Review of Client Write-Up Software — 2005

The objective of write-up programs is to take client data and create (general
ledger) books, trial balances, financial statements and databases. Clients have
unique information needs. Program flexibility assures the practitioner that
they will be able to (generally) meet the unique demands of each client engagement.

Whether the practitioner bills by the hour or by the job, the write-up software
program of choice should enable the practitioner. Productivity begets productivity.
We see this every day in practice, as we remember how long a client service
engagement used to take from start to finish. While I can’t speak for
every practitioner, I know that in my firm our write-up program has truly become
the centerpiece to engagements, which leads to the preparation of financial
statements and/or tax returns. More than a centerpiece, it is truly a gateway.
Each staff person counts on our client database, which is “enabling”
to the provision of related services. Such enabling leads to increased confidence
in the provision of services, and increased confidence leads to increased productivity
in client engagements.

Of course, we wouldn’t want to fall into false confidence in terms of
accounting (engagement) abilities. Talk about a false sense of security. I can
hear a college professor uttering a well-known (and now infamous) line of prose,
“If your only tool is a hammer, every project starts looking like a nail.”
No fooling. I’m hip. I need write-up software with enhancements so I don’t
have to “cut and paste the output from every engagement” to fit
the abilities of the write-up application. Rather, enhanced write-up software
can fit the needs of the client engagement. No “cut and paste” necessary
nor spoken there.

No two write-up programs surveyed in this review were exactly alike. However,
good programs — those that enable their users — convey a message
of quality that the user can immediately sense. Without a doubt, integration
with other programs in the practitioner’s office is an important attribute
for write-up program selection. Speaking of attributes, ultimately the integration
with your client’s data may prove the most important — the ability
for information to be shared between the accountant and client, with little
fuss or muss. Software utilities should be easy; hoop jumping should be avoided.