Automating repetitive processes is one of the easiest ways you can create capacity in your practice, streamline and systemise your existing processes, and reduce the errors and delays that inevitably come with manually completing these cumbersome tasks. And is there anything more clunky than managing the constant stream of client correspondence from the ATO?
As ATO systems and communication channels become increasingly digital and direct, it has never been more important for practices to be able to process, review, and distribute ATO notices to clients efficiently and effectively. Yet the administrative burden in doing so comes at a cost – countless hours spent manually filing, cross checking, and communicating what matters (like payment amounts and due dates) are taking you and your team away from value added tasks and services. You are likely already using a suite of cloud-based apps and streamlined processes to run your practice and leverage your use of Xero, but do you really know what is involved when it comes to managing your ATO documents?
What does your ATO document management process look like?
For a typical accounting practice, processing ATO documents generally involves:
- Receive ATO notices in the mail, manually sort into batches based on correspondence type;
- Compare each notice or statement against the estimation in Xero Tax and Xero Practice Manager;
- Manually redact / erase Tax File Numbers for all notices;
- Prepare correspondence to email or post to clients, manually pulling contact details from Xero;
- File everything against your client in your document management system as a complete record of the communication;
- Repeat for notices received via the Tax Agent Portal, manually downloading each statement;
- Field queries about notices clients have received direct to their myGov inbox (including why it bypassed you altogether!).
ATO document management is costing you more than time
A task that really should be completed each day to ensure swift communication with clients can quickly consume an entire morning (or day during peak lodgement times!) taking your client service team and even accountants themselves away from more valuable practice and client-focused activities. Not to mention the potential for human error that can occur at multiple points throughout the process and the impact that can have on your clients: a missed TFN redaction, or a notice sent to an incorrect email address could lead to a privacy breach, client-wide notification, and some difficult conversations.
The automated solution to ATO document processing
The good news is that this is no longer an administrative burden you must bear. ATOmate is an innovative automation platform that combines cutting edge robotic process automation technology with AI to cut your ATO document management, processing, and communication time by 90%.
ATOmate’s smart AI technology reviews all ATO documents including Notices of Assessment, Statements or Account, Tax Debts, and other ATO notices that have been scanned or downloaded electronically, comparing key details such as due dates, and amounts payable/refundable against those stored in Xero Tax.
Discrepancies and variances are automatically flagged for review, meanwhile matching notices are attached to emails, letters, or pushed to your portal of choice, ready for you to send on directly to your clients.
Meet your TFN privacy obligations, simply
Regardless of how you choose to communicate with clients, ATOmate’s automatic TFN redaction feature makes meeting your TFN privacy obligations simple.
Like many accountants, if your primary communication method with your clients is email, TFN redaction coupled with email data matching and automated correspondence generation tick off on TFN privacy requirements and enable you to continue to send ATO notices by email safely.
ATOmate even takes care of the tedious task of filing and archiving your correspondence - integrating with leading cloud-based document management platforms including FYI Docs, SuiteFiles, HowNow, Windows network folders, Google Drive, Sharepoint, and many others, to automatically archive a complete record of what has been communicated. With all TFN details already redacted from filed notices, ATOmate has been purpose built to save you time and help you meet your TFN compliance obligations.
Clients hear it from you first
With more and more ATO notices being sent to clients directly through myGov, ATOmate’s unique bulk downloading function also makes light work of retrieving client correspondence from the Tax Agent Portal you may have otherwise missed. This allows you to stay on the front foot and touch base with your clients sooner.
As your client’s most trusted adviser, you want them to hear it from you first, and with ATOmate, they do. The speed and ease with which you can process and distribute ATO correspondence from multiple channels means you can proactively keep on top of key notifications, and keep your clients coming back for what they value most – the strong and stable relationship you now have the time to maintain.
There is no reason to still be manually processing ATO documents in 2021
If you are still manually processing and distributing your ATO correspondence, visit our website to book a no obligation online discovery call and learn how ATOmate’s powerful automation technology can benefit your practice.
