MGI Joyce Dickson is a large firm offering everything from accounting and tax compliance to self-managed super and CFO services in Canberra, as part of the wider MGI network. They implemented Active Workpapers after finding other workpapers solutions a poor fit.
To complicate matters, MGI Joyce Dickson was in the midst of a wider digital transformation. They weren’t just changing the way they did workpapers; they’d gone from being a MYOB firm that managed everything with (essentially) two software products to a modern digital practice with multiple tools, including GreatSoft for practice management and BGL 360 for their superannuation fund management.
There’s plenty of efficiencies to be found that way, but the learning curve of doing a lot at once can be steep. They needed a mature workpapers tool that actually saved time, instead of making things more complicated.
“We needed a product that actually did online workpapers properly, and Active was the furthest along out of all the software on the market,” Matthew says. “It was automations that we were missing. How could we be more efficient, as a firm? Active Workpapers was that, in a nutshell,” Matthew says.
MGI Joyce Dickson implemented the product carefully. They trialled it on live data for three months, and got help from fellow firm FGS with Xero rollovers.
Once Active Workpapers was fully implemented, the rapid pace of software improvements and the overall effectiveness of the software saw them making huge efficiency gains within mere months.
“Active did a heap of upgrades in October to December of 2023, and the product is almost completely different. It’s a million times better!” says MGI Joyce Dickson Senior Advisor, Jacqui Dowling. “We’re very happy with the upgrades, they’ve all gone really well. We’ll tell anyone who’ll listen how good Active Workpapers is.”
They’ve also benefited from the incredibly dedicated support team at Active. Their support model is that firms are given an account manager who also handles support cases. This allows firms to build a tight relationship with their manager, who in turn grows to understand the unique needs of the firm that they look after. “If we have an issue, we’ll have a session with Venessa, and she’ll let us know right away if we’re doing something wrong,” Matthew says.
Senior leaders have been responsive to feedback as well, they note, and have been quick to take up ideas suggested by the MGI Joyce Dickson team.
Now that the trial and early migration phase is complete, with forty or more staff members settled in using the Active Workpapers tool, Jacqui and Matthew say the evidence of efficiency gains is very clear.
What’s more, Active Workpapers are pre-filled with data from client files, resulting in an enormous data-entry time saving. Staff are enthused, with less manual effort going into what were previously rote tasks. “Now that they know what Active is capable of doing, I think everyone loves the reduction in the data entry,” they say.
Compared to other workpaper products that come free, bundled with accounting software, Active is obviously a higher outlay for firms. But Matthew and Jacqui reckon they’re getting much more than their money’s worth, with a high ROI stemming from the sheer time saved.
They estimate the total saving at anywhere from one to four hours per job. “I’m very, very comfortable with the fact that it saves us much more than we’re paying for it,” Matthew says.
They’re now happy with the product to the extent that they find themselves recommending it during conversation with accountants from other firms.
“If you want to save on your data entry and increase the efficiency of your processing, I think Active Workpapers is a no-brainer, really.” Jacqui says. “If you’re predominantly a Xero firm, using Active, I’d happily guarantee you’ll reduce your compliance time.”
Matthew agrees. “Why wouldn’t you use this software? I think about the first three hours of a job, all the boring stuff, well that three hours could now be as little as an hour and a half.”
“We’re really happy, and we’re looking forward to next year.”