new information needs to be shared.
by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless
many firms today maintain contact information within multiple applications such as practice management, outlook, tax systems, and other marketing and crm (customer relationship management) programs.
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too often, a significant amount of time is wasted in firms pulling contact information together, reconciling and verifying lists for mailings, invitations and even organizers. it is critical that firms centralize the updating of contact information for consistency.
for example, tax personnel, who are often the first to be made aware of a change, may make the change within their tax program and not pass the change to others. we recommend all changes, from every source, need to be sent to administration where one person can update all databases for consistency.
according to the cpafma 2015 survey, 91 percent of firms have a centralized contact management list; 67 percent of firms maintained this list in their practice management application.
many firms utilize a client contact form on their intranet that can be routed to the administrative department via email. this individual is then trained to update all applications and if necessary, email those that could be impacted.
in the next few years, the number of different databases a firm maintains will reduce as the major vendors integrate their products around a central contact list, which we believe will be the firm’s practice management application. the latest products from cch and thomson reuters function on sql databases and can be integrated with microsoft exchange such that any changes made in practice can be exported to outlook. if the firm is also using the same tax vendor as their practice management vendor, the new versions also can be integrated so that firms can access one contact list. some firms will utilize a dedicated crm application but we recommend this just be utilized by the marketing department and for individual marketing campaigns.
email has become the primary means of communicating with clients in 87 percent of firms. – aaa 2013 survey
we anticipate the core users in the firm will rely on the contact data within time and billing that is linked to their other applications. procedures need to be in place to avoid inconsistencies, with best practices pointing to a central person being properly trained to update all necessary databases.
recommended actions:
- create a standard contact form incorporating all current contact database information and implement a centralized process to update all databases concurrently, particularly the practice management system used by the firm.
- if using an older time and billing system, evaluate new practice management applications with superior integration. plan to upgrade soon.