As an equity principal, partner, director, business owner or manager, you’ll be aware growing your firm or business requires learning how to make money and hang on to it responsibly. When you’re buried in tasks and responsibilities, it is easy to think that a fancy, well marketed software could help you dig your way out. That is not usually the case and you could end up paying for software that you don’t need and barely use, that ultimately, eats up your profit.

On the other end, a few pieces of technology benefit most growing organisations. When set up and implemented correctly, these pieces of software can improve operations, increase efficiency and lend a hand to revenue-generating efforts. Investing in the right technology is not a wasted expense. However, with so many options, especially with the new wave of AI-powered digital tools, it can be challenging to decide which ones you need and which ones are distractions.

Today, we’re outlining five tools you should use to grow your law, accounting, financial services firm or business and a few that you should avoid.

Tools To Look Into:

1. Direct Messaging Platforms – Whether everyone is in-office, remote or hybrid, a communication tool is a must. These tools allow for targeted communication that can be one-on-one, small, select groups, entire departments, channels within the organisation or the entire organization. This feature helps to keep messages relevant instead of consuming everyone’s time. Tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack are popular options that offer video call capabilities, integrate with other tech tools, can leverage AI and more. Other critical factors to consider when choosing which software you’ll use are whether it’s high-speed, easy to use and scalable, and whether the company provides great support.

2. Project Management Software – This is essential for internal and external projects to keep you on track, on budget and organised. Using this tool, you can work with others on your team to set deadlines, assign tasks, monitor deliverables, track issues, connect with clients for feedback or approval and more.

However, there are many options available that have more features than you need. When choosing project management software, first see if there are any industry favourites. Your Practice Management software may have some functions of this built in. Sometimes the built in function works well. In other cases you may need specialised project management software dedicated to project management. Finding these unique options can help you get the project solutions you need.

If you’re looking for a general tool, software like Monday, Asana and ClickUp all continue to top the popularity chart. If you have Microsoft 365 you may have Microsoft Planner included which is a cut down version of their Microsoft Project Online solution.

3. Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM) – If you’ve been tracking leads and clients or customers via pencil and paper or with a simple spreadsheet, this tool will change the game for you. CRMs allow you to store your client or customer information in one place, which can help streamline your business development process, strengthen client or customer relationships, increase sales of your services and run a smoother operation. Again, look for industry-specific options first. Some Practice Management software has options for this built in. This can potentially work well, however if not, then tools like Keap or Salesforce come highly recommended.

4. Cloud Computing Solutions – These are vital for all organisations that share data or collaborate on projects. The cloud is a web-based hub that holds all your data virtually and can be manipulated by anyone with access at any time, even at the same time. It syncs to all connected devices to share changes in real time, allowing for better collaboration and scale-up as your firm or company grows.

The downside to cloud computing is that as your firm or company grows your consumption may cause increasing bills you hadn’t planned for in your budget. There comes a time when you need to evaluate whether you’re better off having your own equipment that can be hosted in the “cloud”.

5. Cyber Security Solutions – Digital tools make running your company easier, but they invite new threats into your firm or business. Cyber security is a serious issue for equity principals, partners, directors and business owners. You handle highly sensitive data, financial information and more for you and your clients, so safeguarding it against cyber criminals is necessary. Computers, USBs, mobile devices, servers and networks must all be secured.

While there are antivirus and firewall solutions available for you to set up on your own, having an IT company with a cyber security expert on the team monitoring your network is a necessity. Hackers break through the standard firewalls regularly, which leaves people who think they are protected unknowingly exposed. With 24/7 monitoring, an IT team can patch those holes before cyber criminals can find them.

Those are five tools all business owners would benefit from. But what about items you don’t need? Here are two you can avoid wasting money on.

1. Ineffective AI Tools – With the launch of ChatGPT, a wave of new AI-powered programs has popped up. It seems like there is an AI tool for everything. The problem is, can these tools be used effectively? Many programs were rushed to market and are still in the early stages of development. They have frustrating bugs and limitations and don’t produce quality results.

Be selective about which AI tools you use. Do you need it? Does it work? Remember, whenever you sign up for another free trial or create an account, you’re giving your private information to a company that could experience a data breach.

Also consider, unless you’ve paid for the product, you are the product. So, all that information you enter could be viewed and seen by anyone. In your profession that is very dangerous. Be very careful about what you’re using these AI tools for.

Choose carefully!

2. Duplicates – Are you paying twice for the same tool? As software companies merge and develop new features, you might find that you can consolidate your tools in one place. For example, if you’re using Canva to design images for social media and something else like Hootsuite to schedule them, you could reduce the number of tools you use from two to one because Canva can schedule the posts for you! There are likely other areas in your business where this can happen. Spend some time evaluating what you invest in to see if you can eliminate anything.

When it comes to running an efficient professional services firm or business, choosing the right technology platform is critical to your success. Instead of spending your limited time researching the best options, let our tech experts help. Using our FREE Network Assessment, we can help you identify bottlenecks and areas of opportunity in your business to help you save money, improve productivity and grow. Click here to book your free assessment now or call our team on +61 8 6244 2556 to get started.

My Info Tech Partner is a trusted IT Services and IT Support provider in Perth that specialises in helping the equity principals, partners, directors, and practice managers of legal, accounting and financial services firms from making big expensive mistakes with technology and ultimately, protect their livelihood.

Naturally, we are the only one that offers you enhanced peace of mind with our “Never Pay The Ransom” $10,000 Money Back Guarantee.