CASE STUDY | AUSTIN, TEXAS | BELOW $1M ARR
VINE FINANCIAL PARTNERS
How Vine Financial Partners used Genwise to automate client onboarding, implement a project management system designed for their needs, and refine internal processes to increase billable hours.
Improved revenue by 86% in under 1 year
Added new recurring revenue stream
Created a platform to streamline HR Experience
Objective
Streamline Vine Financial Partner's internal processes and automated workable solutions across the organization.
Overview
Vine Financial Partners (VFP) engaged Genwise to help increase their company's efficiency through automation and process improvements. Genwise utilized our proprietary discovery process and designed an implementation plan for VFP to achieve this. With the Genwise Business OS, VFP redesigned its systems to build an improved tax-season process. VFP’s new systems reduced errors and boosted the number of billable hours for the VFP team.
CPA Profile
Christel is a family-minded managing partner of VFP, a business accounting consulting firm that manages more than 70 corporate tax accounts. She wanted to organize her systems and streamline her business. Finding and capturing information was disorganized and difficult. Christel’s dream was to streamline internal operations and automate her repeatable accounting tasks. She was tired of all the tedious work. She needed systems to simplify her workflow and data management.
Christel's Problems
-
Delay in onboarding new clients
-
A growing backlog of client work
-
Implementing a data backup and recovery system
-
Ensuring timely completion of bookkeeping and tax tasks
-
Managing and locating client information
-
Providing timely client communications during tax season
-
Enhancing workflow and task distribution within the team
Our Approach
Genwise addressed VFP's data and process challenges using our proven Genwise Business Assessment. We conducted a comprehensive review of VFP's operations, mapping out the firm's core processes. This enabled us to pinpoint areas where simple yet effective enhancements could significantly boost performance.
Then, we assessed the degree of automation that would best suit Christel and her firm, ensuring a seamless transition and optimal results. Guided by these insights, we constructed a strategic roadmap, laying out the path towards enhanced operational efficiency across the most frequently used procedures.
With this roadmap in place, we began supporting team adoption, transforming the way VFP operates by applying our tailored process improvements to increase her billable hours. This approach allowed us to bring about significant improvements across VFP's operations.
The Genwise Process
Our unique process starts with a Business Assessment which allowed us to comprehensively evaluate, model, and enhance operational efficiency and automation for Christel and the Vine team. At a glance, we guided Christel through three steps.
-
Planning: We gleaned a deep understanding of VFP's internal processes and team dynamics using surveys and interviews. With these insights, we pinpoint areas ripe for automation and process enhancement.
-
Building: We modeled VFP's revenue streams and workflow using our proprietary swimlane process mapping methodology. This approach resulted in a data architecture diagram designed to prioritize and guide automation and process improvements.
-
Adoption: We tailored VFP's project management plan using Genwise's exclusive Business Operating System to manages process improvement initiatives and ensures that Christel's team is harmoniously synchronized with her clients.
Results
After implementing these improvements, VFP completed its first tax season with effectively zero task slippage:
-
CRM Implementation: VFP adopted ActiveCampaign, tailored to Vine's specific business needs, and integrated Typeform to streamline data collection.
-
Business OS Development: VFP created a custom business management system to improve workflow, client, and data management.
-
Automation Project Management: VFP developed low-code automation software to minimize data errors and redundant tasks, thus reducing team workload.
Problem
Christel — the family-minded managing partner of Vine, a business accounting consulting firm that manages more than 70 corporate tax accounts — wanted to organize her systems to streamline her business. Finding and capturing information was disorganized and difficult. Vine generates revenue by managing bookkeeping and repeatable accounting tasks but lacked systems to scale their client, workflow, and data management. Some of the acute problems that faced Vine were:
-
Tracking team tasks and client data submissions
-
Effectively onboarding new clients
-
Instituting a backup and recovery system
-
Completing bookkeeping and tax submission tasks within IRS deadlines
-
Searching, capturing, and finding client data and information
-
Client management problems during tax season. For example, Vine needed time-sensitive documents and tax data to service its clients but the Vine team inevitably became bottlenecked as clients failed to respond with accurate data in a timely manner.
-
Workflow management (tasks and projects) problems. No system existed to track employee progress or assign specific tasks to the Vine team.
Approach
Genwise helped Vine solve its data and process problems with a two-phased approach. First, Genwise used the Genesis Process to obtain a holistic understanding of Vine Financial Partners’ business model and revenue streams. The purpose of Genesis was to survey and interview their team to assess, model, and design operational improvements and automation for Vine’s data, client, and workflow management.
The proprietary Genwise business process allows us to holistically assess, model, and design operating improvements and automation for Christel and the Vine team.
-
The Genesis process assessed Vine’s people through surveys and team interviews to produce data insights used to identify automation and process improvement opportunities.
-
The Genesis process modeled Vine’s revenue streams and workflow through a swimlane process mapping methodology to build a data architecture diagram designed to prioritize automation and process improvements.
-
The Genesis process designed Vine’s project management plan using Genwise’s proprietary Business OS. The new Vine Business OS manages process improvement initiatives and ensures that Christel’s team is organized and on track with client demand.
-
The first phase of the Vine project was to complete the Genesis process to yield 1, 2, 3. Upon client approval, we entered the second phase of the project to implement and manage the Vine build plan.
Old
New
Redesigned Website
BizeeBay
Digital Marketing
Flaco Creative
Design Services
Genwise Contributing Partners
Genwise activated our Global Partner Network to engage with Premier HR to meet their rebranding and SEO needs. Genwise selected BizeeBee for their expertise in marketing and sales. Meanwhile, Flaco Creative was focused on the design of the brand and website.
New SaaS Platform
The online portal is where monthly subscription customers can access HR management guides, templates, and resources to run their HR department.
Streamlined Backend Operations
We simplified the backend operations through triggered automation to save money and give Premier HR Advisors more time to focus on servicing clients, not on data entry.
Conclusion
In early 2022, Vine completed its first tax season with the implementation of the Genwise Business OS. The Vine team enjoyed effectively zero task slippage. Genwise led the program management of multiple projects for Vine Financial Partners, including:
-
Data Collection System Implementation — Selected ActiveCampaign, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, configured to Vine’s unique business needs. Additionally, Typeform was integrated into their Business OS to reduce the need for time-consuming back and forth emails to gather data. Genwise integrated its CRM system through the Genwise Integration Process: full team workshops, a 1-on-1 training program, and the selection of an internal Communications Champion to build system expertise.
-
Business OS Implementation — designed a customized business management system to organize Vine’s workflow management, client management, and data management. Genwise is integrating the Business OS through the Genwise Integration Process: full team workshops, a 1-on-1 training program, and an internal Data Champion to build system expertise.
-
Automation Software Project Management — Building a customized automation software to eliminate data errors, repeatable human tasks, and reduce team demand. Genwise is managing the Vine Automation Software Development by utilizing the Genwise Business OS: an all-in-one business management platform for organizing your business.
Vine Financial Partners is an active Genwise client and we look forward to sharing growth updates in the months and years to come.
CHRISTEL GUSTAFSON
Managing Partner
Vine Financial Partners
Client Since 2021
What Does Christel Say?
"My biggest problem was figuring out which technology to implement. After trying several solutions nothing seemed to fit. Genwise talked me through all of my technology options to help me make sense of what was right for me and my company. But Genwise is above just implementing. They take a holistic approach that helps put all of the independent pieces to get together. Before Genwise I was trying to build a system with all the wrong pieces."