Product

Which Common Struggles Does a Client Portal for Accounting Firms Solve?

Published

Nov 11, 2024

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8 min

Every accounting firm needs efficient, user-friendly client portal software. Client portals for accounting firms have never been as powerful as they are today to make client communication a delightful part of a bookkeeper’s working day, not a burden.

Summary

Uku’s Client Portal for Accounting Firms – This platform is changing the game for accounting firms, making client onboarding and communication more efficient than before.
Why Client Portals Make a Difference in Accounting – Clients want fast, easy access to their information, just like they get with food delivery or banking apps.
Tackling Accountant-Client Communication Challenges – The client portal helps accountants collect documents on time and manage client onboarding without endless emails.
Future-Proofing Your Accounting Firm – By 2030, having a client portal will be as essential as having a website—it’s a must for staying competitive.
Must-Have Client Portal Features – Think task management, document sharing, and easy communication—all designed to keep everything organized and efficient.

One great example of a client portal for accounting firms is Uku’s client portal, a versatile, customizable platform that sets new standards in client onboarding, task management, and communication. Designed for accounting firms of all sizes, Uku is a transformative solution for modern client account services.

But let’s move on to the importance of client portals for accounting firms.

The Importance of Effective Client Management in Accounting

Client expectations of accounting services are always on the rise. As we now easily order food, hail a taxi, or make bank transfers, clients expect the same convenience and speed from all their service providers.

There’s a common stereotype that accountants are stuck in the Stone Age and only deal with paper and fax machines. On the contrary, apps for accountants have never been as popular as they are now, and it’s time to prove it to society.

This is why accountants must offer clients a modern self-service environment — a client portal.

Four Reasons Why Modern Client Portals Matter for Accounting Clients:

Enhance service quality
Provide 24/7 access to essential information
Improve communication efficiency
Accelerate data exchange between accountant and client

We, the Uku team, developed work management and billing software in collaboration with accountants and foresaw as early as 2018 that the future of client collaboration would be digital. We understood that most processes would be automated, requiring a powerful client portal for accountants that integrates into the accountant’s daily workflow.

What Are the Most Common Challenges a Client Portal for Accountants Solves?

Timely Collection of Expense Documents

Delays in receiving documents can delay work completion, cause interruptions, and require excessive communication time. Who wants to repeatedly email clients for the same information just to get their work done? It’s not only the wasted time but also the feeling of being lazy that makes clients feel uncomfortable.

Solution: Automated tasks and reminders in the client portal for the client.

Gathering Detailed Input for Business Analytics Report Preparation

Preparing detailed reports requires clarifications from accounting clients, such as preferences for expense categorization or the type of expenses. The client might not have the answers right away, meaning one plain meeting may not be enough to resolve the issue. Email exchanges can become lengthy and time-consuming.

Solution: Assign your clients tasks with questions and reminders within the client portal.

Starting a Partnership with a New Client

Onboarding a new client, especially when taking over accounting for an established business, is a highly information-intensive process requiring significant input and agreements. After sending your bookkeeping engagement letter and the initial meeting, many topics often remain open, from the content of quarterly reports to employee payroll discrepancies. This often involves numerous emails which consume the time of the accountant and the client.

Solution: A simple and structured client onboarding workflow in the accounting client portal (Google Form/Document).

Feedback on Collaboration

Client feedback has many benefits for accounting firms. It’s the best way to gain insight about improving your services. Additionally, if made public, it’s the best way to build trust about your accounting service quality on your website, client portal, and social media. However, asking for feedback and timing can often feel like asking for too much. To make your life easier, we’ve created 11 email templates, including one to ask for feedback from clients.

Check out the accounting email templates here.

Solution: Uku client portal’s “Wall of Love” and feedback form (Senja.io).

The Uku client portal addresses these and dozens of other similar use cases. If you are considering selecting client portal software for your accounting firm or planning to build a custom solution, it’s worth noting that building your own is typically very costly.

Many of our clients have admitted to trying to develop software themselves, but they have chosen Uku because they realize that offering accounting and developing software simultaneously is quite time-consuming and costly.

It is more practical to find a reliable service provider like Uku and order a customized client portal solution tailored to your needs. The Uku team is always open to new ideas and development directions. If you have thoughts on improving an accounting client portal, share them with us in Nolt.

Read 9 more use cases on how to use an accounting client portal

The Future of Client Portals in Accounting

“In 2020, thanks to Covid-19 restricitions, client portals started gaining popularity. By 2030, they will be as essential as a company’s website.”
– Rain Allikvee, Uku’s co-founder and accounting tech expert

This prediction reflects the rapid pace of digitalization within the accounting sector. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated working remotely and the adoption of digital solutions, making client portals an indispensable tool for many accounting firms.

What Does It Mean for Accounting Firms?

Adaptation is fundamental – Firms that do not adapt to the digital revolution risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive market.
Tech is an investment in your accounting firms future – Implementing a client portal is not just a technological upgrade but a strategic move to secure future success.
Changing client expectations – Clients increasingly expect 24/7 access to their financial data and real-time communication with their accountant.
Increased work efficiency – Automated processes and improved data management allow accountants to focus on higher-value tasks.
Competitive advantage – Early adopters gain a significant market advantage by offering modern and convenient services.
AI-powered client portals – By 2030, client portals will be powered by artificial intelligence, enabling predictive analytics, automated client interactions, and personalized insights. This advancement will further enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of accounting services, setting new standards for client collaboration.

Allikvee’s forecast highlights that client portals are not a passing trend but will become an integral part of accounting services. Just as it is unthinkable for a business today to lack a website, by 2030, it may be just as surprising to encounter an accounting firm without a client portal. And if there is an accounting firm without a portal, they’re probably not very successful.

Now is the right time for accounting firms to invest in a quality client portal software solution. This investment not only meets today’s demands but also lays the foundation for future success in an increasingly digital and AI-driven business world.

What Should a Modern Client Portal for Accountants Offer?

A modern client portal for accountants must provide a range of versatile features to meet the needs of both accountants and their clients. Let’s look closer at the key functionalities that make a client portal for accountants an effective tool.

Essential Features of a Client Portal for Accountants

Delegate Tasks to Your Accounting Firm Clients

Accountants need to conveniently assign tasks to clients where input is required for the company’s accounting processes. It’s essential that these tasks can be automated and integrated into the workflow.

For example, at the beginning of each month, the client portal should generate a task for missing documents, listing the required items.

Uku has made this process so simple that clients can easily complete a checklist within the task, upload documents, exchange messages with their accountant just as they would in Teams or Slack, and mark the task as complete once done.

Collaborate With Multiple Coworkers

It’s highly convenient when tasks can be managed by multiple people simultaneously. For instance, a task might involve two accountants and three client contacts. Each person can complete their part and communicate in one place, with the history neatly accessible.

Uku’s accounting client portal is designed precisely for such use cases, reducing endless emails and administrative time.

Manage Documents With Ease

Sharing and viewing documents is a must-have to ensure everyone is on the same page. This is essentially the cornerstone of a client portal. It’s crucial that tasks such as collecting, digitizing, and accounting for expense documents are efficient.

For example, Uku has built-in digitization for collected documents (using partners like Envoice, CostPocket, Expensify) so they can be sent in a digitized format to accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, e-conomic etc.

The client submits documents through the client portal, the accountant reviews them, and with a single click, they are transferred in a digitized form to the accounting software.

Integrate Your Services to Your Client Portal

It’s important to store files with your service provider, so all documents must integrate into your file management systems, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox, etc.

Handle Client Inquiries and Communication

It should be as easy for clients to make inquiries to their accountant as it is to send emails, perhaps even using pre-prepared templates. For example, a “Report” template might prompt the client with questions like the period, type of report, recipient, etc.

First, this is the most efficient way for the accounting firm to handle requests, as the task immediately appears on the to-do list, ensuring continuity even if someone is out sick.

Secondly, the client can easily find all past communication, avoiding lost emails, especially on older topics.

Chat with Clients Straight Through the Portal

It’s essential to have convenient communication that is faster and more efficient than email, directly related to work topics like tasks or client inquiries.

Automate Email Notifications

Any modern system should notify and follow up if something is overdue. This greatly reduces administrative time, and let’s be honest — accountants don’t enjoy chasing clients, and clients certainly don’t want to pay for that time.

Customize Your Client Portal Menu

Every accounting firm and client relationship is personal, and the client portal must support this personalization. This means the menu should allow the addition of all necessary links, such as links to expense document folders, report folders, BI reports, agreed service documents, etc.

Clients Can Easily Log In

The expectation today is that this all happens, for example, with a magic link. This means that when a client receives an email with a link to the client portal, they are automatically logged in and taken to the right place. In Uku’s accounting client portal, this is both simple and secure with a magic link arriving to the clients email inbox.

Add Your Accounting Firm’s Custom Branding

It’s essential that the client portal reflects the company’s brand, meaning it includes the company logo, colors, and ideally the company name in the URL. A great client experience might even include a welcome video from the company on their first visit.

It might seem that these features are already comprehensive and cover the most important activities efficiently. But wait, this is just the beginning! How would you like to offer a highly structured client onboarding process to new clients or provide additional services to your clients through the client portal? It could also serve as your sales channel, helping you sell your services more effectively.

A Client Portal Creates Value From 5 Perspectives

You make your accounting firm employees happier
Increases your company’s service efficiency and productivity.
Improves service quality by getting closer to your client, being available 24/7.
Makes your workflow smoother.
Enhances data security.

Ready to Take Your Client Accounting Services to the Next Level?

How to Customize Your Uku Client Portal?

Check out this overview on how to set up the client portal to meet your needs exactly. If you find that something isn’t working as you’d like, reach out to our support team—we’ll be happy to find a solution.