Our Xero App Integrations service connects best-in-class software to solve specific business problems. But sometimes the gaps aren't between major systems—they're in the operational workflows that happen around and between those systems.

Where Apps Fall Short

• Your CRM doesn't talk to your practice management software

• Client onboarding involves manual data entry across five different systems

• Document requests require chasing clients via email rather than automated sequences

• Meeting notes don't automatically flow into your task management system

• Calendar bookings don't trigger CRM updates or client notification sequences

• Status changes in one system don't alert relevant team members in their preferred tools

• Reporting requires manual data gathering from multiple platforms

These aren't problems you solve by buying more software—they're workflow challenges that require intelligent automation between the tools you already use.

Our Automation Philosophy

Implementing integrated apps is preferred when strong solutions exist. When they don’t, we use workflow automation tools to fill the gaps, enhance existing integrations, or connect systems that don't offer native integration.

You might be experiencing:

• Finance team overwhelmed with manual data entry and reconciliation work

• Reporting delays meaning leadership makes decisions on weeks-old information

• Integration gaps requiring staff to manually transfer data between systems (sales platforms, inventory, CRM, accounting software)

• Process inconsistencies where different team members follow different procedures

• Audit preparation stress because historical information is difficult to retrieve

• Scalability concerns—your systems worked fine but haven’t kept pace with your growth

These problems compound as you grow. What starts as "a bit of extra manual work" becomes a bottleneck that limits your ability to scale profitably.

That's where we come in. With over a decade of experience reviewing and optimising financial systems for UK SMEs, we identify inefficiencies your team has learned to work around and create actionable plans for improvement.

If your business is growing but your operational team size isn't keeping pace, automation is how you bridge the gap.

Common Automation Opportunities

• Client onboarding sequences that collect information, trigger account setup, and schedule kickoff meetings automatically

• Document collection workflows that request, chase, and organise client files without manual follow-up

• Sales-to-operations handoffs where deal closing triggers account provisioning, team notifications, and onboarding initiation

• Approval routing for purchases, expenses, or contracts that doesn't rely on email chains

• Data synchronisation between e-commerce, CRM, and accounting systems where native integrations are insufficient

• Notification and alert systems that keep teams informed without constant status meetings

Accounting practices face unique operational challenges—repetitive client interactions, multi-system workflows, and high administrative burden relative to revenue-generating work. Yet many practices still rely on manual processes that waste partner and staff time on low-value tasks.

We help accounting practices apply the same operational efficiency thinking to their own businesses that they recommend to clients.

Common Practice Automation Opportunities

• Client onboarding - From engagement letter signing through data collection, system setup, and kickoff scheduling—fully automated sequences

• CRM and sales invoicing integration - Deal closed in CRM automatically creates client record, generates engagement letter, triggers onboarding sequence

• Practice management and meeting integration - Meeting scheduled in calendar automatically creates task list in practice management software, populates CRM notes after meeting

• Client information consolidation - Data from emails, meetings, documents, and multiple platforms automatically organised in central client record

• Document collection workflows - Automated requests for bank statements, receipts, or source documents with follow-up sequences and completion tracking

• Status update notifications - Changes in client status, task completion, or milestone achievement automatically notify relevant team members via their preferred channel (email, Slack, Teams)

• Report distribution - Month-end reports automatically generated and distributed to clients with personalised messages

• Staff task routing - New work automatically assigned based on availability, skillset, or client relationship

For practices, automation isn't just about saving time—it's about creating capacity to serve more clients profitably without hiring additional staff, and improving client experience through responsive, consistent service delivery.

For accounting practices specifically, automation delivers three critical benefits:

• Capacity Without Headcount - Serve more clients profitably without proportional staff increases. Clients we work with often find 10-20 hours per week of administrative capacity through automation.

• Consistent Client Experience - Automated workflows ensure every client receives the same high-quality, responsive service—no matter which team member is assigned or how busy the practice is.

• Staff Satisfaction -Free your team from repetitive administrative tasks to focus on advisory work that's more engaging and higher-value. Automation addresses a key driver of staff turnover in accounting—the burden of manual, repetitive work.

The types of workflow automations we implement include, but are not limited to:

Client Onboarding Automation

• New client signed in CRM

• Automatically create client record in practice management software

• Generate and send engagement letter for e-signature

• Upon signature, trigger document collection sequence

• Send welcome email with portal access and next steps

• Create onboarding task list for team members

• Schedule kickoff meeting and send calendar invites

• Notify assigned team members that new client is ready

Document Collection Workflow

• Month-end date reached for client

• Automatically send personalised request for bank statements, receipts

• Follow-up reminder after 3 days if not received

• When documents received, automatically route to assigned bookkeeper

• Notify bookkeeper that documents are ready for processing

• Update task status in practice management software

• Log collection completion in CRM

Meeting-to-Action Automation

• Meeting completed in calendar

• Automatically create task list based on meeting type (e.g., month-end review creates "prepare management accounts" task)

• Assign tasks to appropriate team members

• Send meeting summary to client

• Update practice management software with meeting notes

• Schedule follow-up meeting if needed

• Create reminders for action items

Cross-System Data Sync

• Invoice created in accounting system

• Automatically update deal value in CRM

• Notify account manager of new revenue

• Update client record in practice management software

• Trigger next stage of client lifecycle workflow

These are just examples—automation possibilities are nearly endless. The key is identifying where they deliver genuine efficiency gains for your specific workflows.

Pre-Implementation Phase

• Comprehensive workflow mapping and pain point analysis

• Statement of Requirements with prioritised automation recommendations

• Platform selection rationale and cost-benefit analysis

• Implementation timeline and resource requirements

Implementation Phase

• Automation build within your platform accounts

• Comprehensive testing and validation

• Production deployment with monitoring

• Error handling and notification configuration

Training and Handover

• Role-based training for users, administrators, and technical owners

• Complete automation documentation

• Troubleshooting and maintenance guides

• Architecture diagrams and workflow maps

• Post-implementation support period (6 weeks)

Ongoing Support Options

• Periodic automation reviews and optimisation

• Ad-hoc support for troubleshooting or modifications

• Training for new team members

• Design and implementation of additional automations

• Strategic consulting on automation roadmap evolution

We follow the same proven approach as our Systems and Processes Review, but focused specifically on workflow efficiency and cross-system information flow:

Phase 1: Discovery and Workflow Mapping (Weeks 1-2)

Operational Assessment

We interview team members across your organisation to understand how work actually flows—not how your systems manual says it should work, but what people actually do daily.

Current State Documentation

• Map workflows from trigger to completion across all touch-points

• Identify systems and platforms involved at each stage

• Document manual steps, handoffs, and delays

• Assess information quality and consistency

• Quantify time spent on repetitive administrative tasks

Pain Point Identification

We're looking for specific inefficiencies:

• Where is information being re-entered manually?

• Where do handoffs between team members or systems fail or delay?

• Which routine tasks consume disproportionate staff time?

• Where do clients or stakeholders experience frustration with response times?

• Which processes are inconsistent across team members?

• What information gets lost between systems?

Phase 2: Automation Design and Gap Analysis (Weeks 2-3)

Automation Opportunity Assessment

We identify where automation can deliver meaningful impact:

• Quick Wins - Simple automations with immediate time savings (e.g., automatically saving email attachments to document management system, sending calendar invites when tasks are assigned)

• Strategic Automations - Complex workflows with significant efficiency gains (e.g., complete client onboarding sequences, multi-stage approval routing, cross-system data synchronisation)

• Platform Selection - Zapier for simplicity and breadth of integrations, Make for complex logic and conditional workflows, n8n for technical teams wanting self-hosted control

• Integration Gaps - Where we need to fill gaps that native integrations don't address or enhance existing integrations with additional workflow steps

Phase 3: Statement of Requirements Delivery

You receive a comprehensive automation roadmap:

• Workflow Analysis - Detailed documentation of current processes with time and cost implications

• Automation Recommendations - Specific workflows to automate, prioritised by impact and implementation complexity

• Platform Selection - Which automation tools for which use cases and why

• Architecture Design - How automations will connect your systems, including data flow diagrams

• Implementation Timeline - Phased approach with estimated completion dates

• Cost Analysis - Automation platform subscriptions, implementation services, expected ROI through time savings

This Statement of Requirements becomes your blueprint for operational transformation—whether you implement immediately or phase over time.

Phase 4: Implementation and Testing (Weeks 4-5)

Automation Build

We create automations in your organisation's accounts (under your licenses):

• Configure triggers, actions, and conditional logic

• Build error handling and notification systems

• Implement data validation and quality controls

• Create logging and audit trails where needed

Sandbox Testing

Every automation is thoroughly tested before production deployment:

• Test with sample data to validate logic

• Verify error handling with edge cases

• Confirm notifications and alerts work correctly

• Validate data accuracy and consistency

• Document any limitations or edge cases requiring manual handling

Production Deployment

Gradual rollout with monitoring:

• Deploy automations to production environment

• Run parallel with existing manual processes initially

• Monitor execution logs for issues

• Refine and optimise based on real-world use

Phase 5: Training and Handover (Weeks 6-7)

Critical Distinction

Due to automation platform terms of service, we cannot build automations in our accounts and recharge ongoing access. Instead, we build within your organisation's automation platform subscriptions, train your team to maintain them, and hand over complete ownership.

Comprehensive Training

Role-based training for your team:

• End users - How the automated workflows work, what to expect, how to recognise issues

• Administrators - How to monitor automation execution, troubleshoot common issues, make minor modifications

• Technical owners - How to modify automations, add new workflow steps, create new automations following established patterns

Documentation Delivered

• Complete automation documentation including triggers, actions, and logic flow

• Troubleshooting guides for common issues

• Maintenance procedures and monitoring practices

• Architecture diagrams showing how automations connect systems

• Contact information for ongoing support

Handover and Ownership Transfer

Upon completion, you own and control all automations. We extract from the project but remain available for:

• Periodic reviews and optimisation

• Support for troubleshooting complex issues

• Training new team members

• Designing and implementing additional automations as needs evolve

This build-train-handover model ensures you're not dependent on us for ongoing automation operation while still having expert support available when needed.