Bates & Co in Shrewsbury decided to install IRIS back in
1998, just at the time of the introduction of Self Assessment.
Already using an accounts production system, the firm decided it
was time to computerize the tax department as well.
What surprised Brian Bates
was that IRIS was the only company to respond to his sales enquiry
by sending a member of the team to see him. All the other software
developers responded to his enquiry with a demonstration
disk.
He takes up the story "We considered it very important in the
decision making process that a member of the IRIS team took the
time to come out and see us. We were very surprised that the other
companies we contacted thought that we should make our own
assessment from a demonstration disk – after all, it is the most
important investment decision a practice makes."
Seven years on, Brian is still very enthusiastic about the
IRIS solution. He continued "I cannot imagine how I could operate
without it." Although Brian categorises the practice as small, its
investment in technology is way ahead of many larger firms. In
addition to the Starter Pack which includes personal tax, business
tax and accounts production products, the firm also uses IRIS Trust
Tax, Time & Fees, Company Secretarial and the Practice
Management program which was installed in March 2005.
The Practice Management
software is proving invaluable in tracking the progress of
individual jobs. Brian describes this product as "sitting over
everything else" with the single central database feeding all the
information through needed to run the practice efficiently.
Brian finds one of the most useful features of IRIS to be the
'What if' capability. He said "We find running dummy transactions
to be incredibly helpful. Clients are impressed that we can show
them a range of different scenarios, only the other day we were
able to demonstrate to a client who was considering selling his
shares what the implications would be if he transferred half to his
wife. The thought of doing things manually fills me with
fear."
Since starting to use the software, Brian and his team have
seen IRIS develop into a far 'broader' product with a totally new
look and feel. The firm has nothing but praise for the help line
which Brian describes as 'fantastic'. He said "Having used other
help lines where it is difficult to get a straight answer, the IRIS
approach is just so different. You are dealt with instantly and
those operating the help desks demonstrate such incredible
knowledge."
The Bates & Co approach
is to utilize technology to enable faster growth. The pricing model
formulated by IRIS for smaller firms has allowed the firm to take
advantage of a full range of scalable sophisticated software
programs at a price it can afford. Brian concluded "The IRIS
Starter Pack is great. It is perfect for the growing firm with
pricing that is affordable."
