Branagans is a six-person accountancy practice in Rotherham, run by directors Donna and Dave Branagan. It has TaxCalc behind its compliance work and uses Engager to keep deadlines, tasks and onboarding in one place across its two South Yorkshire offices.
In short
- Branagans started out filing with HMRC’s own software, which it found basic and hard to use as the client base grew.
- Engager’s red, amber and green dashboard keeps every deadline in view, and tasks can be set for anyone, in the office or at home.
- Onboarding now runs from prospect to proposal to letter of engagement in Engager, and new clients no longer need setting up twice.
A growing practice on basic tools
Over 24 years, Branagans has grown from a small bank of clients into a firm that acts as the “internal accountant” for its limited company clients. It looks after around 350 clients and recently opened a second office in Sheffield.
In the early days the firm filed using HMRC’s own software. As the work became more complex, that stopped being enough.
“We were just using HMRC’s software, which was quite basic. It wasn’t very user friendly at all.”
Some jobs were still done by hand. iXBRL tagging was manual, and with paper documents going out for signature, a trip to the post office was part of the daily routine.
Why Branagans added Engager
TaxCalc has been the firm’s compliance software for more than 15 years. Donna values that it keeps up with legislation for them.
“TaxCalc keeps everything updated. If there are any legislative changes, you can rely on it. In case you’ve missed something, TaxCalc won’t have missed it.”
The missing piece was a single view of the practice. After seeing Engager at Accountex, the directors booked a demo and liked the efficiencies it offered.
How Branagans works now
Every deadline at a glance
The Engager dashboard uses a red, amber and green traffic light system, so the team can see which deadlines need attention first. Tasks can be set for anyone in the team, whether they are in one of the offices or working from home.
Onboarding in one flow
New clients move from prospect to proposal to letter of engagement in Engager. Because Engager works with TaxCalc, a new client only needs setting up once.
“I like that I can just have Engager open and everything’s there about the client. I’m not having to skate about between different software. The information is just there in front of me.”
Less paper, fewer trips out
Signing documents electronically has cut the firm’s paper, ink and postage costs and ended the daily post office run. Individual tax returns now take minutes.
The result
The team works from one place, with deadlines and client information in front of them. Dave says the software has the team’s backing.
“None of the team ever moans about TaxCalc.”
When Donna recently mentored someone setting up their own practice, the directors recommended both products.
“We said, get these in from the get go and you’ll not go far wrong. You’ve just got everything in one place, and you’ve got your finger on the pulse.”
The bottom line
Branagans has moved from basic filing tools to one joined-up system, with:
- A traffic light view of every deadline
- Tasks shared across two offices and home working
- Onboarding from prospect to signed letter in one place
- Clients set up once, not twice
- No more daily post office run
Frequently asked questions
What did Branagans use before Engager?
Branagans started out filing with HMRC’s own software, with iXBRL tagging done by hand and paper documents posted out for signature. It has used TaxCalc for compliance for more than 15 years and added Engager after seeing it at Accountex.
How does Branagans keep track of deadlines?
The Engager dashboard shows deadlines with a red, amber and green traffic light system, and tasks can be set for team members in either office or at home.
How does Branagans onboard new clients?
Onboarding runs in Engager from prospect to proposal to letter of engagement, and the connection with TaxCalc means a new client does not need setting up twice.
Would Branagans recommend Engager and TaxCalc?
Yes. The directors recommended both to someone Donna was mentoring as they set up their own practice, saying to get them in from the start.
