Over the last two years we’ve been working hard to create a new way for our clients to connect with their account managers as well as offering the ability to easily share and access information about their account.
After reviewing the software and systems used across all our services, our IT team, together with colleagues across Duncan & Toplis, have created our new system of online client accounts.
We’re confident that our new system will prove to be an easy to use and more effective tool which will benefit all our clients.
It’s been made possible through the use of the latest cloud computing systems as well as the feedback and support of our team members and clients, and we’ve worked directly with software developers to see it through.
The Duncan & Toplis team provides a wide range of services, from accountancy, audit and tax advice to HR and Payroll, and we often provide multiple services to each of our clients. With a diverse team based at 11 offices across the East Midlands, it’s important that we have a unified system to ensure services are provided by the most appropriate team members, with your account manager as your main point of contact and your go-to adviser.
It’s also important that you have greater access and control over your own information by creating a system which lets you view, upload, download and use the documents and data you need, immediately and at any time of day.
After years of research and development, the online client account is now ready for you to use, putting you in control, unlocking the support of our specialist team members, and creating an ever closer link between you and your dedicated account manager.
You can find out more about the system and its development below, or you can visit your account by logging in here.
Introducing a new client-facing system is a major challenge for any company because it’s so important for the overall client experience. To make sure the system does as we and our clients want, and that it functions as it should with total security and ease-of-use, it’s been rigorously tested for resilience and speed. We’ve been working with an external software provider to optimise the system, and we’ve explored a wide range of setups to make your online account as user-friendly and practical as possible.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact on the way we developed the system. As we and many of our clients switched to remote working, the project gained new importance. We continued testing throughout the spring and summer of 2020 before organising remote training sessions to discuss and resolve technical issues.
By November, we began building the new platform and laid the foundations for creating a single, unified system by combining the databases and client records from all our 11 local offices.
On 3 March 2021, the new system went live and is now ready for use for all our clients.
Until now, the only change you’ll have spotted throughout this period is that you’ll have switched from the client portal to your online client account, which is provided through IRIS OpenSpace.
All our clients can now enjoy the full benefits of the new system.
The online client account puts all your information at your fingertips. It’s both simple and straightforward and also extremely useful for a wide range of tasks.
If you are both a business client and personal tax client you will have two accounts, to ensure all information about your business is kept separate from your personal affairs. If you are a business client without a personal tax account, or vice versa, you’ll just have one account and you can access this through the client section of our website.
You’re welcome to log in and start making use of the service right away, but we’ll also share help sheets and short videos over the next month to give additional guidance and support, helping you to navigate and get used to each of its features. You can also speak to your account manager who’ll be happy to help you.
From your online client account, you’ll be able to view all of the documents from our team, split into relevant folders. Items will remain available to you for at least 18 months, so you can download or reprint as many copies as you may need, or refer back as often as you want.
Your invoices will also be uploaded into the invoice section of the online client account and these will be available to download for up to 12 months. The status indicator should also tell you whether the invoice is paid once your funds hit our ledger.
We appreciate that you may be wary of new systems and you’ll want to make sure that you’re still receiving the same level of service that you expect from Duncan & Toplis. This is also of fundamental importance to us, and so you can be assured that the online client account is in no way a substitute for your account manager, nor is it an automated service.
The online client account is, at its core, a secure platform to which your account manager can upload documents. This means you’re able to view and approve them with minimal effort. If you need to see or copy a document, you can just log into your account to view or download the information without having to ask for it. You can also use the online client account to share information and documents with us.
Your account manager can also give account access to select people you choose. So, for example, if you’d like your finance director to have access to all the information on your business account, you can email your account manager and they will add them to your account. We can also remove individuals from your account if requested. It’s important to note that we don’t recommend inviting third parties such as bank managers or solicitors to have access to your online client account. Instead, we recommend downloading the specific information you’d like to share with them and forwarding this on.
In addition, if you are a personal tax client and we provide tax returns for both you and your significant other, you can receive notifications for both client accounts by providing us with an email address for both individuals. While this is not normally recommended, we appreciate this is a feature some clients may like.
We’re very pleased to have launched this new online platform and we’re delighted with how many clients are using and enjoying the online client account system already.
