Most Australian accounting firms do not suffer from a lack of software. They suffer from having too much of it.
Xero for ledgers. Xero Tax for lodgements. Various ASIC systems for company compliance. A document management system for files. Email for client correspondence. Spreadsheets for tracking work and workpapers. Word documents for processes and templates. The ATO portal so you can watch a loading screen all day… And handwritten notes for everything else.
Each tool does its job, most of the time. The problem is that none of them talks to each other properly.
Every day, accountants switch between apps to answer simple questions. What is due today? Which clients are you waiting on for signatures? Are there ASIC issues we need to chase? Who on the team is overloaded? The answers exist, but they are scattered across systems.
This is where the idea of a practice control room becomes powerful. 🖥️
AccountKit is designed to act as that control room. It brings workflows, compliance tools, client data, dashboards and integrations into one connected app. Instead of jumping between systems, accountants work from a single, centralised view of the practice. For firms handling Australian compliance demands, this connected approach reduces friction, improves visibility, and keeps teams in control during busy periods.
Fragmentation is now one of the biggest operational risks for accounting practices.
A typical firm might manage tasks in one system, ATO lodgements in another, ASIC compliance in a third, documents in a fourth, and client notes in email threads. Each handover between tools introduces friction and increases the chance of something being missed.
The cost of this fragmentation shows up in several ways:
Context switching is particularly damaging during peak periods. When BAS deadlines or EOFY work ramps up, accountants need clarity, not more tools to juggle. A practice dashboard for accountants that surfaces key information in one place becomes essential, not optional.
A true practice control room brings these moving parts together. It gives firms a centralised accounting workflow where work, compliance, and client information are connected rather than siloed.
At the centre of AccountKit is a set of dashboards that give firms immediate visibility across the practice.
Rather than logging into multiple systems, accountants can see key information as soon as they open the app. These dashboards cover both individual and practice-wide views, including:
Each dashboard is designed to answer common questions quickly. What is due today? What is overdue? Where are the risks? What needs attention now?
Custom views allow firms to tailor dashboards for different roles. Partners might focus on lodgements, deadlines and workload distribution. Managers may prioritise job progress and team capacity. Junior staff can start their day with a clear list of assigned tasks.
This flexibility turns AccountKit into a practical practice control room, not a one-size-fits-all reporting screen.
Client preparation often takes longer than it should because information is spread across systems.
Before a meeting, accountants might check email for correspondence, a DMS for documents, a separate tool for finance schedules, and another system for client structures. This fragmentation makes it harder to provide confident, proactive advice.
AccountKit solves this with a central client view.
For each client or client group, AccountKit aggregates:
This creates true overarching client visibility. Instead of hunting for information, accountants can see the full picture in one place. For complex groups, this group-level view is especially valuable when preparing for advisory conversations or compliance reviews.
No matter who’s away on leave, if the partner is in another meeting, the client can contact the firm knowing everything is in hand. With AccountKit, everyone in the practice has the most up-to-date information about their client and delivers the same client experience.
The result is less time spent searching and more time spent on getting work done.
A control room only works if it connects to how work actually gets done.
AccountKit’s workflow and task management tools are designed to standardise work across the firm while remaining flexible enough for real-world accounting.
Key elements include:
The Daily Plan replaces handwritten lists by pulling tasks directly from workflow, emails, templates and recurring jobs, which then carry forward to the next day any tasks not yet completed. This ensures that no job exists only in someone’s notebook or inbox.
Because workflow is connected to the wider system, partners and managers can see what each team member is working on, where bottlenecks are forming, and which deadlines are approaching. This visibility turns task management into a firm-wide process rather than a personal one.
This level of workflow and task management is what makes the control room concept practical, not theoretical.
Most firms are not looking to replace every system they already use. They want their tools to work together.
AccountKit achieves this through deep integrations that pull data into a single interface while allowing firms to keep their existing stack.
Key integrations include:
This approach allows accountants to move from high-level dashboards to detailed client data without logging into separate systems. For example, a partner can review an ATO lodgement dashboard, click into a specific client, and then access the related informationand documents within the same app.
By connecting accounting apps rather than isolating them, AccountKit supports a genuinely centralised accounting workflow.
AccountKit includes more than 18 compliance and practice tools that firms can utiliseas needed. These are not standalone apps. They are embedded within workflows and client views.
Some compliance tools include:
Because these tools sit inside the same platform, compliance work flows naturally into jobs, tasks and reporting. There is no need to export data, upload spreadsheets, or reconcile results across systems.
This embedded approach is particularly valuable for firms dealing with complex compliance requirements. Instead of managing separate accounting automation tools, everything runs through a single control centre.
No two accounting practices operate in exactly the same way. AccountKit reflects this through extensive customisation options.
Firms can tailor their control room by:
User management allows firms to control access at a granular level. Some users may have view-only access, while others can modify or fully manage data. Tools can also be restricted by client group or service line and even shared with guests such as clients or other professional services working with your clients
This ensures the all-in-one app for accountants & bookkeepers feels familiar and aligned with how the firm already works, rather than forcing a rigid structure.
When firms move from fragmented systems to a connected control room, the benefits are practical and measurable.
Teams experience fewer interruptions and less admin friction. Leaders gain clearer insight into workloads and deadlines. Client conversations improve because accountants have better visibility and confidence.
Common outcomes include:
Many firms describe AccountKit as becoming the heart of the practice. Not because it replaces everything, but because it connects everything.
Building a practice control room does not require a full system overhaul on day one.
A simple approach works best:
From there, firms can activate additional tools, refine workflows and expand usage over time.
For accounting and bookkeeping practices looking to reduce fragmentation and gain control, AccountKit provides a connected foundation designed specifically for compliance-heavy environments.
Start a 14-day free trial, attend an AccountKit webinar, or book a demo to see how a practice control room works in real life.