Intuit® eSignature helps South Carolina firm expand and elevate its client experience

Cindy Busbee is a sole practitioner for her firm, Cynthia L. Busbee CPA, LLC, in Simpsonville, S.C. The firm provides tax, accounting, payroll, and financial advisory services to entrepreneurs throughout South Carolina and 16 other states.

As a seasoned accounting and tax professional, Cindy considers Intuit® a true partner in the success of her practice. She has used Intuit Lacerte® Tax for the past 30 years, along with Intuit eSignature, QuickBooks® Online, and QuickBooks Online Payroll. These solutions form the foundation of her firm’s workflow.

Although Cindy has relied on her existing technology stack for many years, she is always looking for new ways to better serve her clients and create additional efficiencies in her practice. In 2017, eSignature caught her attention to add efficiencies to her tax, accounting, and payroll workflows.

eSignature immediately elevates the client experience and enhances firm efficiency

When Cindy first learned about eSignature, she knew it was something she needed to implement. It was an indispensable solution to elevate the client experience, but there was also immediate time savings made possible by eliminating the need to obtain signatures on hard copies of tax and other forms.

“I have clients throughout the country who are in the military or must travel for business, so they are frequently on the road,” says Cindy. “Giving them the ability to use eSignature has been a big convenience for them because it reduces the time spent going back and forth trying to get an ink signature on a hard copy form.”

With eSignature, Cindy’s clients simply review and sign their required paperwork online. They don’t need an in-person meeting, or even a printer or scanner, to review and sign their returns and other documents related to accounting and payroll.

“It really does make the whole client experience better. My goal is always to make the tax filing process as easy and comfortable for my clients as possible, eSignature is a big part of evolving to support that goal.”

Retention and recruiting clients is top of mind

Over the last several years, Cindy has been able to retain her clients and has also grown her practice. She attributes the growth to a 300% increase in making life easier for her clients, beginning with using eSignature.

“Part of the increase was due to a new way of doing business by working remotely from home,  since more local clients preferred no-contact service; they didn’t necessarily have convenient access to office equipment in order to print, sign, and scan a paper signature form,” says Cindy.

e-Signature serves the needs of a diverse range of younger and new clients

 This is also a solution that Cindy found to be attractive for her younger clients. In fact, many of these are the children of her long-term client base. It is this new generation that uses Cindy’s eSignature offering almost exclusively.

“Married couples also really love using eSignature. It is convenient for them, since both spouses can sign independently, instead of one spouse waiting for the other one to get home from work or a business trip. Plus, a lot of my current clients have been with me for decades. Their children are now off to college or in the workforce in other cities. They have their own tax returns to file. By giving them the ability to take care of these necessities online, it’s easy for them to do business with me.”

The upward usage trend in eSignature capabilities among her clients is one that Cindy expects to continue well into 2022 and beyond.

“Clients are very comfortable with the technology and prefer the click-to-sign method,” she says. “eSignature also increases my productivity because I can send a secure PDF and signature request with a few keystrokes instead of having to create, save, and send a password protected file in multiple steps.”

Even though her client portfolio is starting to shift toward a younger demographic and more tech-savvy individuals, Cindy still offers other solutions to some of her older clients who are not as comfortable with the technology.

“eSignature is so intuitive to use and checks all of the boxes when it comes to understanding that it is a secure solution. However, I will continue to provide different options, which may include a paper signature form and a pre-stamped return mail envelope for those who prefer it. I am grateful to have multiple options, including eSignature, so I can meet every client’s need, regardless of their tech level.”

At a glance:

• Firm: Cynthia L. Busbee CPA, LLC
• Location: Simpsonville, SC
• Size of firm: sole practitioner
• Niche focus: Small businesses
• Intuit Software: Intuit eSignature, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Payroll, and Intuit Lacerte Tax

Find out how eSignature can help your firm be more productive and efficient. Contact us today for a demo or call 844-877-9422.