Which tools do modern tax firms really need today?

Above all, ones that join different processes up cleanly – time tracking, client communication, document management, digital receipts and firm organisation. With clockin, for example, you get structured payroll data from your clients instead of having to retype messy Excel lists or paper slips.

Why are tax firms currently investing more in digitalization?

Because the skilled labor shortage, the e-invoice and rising client expectations mean inefficient processes keep getting more expensive. Today you lose your time on back-and-forth, documents and administrative tasks.

As a tax advisor, how do you get clean payroll data from your clients?

With clockin your clients record their working hours digitally – by app, PC or terminal. You get structured payroll data ready for preparatory accounting instead of having to rework paper slips or chaotic timesheets. The clockin partner portal is built for exactly that.

What does digitalization in a tax firm actually mean?

Above all fewer breaks in the chain: information passes cleanly between client, employees and firm – without manual transfers, email chaos or paper archives.

5 tools for modern tax firms

Digitalization in tax firms today means one thing above all: fewer breaks in the chain

In many firms the biggest loss of time does not come from the actual professional work but from unstructured processes: missing documents, email chaos, manual transfers or paper-based processes.

These are exactly the topics that platforms such as TAXArena now put at the centre. Modern firms are increasingly building digital process chains in which information passes cleanly between client, employees and firm.

The following 5 tools cover precisely these areas – without replacing one another.

1. clockin: digital time tracking for clients and firm

Before you can start on payroll, you first have to collect the data. And that is exactly where you lose time: timesheets arrive late, sick leave notifications are missing, Excel lists are half-finished or illegible. This is not an isolated case – it is everyday life in many firms.

The problem does not sit with you, it sits with the client. Anyone without a good solution to hand records hours however they can: on paper, in the notes app, by WhatsApp message. You pay the price for it.

With clockin you actively guide your clients in changing that. Your clients record their working hours digitally – by app, PC or terminal. Vacation and absences run through the same interface. At the end of the month you get structured payroll data instead of a pile of paper slips.

What that means in practice:

Your clients record hours where they work – on the job site, in the warehouse, in the office
Vacation, sickness and absences are included directly – no more separate lists
You export clean payroll data for preparatory accounting
DATEV is integrated directly – no manual transfer

For you as a tax advisor there is the clockin partner program – with its own partner portal, structured handovers and direct support. You can onboard your clients actively and keep an eye on everything in one place.

Firms that use clockin report one effect above all: fewer queries before payroll. Not because clients have suddenly become more disciplined – but because the system makes the data complete automatically.

Ideal for: tax advisors and payroll accounting firms with clients in the skilled trades, construction, hospitality or care – in other words, everywhere employees are not sitting at a desk and timesheets have so far been a reliable source of annoyance.

→ clockin partner program for tax advisors → clockin for tax advisors at a glance

2. DATEV Unternehmen online: the digital link between client and firm

DATEV Unternehmen online has become the central platform for working with clients in many firms.

What you do with it:

Approve and archive receipts digitally – no more shuttling folders back and forth
Set up a structured document exchange with clients
Cut down on queries about documents
Process everything on directly in your firm's workflows

Especially in ongoing financial accounting, a central document exchange makes for far more stable processes.

3. DocuWare: digital client files without the search

Many firms lose time every day because documents are scattered across emails, network drives or paper folders.

What you do with DocuWare:

Keep central digital client files
Find contracts, notices and receipts quickly – without wading through folders
Organise approvals and filing in a structured way
Reduce the paper archives in your firm

With several sites or people working from home, clean document management becomes all but indispensable.

4. kanzlei.land: client communication without email chaos

A permanent problem in many firms: documents arrive incomplete, information gets lost, deadlines are pushed back and forth by email.

kanzlei.land brings this communication together in a central client portal.

What you do with it:

Exchange documents securely – no more insecure email attachments
Organise tasks and approvals centrally‍
Use the direct DATEV integration

Modern firms increasingly rely on fixed client portals rather than unstructured email threads.

5. GetMyInvoices: collect receipts automatically instead of chasing them

Many clients still download invoices by hand or pass receipts on late. That is exactly what creates queries and gaps in the bookkeeping.

What your clients do with GetMyInvoices:

Pull invoices from portals automatically – no manual downloading
Forward receipts straight to the bookkeeping or to DATEV
Minimise missing receipts

With clients who use a lot of online services in particular, this saves an enormous amount of time day to day.

Conclusion: not one big system – the right tools

Modern firms do not build monolithic systems. They combine specialised tools that each really solve one problem. The result: fewer breaks in the chain, fewer manual steps, more time for the advice itself.

If you want to digitalize time tracking and payroll preparation for your clients, take a look at clockin for tax firms – try it free, with no contract commitment.