How Taxopedia is perfecting its pipeline with help from Docusign

Docusign recently sponsored a Tax Talks podcast featuring David Fitzgerald of Taxopedia and Factor1 in Melbourne. In the episode (#383), David shared his experiences in building a proven pipeline for success.

From first leads to deal closures, pipelines play a huge role in the long-term health of businesses large and small. While they naturally take many shapes and forms, getting pipelines just right can consume sales and marketing professionals.

The topic of pipelines was dissected on a recent episode of the Tax Talks podcast. Presenter Heidi Robson was joined by David Fitzgerald of Taxopedia and Factor1, who shared the secrets of how the two accounting firms he works at manage their pipelines.

As it emerged during their lengthy conversation, a healthy pipeline relies on having the right apps, tools and technologies in play to connect with clients at just the right time, in just the right way. From social media and Google ads, right through to client onboarding and the experience of signing tax returns, David talked through the end-to-end experience. 

And we’re proud to report that Docusign featured prominently in his tour of Taxopedia’s pipeline.  

Choosing Docusign over in-built signing systems

There are a lot of apps and tools in play throughout Taxopedia’s client journey, and David’s team has clearly put a lot of thought into each one and the value it brings to the business.

For example, they use Xero Practice Manager to manage client jobs and workflow efficiently from start to finish. And they could have used the in-built signing system in XPM when sending tax returns out for signing. But after looking at the client experience, they decided to use Docusign instead.

“There were a few reasons behind that decision. We wanted one system, because clients are rightly so very untrustworthy of emails. So we didn’t want to have situations where we’re sending them different platforms, different ways to sign documents – whether it be their company annual return or their tax return,” said David. 

Taxopedia also didn’t want clients to have to log in with a password to a portal to sign something, as it would add a layer of effort and complexity to what should be a very straightforward process.

“Once we do a collation, we’ll put together, say, financial statements, a tax return and maybe the individual directors’ tax returns as well. We’ll bundle that up into a collation package within Docusign, which basically puts it in one document, and it emails through a secure link to the client for them to click on, flow through and sign,” David explained. 

“We can also enable two step authorisation if anyone’s worried about security. There’s no need to remember passwords and logins and that sort of stuff.”

Taxopedia’s clients can quickly and easily sign their tax documents from anywhere using Docusign. As Heidi observed, “That’s a very nice user experience for your clients.”

David shared the story of a client in her 80s. So, not necessarily tech-savvy. “She raved about it. She thought it was very easy and simple, saying, ‘This is much easier than me having to get documents in the post and take them back to the post office and send them back to you, or get in the car and drive out to your office to sign them off.’ I was pleasantly surprised that clients I thought may not adapt, loved it.”

Listen now to learn about Taxopedia’s full pipeline strategy

The signing of tax returns is just one stage in the end-to-end customer journey at Taxopedia. For the full story on how they have built a healthy pipeline, and more on how they have streamlined their systems to save time and reduce costs, you can listen to the full episode of Tax Talk now. (Heads up: the ep is a smidge over 60 minutes long, so give yourself plenty of time). 

Or, to learn more about how Docusign can slot seamlessly into your pipeline to enhance the customer experience and optimise your internal processes, get in touch today.