Does working past 5:00 pm, opening your laptop on a Sunday afternoon, and taking calls at all hours sound familiar? If so... ouch. Of course, there are times of the year when every accountant is working overtime, but if you find yourself staying late in the office every week, it’s time to look at where you can save time.  

A great way to do this is by automating processes in your practice.   

Automating processes, from extracting client data to transferring journals between packages, not only shortens the time it takes to complete tasks, but can also reduce the possibility of errors occurring, improving the standard of your work. Although accountants are always busy, you do have a great advantage over other professional service industries with your access to innovative technology. A perfect example of one such technology is software integrations, which are a great way to automate everyday processes. Below, we look at 3 powerful integrations that can save you time.  

Accounts production and bookkeeping software  

The first integration is between your bookkeeping software and accounts production software. Typically, you would use an API integration to populate trial balances from your bookkeeping software into your accounts production software. This is a really important integration if you want to reduce the amount of time you spend on duplicating work.       

However, if you want to save even more time, you can use an all-in-one solution. When the bookkeeping platform, Surf Accounts is used in conjunction with Surf Accounts Production, the two platforms seamlessly combine to form one system. So, instead of using an API to send information from one system to the other, the data is automatically there.    

This allows our customers who use Surf’s full accounting solution to complete all their bookkeeping and year-end work from the one system. That means, no more flicking between screens and software applications. It also offers you the opportunity to expand your offering by introducing extra bookkeeping services which doesn’t require much extra time, as the data is already in the software. Ultimately, by capitalising on the integration, you can: 

• Complete all your work from the one system, making it easy to train employees and keep your workflow smooth 
• Increase productivity as users don't have to switch back and forth between programs 
• Introduce scalability into your practice 

Payroll software and bookkeeping software 

Automating your payroll process can be a life changer. Payroll has typically been a time-consuming, manual, and unprofitable job for accounting practices. Integrating your payroll software and bookkeeping software can reduce the time you spend on payroll. With it, you only need to enter the payroll data in once.  

The integration between Surf Accounts and BrightPay Payroll Software allows you to create your payroll journal file in BrightPay, and transfer it straight into Surf Accounts in the correct format. This saves you time as you are removing the need to manually transcribe the data, or export and import CSV files from your payroll software to Surf Accounts.  

 Integrating bookkeeping software with a data extraction tool 

Another integration you can take advantage of is at the pre-accounting stage, between your accounting software and a data extraction tool, such as Dext Prepare. Dext Prepare automates how you process your clients’ paperwork, from submission through to reconciliation. Essentially, your clients can submit their documents, such as receipts or invoices, through the Dext Prepare app.    

They can do this either by taking photos of them or uploading pdfs. This information is captured and processed, which can then be sent directly to your accounting software, such as Surf. It's a much more efficient way for clients to provide you with their paperwork. You don’t need to handle crumpled or damaged documents, chase invoices, or worry about where you file them, as they are stored on the cloud.    

Dext’s automatic data extraction, coupled with the integration with Surf, optimises a process, that traditionally takes a huge amount of time. By removing manual data entry from your workflow, you can make room to add more value for your clients. Wondering how much time this can save you? Once a document is uploaded, the average processing time is under 30 seconds. This compares to 2 minutes of manual entry time.   

Interested in more content like this?  

In the guide ’Poor time management is costing accountants money’, we look at how automation, integration and essential time management tips can be used by accountants to save time when creating financial statements. You can read the full guide below.