Growing Pains: Why Choose a Scalable Time & Billing Software

Unless you work in the IT or software development industry (and, since this is a practice management blog for accountants, we’re assuming you don’t), you probably haven’t heard of the term “scalability”.  Put simply, scalability is something’s capacity to handle and sustain a growing number of customers, clients, users, and features as time goes on.  That “something” can be just about anything, such as an app, a website, or, for our purposes, an accounting time and billing software. When you’re choosing a time billing software for your practice, selecting an option that’s scalable will save you from several headaches down the road. Learn more about the benefits of scalable software below.

Add New Tools, Features, and Modules  

Accounting practices, like all industries, are subject to changes in the world at large, and as such, will likely need new tools and features as time goes on. If your time billing software is static—that is, you buy it now, and remains as you bought it, unchanging, forever—you will invariably find yourself needing a feature that it can’t accommodate.  Just as an example, here at ImagineTime, we’ve added a new client portal feature and e-Signature tool just this year.  With these new features, all of our clients get those up-grade benefits instantly!  Those who use non-scalable software get the exact same, unchanging product with no change in the foreseeable future.

Accommodate New Employees 

Scalable time and billing software also lets you keep practices and processes consistent for both established team members and new hires. This means that “Deb”, who you hired 10 years ago, can help the newbie, “Junior”, learn the ropes of the software, because she isn’t struggling to learn it herself.  While it’s imperative for a business to be adaptable and flexible, as mentioned above, there’s such a thing as being too inconsistent. If you’re constantly having to re-train your team to use different software, it can lead to frustration among employees and gum up productivity.

Save Money, Both Now and Later 

Another big benefit of scalable time and billing software is that it’s more cost-effective. Most software packages can be pricey, since they take so much time and skill to fine-tune. If you are a small or new accounting firm, you might end up paying for a many extra benefits and features that you don’t need yet. A scalable time billing software should offer several package options with features customized for your company’s current size and needs.

When your firm becomes larger and more complex, the software can scale up with you, giving you more of the tools you need without requiring you to completely transition to a new platform. This saves you money at the onset, as well as, in the future, because you don’t have to invest in different software as time goes on.

Need a Time Billing Software for Accountants? 

If one of your primary goals as a CPA firm owner is to grow and flourish, you absolutely need to choose a scalable time and billing software in order to set yourself up for success. Mango offers a full suite of features that can help your firm avoid growing pains. If you’d like to learn more about our scalable time entry software, contact us here to request a free demo.