CRM for accounting experts—does this really exist ? Of course it does !
All too often, we think of CRM as a marketing tool, however, sometimes we forget that this type of management software can be used in all departments and by all industries. Basically, it’s useful for everyone, including accountants! Furthermore, you’ll enjoy .
But before we discuss the benefits and features of CRM for accounting experts, it’s important to understand the defining features of this type of customer relationship management software.
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What is CRM ?
Whether you’re an accounting expert or not, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the best software for making important information on your clients and partners easily accessible.
Basically, CRM brings together and centralizes all the existing interactions between your clients, your leads and your organization. It’s also used to customize communications for each client based on the information you have collected about them. CRM is also a powerful tool for automating many repetitive tasks, thereby saving you valuable time.
With a proper CRM implementation, your organization will benefit from a tool that adapts to your processes, simplifies the exchange of information and strengthens collaboration between all the players essential for your growth. CRM will help you with your sales, marketing and communications—not to mention your customer service!
There are 3 types of CRM software to meet your business goals:
- Operational CRM, for automating all of your sales, marketing and client management processes.
- Analytical CRM, for processing all of your client data for better decision making.
- Collaborative CRM, for improving communication between teams and streamlining the exchange of information.
Furthermore, depending on your needs, CRM can be accessible on site (directly on your servers), on a cloud (hosted remotely) or through open source (you can modify its source code as you wish).
In short, a CRM is great for improving your efficiency. But how does this management software create value for accounting experts? Let’s take a closer look at this.
CRM for accounting experts: why do accountants need it ?
CRM for accounting experts is brimming with tangible benefits for accounting professionals, who must often manage a colossal flow of financial and fiscal data. If you’re an accountant, you know just how easy it is to get lost among all the reports, supporting documents and calculation files!
In the midst of all of that, it’s difficult to set aside the time needed to find new clients and build customer loyalty. Luckily, CRM for accounting experts lightens your workload in several ways:
- It helps you create long-term customer relationships:
Among other benefits, this software helps you manage your meetings, optimize invoice generation and create automated follow-up emails to foster your business relationships. You can also use the data you have at hand to send them customized content. The more you know about your customers, the more your CRM for accounting experts will help you build solid relationships with your customers and partners. - It centralizes your information:
CRM centralizes your client data to use your information properly, divide up your database, anticipate your clients’ expectations and increase your work productivity. You can then track a client’s journey and update their profile to reflect any changes (of which there are many in the world of accounting!) whenever you want. Having such a robust database will also make it much easier to transform your leads into clients. The icing on the cake? You’ll also give your clients more independence, as they’ll always have 24/7 access to their data from any location. They can even access explanatory or training documents. - It helps you prioritize your actions:
Thanks to automated dashboards and a number of performance indicators, your accounting CRM easily informs you about the profitability of each of your projects and help you identify your business’ most profitable clients. After all, you’re not only an accounting expert, you’re also your own operations manager. A CRM for accounting experts generates customized reports tailored to your needs and objectives. - It makes your marketing activities easier:
By targeting, dividing up, automating and analyzing, your CRM makes your marketing more efficient. In particular, you can automate and customize newsletter campaigns or implement remarketing/retargeting tools to convert leads.
Furthermore, the ability of your CRM for accounting experts to make good use of information will provide you with new sales opportunities. You can then cross-sell by suggesting additional products and services for your clients to attain your growth objectives. In addition to generating new sales, you’re also offering them better consulting services. What more could you ask for?
These benefits are made possible thanks to a range of features that are very important in the daily activities of an accounting expert.
What features should you look for in a CRM for accounting experts ?
There are so many CRMs for accounting experts on the market. So how do you know which one to turn to?
To summarize the benefits of a CRM for accounting experts, let’s categorize these features into 3 distinct—but complementary—groups:
- Marketing features
- Client management tools
- Full access to complete client history
- Integration of new clients into the CRM
- Consolidated and repeated client information to minimize errors and improve communication
- Segmentation and automation of marketing campaigns
- Improved brand image
- Reports and analyses to improve your existing strategies
- Automation/centralization features
- Implementation of automated workflows
- Automated client follow-ups
- Document archiving
- Automated emails and replies
- Automated tracking to save time and strengthen customer relationships
- Invoice management to accelerate the process and eliminate potential errors
- Communication/collaboration features
- Accountant-client communication tools
- Easy document sharing
- Access management for each user
- Secure exchange of information between different departments within a business
Above all, make sure you choose a CRM for accounting experts that can:
- Make you stand out
- Give your clients more independence
- Solidify your reputation and brand image
- Customize your workflows
- Automate routine tasks
- Improve communication
- Minimize errors
However, to benefit from all these features, you’ll need to opt for the right CRM for accounting experts.
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Microsoft Dynamics, the best CRM for accounting
At Gestisoft, we have chosen Microsoft Dynamics as the CRM solution for our clients. Our reasoning is simple: it’s by far the CRM software with the most to offer, as much for accountants as for other professionals.
This intelligent cloud-based platform combines CRM and ERP (Entreprise Resource Planning) tools within the very same ecosystem, meaning you can count on an all-in-one solution to carry out your operations.
Extensible, scalable, ergonomic and customizable, the Microsoft Dynamics platform is compatible with all of the accounting software that you use, in particular:
- Quickbooks Online
- Xero
- FreshBooks
- Sage
- NetSuite
Furthermore, Microsoft Dynamics is compatible with the entire Microsoft environment, making it easy to transfer information.
Think about all the time you save by having the calculations from your Excel spreadsheet transferred to your CRM for accounting experts! What’s more, imagine how much simpler it is to communicate and transfer information when you can integrate Microsoft Teams into your CRM [link in French only].
Whether you’re an accountant working at a business or independently, Microsoft Dynamics includes a number of modules to help you work more efficiently:
- Microsoft Dynamics Sales and Marketing: convert more leads, improve the customer experience and maximize the efficiency of your accounting activities.
- Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service: offer exceptional customer service to your clients by providing them with self-serve tools and centralizing client information.
To summarize everything we have covered, Microsoft Dynamics is a secure, user-friendly CRM that adapts to your needs, scales up over time and integrates handily into the ecosystem of accounting experts.
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A CRM for accounting experts that makes you stand out from your competition
Businesses as well as accountants must stand out from the crowd by offering better customer service, which is precisely what a CRM like Microsoft Dynamics helps you achieve, with options that will save you both time and money.
However, implementing such a CRM is a significant investment requiring advanced expertise. You can count on our customized solutions to help you gain full control over your accounting operations—for yourself or your clients.
