Intuit® Practice Management speeds workflow, handles hundreds of tasks, and saves hours of documentation

Jim Sylvester, a CPA and sole practitioner who lives and works in a suburb just outside Philadelphia, opened his own firm in 2012 to focus on CFO advisory services. Similar to many other tax and accounting professionals, he thought his work life was organized and in order; after all, he had a computer and built-in software. What else would he need?

Growing pains

When he began adding more clients who needed his advice on a wide variety of activities – from liquidity and business process outsourcing, to bankruptcy and turnaround work – he quickly realized that no two days were alike, and no two calls or meetings were the same.

“If they want to refinance their debt or buy a building, I’m the first person they call for an opinion and to assist in the process; if there’s a lawsuit, they call me first,” says Jim. “Working in advisory services, there is no set routine and no standardization, and it’s not uncommon to have one client who has six to eight immediate needs after a call, with 100 tasks to handle in a specific timeframe. I needed a way to keep track of all of this.”

An always-on solution

A big white board? No, too small to hold all of the information. Electronic sticky notes? Too hard to keep up with. Multiple spreadsheets with tabs? Too complicated. Instead of using any of these seemingly quick fixes, Jim turned to Intuit® Practice Management. Immediately after seeing a demo, he realized what he had been missing: a single source of information that could more easily handle all of his emails and tasks, and scale alongside his firm’s growth.

“Intuit Practice Management keeps track of all the work that needs to be done. With as many clients as I have with as many assignments, that’s a major plus, especially the ability to copy tasks to multiple clients,” he says. “Add to that the time savings I get from the triage function; emails are one and done, saving me a significant amount of time. Best of all? I’m making more money because I’m able to bill my clients much faster than before.”

Working only with CEOs whose company revenue is $1 million to $30 million, Jim is using Intuit Practice Management differently than other practitioners who  are more likely to integrate it with Intuit ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® or ProSeries®, and use it in a team  environment. Nevertheless, he’s sold on the built-in organizational abilities and cloud technology.

“My best day is when I get a call from a CEO who needs my help or when it’s someone new who wants my advice. Without a way of keeping up with the details, I wouldn’t be able to address immediate needs and manage everything else I have.”

With Intuit Practice Management, Jim has seen a:

• 40% increase in billings in 2020, with a projected 40%+ increase in 2021.
• 75% increase in the number of clients.
• Large decrease in the number of hours spent locating client information.

At a glance

• Customer: Jim Sylvester, CPA, MBA
• Firm: G. James Sylvester, LLC
• Location: Kennett Square, PA
• Size of firm: Sole practitioner
• Niche focus: CFO services
• Intuit Software: Intuit Lacerte Tax, QuickBooks Online, Intuit Practice Management, eSignature

Find out how Intuit Practice Management can help your firm be  more productive and efficient. Contact us today for a demo or call 833-978-6830.