Accounting practice management software for small firms
Short answer: Alori is the all-in-one app for accounting firms that want their client work, deadlines, messages and billing in one place. It works as accounting practice management software: each client gets a repeating close checklist, your team sees every deadline on one board, and invoices sync with QuickBooks Online. You set it up by describing your firm, then change it by asking in plain words.
A month in a small accounting firm
The first week of the month is the monthly close for every client. Someone chases bank statements by email. Someone else keeps a spreadsheet of who is done, who is waiting on the client, and who is late. Client questions arrive by email, text and phone, and they land in different inboxes. At the end of the month, you bill clients from yet another tool.
Most small firms juggle the same stack:
- A spreadsheet or a generic task app for the close checklist
- Personal inboxes, so nobody else sees what a client asked
- A separate scheduling tool for client calls
- QuickBooks for the books, and often another app for the firm's own invoices
Each tool works on its own. The cost is the retyping between them, and the deadline that slips because it lived in one person's head.
What Alori gives an accounting firm
Repeating close checklists per client. Make a task for each client's monthly close, add the steps as subtasks, and set it to repeat every month. When you mark it done, Alori creates next month's task with its new due date and the steps unticked. Quarterly and yearly filings work the same way.
A deadlines board. Open the task board to see every client's work in four columns: To do, Waiting, In progress and Done. Filter by assignee or by project to see one person's load or one client's year end. Late dates stand out.
One project per engagement. A year end or a cleanup is a project with its own tasks, lead and target date. Alori suggests the first tasks when you name it.
A shared inbox for client messages. Texts, emails and website chats with each client land in one thread in Conversations. Your whole team sees the same thread, and you pick who follows each client. With Gmail connected, Alori can draft replies in your voice and leave them in your drafts.
Booking links for client calls. Each person shares a link per kind of appointment, like a 30 minute tax review. Clients pick an open time, both sides get an email, and reminders go out before the call. Video calls can be recorded, with a transcript and a short summary of next steps.
Invoices with card payment. Bill your clients from Invoices. Each emailed invoice has a link to pay by card, and it turns Paid by itself. Unpaid invoice reminders can go out by email or text on the schedule you pick.
QuickBooks Online sync. Connect QuickBooks Online once and your customers, companies and invoices stay the same in both places. Paid status comes from QuickBooks.
Unlimited users. Every plan includes unlimited users, so seasonal staff get their own login. See pricing.
What is coming soon
Some pieces accounting firms ask for are not built yet:
- Document requests, to ask a client for a list of files and track what came in
- A client portal where clients see their requests and invoices. See client portal.
- Recurring billing for monthly fees. See subscriptions.
Until then, many firms keep document collection in their current tool and run everything else in Alori.
How to start
- Describe your firm. Type a few words, like "accounting firm, 6 people, monthly close for 80 small business clients". Alori builds your app with the tools that fit.
- Import your clients. Paste a client list from a spreadsheet or an email into Ask Alori and it adds them. Tasks come in from an Excel or CSV file. If you use HubSpot, you can move your records over.
- Invite your team. Each person gets an invitation email and their own login.
| Firm task | Where it lives in Alori |
|---|---|
| Monthly close per client | Repeating task with subtasks |
| Who is late this month | Task board, filtered by assignee |
| Client questions | Shared inbox, one thread per client |
| Billing the client | Invoices, synced with QuickBooks Online |
Accountants in a mixed practice can also look at our pages for bookkeepers and tax preparers, or the consulting and accounting industry page.
FAQ
Is Alori accounting software? No. Alori does not keep the books. It runs your firm's client work: tasks, deadlines, messages, meetings and your own invoices. It syncs customers, companies and invoices with QuickBooks Online.
Can each client have its own monthly checklist? Yes. Make a task per client, add the steps as subtasks and set it to repeat every month. The next one appears when you mark the current one done, with the steps unticked.
Can clients pay our invoices by card? Yes. Every invoice you email has a pay by card link through Stripe, and the invoice turns Paid by itself. Card payments are in Canadian dollars for now.
Can Alori collect documents from clients? Not yet. Document requests are coming soon. Today, keep your current way of collecting files and track what is missing as subtasks on each client's close task.