We've looked at systemisation in another section. Taken together, systemisation and technology give you:

• scalable consistency, with every client receiving the same experience as you grow and take on more staff
• efficiency, with tasks being automated with fewer errors
• strategic headroom, freeing you and your team to spend more time on high-value advisory work and innovation rather than being consumed by day-to-day operations.

Technology needs to be chosen wisely to support your mapped processes. It should reduce errors and save time. If it doesn't then find apps that do. There are many apps available, along with champions and detractors for most of them, so you'll need to do your research to find the right fit for your practice. Don't be disheartened if an app doesn't work out as hoped, and don't be afraid to drop it if it isn't right for you.

Over time, your practice will evolve as will apps in the marketplace. Keep an eye out for new tools and functionality that might better support your practice and your long-term vision.

Before adding another app or subscription, ask what problem it solves and how it fits with your existing tools. If it doesn't integrate with your existing systems, or you can't use a platform to connect it to your other  apps, then duplication will creep in. If you still find yourself manually copying and pasting data then that's a red flag that your app stack isn't properly integrated.

If you want support then there are specialists who understand accounting ecosystems and can map your current tools and data flows, recommend upgrades that replace multiple apps, and set up integrations so that information moves once, cleanly and without re-keying.

AI can further augment your technology by automating time-consuming tasks, and you can even build your own AI agents to handle specific tasks. If you haven't yet dipped your toe into the world of AI then our free four-part webinar series on how to Understand, embrace and deploy AI in your accounting firm is a great place to start. Run in partnership with AVN The Accountants' Network, each session comes includes a workbook with practical templates that you can copy and paste to get you started on building your own chatbot or AI agents.

Session 3 of our Scale Smarter webinar series in partnership with AVN The Accountants' Network looks at systemisation and technology, and you can register for this free series. 

Our From Practice to Business vodcast series has an episode on this topic in which host Carl Reader of the dt group talks to Eriona Bajrakurtaj of Major's Accounts about managing change and complex famiy dynamics. This episode isn't just about tech, it's about leadership, human behaviour and the lessons learned along the way. You can watch a clip below or watch the full vodcast by clicking on the link in the box to the right. Want to listen to it on the go? It's also available as a podcast.