8 popular app integrations to grow your accounting practice

No accountant or bookkeeper sets out to have an inefficient practice – it sneaks up on you over time.

You spend hours on manual data entry, repeating the same tasks on multiple disconnected platforms. Or, you lack a clear system for assigning work, which means you end up doing more than you should. And, because you’re so trapped in the day-to-day tasks, there’s no time left to focus on practice growth or scaling your team.

Cloud-based accounting software and integrated apps can help you out of inefficiency. Some apps can automate tasks entirely – so you can take the job off your to-do list. Others simplify complex or lengthy processes like onboarding and reporting, so it takes less work to get things done.

Ultimately, using the right app integrations is a sure-fire way to reduce your manual admin, enable collaboration, and grow your practice in a way that suits you.

In this guide, we show you some of the most popular app integrations for accountants and bookkeepers – so you can build a winning practice. You can find some more information on app integrations for your practice here.

1. Hubdoc

Hubdoc makes it easier to get receipts, bills, and other financial documents into your accounting software system.

Your clients can simply snap a photo of their receipt and email it to your accounting software from their smartphone, ready for you to reconcile. Hubdoc automatically extracts transaction information from the receipt so you can create transactions in your accounting software with the original document attached. Or, you and your clients can forward emails to Hubdoc so the attachments are uploaded straight from your inbox.

Hubdoc not only saves you time on data entry, it increases the accuracy of records – and means you don’t need to chase clients for paperwork. Hubdoc automatically sorts and categorises documents as they come in, so items are easy to search and find.

2. Dext

Dext gives you one clear view of receipts, invoices, and other financial documents – making them easier to manage and reconcile.

Gather client documents like receipts or bills in multiple ways – by mobile scanning, emailing them to Dext, fetching invoices, or syncing with client bank data. Dext then extracts financial data from these documents – line items, due dates, and amounts.

To save you some time on categorising transactions Dext does this for you, coding and submitting them to Xero automatically. All original documents are saved securely in Dext and easily searchable should you need to refer back to them. With less data processing to do, you can turn your hand to high-value services and tasks instead.

3. GoCardless

GoCardless makes practice payday more predictable, by automating the collection of recurring and one-off payments. This means you can spend less time chasing money and more time doing business.

As a bank-to-bank payment method, your clients simply enter their payment details once, and you're authorised to collect all future fees from them. Clients are notified ahead of the payment due date, so the transaction doesn’t come as a surprise.

GoCardless makes it easier to maintain consistently healthy cash flow by enabling you to set up payment due dates for a regular time each month. No more waiting on an outstanding invoice or wondering how soon you’ll be paid.

Delivering the work should be the hardest part of the job – not getting your invoices paid. GoCardless makes it easier for you and your clients.

4. ApprovalMax

ApprovalMax automates the accounts payable and receivable process for you and your clients by enabling approvals at every stage and making it easier to pay at the right time.

You can set up automations with predefined rules so certain requests are automatically approved – reducing bottlenecks in the approvals process. You and your clients get a clear audit trail in ApprovalMax, so you can see who approved what, and when. Plus, payments can be approved in batches to speed up the accounts payable process further.

And, if you’re using an app like Dext, you could even try integrating this with ApprovalMax so that new documents are automatically pulled into the approval workflow. You can use ApprovalMax to formalise your clients’ approval process, or to strengthen your own.

5. Xero Practice Manager

While it’s not strictly an app, Xero Practice Manager is an essential for your efficiency toolkit.

You can handle all kinds of practice tasks more productively – whether it’s assigning jobs to staff, automating time tracking, or converting practice hours into client invoices. Xero Practice Manager makes delegation easier because you have a single view of all the work in your practice. And, since the whole team can use the same Xero software, monitoring and managing work is a team effort.

With clear dashboards and reports, it’s easy to track work in progress, due dates, and practice productivity, helping you keep on top of the workload. Plus, you get full visibility with standard and customisable reports that show you how your practice is tracking. Run reports for time, performance, and work in progress – or create your own based on practice KPIs.

6. Syft Analytics

Syft Analytics helps you create beautiful, detailed reports, forecasts, dashboards, and consolidations to help your clients understand their business better.

Syft Analytics is a collaborative tool, where you and your clients can leave comments on individual reports or dig deeper into transaction-level detail. Reports and dashboards are interactive and visually appealing, helping you deliver engaging insights for clients. Plus, Syft uses AI to generate insights on reports in seconds – spotting patterns and suggesting how to improve in certain areas.

Using an app like Syft Analytics to bolster your advisory means you can help clients make data-driven decisions. And, it doesn’t require hours of your time – use prebuilt reports for insights in a flash, or spend a little time creating your own.

7. Ignition

Ignition is a client engagement and commerce platform that allows you to streamline the process of creating proposals, engagement letters, and contracts, while automating invoicing and payments - from start to finish.

What’s great about linking Ignition with Xero is how much time it saves. Invoices and payments get matched up automatically, so there’s less chance of errors and no more tedious manual reconciliations or duplicate records. Your financial data stays up-to-date, and cash flow management becomes a lot smoother - it’s all handled seamlessly in the background.

Ignition allows your accountancy practice to spend less time chasing late payments, and allow you to reclaim time, profitability, and cash flow, whilst still managing everything from one single platform.

8. SuiteFiles

SuiteFiles is a cloud-based document management system that helps accountancy practices stay organised and efficient. It keeps all your files in one secure, easily accessible place, eliminating the hassle of clunky folder structures and misplaced documents.

SuiteFiles allows you to automate tasks like file naming, uses templates to speed up document creation, and keeps everything compliant and up to date. Sharing and collaborating with clients is seamless, too, with secure links and tools for approvals that save time and reduce errors.

If you’re looking to optimise and improve the way you run your practice, Xero’s integration with SuiteFiles can help you cut down on unnecessary admin and free you up to focus on what matters most: delivering a great service to your clients.

Accounting software made simple with Xero

If you want to find an easy way to utilise these apps, and seamlessly integrate them to your workflow, Xero has everything you need to streamline how you do business. Once you have access to Xero, you can check out the Xero App Store to trial and buy all of these integrations and much, much more.

As with all integrated apps, the data flows through Xero, so you can use the most accurate and up-to-date client information in Xero to build reports. This means the insights you share with clients are always timely, relevant, and beautifully visualised.

With the right apps in place, you can build a more efficient practice and make room for additional services. Apps equip you with the tools and data to do more for your clients – helping them solve problems and plan for the future.