Case Study: Benefits of Appias Hosted VoIP Add Up for Accounting Firm

The CPA Group PC is a full-service tax, accounting and business consulting firm headquartered in Monett, Mo., with a branch office in Cassville, Mo. It provides total financial services to individuals, agencies and businesses of all sizes.

Problem:

In 2007, The CPA Group was preparing to open its branch location in Cassville. It was a good time to take a hard look at the technology used by the firm.

“We had a hodgepodge of equipment. We were handling everything in-house, implementing the technology ourselves,” said Kurt Krueger, CPA. “It was difficult for me to work offsite and keep everything in the office up and running.”

Krueger wasn’t the only overstretched resource. The CPA Group’s IT infrastructure was struggling to keep pace with the demands of the growing business.

“Our efficiency was suffering due to decreasing network speed,” Krueger said. “Processing delays while using our accounting software were very frustrating.”

To accommodate the expansion and maintain its high level of customer service and satisfaction, The CPA Group needed a multifaceted, customized solution.

“We needed a system in place that would integrate two offices, enable us to work from multiple locations, allow for growth, and work with our existing software suite,” Krueger said. “Most importantly, we needed increased speed and efficiency, and a system that would be easy to manage.”

Solution:

The CPA Group reached out to Weidmayer, Schneider, Raham and Bennett, an accounting and business consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich. WSRB’s Information Technology Services Group helps clients make IT choices by providing informed and unbiased recommendations for products and services to fit each unique business environment.

WSRB conducted a thorough review, and then prepared a comprehensive consulting report that addressed The CPA Group’s specific needs and constraints. Incorporating the equipment expertise of Cyberian Technologies with managed services from Appia Communications proved to be the best solution for The CPA Group’s new business infrastructure.

Based in Indianapolis, Cyberian Technologies serves small and midsize businesses with IT network solutions, planning and upgrades, as well as the installation and support of related Microsoft, Citrix and Cisco systems and products. Cyberian rewired The CPA Group’s office, replaced or retasked networking equipment and installed a wireless Local Area Network. A new data backup system was also implemented, making backups “much faster and easier,” according to Krueger.

Meanwhile, The CPA Group’s phone service provider was unable to integrate the two offices, so WSRB recommended Appia’s Hosted VoIP solution. Appia is a veteran nationwide provider of managed IT and telecommunications services to small and midsize companies and organizations.

“We like the disaster recovery features Appia provides,” said Krueger. “We’ve lost power twice in last year or so, due to both a tornado and an ice storm. Because Appia’s solution is hosted, our calls are still answered by an auto-attendant and we can retrieve voice mails when our power is out.”

Appia’s solution also gave The CPA Group abbreviated extension dialing between locations, so there is no charge for calls between the two sites. Under the previous phone system, all of those calls would have incurred long-distance charges.

Results:

With improved accessibility, efficiency, features and service, The CPA Group’s new networking infrastructure is saving more than money.

“The biggest benefit has been time savings — especially administratively,” said Krueger. “We now use (centralized-computing) terminals instead of PC workstations. Everything is integrated under one setup and one user. I’ve saved a lot of hours in the last six months not running from PC to PC.

“Improved efficiency with our accounting software has eliminated processing delays. Everything just works.”

Appia’s Hosted VoIP solution has freed The CPA Group to serve its clients wherever and whenever needed.

“One thing in particular we like about the hosted VoIP service is the ease of moving a user,” Krueger said. “With our previous provider, we had to rewire. Now we just unplug the phone, move it, and plug it back in. … When our employees go out to customer sites, they forward their IP phones to their mobile phones. Also, the old voice mail system was very limited; Appia’s system has more features. … The ability to access our e-mail remotely, combined with voicemail-to-e-mail and Internet faxing, allows us to work from home and from different locations. We’re able to serve our clients better.”