How to Centralize Accounting Client Communication with Chat

Best for:

  • Firm owners and managers looking to improve client communication and collaboration.

  • Firm owners and managers struggling to keep up with scattered client communication.

  • Accounting, bookkeeping, and CPA firms looking to make client information accessible to their team.

Running a modern accounting firm requires a lot in terms of client communication.

When those communication efforts are not centralized, your team can be caught between two options:

  • Track scattered client conversations across multiple channels (which kills productivity).
  • Focus on getting client work done at the expense of timely client communication that could help you build stronger client relationships.

That is why modern accountants, bookkeepers, and CPAs rely on Financial Cents’ Client Chat to manage client communication to ensure firm-wide access to client information, improve team productivity, and encourage faster client responses.

Here’s how they achieve this 👇

Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Access the Client Chat in Financial Cents

Like every other client information, the client chat is located inside the client profile, and accessible through the Client’s tab.

This short video shows how to locate it:

Step 2: Send and Receive Messages in Real Time

Your chats with clients are delivered and received in seconds to ensure timely conclusion of conversations.

See how it works👇

Step 3: Create Topics to View Conversations in Proper Context

You can view client conversations in the general channel or create topics to segment client chats and make your client communication more organized and accessible.

Learn how to create conversation topics in this short video 👇

Step 4: Filter Your Client Conversation

The search tab enables you to find specific conversations faster, saving you the time and mental load of scrolling through the chat portal.

Here’s how it works:

Step 5: Monitor and Improve Client Communication Efficiency

This is where you ask why your clients are not using the chat feature often enough. Are they simply struggling with an attachment to emails, or is there something you’re missing?

What can you do to address the situation?

  • Ask Clients for Feedback

You can never go wrong asking clients what they think about your client engagement efforts.

More specifically, ask about the timing and frequency of your client communication in the chat portal.

The content of your conversations is also key. How better would they like to be addressed? Chats can feel more informal than traditional emails.

You want to ensure your team maintains that personalized and professional touch that makes client engagement meaningful.

  • Align Your Client’s and Team’s Communication Needs to Manage Expectations

Get your team and clients on the same page regarding the timing of your team’s response to client messages.

Clients should know how long to wait before getting a response to their messages in the chat.

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Why Client Chat Is a Game Changer

Using the Client Chat feature to centralize your client communication helps to:

  • Reduce the Risk of Missing Clients’ Messages: it might be easier for your team members to track client communication across multiple apps when workload and pressure are low.

    Doing that during the busy season will reduce your team’s ability to get work done and meet compliance deadlines, which might impact the client relationship negatively.

    By centralizing communication with client chat, your team can easily (and quickly) access and respond to client messages from one place—busy season or not.
  • Continuity in Client Communication: since it’s easier to miss client messages when communicating across multiple tools and channels, your team members are more likely to ask clients the same question they’ve already answered.

    This can lead to clients providing the same information multiple times, which may impact your client experience negatively.

    Your clients might also end up asking the same question, or making the same request multiple times, making your team more unresponsive than you want to be.
“I like the idea of the client chat. For one, it helps to centralize client communication instead of being spread out in emails and phone calls. We’ve had clients respond or send us a chat about certain things. And I like that idea.”
Chris Simons
Managing Partner, Harvey & Simons CPAs, LLC

Improve Your Compliance and Advisory Services with Financial Cents’ Client Chat

The Financial Cents Client Chat gives your team one place to communicate and view client conversation history.

The best part is that these client conversations are automatically stored (in the Client Chat tab) in the respective projects, giving your team members access to relevant information while working.

This eliminates information silos and makes it easier to provide the services that drive business growth, client retention, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Take better control of your client communication today. Click here to start your 14-day Free Trial. If you need more information about the Client Chat feature, Book a Personalized Demo here.

Frequently asked questions

Does the free 14-day trial provide access to all the features?

Yes, you will have access to all the features and features that Financial Cents has to offer during your free trial. Also, you will be able to invite your entire firm to use the solution.

If the accounting software doesn’t have a feature, can you add it?

We offer a very robust accounting workflow software full of all of the features your firm needs to grow with ease. However, if there is something we don’t offer, you can recommend it to our team! We release new features every week and constantly ask our users what we need to build next so we can drive more value for their accounting firm.

So yes, if you have new feature ideas and requests, we will add them to our roadmap and work with you on the best way to develop them.

How does FC prevent work from falling through the cracks?

Financial Cents makes it easy to track the status of client work, see who’s working on what, and know where everything stands within one simple view. Financial Cents also has built-in reminders and notifications to keep your team on top of client work and deadlines.

How does Financial Cents help protect client data?

We focus on serving accounting firms, and because of that, the security of your data is our number one focus. You read about how we keep your data safe here.

What kind of support does Financial Cents offer?

Offering best-in-class customer support is the core of our business. We understand that you are busy and don’t have time to wait for someone to get back to you after a few hours. That is why we promise quick and responsive support with responses within 15 minutes. We offer live chat support directly inside the app so our team can. If we can’t solve your issue via chat, we will jump on the phone or zoom to quickly resolve your issues.

How easily can I add my clients to the software?

Adding your clients is as easy as 1, 2, 3. You can import all your clients and their data within 30 seconds with our QuickBooks Online integration. If you don’t use QuickBooks Online then you can export your client list (via CSV) from your current software and import it into our system in just a few steps.

How does FC help me automate client data collection?

Our system allows you to send your clients automated requests for data needed to complete your work. It will also follow up with them until they complete the request, so you never have to chase down your clients again. This allows you to focus on what matters most—getting your work done on time and growing your firm.

What reports are available in Financial Cents?

We offer several reports that give you insights that help you identify bottlenecks in your process, drive efficiencies, and boost your firm’s profitability. Some of those reports include capacity management, measuring your effective hourly rate, and time tracking reports.

Do you offer unlimited storage?

Yes, we offer unlimited storage for client and firm files. You can easily store all your documents in Financial Cents to keep your firm organized as it grows.

Can time tracking be integrated with QuickBooks Online for Invoicing?

Yes, you can easily integrate your time tracking with QuickBooks Online. It will automatically push all the time tracked in FC to QuickBooks Online so you can easily invoice your clients and manage payroll.

Loved by over 10,000 accountants, bookkeepers and CPAs

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