Tax season is a whirlwind. Between juggling client communications, managing deadlines, and ensuring compliance, the last thing you need is a cumbersome e-signature process. Enter Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) e-signatures—a secure, IRS-compliant method for obtaining electronic signatures on critical tax documents like Form 8879.​

At Keeper, we've seamlessly integrated KBA e-signatures into our Tax Suite, eliminating the need for third-party tools and streamlining your workflow.​

What is KBA, and why does it matter?

KBA is a security measure that verifies a signer's identity by prompting them to answer questions based on public records (think previous addresses or loan details). This method ensures that the person signing the document is indeed who they claim to be.

For tax professionals, KBA is a legal requirement. The IRS mandates KBA for electronically signed Forms 8878 and 8879, which exist to authorize the e-filing of an individual’s tax returns.

The old way:

Historically, incorporating KBA into your tax workflow meant relying on separate platforms, leading to:​

• Manual data transfers between systems
• Increased risk of errors
• Additional costs for standalone KBA services
• Disjointed client experiences​

These inefficiencies can obviously slow down your operations and increase the likelihood of compliance issues or overwhelm for tax teams, which is exactly why we built a KBA feature into our Tax Suite. Now, your firm can securely manage and verify signatures without leaving the platform.

The Keeper way:

Keeper’s e-signature features makes sending, signing, and verifying documents simple. The highlights include:

• Uploading documents directly from a client’s tax return page in Keeper.
• Adding multiple signers and customize the signing order easily.
• Customizing fields with various types (text, signature, date, etc.), ensuring all necessary information is clearly requested. Make templates so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each tax season.
• Optional KBA verification enhances security, verifying the signer’s identity through personal information and public records.

How it works:

1. Enable KBA verification simply by selecting "KBA signature required" from the Role drop-down when adding recipients.
2. Pay per signature: affordable pricing ($1 per signature in the US) covers the cost of verification.
3. Pre-fill optional client details (such as Name, Address, Date of Birth, and SSN) or let clients provide this information during the verification process.
4. Signers complete verification by answering KBA questions before being redirected seamlessly to sign their document.

Put simply: clients get a link, they answer a few simple questions, and they sign. They’ll automatically receive confirmation, and so will you. That’s it!

Stay organized and compliant

Once completed, signatures and related documents are auto-organized within Keeper’s Files tab, accessible anytime. Both you and your client receive notifications confirming the completed signatures.

Keeper’s integrated KBA e-signatures simplify your firm’s workflow, ensuring secure, compliant, and stress-free tax seasons. Ready to get started?

The post Simplify IRS Compliance with KBA e-Signatures in Keeper appeared first on Keeper.

When Linda Spinale launched Honeycomb Bookkeeping in 2021, she set out to provide two things: exceptional service to a handful of clients, and a better work-life balance for herself.

What she didn’t anticipate was how quickly her firm would grow. Within just four months, she hired her first employee, and soon, she was leading a fast-growing team. To maintain the high level of service her clients had come to expect, Linda knew she needed systems that could scale with them. That’s when she heard about Keeper.

Implementing Systems for Growth

Initially hesitant about adopting an entirely new platform right before the busy season, Linda was won over by Keeper’s Prepare 1099s Report. She found that it eliminated a notoriously painful part of the bookkeeping workflow by automatically excluding credit card spend from 1099 payments. But what started as a solution for 1099 season quickly evolved into a complete practice management overhaul.
With Keeper, the Honeycomb Bookkeeping team could now:

• Track team progress in real-time, ensuring tasks were completed consistently without micromanagement.
• Automate reporting and analytics, providing clients with tailored insights beyond standard financial statements.
• Standardize onboarding, allowing for immediate client integration that makes way for efficient scaling.

A 30% Time Savings Per Client

With Keeper in place, Linda’s team saved approximately 30% of their time per client. This efficiency gain translated into significant firm-wide growth—Honeycomb Bookkeeping added three new bookkeepers and over 50 clients in just 18 months.

[Keeper] has transformed our firm into what I feel is a truly legitimate business... My bookkeepers can handle more, and I feel very strongly that Keeper has allowed us to become the firm that we are.

Curious to see what Keeper can do for your practice? Book a personalized demo today.

The post How Honeycomb Bookkeeping's Team Reclaims 30% of Their Time Each Month with Keeper appeared first on Keeper.

Ever get stuck waiting on missing receipts or scrambling to reconcile uncategorized transactions at month’s end? Most accounting professionals have been there, juggling multiple apps, and sending clients endless follow-up emails. But what if a single, integrated tool could streamline every stage of your monthly close—from task management to real-time collaboration with clients?

In a recent Earmark Expo, Andy from Keeper demonstrated how one cloud-based practice management platform can tackle the monthly close in a streamlined, client-friendly way.

1. Streamlined Task and Project Management

A smooth month-end close starts with effective planning. Instead of juggling spreadsheets or generic project tools, Keeper lets you create recurring monthly tasks alongside ad-hoc projects (e.g., onboarding, payroll processing, sales tax). You can:

• Set Custom Frequencies: Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly tasks with specific due dates.
• Create Checklists & SOPs: Store all the instructions, links, and passwords your team needs.
• View Firm-Wide Progress: A central dashboard shows each client’s close status, from pre-close tasks to account reconciliations.

From an owner’s perspective, this holistic view helps ensure junior staff follow standardized procedures. No more scattered checklists; everything is tracked and auditable in one place.

2. Intelligent Review: Direct Ledger Integration

Keeper integrates with QuickBooks Online or Xero, analyzing the general ledger for anomalies and inconsistencies. It flags potential issues, such as:

• Vendors with Inconsistent Categories: If a vendor was previously coded to “Software " but ended up in “Advertising " this month, the system notifies you.
• Missing Payees or Transactions: Instantly spot missing or incomplete vendor info.
• Auto-Added Bank Rules: Verify that automated rules are accurate, reducing errors.

Changes can be made from Keeper itself—no toggling between platforms. When you recode a transaction or add a vendor, it updates QuickBooks or Xero in real-time. This ensures everyone from the bookkeeper to the reviewer is working with up-to-date financials.

3. Consolidated Client Communication

If you dread sending 40 emails to a single client each month, modern platforms offer a better way. Keeper consolidates client questions—uncategorized expenses, missing statements, etc.—into a single, branded portal. When you’re ready, you notify the client.

“Rather than sending the client 40 messages throughout the month, we wait until all our questions are ready and then let them know they have new items,” explained Andy from Keeper.

Clients click a magic link—no password needed—and land in a portal with your firm’s branding. There, they see only the transactions or questions that need attention. They can respond by typing an explanation or uploading documents. Communication remains organized with a clear audit trail, so your team can finalize the books faster.

4. Proactive W-9 Collection & 1099 Prep

The year-end 1099 season can be a scramble when you haven’t collected W-9s in advance. Keeper automates the process by:

• Tracking Thresholds: Once a vendor exceeds $600 of reportable spend, the system flags them.
• Sending Branded W-9 Requests: Vendors get a link to fill out or upload their W-9 electronically.
• Syncing Data: Submitted forms are attached to the vendor record in QuickBooks Online (or Xero).

By converting 1099 tracking into a recurring monthly task, you can avoid the January rush of incomplete or missing vendor details. Firms can even export data directly to a 1099-filing solution, turning W-9 collection into a year-round routine.

5. Receipt Management on Your Client's Terms

Receipts are one of the most common pain points in bookkeeping. Keeper’s receipt capture tools offer multiple ways for clients to submit documents:

• Dedicated Phone Number for Texting: Clients can snap a picture and text it directly.
• Magic Link Portal: They drag and drop files from a desktop or mobile device.
• Email Upload: Optionally forward digital receipts to a dedicated inbox.

Once in the system, OCR technology extracts key data and either creates new transactions or matches receipts to existing ones. This eliminates redundant steps like re-keying or reconciling bank feed entries separately.

6. Additional Features: Time Tracking, KPIs, and More

Beyond communication and transaction reviews, Keeper offers tools to centralize your entire CAS practice:

• Time Tracking & Budgeting: Set budgets per client or project. Track time with built-in timers.
• Advanced Reporting & KPIs: Customize monthly financial reports with real-time variance analysis, graphs, and even non-financial metrics (e.g., headcount).
• Inter-Company Transfers: For multi-entity clients, Keeper can sync due-to/due-from accounts across different QuickBooks or Xero files.

The result is a single source of truth for all monthly close tasks, collaboration, and data oversight.

A New Era of Month-End Efficiency

Platforms like Keeper reimagine not just client communication but the entire month-end process—reducing the back-and-forth between email threads, spreadsheets, and accounting files. From automated anomaly detection to text-based receipt collection, these solutions let accountants focus on higher-value advisory work.

Ready to streamline your month-end and client collaboration? Watch the complete Earmark Expo session featuring Keeper. You can also earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit for learning how integrated software simplifies your workflow—giving you time back to serve your clients at a higher level.

The post Earmark Expo - Keeper: Transforming Client Communication in Accounting appeared first on Keeper.

When Tyler Otto set out to grow his accounting firm, he quickly realized that managing day-to-day operations was a bottleneck in and of itself. Without a clear system for organizing tasks and workflows, his team relied heavily on him to stay on track—a challenge that only grew as his client list expanded. He knew his firm needed structure and efficiency to scale.

As an early customer of Keeper, Tyler could see that this tool had the potential to revolutionize his operations, starting with tracking his clients’ month-end close progress. Keeper’s task management tools provided the structure his team needed to take ownership of their work, freeing him to focus on bigger-picture goals. By viewing tasks across all clients in one place, his team could easily identify snags and ensure no deadlines slipped through the cracks.

One standout item for Tyler’s firm was Keeper’s 1099 management capabilities. Keeper simplified W-9 collection by allowing the team to send vendor requests with a single click, turning what used to be a tedious process into an automated routine. This efficiency not only saved time but also demonstrated added value to clients, showing that Tyler’s firm was proactively taking work off their plates each time they paid a new vendor.

Another key differentiator for Tyler is Keeper’s commitment to its users. Whether through responsive support, active user communities, or transparent product roadmaps, Keeper’s focus on customer collaboration made a significant impact. Tyler also appreciated Keeper’s client-based pricing model, which allowed his firm to scale without the burden of increasing software costs.

We can actually see what [features are] coming up, weigh in, vote on it… it makes it so much easier for us to feel like we have a sense of ownership of the product.

Today, Tyler’s firm has grown into a 17-person team with systems in place that foster efficiency, collaboration, and growth. Keeper played a pivotal role in helping Tyler achieve the structure and scalability he needed to turn the vision for his practice into reality.

Curious to see what Keeper can do for your practice? Book a personalized demo today.

The post Tyler Otto Streamlines Operations and Scales His Firm with Keeper appeared first on Keeper.

[Keeper] is worth it for that one feature.

Nancy McClelland, also known as The Dancing Accountant, runs a hyper-local bookkeeping and tax firm in Chicago. Before getting started with Keeper, Nancy noticed that her senior accountant, Kendra, was juggling critical accounting responsibilities while simultaneously supervising the junior bookkeepers. Nancy sought out a solution that could ease Kendra’s workload without compromising the quality and efficiency of the firm’s operations, and she landed on Keeper.

In comparison to other practice management apps on the market, what struck Nancy most was Keeper’s ability to automate those month-end reviews that consumed so much of Kendra’s time. Additionally, tasks that previously fell to the supervisors were delegated to the junior staff with ease, thanks to Keeper’s task management features paired with the intuitive dashboard.

That dashboard also allowed for Kendra to have a clear, at-a-glance view of each team member’s progress on their assigned tasks. Keeper even flagged when someone was “stuck” somewhere in the month-end close process. This new system saved Nancy’s whole team tons of time, simply because they no longer had to engage in endless check-ins and back-and-forthing about who was doing what. Everyone was equipped with an increased awareness of the tasks at hand.

Nancy also highlighted one of Keeper’s standout features: automatic 1099 tracking and W-9 collection. “It is worth it for that one feature,” she said, noting that some of her colleagues initially added the entirety of their client base solely for this functionality. But for Nancy’s firm, Keeper’s use cases went far beyond the 1099 season. Features both large and small were being consistently implemented at a pace that made sense for her team—thanks to the expertise of Keeper’s support reps.

Today, Keeper helps Nancy’s firm operate more efficiently, allowing her team to continue delivering exceptional services to clients. Plus, her 1099 seasons are no longer headache-inducing.

You can find Nancy McClelland, CPA’s award-winning blog at thedancingaccountant.com, and be sure to check out Ask a CPA, which is a community for bookkeepers looking to enhance their accounting skills and increase collaboration with their clients’ CPAs and tax preparers.

Curious to see how Keeper can solve the capacity constraints at your firm? Book a personalized demo today.

The post How Keeper Helps Nancy McClelland, CPA Solve Capacity Constraints appeared first on Keeper.

As the owner of Quick Bookkeeping & Accounting and a self-proclaimed “QuickBooks nerd,” Hector Garcia knows firsthand the challenges of running a busy accounting practice. Before discovering Keeper, Hector’s team experienced recurring chaos surrounding the month-end close—and staying organized was a challenge. The constant back-and-forth over email threads and Slack and endless questions like, “Did I already send that to the client?” or “What’s the status?” created inefficiencies and unnecessary anxiety.

That was until they found Keeper. By centralizing the information on clients and tasks along with the actual bookkeeping workflows, Keeper provided Hector with unparalleled visibility into his team’s progress each month. With just one click, he could check the status of each client’s close. This comprehensive bird’s eye view gave him the confidence and clarity to manage his team effectively.

“[Keeper] moved me from the previous chaotic state, to the ideal future state—and I’m living in that future state now.”

What stood out most to Hector was Keeper’s ability to combine this high-level view with granular detail. He could easily zoom in on uncategorized transactions, make those corrections, and zoom back out to see the bigger picture. The best part was that he could do all of this without switching tabs or apps. With less time spent juggling software or managing the chaos, Hector realized he could focus on delivering more value to his clients.

The post Keeper Helped Hector Garcia’s Firm Eliminate Chaos & Increase Confidence appeared first on Keeper.

But bookkeeping practice management software has become the main tool for bookkeeping businesses to manage the work across all of their clients. Keeper is quickly becoming the bookkeeping software that bookkeeping businesses use, as it is the leading QuickBooks and Xero-integrated bookkeeping practice management tool.

Read on to learn more about the software tools available to bookkeepers, and the practice management software features that every bookkeeping business needs to streamline their operations. 

What Software Do Most Bookkeepers Use?

While numerous bookkeeping software options are available, two platforms are at the head of the pack — QuickBooks Online and Xero. 

In 2023, QuickBooks Online Accountant had 7.2 million users, making it the most popular small business accounting software.

In second place was Xero accounting software, with three million users.

QuickBooks Online accounting software is the overall market leader and is especially popular in the United States. Xero, on the other hand, is often the choice of bookkeepers and small business owners in New Zealand and Europe. 

After these platforms, some other small business accounting software leaders include:

• FreshBooks (has a mobile app)
• Sage Business Cloud Accounting (has a mobile app)
• Zoho Books (has a mobile app)
• Wave (has a mobile app)
• Kashoo (has a mobile app)

These platforms run the gamut in terms of capabilities, ranging from invoicing and inventory management to payroll and financial reporting. 

Nearly all have solid customer support that can assist an accountant if they run into trouble. And some, like Zoho Books, even offer a free accounting software version. 

Bookkeeping practice management software is still relatively new, but it’s quickly becoming the norm for bookkeeping business operations. 

With benefits like streamlined workflows, increased efficiency, and automation capabilities, it’s easy to see why small business accounting software is becoming ubiquitous. 

Not to mention, the best accounting software can help bookkeepers close the books significantly quicker than using older small business accounting technology. Even if it’s free accounting software with limited features, the impact can be immense. 

Other Bookkeeping-Related Software

Besides the accounting software options just mentioned that handle accounting end-to-end, some niche platforms can be used for more specific tasks, such as payroll, invoicing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and financial management. 

Here are some examples of the best accounting software alternatives. 

Payroll Services

• Sage 50
• Patriot Software 
• Gusto Payroll
• Paychex Payroll

Accounts Receivable

• Bill.com Invoicing
• HighRadius
• Sage Intacct Invoicing

Accounts Payable

• SAP Concur
• Tipalti
• Oracle Netsuite

Financial Management

• Wave
• Oracle Netsuite
• Sage Intacct

If you’re only looking to tackle certain aspects of bookkeeping and don’t necessarily need a comprehensive accounting solution, choosing an accounting tool like this may be a good option. 

For instance, if you need a reliable payroll solution to manage payroll for small business accounting, Gusto could be a potential choice.

You can quickly set up payroll, sync employee hours, track hours, and generate detailed reports. It’s also simple for a bookkeeper to set up payroll taxes in all 50 states, which is perfect for clients with remote workers. Just note that Gusto doesn’t have a mobile app for payroll. 

Most of these platforms have excellent customer support, and some have free accounting software features and a mobile app. 

Can You Automate Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is a profession that’s notorious for being bogged down with repetitive, manual tasks. From invoicing to payment reminders to inventory management to gathering W-9s, productivity can take a hit without properly streamlined workflows. 

For perspective, one survey found that more than half (56%) of today’s bookkeepers spend too much time on manual tasks like invoicing. 

Fortunately, technology has made massive strides in recent years, where bookkeeping automation is now available and can cover a wide range of tasks. 

For instance, you can use bookkeeping software to conveniently keep track of expenses without resorting to antiquated techniques like manually sorting through a box of receipts. 

Instead, a client can simply upload their receipts through a mobile app (either from an Android or iOS app). From there, bookkeeping software will automatically extract the data through the mobile app and offer coding suggestions. 

Once edited, it will automatically post to the client’s ledger for maximum efficiency and accuracy. 

As for invoicing, bookkeeping software can automate much of the process by allowing you to create customizable invoice templates to send to clients, send automatic payment reminders, and complete payment processing by integrating with invoicing software.

Helpful Bookkeeper Software Features

Modern small business bookkeeping software is incredibly comprehensive and can assist in virtually every aspect of the process. 

And the result is always the same. Increased efficiency, a quality client experience, and closing the books for a small business owner quicker — everyone from a sole proprietor to a full-fledged team.

As for specific features that can help your bookkeeping services operate at their peak, here are some to look for. 

• Automated file review - Use bookkeeping software to catch errors and increase accuracy.
• Automated expense management - Quickly and easily track expenses with small business accounting software to identify patterns and trends for better business financing.
• W-9 gathering - Determine which vendors meet the 1099 threshold and follow the steps from start to finish without endless back-and-forthing.
• Streamlined client communication - Ask questions about forms, invoicing, and more, and get responses from a single portal and automate reminders.
• Task management - Create recurring or one-off tasks and follow the status until completion.

To give you a better idea of what these bookkeeping practice management software features look like in real life, here are some of Keeper’s core capabilities. 

File Review and Automated Expense Management

Manually searching for coding errors can be a huge time drain for an accounting professional. With Keeper, however, you can automatically catch errors that could’ve led to delays in your month-end close. 

After an accounting firm team member makes corrections, the report is automatically synced with Intuit’s QuickBooks Online or Xero to drastically speed up file review and expense management. 

Also, Keeper allows you to view all uncategorized transactions directly within the platform and track a client’s response until it’s resolved — all while offering a paper trail for quick reference.

W-9  Requesting and Tracking

Collecting W-9s from vendors that meet the 1099 threshold is a critical part of accounting. It can also be incredibly time-consuming. 

But Keeper streamlines the process by automatically identifying who meets the criteria for a small business. 

Then, it lets you conveniently send requests and track responses until the form is completed.

But that’s not all. Keeper also syncs the updated data to accounting software like QuickBooks Online or Xero for maximum efficiency. 

Client Portal

Spreadsheets — also known as “dreadsheets” to some — can also be a serious time-drainer. You have to copy and paste your transaction questions, send them out, wait for responses, send reminders, and update the financial information in your accounting software. 

But with bookkeeping software for bookkeeping businesses, you can centralize communication from within a portal. 

That way, you can upload files,...

…ask questions,...

…automate follow-ups, and more without having to toggle between multiple platforms. This makes your life and your client’s life much easier while saving a ton of time. 

CRM and Client Communication

Juggling multiple clients and coordinating communication with a small business owner can quickly become chaotic for an accountant. With Keeper, you can easily manage every single client from a personal dashboard for a big-picture overview. 

You can also conveniently organize your client list and make changes as needed. You can zoom out to see your entire list of clients at a glance. Or you can go more granular with saved views if you’d like. 

And for communication, you can create accounting tasks, send files, ask questions, and follow responses without the need for multiple platforms.

Whether it has to do with invoicing, inventory tracking, inventory management, payroll, or anything else, you can stay in the loop at all times. 

Task and Project Management

Equally important as client communication for an accountant is internal team communication, where everyone stays on the same page without information breakdowns. 

With Keeper, you have an overarching view of individual tasks and collective projects at all times, allowing you to see what’s been assigned to who, when it’s due, what the status is, and when something has been completed.

There’s no bouncing around between three or four programs, as everything is included right from within the platform. 

And with workflow templates, you can create tasks to be automatically re-applied each month for even more time saved. 

Automated Report Creation

Having a crystal clear understanding of a client’s financial trajectory is essential for your accounting service. But in the past, generating this information has been meticulous. 

However, now highly detailed reports can be generated using client-friendly visuals that are easy to digest. 

You can share the vital information a business owner needs, such as total expenses, spend by category, cash on hand, sales, and much more for a high-level understanding at a glance.  

And with Keeper, reports can be published directly to the client portal for even more efficiency. 

Keeper: The Bookkeeping Software for Bookkeeper Businesses

If you’re looking for a bookkeeping workflow software that’s built specifically for bookkeepers, Keeper is right up your alley. 

It’s the first platform that integrates with both QuickBooks Online and Xero and includes all of the features listed above. Accounting firms can utilize the desktop version or mobile app to accelerate workflow and close the books quicker. In fact, many bookkeepers can slash their month-end close in half with Keeper. And with a robust help center, you can find detailed customer support to get the absolute most out of this platform.

The post The Bookkeeping Software That Bookkeeping Businesses Use appeared first on Keeper.

“I’ve been in bookkeeping for over a decade, and I have yet to see a product like this.”

Highlights

• Keeper’s dashboard helped Dental Accounting Group (DAG) managers know exactly what the team was working on, eliminating the need for constant check-ins.
• Keeper’s Client Portal and automated email reminders saves DAG 10+ hours per month of chasing clients for answers by email

Growing a firm in the dental accounting niche

In 2022, two successful CPA and advisory firms, Dental Accounting Group and The Dental Group, joined forces to provide a full-service solution for the dental industry spanning bookkeeping, tax, and advisory services. Today, Dental Accounting Group (DAG) manages the monthly books for over 140 clients and has seen substantial benefits by using Keeper, including the addition of 30 new clients and 10 hours of saved time per month.

In order to keep up with this post-merger growth, two talented accounting specialists, Heather Lansink and Caitlin Moy, were charged with overseeing the combined bookkeeping segment of the practice. Heather manages a team of eight bookkeepers, and Caitlin works as an onboarding specialist for new clients.

Disconnected systems and limited visibility

With new growth comes natural growing pains. The systems between the merged entities were disconnected, which led to process inconsistencies between departments, as well. Specifically, Heather and Caitlin noticed their bookkeeping team’s workflows were siloed, which made it difficult for other teammates to collaborate or quickly step in to help. For example, if a bookkeeper needed to take time off, it was up to Heather to backtrack through all of the clients’ files, identify what had been completed or was still left to do, and relay that information to whoever was taking over.

The firm had an existing tool for task management, but it still wasn’t cutting it for DAG’s bookkeeping segment. “The program was not set up for bookkeepers specifically,” said Heather. “I still found myself checking in on the status of each client on a weekly basis.”

Solving the workflow problem

When Heather and Caitlin were asked by one of the firm’s partners to evaluate Keeper, they were instantly impressed (even with the demo meeting occurring during the heart of a chaotic 1099 season.) Keeper’s high-level client dashboard provided the critical insight DAG’s bookkeeping managers were in search of, and eliminated the need to check in with each bookkeeper individually on the status of their work.

“I save at least a full day each month by not having to ask my team where they’re at in the close process,” said Heather. “We also love the internal chat within Keeper, because my team can ask me questions on certain transactions and I can see them directly. They don’t have to write it down, come and find me, and pull up QuickBooks to give context.”

The improvements to DAG’s task management and workflows allowed for increased capacity across the board. Since subscribing to Keeper, each bookkeeper on the team was able to add three to four clients to their workload, totaling to roughly 30 new clients across the entire bookkeeping segment. Beyond the increase of sheer client volume, DAG’s management has been able to step back while still maintaining confidence in the accuracy of client books, and plan to empower the team further with Keeper’s Preparer, Reviewer and Manager designations.

“We plan to assign these roles so that each bookkeeper will be a peer reviewer of another teammate’s work,” said Heather. “I now have more time to manage and perfect our processes rather than worrying about the tasks at hand.”

Reducing manual follow-ups with Keeper’s Client Portal

“Using Keeper for client communication has saved me 10 hours a month and multiple emails.”

In addition to solving the workflow problem, DAG was eager to upgrade their approach to client communication. Before Keeper, the bookkeeping team would email spreadsheets filled with transaction questions to their clients. Follow-ups were almost always necessary, and keeping track of those messages was tedious and took time away from the work at hand. By using Keeper’s Client Portal and setting up automated reminders, the heavy lifting was done for them, and clients were responding with very little friction.

“I’ve seen efficiency turn a corner with our bookkeepers, and they no longer struggle with getting clients to answer questions or upload documents. Since implementing the automated reminders, there has been an increase in our clients already knowing when they need to send us specific items each month,” said Heather. 

DAG’s bookkeeping team now uses the Uncategorized Transaction Report to ask clients specific questions. Clients no longer have to worry about formatting issues when editing spreadsheet files, and they enjoy having the full picture of their bank records in their portal to help answer pending questions. Prior to transitioning to Keeper, roughly 30% of DAG’s bookkeeping clients had issues with responding to questions in a timely manner or utilizing communication methods that were unfamiliar to them. Today, that 30% is engaged and prompt in their responses, which they largely credit to the user-friendly nature of the Keeper Client Portal.

Why Keeper was the clear choice

DAG utilized Keeper’s features to eliminate  the specific issues that were hindering their team’s productivity and growth. But as they continued learning the tool alongside their Customer Success Manager (CSM), Heather and Caitlin realized that they could improve several other processes for the bookkeeping segment. The team plans to leverage Keeper to further reduce stress during the 1099 season, build out unique client properties, and complete their tax-related work months before the deadline.

When asked why Keeper is the clear choice for bookkeeping teams, Heather had this to say:

“I’ve been in bookkeeping for over a decade, and I have yet to see a product like this. Our feedback on the platform is being heard and I cannot tell you how thankful we are for that. It speaks volumes.”

The post Dental Accounting Group unifies their systems and streamlines monthly work with Keeper appeared first on Keeper.

The post How Keeper helps TeKoda track work across 100+ clients appeared first on Keeper.

• BSFS significantly reduced time spent on manual bookkeeping tasks and email communication with Keeper’s QuickBooks integrated review tools and client portal.
• Keeper’s dashboard and customizable client templates replaced their spreadsheet-based workbooks, giving management a high-level view of all client activities.
• In their first month on Keeper, BSFS saved over an hour per client across their 50 clients.

The post How BSFS Saves Over 50 Hours Per Month With Keeper’s File Review Tools appeared first on Keeper.

• Keeper’s File Review tool helps On the Books’ team catch hundreds of common bank feed errors, like inconsistent transaction coding and transactions missing payees or classes.
• Keeper centralizes account reconciliation and client communication, improving client relationships and decreasing response times.
• On the Books replaced three different tools with Keeper, giving managers more visibility over the team’s work.

“We don’t need to do manual reviews, or use QuickBooks to run 10 different reports – instead we use Keeper.”

The post How On The Books reviews 700 transactions per month using Keeper's File Review appeared first on Keeper.

The post How Perlson grew its CAS practice from $15k to $1M with Keeper appeared first on Keeper.

Client reception and engagement

After REI Bookkeepers introduced Keeper to their clients, the feedback and reception was overwhelmingly positive. “We had 90% of our clients using Keeper’s Client Portal within the first week,” said Greg. Compared to previous portal interfaces which required yet another set of login credentials, Keeper’s use of one-click Google Magic Links proved attractive to their less tech-savvy accounting clients. With enthusiastic support from those clients as well as the bookkeepers who were using the app, Dave was ready to take the leap. “I started to love Keeper, and we decided to go all in.”

Steering clients away from email and onto Keeper has been REI Bookkeepers’ number one priority.  Greg found Keeper’s Client Portal easy and straightforward to use – and his clients agreed. The bookkeeping team also loves the option to set up automated reminders for clients, which get sent twice a week until the client responds to the questions in their portal. Today, all of REI Bookkeepers’ clients are up and running on the new communication system.

“We’ve seen higher response rates across the board, and no one misses the old system of using Google Sheets and sorting through email inboxes.”

Leveraging Keeper as a whole

Keeper has quickly become the single source of truth for Greg and the team. Beyond the overall benefit that the Client Portal provides from a communication standpoint, Greg’s team also relies on the many review tools that Keeper offers.

One of the favorites amongst the team is the uncategorized transaction report. Greg and his bookkeepers no longer have to go through the effort of downloading uncategorized transactions into Excel, tidying up the file, and sending the questions one-by-one via email. Keeper’s two-way integration with QuickBooks gives Greg’s team the ability to mark and edit transactions in the app, and add any questions or comments straight to the Client Portal for his clients to review and respond to.

“Keeper makes it easy for me to do my work where I review my work,” said Greg.

“I would not be able to manage this workload as well as I do without it. Paying to have Keeper on our team is a no-brainer.”

What the future holds for REI Bookkeepers

After buying REI Bookkeepers and assuming the role of CEO, Greg admits that his team has only scratched the surface with Keeper. Their next undertaking is to explore the management reporting packages that Keeper offers. “We still send manual reports out of QuickBooks to do reviews. I am well aware that using Keeper will make our reporting that much more valuable to our clients.”

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• Receipt management is crucial for businesses, as well as for bookkeepers who want to build deep, advisory partnerships with clients. However, it’s wasteful when done manually.
• Learn how receipt management software, like what’s built into Keeper, can actually boost efficiency, revenue, and retention.

Receipt management is a real drag for almost everyone, bookkeepers and their clients included.

However, it’s pretty important for both parties. You must keep an organized, complete record of receipts across your roster of clients to keep them compliant. 

And, receipt management is core to helping you develop an informed understanding of client businesses so that you can move into a valued, trusted, and lasting advisor role.

If you’re like the majority of firms looking to build consultative client relationships that yield more revenue for less busy work — more on this trend later — it’s time to dive into how receipt management can help you get there.

Why Receipt Management is Crucial for Accounting Firms?

Receipt management is of course critical to keeping track of client expenses for basic compliance and tax purposes.

However, have you ever thought about how important it also becomes when you want to move into an advisory role with your clients? Understanding business spending and income is core to how accountants help their clients with a variety of high-value services.

• Accurate financial record creation: Receipts provide concrete evidence of financial transactions, ensuring that records are precise and compliant with accounting standards.
• Risk identification and solutions: By analyzing receipts, accountants can spot potential risks, such as irregular spending patterns or unauthorized expenses, and develop solutions to mitigate these risks.
• Budget building and monitoring: Receipts play a key role in monitoring balance sheets and budgets. They provide insights into actual spending compared to budgeted amounts, allowing for adjustments and better financial planning.
• Profitability and cash flow forecasting: Today, many businesses are open to outsourcing forecasting. Receipt data can help accountants forecast profitability and future cash flow by tracking revenue and expenses over time. This information is invaluable for making informed business decisions.
• Tax compliance and optimization: Receipts are essential for ensuring taxes are paid accurately and for maximizing deductions. They provide evidence of deductible expenses and help optimize tax strategies.
• Strategic planning and coaching: Understanding patterns via receipts enables accountants to offer virtual CFO and advisor services to guide clients strategically on cost-saving opportunities; improvements in financial management; profitable opportunities; and  environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.
  

That last point is a huge one. 

It may be more accurate to say that advisory services aren’t the future of accounting — they’re nearly the status quo. 

A survey of small to mid-sized global firms in 2023 found that an impressive 65% offer either only advisory services or a mix of advisory and compliance work. And 57% are aiming to provide even more consultative services. 

What’s the point? 

Exposure to new (and often bigger) clients, increased fees for more deep work, and overall revenue growth. 

However, you may not be able to dive as deep as you need into strategic thinking if you’re still trying to manage receipts manually. 

Here’s why.

What Makes Receipt Management Such a Pain in the @$$?

Receipt management can be a headache for both clients and accountants. 

As we all know, physical receipts are prone to getting lost — especially if they’re not filed away immediately. And even when they are accounted for, they can degrade over time and become illegible by the time they’re needed. 

For clients, keeping track of the different types of receipts that come with running a business can be daunting. And it can be difficult for accountants and bookkeepers to know exactly what to ask clients for to make sure they have everything. Ideally, you would have a receipt for every sale as well as expenses. These could include: 

• Inventory (vendors, raw materials, merchandise) 
• Property (including maintenance)
• Office supplies
• Business software 
• Travel and meals 
• Vehicles (and mileage) 
• Gifts to workers and clients 
• Marketing spend and supplies (ads, business cards, etc.) 

Misplaced receipts don’t just make for difficult inventory management, an inaccurate balance sheet, financial discrepancies that are hard to justify in the case of an audit, and less-informed decision-making for clients. Poor records also mean an overwhelming tax season for you and for clients who have a disorganized (or no) receipt management strategy.

Complete and organized receipt records makes filing taxes faster and easier and may even help with tax savings, because they serve as a reminder of deductible expenses and any tax credits clients may be eligible to claim. Receipts are a good idea everywhere, but especially in Canada where the Canada Revenue Agency is especially tough on people who try to deduct business expenses without a receipt proving the purchase. 

So, what’s a firm to do to spend less time wrangling receipts and more time offering big-budget, strategic accounting advice?

That’s next.

Enter: Receipt Management Software

There is a solution for effectively tracking and managing receipts so that you have all the data you need to serve as a valuable accounting and advisory partner for your clients. 

Modern receipt management software makes it easy to track, save, and organize client receipts digitally. This prevents lost receipts for clients and for you — so you have the resources necessary to keep good books, help clients remain tax compliant, and even become a trustworth advisory partner in risk management, budgeting, forecasting, and deeper planning and coaching.

Key Receipt Tracker Features to Shop For

New to receipt management? Once you’re ready to invest, put these key capabilities on your shopping list to make sure the software you choose is up to snuff:  

Simple receipt upload: Critically, clients of course need to be able to send you receipts. Most modern software will let them digitize receipts by scanning them or snapping a photo. It’s paramount that this process has as few steps as possible, or clients will avoid it and receipts will pile up and get lost.

Keeper’s practice management software features uncomplicated receipt management (in beta). Clients can use it to upload files into your branded Client Portal or simply email or text them to your firm, which will cause them to automatically populate in your Keeper client uploads inbox.

Fast scanning: Receipt management software has to read uploaded receipts so that it can understand the data and help you categorize each transaction. When you have even a handful of clients, you want this process to be as quick as possible. With Keeper, it takes just a matter of seconds.

Automated, smart processing and posting: Attaching the right vendors, dates, categories, locations, and other details to each transaction can be a full time job. So can lining up your client ledger with the transactions you just added, making it important to look for software that helps with this. Keeper uses AI, transaction history, and rules that you yourself create to help you process, match, and post accurate yet fast transactions.

Integration with your other accounting tools: OK, now you get to go enter all that same information into QuickBooks! Well, unless you’re using Keeper. Once a transaction is posted, you’ll see a button appear that you can use to open it right inside of QuickBooks. No need to duplicate work or get slowed down switching between workplace apps constantly. (Support for Xero coming soon!)

Open communication: Questions often arise during this process. You could start a new email thread, send a text with little context, or embark upon a never-ending phone call with that one chatty client. Or, you could just use Keeper and post a question inside the accounting portal you and your client are already using to ensure you get a timely, relevant answer.

Ease of use: You don’t want to take the time to teach clients — or your employees — yet another system (nor do you want to pay for it). In fact, 88% of top-performing client advisory services (CAS) firms use just three or fewer general ledger (G/L) software programs. They know it’s more efficient, more affordable, and better for your service offerings to stick to just a few platforms that deliver on all of your needs.

This may keep you away from adopting a simple receipt tracking tool. However, Keeper receipt management is integrated right into the Client Portal where you’re already working and communicating every day, so your clients and team already know how to use it and won’t even have to leave the bookkeeping app to access it.

Security: Data security is of course key in a receipt manager that’s going to have access to all kinds of client data. Since Keeper is already an established accounting platform and not a free-standing receipt tracking app, we take security seriously and have various systems in place to keep data protected and private.

Streamline Expense Management with Modern Receipt Organization

Sure, receipt management is a bit of necessary evil in accounting — but it can also be used to your strategic advantage.

By embracing receipt organization strategies as well as smart receipt management tooling that’s already integrated into modern bookkeeping software, you can save time on receipt wrestling and spend more of it building the advisory relationship today’s clients have come to crave. 

Schedule a demo soon and get access to Keeper’s AI-powered receipt management at a discounted price. 

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