CASE STUDY

From Bottleneck to Breakthrough: Necelis CPA's Journey with Soraban

Company Profile

Client: Necelis CPA
Size: Mid-Sized Firm, 850 returns/yr
Softwares Used: Drake, Karbon
Location: Delaware

Background

Necelis CPA, a mid-sized accounting firm based in New Castle, Delaware, handles around 850 tax returns annually. Led by Adam Necelis, the firm primarily services individual tax clients and uses Drake as its tax software. Prior to implementing Soraban, the firm relied on Drake's standard tax organizers, which they printed and mailed to over 850 clients each year. In addition, they used a combination of Karbon for practice management and Practice Ignition for engagement letters, but the document intake process was slow and disjointed, creating inefficiencies during tax season.

Challenges Before Soraban

Before Soraban, Necelis CPA struggled with the inefficiencies of their manual tax preparation process:

On December 20th, my admin team and I would print 850 questionnaires, package them into envelopes, mail them out, and then just wait. That was always our process, and only 60% would complete and return them, which was a major bottleneck.
- Adam Necelis

Furthermore, Drake’s digital organizer offered little improvement. The system was merely a fillable PDF, which wasn’t user-friendly, especially for clients who weren't tech-savvy. This led to constant back-and-forth communication with clients, many of whom struggled to understand the process and submit all required documents in a timely manner.

Drake’s digital organizer is nothing more than a fillable PDF, which is not intuitive or user-friendly, especially for our less tech-savvy clients.
- Adam Necelis

This inefficiency extended to the admin team, who were tasked with tracking missing documents manually, creating further delays.

Why Soraban

Recognizing the need for a more streamlined and client-friendly solution, Necelis CPA began evaluating alternatives to improve their intake process. After hearing positive feedback from colleagues and doing some research, Adam decided to schedule a demo with Soraban. What attracted him to Soraban was its ability to centralize document collection, communication, and tax return delivery in one platform, offering a seamless experience for both the firm and its clients.

The Implementation

The onboarding process with Soraban was smooth and straightforward. Adam and his team were quickly able to integrate the platform into their workflow. Soraban’s dynamic questionnaires, which adapted based on clients' previous responses, minimized redundant requests for information. The platform's automatic reminder system also eliminated the need to manually chase down clients for missing documents. Adam was particularly happy with Soraban’s support.

We relied heavily on the customer service and chat features this year, and they were incredibly helpful. So kudos to you guys.
- Adam Necelis

Results and Impact

After implementing Soraban, Necelis CPA saw immediate improvements. The speed at which clients began submitting their tax organizers was a game changer.

It was so much easier to track everything and the reminders and document signing features have really made a difference.
- Adam Necelis

The firm also experienced a significant uptick in client engagement with the tax organizers.

I've got 85 year olds taking pictures, uploading documents and completing e-signatures. Initially I was like, we’ll, test it out on a handful of clients, but we quickly realized, okay, well, that's not going to work. We need to do this for everybody!
- Adam Necelis

The tracking functionality within Soraban also transformed their internal workflow, allowing the admin team to easily monitor what clients had submitted and identify what was still outstanding.

Conclusion

Necelis CPA’s transition to Soraban has drastically improved their tax preparation process. By eliminating inefficiencies in document collection and reducing client confusion with a centralized system, the firm has been able to save valuable time and increase client satisfaction. Looking ahead, Adam plans to continue using Soraban as the firm expands its client base and anticipates even more efficiencies in future tax seasons.

It was without a doubt the best thing we implemented this past tax season.
- Adam Necelis

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