How TMS increased productivity by 40%

TMS Tax, Accounting and Financial Services are on a mission to help their clients discover their dreams and work towards making them a reality.

A team of nine spread across two countries, from over four nationalities and speaking over five different languages, the TMS team draw strength from their diversity.

“We work as one,” explains Maris Vercide, office manager. “We’re not just a firm, we’re a family.”

And that not only enriches their culture, but it impacts their ability to deliver superior services to their clients. Their main focus lies in strengthening small, family-run businesses and asset protection.

“[Our culture] makes us more relatable to our clients. We always explain the importance of protecting your family, just like we protect our own. That’s the core of our business.”

“It’s more than tax returns—we’re about protecting your family and your wealth.”

Taking a proactive approach to business

The TMS of today is a very different firm from their genesis in the early 90s.

The leadership team knew that the days of paper-based firms were numbered, and so they slowly began transitioning to the cloud.

“It was a big transition to the cloud originally—it was challenging but really helpful, both for us and our clients,” says Maris.

And being on the front foot meant that by 2020, the TMS team were able to continue operations remotely without risking their output or the value they bring to their clients.

“When the pandemic came, it was really easy for us [to continue working] because we were already working this way for two years. Our clients were already used to it.”

Finding and using the right tools to manage a distributed team

Having a team dispersed across the world presents unique challenges, and arguably one of the biggest is the consolidation of work, client information and communication.

And that consolidation is the first problem TMS was trying to solve when they found Karbon. They soon realized that Karbon could play an integral role in their overall transition to the cloud.

“Originally, we were looking for a CRM and we chose Karbon because it’s an accountant-friendly tool,” explains Maris.

As Office Manager, Maris is responsible for managing, creating, assigning and distributing work across the team.

Before Karbon, this process was manual and clunky.

“I always try to maximize a tool. I don’t just stick to how we originally set out to use it. I explore it, work out other ways to use automation, and how I can make it work easier for me. We test things until we get it right.”

And thanks to Karbon features such as Client Tasks, the TMS team is able to enjoy what Maris calls "one-click experiences".

“Karbon is saving us more time, unlike ever before.”

“Karbon makes it easy for me to contact our accountants to distribute work. I can just add a comment to advise them, rather than having to forward an email. The comments in Karbon are an area that I really, really love.”

Because of their now-streamlined workflow within Karbon, TMS are benefiting from a 40% increase in productivity.

Plus, their ability to forecast and plan means their workloads are clear and flexible.

“Kanban helps me give the team a bigger view over what’s happening, and being able to sort by due date lets the team know what’s a priority and what isn’t,” says Maris.

Prepared for growth

TMS are on a mission to grow their practice.

Their marketing efforts are increasing to help achieve this, which puts additional pressure on the team, Maris admits.

“But it’s for the better, because it’s helping us expand. The good thing is, now that we’re marketing our firm, we have already-established automation ready for new clients, which is helpful for us to assist them quicker.”

And it’s because of their foresight into the value of the cloud that their current and future clients can feel secure in their accounting firm’s ability to safeguard their wealth, grow their business and protect their families, without missing a step.

Key results

• 40% increase in productivity

• Manage a team of nine across two countries

• Full visibility across all work and communication

• Reduced manual processes with automation