Jim Buffington from Intuit Accountants predicts integration will go beyond your staff in 2021:

Jim expects more integrated and automated client communication journeys using tools like Karbon’s Client Tasks, Zoom and Calendly, making the whole process more collaborative and seamless between firms and their clients.

Knowing how to select the right tools to successfully integrate your tech stack requires consideration. Don’t rush this process—the time spent making the right selection is time saved later.

How to choose the best integrated tech stack for your firm

Optimizing your tech stack, or starting from scratch, is no small feat. You’ll need to assess your firm’s needs and prioritize the options available.

You can use this template to help you evaluate the technology available to your accounting practice and clients, to ultimately identify the best solutions.

Make sure you’re ticking the right boxes during your research with the following structure:

1. Identify your major issues (and opportunities)

2. Prioritize your infrastructure

3. Review the options for your top priorities

4. Evaluate the potential vendors

5. Decide the criteria that are most important to your firm

6. Assign a weighting to each criteria

7. Score your vendor options based on the criteria weighting

8. Calculate the scores

9. Trial your winner

Step-by-step instructions for you to complete this process: Selecting the right technology for the modern accounting practice

As you go, you’ll want to ask yourself some questions too:

• Does it live up to your expectations?

• Will it solve your problem?

• Does it integrate the way you need it to?

Become a digital-first, integrated accounting firm

By using this structure, you'll confidently be able to identify the solutions that are right for your firm and clients, adopting the right technology at the right time that will make your firm more efficient, give you a vital competitive advantage, and embody that all-important buzzword: integration.