Economical Workflow Software

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

This may have been talked about before, but my search didn't find what I need. I am getting buried with due dates, letters to respond to and other crap to manage. I am just a one person office, but I have never had so much going on at one time. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced software or app that will help me to not miss deadlines and prioritize. I have several people that are three years behind, regular taxes, sales and payroll, and so many blasted letters to respond to that I feel like I'm drowning. My manual tax logs aren't working very well anymore. I do use ATX a lot for taxes, but it doesn't help with the additional junk .So much of what I have found online is way more expensive than I can handle. 

Thanks!

[Abby Normal]

Other tax preparers have highly recommended GQueues to me. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

[SaraEA]

If you use Microsoft Outlook for your email, it has a built-in calendar that you can link to other devices.

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

I don't use Outlook, but I do use a Google Calendar, I just haven't been  able to get the to do list on there sorted as I like it.  I don't want to miss any deadlines, because of the filing changes for fiscal years, the emails or phone calls for clients that have just "an easy question"  or the multitude of letters that people are bringing in, because they forgot something or have not filed for ages. My calendar takes care of my client appointments and the multitude of doctor appointments for my Mom and husband very well.  The software that I have specifically seen for Accountants and Tax office management seems to be geared  towards larger firms. I would like something like that, but smaller.

I probably just need to stop sleeping. I definitely should not be going away for five days in October with my family, since extensions are coming in later than they were supposed to.

[Abby Normal]

12 hours ago, NECPA in NEBRASKA said:

but I do use a Google Calendar

GQueues is made for Google Calendar. That's why I'm going to check it out... after 10/17.

[MDCPA]

5 days with family, in October, should be the priority - clients don't hesitate to take off in Jan - April 15 each year do they?

[Gail in Virginia]

17 hours ago, NECPA in NEBRASKA said:

... since extensions are coming in later than they were supposed to.

Is that your fault?  Did you cause the information to file the returns on extension to come in late?  And with some of my clients, a deadline is merely a suggestion - even if I sat here until October 17 waiting on their information, prepared to knock myself out to file it, they might not bring it in until the first of November.

[Catherine]

There is a stand-alone called "FileInTime" that is low cost and may be useful to you.

[michaelmars]

Catherine, this product looks pretty good but the online info is light.   Can you print out reports on a calendar?  I like to see the whole month with holidays and weekends visable?

 

[Catherine]

@michaelmars I do believe so but am not on the right computer at the moment.

Catherine

[michaelmars]

another post 10/15 project to look into

 

[Lion EA]

How complex do you want?

For instance, the IRS has a calendar to download with all the various tax deadlines to keep on your computer.  I think you can add to it.

Or, my web site comes with a calendar with tax deadlines already entered.  I used to then add my personal items, but continue to rely on my Filofax mainly.  But, you could put all your client deadlines, personal appointments, anything on it, and have it accessible on your computer and from anywhere you have an internet connection.  Check with what you already have in your tax prep software or web site or email provider or optional modules that work with what you already have.

I think Catherine or someone on this board (maybe more than one) had a good work-in-progress spreadsheet.  Excel allows you to create the fields you want and need for your own purposes.

[Catherine]

1 hour ago, Lion EA said:

I think Catherine or someone on this board (maybe more than one) had a good work-in-progress spreadsheet.

I do, and I have posted the no-client version a couple of times but would be happy to do so again.  I use it just for tax prep, but it certainly could be configured with whatever metric you want to track.  What it does not do is warn you of deadlines looming.

[michaelmars]

its not really taxes that I need to track, software does that.  its payroll, sales, llc fees, certiori's, financial statements, bank submissions, etc.  And just having a due date on a calendar isn't good enough if I want to track progress, which info is in, which clients owe me more info, who in staff is working on it, etc.

 

[Lion EA]

Then you're probably going to pay handsomely for truly customizable software or else customize something yourself from Excel or a database software.  For economical + customizable, you're going to have to demo a few (or maybe, many) to see what might meet your needs.  Obviously, something that allows you to add custom fields.  Call your current software provider to see if they have something for you to demo.  Take a look at Catherine's worksheet.

By the way, all the "calendar" programs I've seen DO include payroll, sales, that sneaky NY LLC fee I sometimes miss, etc., so you'd need fields to add client-specific needs, such as financial statements, info needed, staff, etc.

When my sister worked at Northrup Grumman as government liaison with all the paperwork she had to deal with and government as well as company deadlines, she used a Windows calendar to track.  She set it to alert her of upcoming events.  Her computer would Ding, and then talk to her, such as, You need to get information from Jane Doe in XYZ dept. by Friday, and send her an email, and leave a text on her screen.  I was sitting in her office one day when her computer spoke to us telling Jan she had to buy me a birthday present by tomorrow if she was going to get it in the mail to me by Friday to get it from IL to CT by my birthday!  Since I was in town, she'd already given me my gift (Cub's tickets) but had forgotten to mark that activity done.

Maybe you have a staffer who's good at research, demo-ing, customizing, etc., or three staffers.

[Abby Normal]

From the Tax & Accounting Practice Group on Facebook:

This post by popular demand. LOL. I'll preface by saying that although I really love my system now, that it's really up to the individual to find what works in their own office. I'm a solo practitioner and found many of the products out there are really aimed at teams making them bloated for what an individual needs.

I'll also say that I've looked at and done trials and betas for 6 - 8 Workflow management solutions and found reasons for why each didn't work for me. Not least of which is the price tag. When you are a one-person office you have to weigh how much you can afford. The app I'm using does have an affiliate referral program, but I'm honestly so thrilled to have something that works for me that I don't even care about making a commission on the recommendation.

It's called www.gqueues.com it's a Google product and the paid subscription price is only $25 per year. That's right just over $2 a month. It has the ability to put in due dates and make them recurring. Frankly that feature alone has me excited for payroll now. But it's given me the ability to list all my jobs and it lines them up for me. Now I just work through the list and don't have the distraction of all the other work on my desk.

[Abby Normal]

Here's a link to the Facebook group, if you want to join:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1424243784534391/

 

[michaelmars]

Catherine's FileinTime looks like it will do the job, $300 first year then $100 renewals and I can import the tax items from my tax software and just have to add the other stuff manually.