Sam Rogoff & Co: From Spreadsheets to Seamless Automation with FYI
A well-run firm with meticulous workflows finds a better way to manage them.
A Smooth Operation with Hidden Inefficiencies
Sam Rogoff & Co. prided itself on running a disciplined, high-performing practice. Every process was tracked with precision, right down to two-minute timesheets. A network of meticulously maintained Excel spreadsheets kept work moving and clients happy.
The system worked — but it took a lot of admin to keep it that way.
While nothing was “broken” and no urgent deadline loomed, Directors Andy Templeton and Dan Moxom saw an opportunity. They began talking to practice technology providers and visiting events like the Digital Accountancy Show to explore what was possible. Their goal was clear:
- Keep what works
- Reduce manual effort
- Improve visibility
- Automate workflows
Making the Switch — Without the Big Bang
With five partners, a range of risk appetites was inevitable — and healthy. But to make any major system change, all needed to be convinced. The biggest concern? That work might be missed during the transition.
The turning point came when they learned about FYI Practice Sync and its ability to support a gradual, low-risk rollout. “FYI could fit in with how we do things today without huge change.” says Andy
The firm chose to keep CCH as its central hub, adding extra fields to feed custom data into FYI. This provided the foundation for automations that would manage jobs, tasks, and deadlines without extra spreadsheets.
Phased Implementation — One Job Type at a Time
Rather than switching everything at once, the team used automations to bring in a specific set of jobs each month:
- Phase 1: Account jobs
- Phase 2: VAT jobs
- Phase 3: Personal tax jobs
This phased approach kept change manageable, built partner confidence, and allowed process tweaks along the way. By April, the transition was complete. “Everything is in FYI, and all the legacy spreadsheets have become redundant.” reports Andy happily.
Better Than Expected Results
The impact of FYI exceeded expectations.
Significant Time Savings
Retiring the old spreadsheet system has saved the team hours each month in manual updates. One of the most appreciated features is FYI’s email autofiling, which automatically matches emails to the correct client record. The team estimates this alone saves at least 30 minutes per person every day.
Client communication cycles have also been transformed. Monthly reminder and chaser emails that once took two hours to prepare can now be sent in under 30 minutes using pre-built templates and automated triggers.
Less Stress on Deadline Days
VAT return deadlines used to mean high-pressure sprints, often working past 6pm to get everything lodged. Now, those days are noticeably calmer.
“We used to still be filing after 6pm. Now it’s rare to have an issue after 4pm on a deadline day.”
— (Daniel Moxom)
This shift is credited to:
- Automated task creation for partners at the start of the month.
- Ready-to-send client communication templates.
- Earlier identification of potential delays through real-time job visibility.
The result: work is brought forward into the month, bottlenecks are spotted earlier, and the team no longer experiences last-minute scrambles.
Freedom to Integrate and Innovate
By moving to FYI’s cloud-based platform, Sam Rogoff & Co has been able to explore other best-of-breed apps to streamline workflows. One example is FuseSign for digital signatures, which has been enthusiastically embraced by both staff and clients.
The flexibility of FYI’s integration capabilities has opened the door to future enhancements without the limitations of their previous server-based environment.
Discovering the Power of Document Management
While automation was the primary reason for adopting FYI, the firm has since realised the value of its document management capabilities. Tools such as Tasks, Comments, and Co-edit have improved internal collaboration, allowing multiple team members to work seamlessly on the same document and track progress without relying on email chains.
Advice for Other Practices
From their experience, Andy and Dan offer these tips:
- Nominate a project lead to drive the implementation.
- Invest time in getting the setup right — “We added extra fields to CCH to make the most of FYI while maintaining our well tested workflows. It would have been easier to just add the fields in FYI, but that would have required a rework of our process.”” says Andy
- Phase the rollout — Phase the implementation so that you are only changing one thing at a time (eg VAT Jobs). With FYI Practice Sync, there is no need for a single cut over date. By bringing in the relevant data each month, Sam Rogoff &Co were able to do a complete transition within a year with minimal business disruption.
- Get familiar with automations and continue to invest time post implementation to enhance them and find new opportunities to automate repetitive tasks eg. The team at Sam Rogoff & Co have just added an automation to help them get ready for MTD “in the past that would have been a new tracking spreadsheet” Dan laughs.
“If you really want automation to deliver the most value for your practice, the best way is to create your own.” — Andy Templeton
Can Good Get Better?
For Sam Rogoff, the answer is yes. They didn’t set out to fix a broken system — they set out to make a good system better. FYI allowed them to keep their trusted workflows, reduce manual overhead, and gain visibility they didn’t know they were missing.
Today, the spreadsheets are gone, deadline days are calmer, and the firm has more capacity for clients — without compromising quality. By phasing change, investing in setup, and embracing automation, they’ve proven that even the most efficient practices can find a better way.
Book in a for a Platform Tour to see how FYI could reduce the admin burden in your practice.