How to choose a tech stack for your business

From onboarding clients to keeping your books in order, the technology stack you use can make or break your business. But with seemingly endless tools on the market, it can be hard to know how to choose a tech stack and where to begin.

At Project Alfred, we’re passionate about finding innovative tech solutions that make life easier for our clients, and that’s why we’re giving you a peek behind the curtains into the list of software applications we use in our business (and swear by).

If you’re wondering how to choose a tech stack, it’s useful to consider which areas of your business stand to benefit the most from a little extra help. For example:

• Onboarding and client services
• Project management
• Bookkeeping and finance

Here are our tried and tested recommendations (from the POV of an accounting firm) for an SaaS technology stack, plus why we love them (and think you will too).

For your onboarding and client services stack

Calendly

The best diary management software for teams who want to work smarter, not harder. Calendly is a centralised hub that puts you in control of your team’s schedule so you can get back to the work that matters most. While there are plenty of free calendars on the market (zCal is our favourite free option), when team efficiency is the name of the game we recommend making the switch to Calendly for its ability to have team calendars (it’s what we use if you want to see how it looks on a live website).

Ignition (formerly Practice Ignition)

We’ve just made the switch to a new accounting proposal software tool, Ignition, and we’re really impressed. This online app streamlines your processes even further by offering a proposal tool and payment solution in one. It’s designed for accountants and professional service providers, and its tagline is pretty much all you need to know: Win clients. Get paid. Every time.

GoProposal

This is the platform we used for our proposals before we switched to Ignition, and we’d still recommend GoProposal to other accounting firms looking to take the guesswork out of pricing. Its logical, consistent pricing system keeps you in the driver’s seat, and allows you to set up transparent pricing structures and create straightforward proposals to send clients.

Annature

This is our go-to platform for getting digital signatures. It has a pay-as-you-go pricing structure so you’re never out of pocket for a service you’re not using, making it a great option for businesses that don’t send out contracts every day of the week. Plus, the user experience is excellent (we should know, our clients regularly comment on how easy it is to use compared to other platforms).

Tally forms

Onboarding new clients usually comes with collecting hordes of information, but we streamline this process with Tally. Its form builder works like a doc, making it super easy to create custom forms (no coding required!) without compromising on the features you want and need. Its free tier gives you access to unlimited forms with unlimited submissions and integrates effortlessly with no-code tools (like Make), so you can connect to Xero for seamless contact management and invoice entry if you need it.

Pinch Payments

Time is money, and you should be spending your precious hours doing the work that matters, not chasing payments. Pinch makes collecting payments a breeze, by making it easy for customers to pay invoices on time (hello direct debit payment solutions) and offering automatic reconciliation. Plus, it easily integrates with Xero (a must for us), is quick and easy to set up, and offers streamlined reporting so you can review your cash flow at a glance.

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For your project management stack

Google Workspace (formerly GSuite)

When flexibility is the name of the game, no one does it better than Google. We use Gmail for emails, Google Meet for video conferencing, and Docs, Sheets and Slides for document management. Not only is it easy for our hybrid team to work together in real-time, but it’s also a better collaboration platform for our clients. They don’t need to download any apps or pay for access, and everyone can forgo version management headaches. The entire suite is optimised for mobile use, making it perfect for agile teams that need to access files while they’re on the go.

Slack

On a mission to inbox zero? Instant messaging is your friend. We reserve our emails for clients and keep internal comms less formal, less time consuming, and more dynamic. That’s why we use Slack. We have channels to keep conversations specific and make sure the right information reaches the right people about the right projects. Plus, it has a tonne of integrations so you can customise it to work for you and your team.

Make (formerly Integromat)

Formerly Integromat, Make lives up to its promise to ‘connect anything’. Applying the simplicity of tools like Zapier to complex workflows, it’s a cost-effective, no-code tool that gives you the freedom to build solutions in seconds. Make is the glue that holds our tech stack together. For example, we use it to receive Xero notifications in Slack, eliminating the need to constantly check in on our Xero dashboard.

Adobe Acrobat

Sometimes ease of use is worth paying for. We’ve tried and tested loads of the cheaper or freebie options for editing PDFs and collating documents, but we always come back to Adobe.

For your bookkeeping and finances stack

XBert

This one’s a niche suggestion for accounting firms, but we love XBert for our internal workflow needs. We prefer to look at tasks completed rather than hours worked, and XBert is the best fit for this approach. Its artificial intelligence also eliminates the need for a lot of manual checks. It works hand-in-hand with Xero to audit files and flag potential issues such as duplicate invoices and incorrect GST. Time = saved.

Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform, meaning you can know your numbers anywhere, anytime. This makes it a no-brainer for us, not to mention it keeps our invoices looking schmick and saves us time on manual data entry. There are other cloud-accounting apps available, but one of the key reasons we use Xero is because it has over 1000 apps it integrates with. Not convinced? Find even more reasons to move your accounting to Xero here.

Xero Projects

We use Xero Projects to monitor the progress and profitability of any project-based jobs. It’s a one-stop-shop for businesses that don’t need a super complex job management tool (we don’t, so this works for us). It can be used to prepare quotes, customise invoices, and track costs with its start-stop timer and location-based tracking.

Paytron

Making payments and getting paid is the cornerstone of every business; so it should be as simple as possible. Paytron is the best multi-currency account for doing just that. It offers low cost, same-day payments to 180+ countries with automated reconciliation. It also allows you to hold money in 37 currencies (game changer!) and convert them for just 0.5%.

Plus, the app is easy to set up, has great workflow tools for teams, and lets you pay the international and domestic bills you’ve created in Xero. We love working with Paytron because they’re super-responsive to our feedback as users, and are committed to making it easy for businesses to make payments and get paid.

Airwallex

Another gem for overseas banking, Airwallex helps streamline finances and admin. With its multi-currency business account, you can hold money in 11+ currencies, give your team virtual credit cards in Australia to make global payments, set spending limits, and manage employee expenses in real-time. Better yet, it integrates with Xero by the hour so your books are always up to date with the latest costs and balances.

Dext

Say goodbye to messy piles of receipts and hello to a whole lot more free time. Dext is one of our all-time favourite digital receipt banks for bookkeepers because it allows you to send Xero automatic receipts, bills and invoices. That’s right, you’ll never need to scan, save and manually upload a receipt again.

Ready to build your tech stack?

Whether you’re looking to streamline your client onboarding process or take the busy work out of bookkeeping, the tools you use should be there to help, not hinder. At the end of the day, it’s all about finding the solutions that work for you. We get that everyone’s goals, processes and culture are different, so we work with businesses of all shapes and sizes to find the tech solutions that will save them time where it matters most.

We’re more than just accountants. Find out how we can bring a fresh perspective to your business’ finances.

Send us a message today