From spreadsheet frustration to advisory-first reporting: Reach Reporting’s evolution

“We built a tool that let business owners see KPIs—but it wasn’t until accountants started using it that we saw real impact.”

That’s how Justin Hatch, founder and CEO of Reach Reporting, describes the company’s pivot. What began in 2015 as a small business reporting tool evolved into a platform built for accountants and CFOs.

From startup struggles to advisory success

Justin’s early experience as a business owner made it clear how frustrating financial statements could be. The reports existed, but they weren’t easy to understand. That frustration sparked the idea behind Reach Reporting: clearer, more meaningful reports for business owners. But in practice, accountants saw the real potential—seeking flexible, visual reporting tools that worked across organizations.

"It didn’t take us long to realize that was a powerful audience," said Justin. From there, Reach shifted its focus to helping accountants deliver advisory-level value to their internal and external clients.

Why reporting still drains too much time

Even with modern tools, many accountants remain stuck in outdated routines. Old spreadsheet habits and underused platforms lead to wasted time updating templates and chasing down errors.

Experience shows that finance teams spend 40–50% of their time on report preparation—reformatting, fixing errors, and repeating the same tasks month after month. Everyone knows it happens, but with mounting deadlines and growing client demands, inefficient processes often go unchallenged.

"That’s exactly what we set out to fix," said Justin. "What’s the point of a reporting tool if it takes too long to learn or forces you to build everything from scratch? Tools should simplify life, not complicate it."

This thinking became central to Reach’s product development. Reach built tools that were simple to adopt, easy to customize, and integrated directly with QuickBooks.

QuickBooks integration: familiar tools, smarter automation

The Reach development team worked closely with the QuickBooks team to ensure fast and intuitive setup.

"You connect QuickBooks, and immediately, reports and dashboards are populated—no manual processes, no endless adjustments," said Justin. “Trends surface instantly, giving accountants more time to focus on what the data is telling them, not chasing down numbers."

The goal was simple: eliminate tedious data gathering, surface accurate insights faster, and avoid unnecessary complexity. Reach focused on speed and simplicity, delivering immediate reporting automation while keeping customization options in the hands of the accountant.

With a minimal learning curve and flexible report-building tools, accountants could quickly shift from building reports to delivering real insights and advisory value.

Collaborating with Intuit Developer Team

Working alongside Intuit’s Developer team, Reach Reporting refined reporting templates, improved onboarding, and aligned workflows with QuickBooks users' real needs. This collaboration ensured that Reach fit seamlessly into accountant workflows without requiring significant system changes, making QuickBooks data more actionable.

AI analytics: Adding intelligence, not replacing people

In 2024, Reach introduced AI analytics to enhance, not replace, the work of accountants. The AI scans QuickBooks data, flags unusual trends or performance shifts, and automatically creates clear visuals or ad hoc reports that spotlight the most relevant data for each period.

"It works like a background assistant, surfacing key insights so accountants can spend less time hunting for data and more time advising their clients," said Justin.

Human expertise + AI = smarter advisory

With routine reporting streamlined, accountants can now focus on insight and strategy. AI flags anomalies, trends, and key performance shifts, bringing essential data points to the surface instantly. But it’s human expertise that gives these insights context.

Accountants take these flagged insights, combine them with their deep understanding of the business, its goals, and industry trends, and turn raw data into proactive guidance. Something that used to be impossible—digging deep into period-over-period comparisons or budget versus actuals—now happens instantly. Accountants aren’t just saving time; they’re stepping into a more impactful role.

• Reports generate automatically, eliminating hours of manual prep.
• AI flags key patterns and shifts, providing a clear starting point.
• Accountants apply human judgment, tailoring insights to each client's goals.

The result is faster reporting cycles, more meaningful client conversations, and advisory services grounded in both data intelligence and professional expertise.

Empowering accountants to advise

Reach Reporting’s evolution mirrors a broader industry shift—moving beyond number crunching to true advisory services. By combining live QuickBooks data, AI-driven insights, and flexible reporting tools, firms reduce administrative headaches and expand their capacity to serve clients at a higher level.

"It’s simple," said Justin. "When accountants have time to be advisors, businesses make better decisions."