MWR Accountants was founded in 2010 and now runs four offices across the South West of England and South Wales, with a team of ten.
Managing director Jonathan Rees is growing the firm through acquisition, with three more offices in advanced talks and others expected to follow.
The challenge
Confirmation statements, accounts deadlines and self assessments were all tracked across several spreadsheets. For a firm planning to add more offices, that was not a safe foundation.
“The problem with spreadsheets is they can be edited, lost, or corrupted, which is not really a great way to run a practice.”
The solution
An easy decision
MWR has used TaxCalc for tax since 2010 and for accounts production since 2016. Engager’s link with TaxCalc made the choice of practice management software straightforward.
Finding the bottlenecks
Engager shows the leadership team where work is building up and who needs help.
“It’s been about monitoring the workflows, seeing where we’ve got bottlenecks, and being able to give support to staff who are struggling for whatever reason, whether it’s just the timing of deadlines.”
Onboarding and clearance in one place
“You basically set the client up, create the letters of engagement, and then once you’ve got the details of the other accountant, you can send all the letters through the system for clearance. It’s been really useful, saving a lot of time on admin.”
Answers from a report, not a spreadsheet hunt
For Making Tax Digital, a single report showed which clients would be affected.
“With MTD, for example, we knew from the system, by running a simple report, who was going to get caught by that, whereas historically we’d have had to troll through spreadsheets and pull it together. One simple report and there it is. It’s a real cost saving.”
The result
“It’s been a game changer, onboarding new clients is a doddle, a really, really useful system.”
“The more we use it, the more we’re getting out of it. I’m sure there are still elements of it we should be spending a bit more time getting set up properly, but from day one it’s been a big time saver for us. I can’t fault it.”
Next, the firm plans to set up automated client communications in Engager, including bulk messages and checklist chasers, before the next tax season.
A template for every new office
MWR now has a repeatable plan for the firms it acquires, with training sessions for new managers and staff, and the same systems in every office.
“Our intention is to take the tech stack that’s working really well for us and print that onto the other firms we’re looking at. I can’t see us wanting to move to another system now, it’s been really, really good.”
Jonathan’s advice
“Just do it. You won’t regret it.”
The bottom line
- Fragile spreadsheets replaced by one connected system
- Bottlenecks spotted early, with support where it is needed
- Onboarding and professional clearance handled in one place
- A ready-made set-up for every practice MWR acquires
