We talked about the present and future of the Uku client portal with its creator, visionary Rain Allikvee. Accounting clients have exciting news to come, and accountants can enjoy an easier life.

Rain is a visionary, product designer, and user experience creator with a great passion for technology. Rain Allikvee connects two initially seemingly different worlds: technology and art. Uniting the two, he offers practical and easy-to-use solutions, considering how to make the software benefit its users.

Rain, what will the modern accounting firm look like in 5 years?

“I imagine that in five years, 95% of the data in accounting offices will be digitised. Information exchange between accountants occurs through software and their integrations.

Accountants’ work processes are automated, and client communication is swift and online.

Accountants must only ensure the automation works so they control the input and output. The accountant’s job in five years is to advise clients, communicate with them and give them an overview of the company’s financial matters to their accounting clients. Instead of entering data, the work of an accountant becomes much more creative because services are designed even more based on clients’ needs.

In 5 years, the accountant will be more in the role of a financial advisor, but only if the client’s data is in order.

Only the best technical tools can provide orderly data and fast data exchange.

The pressure on accountants to provide consultation is undoubtedly increasing, and there is not enough time for consultations when doing manual accounting.”

Where did the idea to create a client portal come from?

“Uku is an accountant’s digital assistant with a big mission – to help accountants be more efficient in their work and to ask for fair fees.

To do their work, accountants often need client input, such as documents, receipts or transaction information. Business owners also need information about the company’s finances to organise the organisation’s work.

Now is the time to bring powerful solutions to client communication and cooperation.

The Client Portal has always been part of Uku’s vision. Today, we have completed the first step so that the accountant and their clients can cooperate more effectively. Accountants can optimise their work processes with Uku’s many features for practice management.”

Why would an accounting client move from email to a client portal and find time for another commitment?

“The activity log in the client portal is available in parallel both in the portal and your email inbox. If someone creates a task, directs or delegates it, etc., the client receives an email about it, so they don’t have to visit the portal regularly. The portal itself invites your client when necessary. Plus, no more emails or phone calls with reminders.

The portal itself reminds the client if a task has passed the deadline.

Your client can also ditch browsing, searching and filtering their email inbox, thinking, “Did I send all the documents to my accountant?” All they have to do is log in to the client portal, and they’ll see everything that still needs to be done as a task.

The list of important input for an accountant is always available in the portal, and nothing is missed.

When looking for archived information, the email box can be inadequate. In Uku, however, all your clients’ information is easily accessible. In addition, the quality of information storage does not depend on a person. Even if the client’s accountant gets sick or changes, all client information is still entered according to the standard and remains.

The client can log in to the portal via a magic link and doesn’t have to remember a password or username. Clients with the right access receive a magic link in their email and are safely in the client portal with a click.”

How much time does the client portal save for accountants?

“Today, the client portal saves about two hours of the accountant’s time weekly by not having to send reminder letters and check whether your accounting client responded because the workflows are automated.

If you started using the client portal today, you could automate the entire work process of obtaining documents:

• The tasks of collecting documents emerge from the task plan for the accountant;
• The task already contains a list of documents that can be changed if necessary. You can check what you still lack in your accounting program, e.g. Xero or e-conomic;
• You forward the task to the client who receives the email;
• From an email, the client gets to the portal with one click and submits the documents to the task;
• The accountant will receive a notification when the documents have been uploaded;
• The accountant opens the task and sends the documents directly to digitisation.
• Done! With less digital garbage and many times faster than before!”

What else can accountants and their accounting clients do in Uku’s Client Portal? 

Some client portal use cases for accountants:

• Collecting documents
• Document backup
• Clients can submit questions and requests, which can be converted into billable additional work with a click.
• Organising meetings and service evidence: questions, answers, scheduling meetings, video call link, memos – everything in one place.
• Sharing documents and reports.
• Read more about client portal use cases for accountants

If you want to learn more about Uku’s Client Portal, try it free for 14 days, or book a free personal demo with a Uku expert to find out how the client portal suits you.