But that’s changing as accounting firms seem to be discovering the benefits of CRM and the traditional practice management software used primarily at multi-office firms are starting to converge.
“I think it [CRM] is starting to get into the top five issues at accounting firms,” says Chris Gryskiewicz, Templeton’s EVP. “We are enhancing it and starting to market it more heavily. There is much more buzz for it in CPA firms.”
Templeton pitches CRM for Professionals as offering firms the normal advantages of CRM including conducting marketing campaigns, learning more about clients, and managing client communications, while using standard work flows to manage firm processes.
Templeton isn’t the only organization marketing a CRM package tailored to accounting firms. Maine System, a company based in the Isle of Jersey, is marketing P2 Microsoft CRM for Professional Services to a target market that includes accounting firms in the United States.
Like Templeton, the company developed its application using Dynamics CRM and used last month’s Microsoft Convergence user conference to launch the product in the United States and to seek resellers. A major difference is the company included its own accounting module, described as “QuickBooks like” while Dynamics CRM interfaces with the four mid-market Dynamics accounting packages.
The other two modules in the line are client management and time & fees. The two offer many of the features of practice management software including time recording, disbursements, work in progress and billing.
And within accounting firms, and probably other professional services businesses, CRM is likely to integrate with practice management software. Accounting firms have long sought ways to better utilization information from time and billing applications for use in marketing, the same goal of CRM.
And it seems likely that practice management software will increasingly incorporate CRM capabilities. At least that’s what’s happening with Commercial Logic’s Advanced Practice management, according to Peter Coburn, president of the Hanover, N.H.-based software company.
“We have a very effective CRM system embedded. It’s a relatively new development. It’s been refined within the last year,” says Coburn. He adds that many accounting firms say they want to do more with CRM and want to do more marketing and business development.
“The commitment goes as far as the partners and management saying we want to install a CRM system and then they do and then it doesn’t get used because the partners don't buy into it," says Coburn.
Coburn sees compensation practices as a barrier to encouraging adoption of CRM because of its use in marketing. Because partners are largely compensated on their book of business, there aren't incentives for time spent marketing.
"You have to set up a system that allows the firm to reward time spent in marketing and achieving a scertain level of proposals," he says.
