Every article about the future of accounting tends to say a similar thing: focus on client accounting and advisory services if you want to be a forward-looking accountant. And alongside these services, there's a lot said about the digital transformation sweeping the accounting space. Traditional accounting systems have transformed into fully-integrated platforms where data from multiple sources are connected in real time - or very close to real time. This means that it's easier than ever before to generate business reporting that is accurate and up to date, which leads to more proactive decision-making. This integrated platform is generally known as a firm's tech stack.

In this article, I'll take a look at how to decide which apps to include in your tech stack and give some examples of some of the best apps available for each of your firm's needs, from document production to accounting software to software that helps you with employee engagement and health. And we will look at how you can build a house - of sorts - out of these fundamental tools.

When it comes to deciding which apps to include in your tech stack, consider which apps will save you the most time. If there's a software that can replace the monotony of manual data entry, go for that! To determine which apps are the best ones to include in your stack, you should:

Moreover, this means that your clients won't have to learn a new system.

For dedicated accounting apps, you may want to take a look at the annual AccountingWEB Software Awards to see which apps other accountants rate highly. If you use a specific accounting software, these softwares also have awards ceremonies of their own where they select apps that integrate with them as winners in various categories. For instance, Syft Analytics won two awards at this year's Xero Awards for the UK and South Africa, respectively.

It's also worth reassessing your tech stack each year to see which apps were actually beneficial, and which you could dispense with. If certain apps helped you add value and improve your team's efficiency or your clients' businesses, those are keepers.

Okay, let's get down to building our house now. Step one is simple: start with a strong foundation. Consider which platform you use for everyday operations such as emails, communications, and documents. Most businesses use either GSuite (Google) or Office 365 (Microsoft). Both have their advantages and both work well across a range of devices. In a nutshell:

Here are some of the key differences you may want to compare:

It's worth trying these out for yourself to decide which platform suits your practice best. Once you've decided on your foundation, you're ready to build the ground floor.

Another fundamental part of your practice is your accounting software. This is the basis of your accounting, bookkeeping, and practice management.

Maybe you don't use accounting software. Your favorite go-to is Excel. Excel is fantastic for many things, but it can be incredibly time-consuming to generate reports there because this is incredibly labor-intensive. Most people simply don't have the time to produce reports on Excel. If you are looking for ways to save time and energy, it may be worth considering a shift in your working.

Some of the most popular accounting softwares include:

In addition to these, you can add on apps dedicated to tax, reporting, receipt management, billing, workflow management, and so on. For instance, Dext (previously called Receipt Bank), and Hubdoc, both store receipts from your transactions, which means you no longer need to keep physical copies of all your receipts. And you can integrate Syft Analytics for all your reporting needs.

The walls of your practice, to extend the analogy, are the people you work with. Keeping your staff engaged is critical to the success of your firm as the cost of employee disengagement can be very high.

According to The Predictive Index, lack of engagement costs US businesses approximately $483 billion to $605 billion every year! On the flip side, boosting your engagement by as little as 1% can lead to an increase of up to $100,00 in annual revenue! So, it's definitely worth your while to begin measuring and improving your team's engagement. And technology can be very helpful in this regard.

Here are some of the top employee engagement apps to consider adding to your stack:

As Consultant at Journey One and Mental Health Advocate, Sammie Johannes, says:

"I have also seen how effective using a simple form, with two questions to answer each quarter to check in and see how our journey is progressing, can be utilised to check on employee engagement. It is so important to understand your team and what makes them tick, and using software to do this can make a huge difference in employee satisfaction."

In a time that has been dubbed "the great resignation", it's certainly worth your while to keep an eye on how your staff are feeling and how you can make work more enjoyable for them. As Gallup research has found, people leave employers, not companies, so how you treat your employees is crucial to keeping them on.

Once you have the walls secured, you'll want to think about doors and windows. These are what enable clients to see into the building that you've created and to enter it. To put out the welcome mat, you need a good marketing strategy in place, and technology can be very helpful when it comes to monitoring this.

It's may be worth setting up Google Ad words to drive more traffic to your website. You can then use apps such as Google Analytics or Hotjar to measure the success of your social media marketing. Integrating marketing into the rest of your operations can help:

Okay, bear with me on this belabored metaphor. Plumbing is essential to any structure. It keeps you out of any... unsanitary situations - like unpaid creditors and debtors who take forever to pay you!

You can save a lot of time on invoicing, checking up on debtors, and paying off creditors by using accounts payable and receivable apps. Using accounts receivable management software enables you to:

Some of the best apps to aid you with this are:

To keep the lights on, you need electricity, something which flows through the whole house without a hitch. You don't want to have to spend all your time fixing lightbulbs, but it's a vital operation. The same goes for payroll. It's crucial to pay your staff the right amount - at the right time - but you don't really want to spend hours sorting out the finer details. So what apps could you integrate into your operations instead? Some of the best payroll apps include:

The health of your employees is the interior of your building, a vital component of how everything functions. Health has been front and center in our minds thanks to the pandemic. And health in the workplace has come to the fore as well.

Studies have found that workplace wellness programs can reduce elevated health risks and health care costs while improving productivity, decreasing absenteeism, and improving employee recruitment and retention. But when it comes to health at work, it can be very time-consuming to see to fitness or other wellness programs yourself. Instead, you may consider using apps such as:

Maybe this metaphor went a bit far but you get the idea. Just as a house requires a sturdy foundation to support it, so too does your accounting practice. And there are so many operations which you could speed up or simplify with the help of today's technology. These are just a few ideas.

What does your tech stack look like? Is there anything I've left out here?