures

Even if your clients are already using FreeAgent, they may still find it hard to keep their accounts up to date if their customers aren’t paying on time or if they have a pile of expenses to get through. The consequences of working from incomplete data affect you both; your clients may struggle to accurately forecast their cashflow and you could find it more challenging to provide them with practical business advice.

Luckily, your clients can use FreeAgent’s automatic invoice reminders to send reminder emails automatically when an invoice becomes overdue.

When your clients’ expense receipts are stacking up, the bulk import feature comes in really handy! Your clients can use this feature to upload several expenses at once rather than having to create each one manually.

By keeping their accounts up to date with FreeAgent your clients will be able to keep a better eye on their incomings and outgoings and you’ll be able to give them accurate advice for growing their businesses.

3. Sync transactional data

It’s likely that some of your clients spend a considerable amount of time and effort manually downloading electronic statements from their bank accounts and uploading these into FreeAgent. However, many clients can sync their bank transactions from their bank account straight into FreeAgent by using Open Banking bank feeds.

We’ve recently rolled out lots of brand new Open Banking bank feeds and we’re releasing more feeds all the time. By using these bank feeds your clients will no longer have to manually download and upload statements and you’ll save considerable time when reconciling their bank transactions.

4. Take a closer look with Insights

Insights is an innovative feature that uses your clients’ data in FreeAgent to highlight certain aspects of their businesses’ performance. It also flags opportunities and potential issues so that your clients can make well-informed decisions about their business finances. There are currently four Insights available:

• Top customers - this Insight highlights your clients' top five customers from the last six months.
• Upcoming VAT payment - this lets your client know when they have an upcoming VAT payment to budget for.
• Slowest-paying customers - this shows your client their slowest-paying customers from the past 12 months and offers guidance to help them get paid faster.
• Top spending categories - this highlights your client’s top five spending categories from the last six months to give them a clearer picture of their outgoings.

Your clients can use Insights to help with some of the smaller decisions that affect their day-to-day activities while you can focus on delivering any bigger picture advisory requirements that they may have.

Technology is a driving force for change in the accounting industry and it presents a number of opportunities for you and your practice. FreeAgent can help you save time by automating data entry processes so you can offer more valuable advice and improve your client relationships.