Case study: How CCH became the software of choice for Consilium

“The software is intuitive and easy to navigate around. The data is there: you can see it, you can use it; the buttons and menus are where you expect them to be!” 

James Goodman, Partner

About Consilium Chartered Accountants

Consilium Chartered Accountants are an independent firm of accountants and business advisors, supporting small and medium-sized business in Scotland and the UK. Based in Glasgow, Consilium provide a comprehensive range of Audit, Accounting, Business Advisory, Tax, Corporate Finance, Cloud Accounting and Payroll services.

Established in 2013, Consilium is an entrepreneurial firm that works hand-in-hand with clients to develop and build their businesses. The name derives from the Latin consulō, which reflects the business ethos: to plan, to advise, to counsel and to share wisdom on all aspects of business management with clients.

Consilium uses the CCH Central suite from Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK for clients’ compliance work and practice management. However, this wasn’t always the case. For the first six years of operation, the practice used a suite of accounting software from an alternative provider.

Partner James Goodman spoke to us to explain why a move became necessary. “Everything was fine for the first few years,” he said. “Then we found that as the costs went up, the level of service went down. Moreover, we could see no evidence that that extra money was being reinvested in product development for the benefit of users.”

The team was also encountering real and practical problems with the software on a daily basis. “Managing our internal accounts and automating our processes around accounting data, was more time consuming than it needed to be,” James told us.

Looking for safe hands

The Consilium partners were initially apprehensive about changing the software underpinning the business. Understandably, they were concerned that a migration could distract the practice from its core business. However, time was invested with both with the partners and the wider Consilium team to provide comfort over the functionality of the software and the implementation and training process.

James himself was convinced that the firm’s data and system would be in safe hands: “From discussions with Wolters Kluwer, I was confident that the switch would be handled efficiently. We were given a clear understanding of how our existing data would be migrated to the CCH Central suite.” James’s confidence was well placed, and the data transfer process went smoothly.

Quick off the starting blocks

The migration took place in March 2020. The timing for the go-live was not ideal, given the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the intuitive nature of the software combined with the commitment of the entire Consilium team to embrace the new system eliminated the need for in-person training.

“The software is intuitive and easy to navigate,” James observed. “Our team adapted well and rapidly understood the efficacy of the software. The data is there: you can see it, you can use it, and the buttons and menus are where you expect them to be!”

Getting the suite up and running successfully and remotely during a pandemic was a significant undertaking. According to James, the combination of great team work and customer service was key.

“I’m very proud of the way the Consilium team embraced the change and worked diligently to learn the new system inside and out”, he explained. “Combined with the support and expertise provided by CCH, the whole process was much quicker and smoother than any of us imagined.”  

Accounting software with a future

Since migration, the CCH Central suite has become an integral part of how the Consilium team processes clients’ tax and accounts work. They also use CCH for practice management processes such as billing and expenses. Today, there are around 45 users across the practice. Consilium even deliberately look for previous experience with software, when it comes to recruiting new employees.

One major benefit has been greater efficiency, in comparison to with the previous software. “From an admin perspective, there have been pretty significant efficiencies,” said James. “The software has an integrated expense claim system that makes a big difference. The billing facility, Twinfield and the bank integration…the combination makes running our business much more efficient.”

James keeps a close eye on Wolters Kluwer’s product roadmap, and is watching with interest as more CCH functions move to the cloud. His view is that this creates potential for even better remote connectivity and collaboration. Other opportunities may include embracing the workflow functionality within the software to monitor and manage the progression of client work.