When many accountants hear the term “workflow software,” they immediately think of the tax preparation process. While workflow is important in tax prep, it is certainly not limited to just this area of practice, or for that matter, only to any one particular application or process. Rather, workflow is both a technique and an overall approach.

“While tax prep workflow is certainly important, the overall objective of any workflow software is to help you get client work done on time,” said David Cristello, CEO of Jetpack Workflow Inc. “I would say key differences, however, would be the complexity of handling and managing non-tax work. Practically speaking, the amount of weekly, biweekly and monthly work is extensive and an important difference. Whereas 500 tax returns equal 500 deadlines for a given year, 500 monthly accounting clients is 6,000 deadlines for a given year.”

Stuart McLeod, CEO and co-founder of Karbon, added, “In reality, an accounting workflow solution must be so much more than simply workflow. The single-serve accountant-client relationship has become a thing of the past, and workflow software should be just as useful for managing internal operations, any service across a full year with a client, or a once-a-year tax return.”

“Workflow software provides the foundation that helps to deliver an exceptional client experience by shifting a firm’s focus from office operations to efficiently and effectively meeting client needs,” said Matthew Groom, senior product marketing manager for AbacusNext (which was recently purchased by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners). Read On: