Over the last few years, we’ve increased our use of technology to make life easier, more efficient and save time. While the ATO has moved towards digital communication platforms for ATO correspondence they still deliver some ATO documents by paper.
How you process this ATO correspondence can impact your efficiency, there are ways to make this process more efficient and save valuable time.
Receiving ATO documents
You and your clients receive important ATO communications multiple ways.:
- posted to your physical office address or post office box,
- sent directly to a client’s myGov inbox or email; or
- delivered electronically to your practice’s inbox.
Keeping across important client communications from the ATO is difficult enough already. Many documents are time sensitive or require action on your client’s behalf and need to be addressed.
We’ve highlighted our top three ways to help you process ATO correspondence more efficiently:
1. Have a process in place
It’s important you have a clear, well-documented process in place, that steps through how your practice handles different types of ATO correspondence and who is involved.
Clear instructions which are regularly reviewed and updated will secure your knowledge capital, provide security should you lose any key team members, and help you understand where you might have slipped up if things go wrong.
You should include considerations such as your tolerance level for any variances/discrepancies between your estimates and the ATO calculations, including how to handle errors, and what documents you want to send to the client or simply keep on file.
2. Automate any repetitive processes
If there is one thing for certain about processing ATO correspondence, it’s that it is repetitive. Combined with the need to crosscheck data between various systems, manually generate correspondence, and potentially have multiple people involved in your review process, makes ATO document processing a prime candidate for automation.
A platform like ATOmate integrates directly with the ATO to help you seamlessly manage all the ATO’s correspondence distribution channels, automating your ATO document processing from start to finish.
The cloud-based platform automatically connects to the ATO to download all client correspondence into one place, cross-checks the data against estimates in your practice management system, flags discrepancies for review, generates client communication via email, letter and portal, and archives complete records of all files and communications back into your document management or filing system.
3. Improve client communication with options
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how your clients like to communicate with you, which adds another layer of complexity to managing standardised processes.
It’s important your clients feel like you’re making things easier for them by communicating through channels they feel comfortable with.
Utilising an automation platform like ATOmate to streamline your ATO document handling processes allows you to customise correspondence and delivery options to suit individual client needs in the click of a button. ATOmate lets you choose from multiple correspondence channels including email, letter generation, or sending documents to the client via your client portal.
Streamline your ATO document processing
ATO correspondence is time sensitive, so it’s critical you’re able to monitor, review, make changes as needed, and communicate those important ATO updates and notices to your clients efficiently and effectively.
Standardising and documenting your process, and automating as many repetitive elements as possible, while not losing sight of your client’s communication preferences will go a long way to helping you maintain confidence in your ATO document management processes and maintaining positive client relationships.
With direct integration to the ATO, leading practice and document management platforms, and customisable automation workflows, a platform like ATOmate can help you keep on top of the constant stream of ATO communication.
To see how ATOmate can help make your ATO correspondence processing more efficient Book a Discovery Meeting with our team.
By: ATOmate Powered by Business Automation Works (BAW)
With over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Stan’s professional focus has been on building high-performance teams and leading organisational change through operational efficiency.
Stan is passionate about assisting businesses to reach their full potential through the delivery of automated processes, supporting them to achieve smarter and innovative outcomes for stakeholders and greater productivity and job satisfaction across their teams.
Most recently, Stan has enjoyed working closely with professional services businesses to implement technological transformation projects and automate their key business processes.
BAW is an innovative company that provides automation solutions to businesses including accountants, property managers and the manufacturing industry.
The company’s automation solutions allow business managers, partners, IT managers and staff to refocus their attention away from tedious, time-consuming tasks towards value-added outcomes, such as managing and maintaining client relationships and engagement.
BAW’s flagship product, ATOmate, is designed to automate the processing, reviewing, and distribution of ATO correspondence. ATOmate integrates with a range of market-leading practice and document management platforms, helping accountants reduce their ATO document processing time by 90%.
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