Build a Hybrid Practice: Meeting Your Clients’ Paper and Digital Needs

Build a Hybrid Practice: Meeting Your Clients’ Paper and Digital Needs

In a perfect world, every client would have the same preference for either paper or paperless accounting. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. That means your clients’ expectations for documentation could be all over the place, requiring you to adapt to fit their comfort levels.

By remaining flexible, firms can open themselves up to more potential clients. And they can do so using a digital-first approach. This means your firm’s default setting is digital — but you also don’t turn away clients who feel more comfortable with paper.

The almost paperless method is easy to implement once your team, clients, and technology are on board.

Training staff and implementation

Your digital-first strategy will fall flat without enthusiasm from your employees. Here’s a play-by-play on how to engage your team and roll out this new workflow:

Training staff on digital-first processes

Build an easy-to-understand training protocol for your new processes. Confusion during the implementation phase of your new workflow can lead to frustration, which can translate to resistance and potentially costly errors.

Managing resistance to change

Your staff may not be interested in transitioning to a digital-first workflow. Some employees may consider paper documents outdated, while others may not be interested in straying away from traditional practices. Keeping your team’s feedback in mind and providing reassurance can reduce pushback and boost overall buy-in.

Taking quality control measures

Any change to your workflow can open your team up to potential errors. While a digital-first strategy can improve your output and efficiency, there are measures you should take to avoid dips in quality during the transition period. Use these best practices:

• Create an internal system to ensure documents are properly scanned.
• Establish a consistent file naming, storage, and organization system.
• Place checkpoints throughout your workflow to ensure documents have been processed and stored in a document management system (DMS) like SmartVault.
• Generate a tracking list of documents submitted vs those still pending.

Measuring success metrics

It’s also important to track whether your new strategy is producing results. While your exact metrics may vary depending on your goals, here are a few common ways to measure digital-first success:

• Use financial metrics to compare the cost-savings of paper vs digital.
• Survey your team about their satisfaction with new workflows.
• Survey your clients about their satisfaction with new workflows.
• Use performance metrics to determine how much time you’ve saved and how much productivity has increased.

Through these metrics, you can gauge internal and external success rates. To increase internal success rates, you will need to effectively communicate your new strategy to your team and ensure they understand how digital-first workflows can benefit them.

Implementing client communication strategies

With digital-first accounting, your clients no longer have to choose between paper and digital — simplifying their lives. Take this opportunity to explain how your digital-first approach is a win-win for them. Communicating effectively with clients and nurturing your relationships will be critical to a smooth transition.

Educating clients on options and setting expectations

As you debut your new policies, you should maintain open communication with your clients to ensure they understand what’s to come. Remember, they haven’t had the same amount of time to learn about these digital-first processes as you have.

Paper-only clients may be concerned that you’re going paperless. To reduce client anxiety, take the time to explain how this new practice benefits them, even if they don’t adopt digital options. For example, many firms that use a digital-first approach can enhance client services — creating more time for meaningful client conversations and cutting down on response times.

Handling transitions

If a client agrees to try your digital options, maintaining their confidence throughout the transition is important. Errors or confusion can lead to a lack of trust, client complaints, or even a loss of business.

Leveraging the right technology will allow you to keep your clients’ data safe and organized. For paper-first clients, address their concerns by effectively communicating your cybersecurity measures from the start.

Managing preferences

Get feedback from your clients about their preferences. If you can accommodate their requests, doing so will help manage your relationship. However, be transparent about what is and is not possible so you don’t over-promise or go against your own policies.

Integrating technology

You need to invest in the right tools to create an effective digital-first practice. Solutions like SmartVault and ScanSnap let you turn paper documents into digital assets, allowing you to work with paper and digital clients without sacrificing efficiency.

ScanSnap’s integration with SmartVault lets your team easily scan paper documents into your digital data for 24/7, secure access across your firm. This integration streamlines your digitization process, provides automatic document organization, and even allows you to scan on the go with mobile scanning options.

This hybrid digital and paper environment pulls your paper files out of cluttered filing cabinets and brings them into the cloud — allowing your team to increase collaboration and accessibility.

In addition to digitizing paper documents, a solution like SmartVault can also:

• Automate workflows
• Streamline online document storage, organization, and sharing
• Secure client data
• Enable client collaboration
• Prevent errors
• Simplify e-signature collection
• Maintain compliance with industry regulations

These benefits enhance the flexibility and productivity of your firm, allowing you to process more returns, stay ahead during your busy season, and broaden your potential customer base.

Create your new process with SmartVault

Building a digital-first practice enhances your flexibility and productivity, allowing you to maximize your customer base and revenue. Equipped with a digital-first accounting strategy and a solution like SmartVault, your team can create efficient processes with paper and digital assets alike.

Ready to get started? Schedule a demo with our team to learn more about how SmartVault can set your digital-first transition into motion.