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Whether you’re in the beginning stages of building your own bookkeeping or accounting firm OR you’ve been working at it for a while, creating systems that help you get the job done can be a LOT. But what it really boils down to is 5 core systems and a handful of apps to really help you align your firm and become more efficient. That way, you give yourself wayyy more space and energy to focus on scaling and growth!

The systems and tech we use at Magnetic Bookkeeping & Consulting might look a little intimidating if you’re not familiar with building systems and automations for your firm. But keep in mind that we’re laser focused on efficiency and using tech to help us get the most out of our valuable time. Lucky for you, we LOVE sharing what we know and helping other firm owners supercharge their systems!

In this blog, we really wanted to share with you our recommended systems and supporting tech you’ll need if you’re creating and/or organizing your systems. Even if you’re starting from square one!

We’ll tell you:

The 5 core systems you’ll need to set up
The tech, apps, and software we use to support each system
When to build on your existing tech stack

Tech and automating processes is one of our FAVORITE topics, so let’s dive in and save you some precious time!

These 5 Systems Are All Your Firm Needs To Get Started

Heads up, we didn’t list a bookkeeping software here, because it’s kind of a given. So definitely work with whichever platform you enjoy and then get started with these other essential systems! We use, love, and recommend QuickBooks Online just in case you were wondering 😉

In our world, these 5 systems are absolutely non-negotiable. They’re going to make you more organized, more professional, and more productive — so we highly recommend each one of our students create these FIRST to ensure a super streamlined firm!

One more thing to note here is that the tech we use in our firm is selected based on what WE find to be the most effective for how we work. There’s no right or wrong app to use, as long as you’re using something that gets the job done and you actually enjoy using! But, it can be overwhelming to hear a bunch of different recommendations from other firm owners and wonder what to choose.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our exact tech stack, why we use it, and all the things! Check it out right here 💃

Project Management System

One thing’s for SURE when you start your own bookkeeping firm is that you’ll have a bunch of tasks that need to be done — even if you don’t have clients yet. So it’s highly recommended that you choose a project management system that helps you keep track of your tasks, and makes it really easy to duplicate workflows.

Now, we’re completely obsessed with using Asana for this purpose. Our signature program helps firm owners systematize their tasks and build efficient workflows using the free version of Asana. Most students love the course for the templates that were specially designed for the bookkeeping, accounting, and tax world because they save SO much time simply importing the templates instead of creating them from scratch. We include workflow templates for all aspects of running your firm (we even threw in a few personal and goal-related projects!), so you’re never left wondering what you should be doing!

File & Information System

This is one of those instances where you might choose to stack some software, which just means that you could choose to file documents in one place, and store data in another. We find it easier to keep documents in Google Drive because we already have our email set up in Google Workspace and it’s easy to use.

Our information and data storage is allllll in Notion. We’ve been able to create a highly-organized data system using Notion after using Google Drive for a few years. You can totally use Google Drive (or OneDrive or something similar) for both file and information storage! If you’re already paying for Google Workspace and a business email account, this is a great solution.

Notion has a super robust free plan that gives you access to all the features and storage you’d need to create an incredible info system — the possibilities are endless!

If you really want a deep dive into how to use Notion for organizing every single aspect of your business, we provide an incredible template for just that in our group coaching program: Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants. This program is designed for more experienced firm owners and is jam-packed with content tailored to helping you take your firm to the next level!

External Communication

You’ll want to create a system around how you communicate with people (not inside your firm) next. This one’s super important to set up BEFORE you actually start taking clients because you’ll need to set expectations with your clients from the start. If you prepare a system for external communication, you can include instructions on how clients will communicate with you during onboarding!

This is where email comes in for us. We use Gmail to communicate with clients and anyone outside the firm. Now, we’re not big on using email for internal chats (see below). But that’s because we talk with each other a WHOLE LOT more than we do with our clients on a regular basis.

If you choose to communicate with email, you can keep everything tidy with a folder for each client that you can easily reference when necessary!

Password Protection System

This is something that is often overlooked BUT it’s one of the most important! In this industry, we’re dealing with people’s personal information and it’s not something we want hacked. We recommend finding a password management system that you use with every client to make sure their info is safe (and your butt’s covered!).

LastPass is what we use for managing passwords both with our clients and within our firm. That way no one has to remember a password or risk stolen information! PLUS, you can control who has permission to access certain apps within your company which is an added bonus.

Internal Communication System

You might not have a team (yet), so this one could potentially be last on your list of priorities. But I do still recommend having a plan for how you’ll communicate with your team once you have one.

One thing we always stress when it comes to team communication is that email. gets. messy.

Email is a wonderful tool for communication with clients, leads, and eeeveryone else outside your team. The reason we choose to communicate in Slack is because it’s SO easy to keep track of conversations within the team. We love organizing our communication in Slack channels so they’re easily searchable and accessible! Here’s a full blog post about how we use Slack.

When Should You Expand Your Systems + Tech?

Eventually, it’ll be time for you to add new systems to become even MORE efficient! We always encourage our students not to get too distracted with #allthethings and focus on these core systems first. But once you feel confident in these 5 essentials, you can start to expand.

Other systems and tech are “nice to haves”, like if you wanted to create a kickass onboarding process and implement Dubsado and Content Snare!

Always remember that the actual software you choose doesn’t matter as much as the process itself. Solid processes are the KEY to saving time in your firm and it’s going to make it sooo much easier to delegate down the road!

But if you really, really want to save time — the absolute BEST thing you can do is snag all the amazing templates and content in Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants!

SNAG THE COURSE