Which address is right?
A client moved house. They told their manager, who updated the practice management system. The tax software still has the old address. So does the payroll software, the email marketing list and the letter template. A tax return goes out with the wrong address, and a payroll letter goes to the old house.
It happens with phone numbers, email addresses, UTRs, company numbers and contact names too. Every system is right about something and wrong about something else.
Every system keeps its own copy
Practices use several pieces of software, each good at its job and each with its own client record. When the practice set them up, details were entered separately in each, and there is no rule about where to update. Some staff update one system, some update two, few update all of them.
Some links exist, for example between a practice management system and a tax product from the same vendor, but they rarely cover everything. So the practice lives with a quiet, constant mismatch that only shows up when something goes to the wrong place.
Clients notice. Receiving a letter to an old address, or being asked for details they have already given, makes a practice look disorganised even when the work is good.
What mismatched details cost
| Mismatch | Effect |
|---|---|
| Old addresses | Letters and returns sent to the wrong place |
| Wrong email | Documents and reminders not received |
| Different references | Staff unsure which one is correct |
| Duplicate clients | Work and billing split between records |
| Repeated updates | Staff time changing the same detail several times |
The effect builds slowly. Each mismatch is a small thing, found and fixed by whoever trips over it. But because nobody fixes the cause, the same client can be corrected in one system several times a year while the other copies stay wrong.
How we keep client details in step
- We list every system that holds client details and every field that matters, then agree with you which system is the source for each field.
- Current records are compared across systems, and differences are listed for your team to resolve once, with duplicates merged.
- From then on, changes in the source system are pushed to the others through their APIs, such as Xero, QuickBooks, your practice software and your email tool.
- Where a change is made in the wrong system, it is flagged as a conflict for a person to accept or reject, rather than overwriting silently.
- Staff get one screen, or one form, to update a client's details, which updates the source and flows out from there.
- A regular check reports any remaining differences, so drift is caught early.
Where a system has no API, we tell you plainly and set up a regular export and import or a checklist for that system.
One change, everywhere
A client's new address is entered once and appears everywhere it should. Letters go to the right place. Staff stop asking which system is right. Duplicates stop appearing. And clients are not asked for details they already gave.
Data protection gets easier too. When a client asks what details you hold, or asks for a correction, there is one place to look and one change to make, rather than a hunt across every system.
Are your client details like this?
- Client addresses differ between systems
- Staff update details in some systems but not others
- Letters or returns have gone to old addresses
- Duplicate clients appear in your software
- Nobody agrees which system is correct