Welcome back to our Firm of the Future profile series about thriving firms who are benefitting from the cloud and QuickBooks® Online Accountant (QBOA) to better serve clients and find new revenue opportunities. In this new article, we spotlight Sherrell Martin of Nitram Financial Solutions.
Mindy King: Tell us about your accounting and/or tax practice.
Sherrell Martin: Nitram Financial Solutions is an outsourced cloud accounting and business advisory firm. We work with creative thinkers who like to work hard and play hard.
MK: How long have you been using QuickBooks Online Accountant?
SM: I have been using QuickBooks Online (QBO) since 2008 and QBOA since 2012.
MK: What convinced you to make the move to QuickBooks Online Accountant?
SM: Once I realized I didn’t have to commute to a client, I was sold. It was an easy “sale.”
MK: What are your goals for your practice this year?
SM: My primary goal for this year is to become a #qbfirmofthefuture. By that, I mean to have 100 percent of our clients on QBO or some other cloud platform. No desktop clients. No on-site clients. And, as of last week, we reached that goal. From there, we will tighten up our processes to become as efficient as possible.
MK: What’s your favorite away-from-the-office place to get work done?
SM: I work from my home office 95 percent of the time, so every now and again I go to my co-share office so I can see people and have a change of scenery. I know, pretty boring, but my attention span can’t take too much stimulation, so I can’t go anywhere else and stay focused.
MK: Where’s the craziest place you’ve done work for a client?
SM: I have had to work remotely from my car and the hair salon a lot. And, from my daughter’s dance competition, which was out of town. That’s about as crazy as it has gotten so far.
MK: What’s your number one timesavings tip?
SM: My #1 timesaving tip is using Hubdoc to upload receipts. I have clients set up an email account under their URL that automatically forwards to their designated Hubdoc email. This way, I get all of those electronic receipts and never have to ask what a transaction was for.
MK: When you’re not working, what’s your favorite way to spend your time?
SM: Just spending time with my family and friends. They are a funny group of people – LOTS and LOTS of laughter.
MK: What advice do you have for peers that are still on desktop?
SM: I would say free yourself and move to the cloud. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that I can access everything from my phone or my Chromebook, regardless of where I am. I never have to say, “I have to do that later because it’s on my computer” again!
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