What are others preferred app stack choices and why?

 You should also, check out this article that provides the steps on how to select the right technology for your firm: https://karbonhq.com/resources/selecting-the-right-technology-for-the-modern-accounting-practice/

I’m not sure if it is live yet, but we have integrated Slack with Karbon.  This allows comments and conversations in Slack to be tagged and added to work items and timelines in Karbon.  Love this feature.

@Rebecca Williams Yes we got into the Beta Testing.  We usually don’t have client conversations in Slack, but if we do it is easy to add it to work and/or a timeline. 

My favorite use is when someone asks me to do something for a client in Slack.  I can send this request to Karbon and tag it to the client’s timeline or a piece of work.  This can then be added to MY WEEK. I don’t have to set a reminder in Slack because I don’t have time to complete the task right now.  We also then have a record of why something was done posted on the timeline.

@SamG  Yes, it would be easier but you can’t tell the boss to “send it to me in Karbon”.  😉 I would like to keep my job even if it is currently tax season.

@AntoniyaB. 

My favorite integration is Ignition (fka Practice Ignition). 

Side note: I can’t imagine why on earth a firm would use the billing function that’s being developed in Karbon, unless they’re still functioning on a “time for money” model.

We use a value pricing model (not just fixed fee).  Ignition lets us set up template proposals and is a super professional presentation.  Also, no chasing clients for payment - we auto-bill up front.  We also have videos embedded in the proposal process (a short 30 sec video from me, a 30 sec testimonial when they receive the proposal) and “next steps video\yay” video from me and a “congrats on deciding to work with Lisa and her team” video from a prolific small biz author upon acceptance so clients can get started on their deliverables ASAP and get a dose of validation from the author.

I love that it integrates with Gusto so when we bill a per EE fee for payroll, it will grab the info and bill automatically for us.  Ditto that it will set up the Work items in Karbon for us.  Granted, we still have to edit the due dates and set up the repeating work in Karbon, but its enough info that my team can do that part.

 By far my fave integration!😍

Yes, having the option to send hours from Karbon to Ignition would address both billing scenarios and be the best of both worlds.  Karbon’s new billing offering is a new revenue stream for them.... Given how much effort they’ve put into dev of the billing feature (to the exclusion of user feature requests, unfortunately), it seems unlikely they’d ever send that data to another billing platform.  🙁

Hey @SamG the work items created by Ignition generally have a start date = engagement start date from Ignition.  They also have a Due Date = the Engagement End Date.  For ex:  if I send a proposal with a start date of 4/1/23, with an engagement thru 12/31/2023, the work items default to being due on 12/31/2023 even though they’re monthly deliverables that need to be set up for each month of the engagement.  If there’s a way around this I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to know the trick!  😍

Touche re: time for money!  I love this!  Regardless of how I bill my clients, or pay my team, my firm earns an EFFECTIVE hourly rate - its just a question:  is my firm earning $50/hr EFFECTIVE rate, or $500/hr EFFECTIVE rate, based on the fee I billed and the time it took me\my team to complete the deliverable.  It’s always a time for money model if we have humans completing the work (hello AI, as you noted!), the question is what is the firm’s effective rate?  I don’t limit my firm to $50/hr for bookkeeping services - so limiting!  Sometimes our effective rate is $50/hr (ouch!), sometimes its $500/hr (more like it, haha!).  And like you, I have one or two clients that I bill hourly because scope varies so widely month-to-month.  Its just easier for me to track that time using a Clockify extension in my bookmarks and then add the hrs and bill manually in Ignition.

All that said, the team and I def need to start tracking our time in Karbon for capacity planning as well as tracking GM on each client.  That’s on the radar for Q2 and Q3!   I don’t have access to the beta Billing functionality in Karbon,  so haven’t seen it’s functionality, so excited to see\try the value you find in it!

Gusto is the payroll provider we use for all of our payroll clients.  Its sweet to be able to charge the client their monthly variable fee for payroll based on # of EEs in Gusto at invoice date.  Magic!

Scope Creep is the ongoing struggle, isn’t it?!?!!?  I have pretty clear (to me!)  “included” items in each service in the proposal (and I routinely clarify excluded services based on random things clients ask for).  The hardest part is for me to remember the phrase “yes!  We’d love to give you a hand with XYZ.  Since this is beyond the scope of our standing engagement, I’ll send over a proposal.  Once we get your acceptance we can get started”.  Its really a question of MY discipline re: Scope Creep, unfortunately!

Right now, we’re small enough that clients only ask me for help with “other stuff” and\or my small team loops me in on something random.  I’m sure as the team grows that will be more and more challenging.  How do you address?

All of my new engagements, the pricing is for 3 months.  I won’t bid a job without seeing the QBO file first.  I explain that the pricing is good for 3 months, and then we’ll assess the ACTUAL work required vs what client said they wanted\needed, and adjust pricing if needed.  So that’s my “out” when a client says they want\need XYZ, but then they also add ABCDEFG once we get started.  This helps address the clients who think “anything that deals with money is covered” scenario because they didn’t read the SOW.

Would love to hear how you deal with Scope Creep, and pricing engagements that turn out to be WAY more than anticipated!  (I know we’re hijacking the OP question, sorry @AntoniyaB.!  😎