TLDR (Summary)
The best project management software is Plutio ($19/month).
Accounting firms need project management that connects tasks to time tracking and billing-because managing projects without seeing margin means hitting deadlines while losing money. Plutio tracks time logged vs. budgeted per task, shows project margin as work happens, and creates invoices automatically from logged hours. Tax returns, audit projects, and advisory projects all connect to billing in real time, and clients access their documents, communications, and invoices through branded portals that show your firm's identity instead of generic software branding.
Research shows 60% instead of billable client tasks-for accountants, that means updating spreadsheets, copying data between tools, and reconciling time logs with invoices after projects finish, when margin problems surface too late to fix.
For additional strategies, read our freelance project management guide.
What is project management software for accountants?
Project management software for accountants organizes client projects from initial scope through final billing, with complete visibility into time spent, tasks completed, and margin per project.
The distinction matters: generic project management tools organize tasks and deadlines. Accounting-focused project management connects to time tracking and invoicing-because an project management system that doesn't show billable vs. non-billable hours, time budgeted vs. logged, and project margin in real time leaves reconciling profit margins after work finishes, when problems cost money instead of being preventable.
What accounting project management actually does
Core functions include organizing client projects by service type (tax preparation, audit, advisory, bookkeeping), tracking time logged against budgeted hours per task and per project, managing deliverables and client requests through structured workflows, and connecting completed work directly to invoicing so billable hours become invoice line items automatically instead of requiring manual data entry at month-end.
Project tracking vs. generic task management
Generic project tools track whether tasks get marked complete. Accounting project management tracks whether projects stay profitable-showing time consumed per phase (planning, fieldwork, review, finalization for audits; organizer sent, return prepared, review, e-file for tax), flagging when logged hours approach budgeted limits before projects go over budget, and separating billable work from administrative overhead so realization rates stay visible.
What makes accounting project management different
Accounting projects follow repeatable patterns-tax season has the same phases every year, audits follow standard fieldwork procedures, monthly bookkeeping has consistent deliverables. Without project management that templates these workflows and connects them to time budgets, every project gets rebuilt from scratch, time tracking happens in separate spreadsheets, and margin calculations wait until invoices get sent, when discovering an project lost money changes nothing.
When project management connects to time tracking and invoicing, you see project margin while work is in progress-not after billing reveals the damage.
Why you need project management software
Accounting firms that grow beyond 15-20 active clients face a compounding problem: managing projects in spreadsheets and email means margin stays invisible until invoices get sent, when discovering an project lost money to extra work without extra pay or inefficient task allocation changes nothing.
Tax season compounds this problem-30 returns in progress simultaneously, each with organizer status, preparer assignments, review status, and client questions, tracked across email threads, spreadsheets, and memory. One missing follow-up delays a return, one unbilled consultation erodes margins, and one lost document creates rework that consumes the profit margin entirely.
The margin blindness problem
According to industry research, 60%-administrative tasks instead of billable client work. For accountants specifically, that means logging time in spreadsheets after the fact instead of tracking it during work, updating project status in email instead of centralized dashboards, and reconciling billable hours against budgets only when preparing invoices. The gap between work completion and margin awareness means projects run over budget before anyone notices, extra work without extra pay happens without documentation, and realization rates (billable hours billed vs. total hours worked) stay hidden until financial statements reveal firm-wide problems.
The fragmentation problem
Most accounting firms stack 4-6 disconnected tools: practice management software for client data, time tracking apps for billable hours, document management for tax returns and financial statements, invoicing software for billing, email for client communication, and spreadsheets for project budgets. Each tool handles one function, but none share data automatically-so time tracked in Toggl doesn't flow to invoices in QuickBooks, project status in Asana doesn't connect to client records in practice management software, and margin analysis requires exporting data from multiple tools into spreadsheets for manual reconciliation.
The extra work without extra pay problem
Client requests arrive through email, phone calls, and portal messages. Without structured project management, additional work gets completed without documenting whether it falls within the original scope, tracking time against a separate budget, or flagging when cumulative additions exceed profitable thresholds. A tax client asks three questions about estimated payments-15 minutes each, 45 minutes total, unbilled because it felt like service rather than scope expansion. Multiply that across 50 clients and 10 hours of unbilled advisory work quietly erodes monthly margin.
The scaling tipping point
Most accounting firms hit a threshold around 20-30 active clients where manual project tracking breaks down. Below that threshold, principals remember project status, margin, and outstanding tasks from memory. Above it, work falls through gaps-review bottlenecks aren't visible until clients ask about status, team members duplicate work because task assignments live in email threads, and margin problems surface in financial statements instead of during projects when adjustments remain possible.
Connected project management software absorbs the project coordination work that would otherwise scale linearly with each new client-turning what used to require 2-3 hours of weekly status meetings and spreadsheet updates into automated dashboards that show project status, team workload, and margin in real time.
Project management features accountants need
Essential project management features for accountants connect project organization with time tracking and billing, while handling the recurring workflows that accounting services require.
Core project management features
- Project templates: Build repeatable workflows for tax preparation (organizer, preparation, review, e-file), audit projects (planning, fieldwork, review, report), bookkeeping (monthly close, reconciliation, financial statements), and advisory projects. Each template includes standard tasks, time budgets per phase, and deliverable checklists-so new projects start with complete structure instead of rebuilding workflows from scratch.
- Time budgets per task and project: Set budgeted hours for each phase of work, track actual time logged against budgets in real time, and flag when logged hours approach 80% of budget before projects go over. Tax return preparation might budget 6 hours total (1 hour organizer review, 3 hours preparation, 1.5 hours senior review, 30 minutes finalization), and Plutio shows exactly where time gets consumed.
- Task assignment and workload visibility: Assign tasks to preparers, reviewers, and partners with due dates and priority levels. Team dashboards show current workload across all projects-so managing partners see when senior you have 40 hours of work assigned with 20-hour deadlines, preventing burnout and blown deadlines before they happen.
- Billable vs. non-billable time tracking: Mark tasks as billable or non-billable (administrative, professional development, internal meetings). Time tracking separates revenue-generating work from overhead, and realization rate reporting shows the percentage of total hours that actually get billed to clients.
- Project status dashboards: See all active projects in pipeline view-which returns are with clients awaiting information, which audits are in fieldwork, which bookkeeping clients have monthly close pending. Status updates in one place instead of scattered across email threads and memory.
Accountant-specific features
- Recurring project automation: Monthly bookkeeping clients, quarterly review projects, and annual tax returns repeat on schedules. The tool creates new projects automatically when periods arrive, applies the standard template, and assigns tasks to designated team members-so recurring work requires setup once instead of manual project creation every month.
- Client communication tracking: All client questions, document requests, and status updates attach to project records. When a tax client emails asking about their refund status, the response connects to that client's tax project instead of living in email archives-so next year's preparer sees communication history without asking what happened.
- Document management per project: Tax returns, financial statements, supporting schedules, and client-provided documents organize by project and year. The 2025 tax return project contains organizer, prior year return, W-2s, 1099s, draft return, and final e-filed return-everything in context instead of scattered across folder structures where files get lost.
Platform features that multiply value
- White-label branding: Custom domain, logo, colors. All client-facing communications show your firm's brand, not software branding. Clients log into yourfirmname.com to access portals, not plutio.com or generic SaaS domains.
- Unified inbox: All client messages arrive in one place-portal messages, form submissions, booking confirmations, invoice questions. Reply directly without opening email or checking multiple tools.
- Permissions: Control who sees what at the level that makes sense for accounting firms. Partners see all projects and margin, senior accountants see assigned clients, staff accountants see only their assigned tasks. Client portal access separates by client-no client sees another client's data.
- Automations: Create rules that trigger actions without manual intervention. Common accounting automations include: when project status changes to "Ready for Review," assign review task to designated reviewer and send notification; when time logged reaches 90% of budget, notify project manager; when invoice becomes 15 days overdue, send automatic reminder to client.
The deciding factor is integration depth-project management software that connects time tracking to invoicing eliminates the manual reconciliation work that turns billing from a 10-minute task into a 2-hour monthly ordeal.
Project management software pricing for accountants
Project management software for you typically costs $15-50 per user per month for standalone tools, with integrated platforms providing complete functionality including time tracking and invoicing at flat monthly rates instead of per-user pricing that scales expensively with team growth.
What you typically pay for project management tools
- Asana: $10.99-24.99/user/month. Organizes tasks and projects but lacks time tracking and invoicing. Forced 5-seat minimum purchases after initial users-so firms with 7 people pay for 10 seats. No built-in time tracking means adding Toggl ($9/user) or Harvest ($10.80/user), and no invoicing means adding QuickBooks ($30+/month) or FreshBooks ($15+/month).
- Monday.com: $9-19/user/month with 3-seat minimum on paid plans. Tracks projects but requires separate time tracking and invoicing tools. Custom workflows and automation available on higher tiers only.
- ClickUp: $7-12/user/month plus $9/user for AI features. Includes time tracking but no invoicing. User reviews consistently report 3-5 second loading times that compound into significant productivity loss during tax season when switching between dozens of client projects daily.
- Karbon: $59-99/user/month. Built specifically for accounting firms with work management, time tracking, and email integration. Strong practice management features but premium pricing-5-person firm pays $295-495/month.
You stack project management with separate time tracking and invoicing tools, paying $35-65/user/month across 3-4 subscriptions while manually copying data between tools.
Plutio pricing (January 2026)
- Core: $19/month: Unlimited project management, time tracking, invoicing, proposals, contracts, and scheduling. Up to 9 active clients. Ideal for solo practitioners and small firms.
- Pro: $49/month: Unlimited clients, 30 contributors (team members), advanced permissions, and priority support. Designed for growing firms with multiple team members.
- Max: $199/month: Unlimited team, white-label with custom domain, single sign-on, and dedicated support. Built for established firms wanting complete brand control.
Your ROI calculation
- Subscription consolidation: Replacing Asana ($24.99/user), Toggl ($9/user), and invoicing software ($15-30/month) saves $35-50/user/month. A 5-person firm spends $175-250/month on separate tools; Plutio Pro at $49/month saves $125-200 monthly, $1,500-2,400 annually.
- Billable hour recovery: Manual time entry at end of day or week leads to underreporting. Studies show 42%. Real-time time tracking during work captures billable hours that would otherwise go unlogged. Recovering 2-3 hours per week per team member at $150-250/hour generates $15,600-39,000 in additional annual revenue for a 5-person firm.
- Administrative time reduction: Connected tools eliminate data entry between tools. Logging time once and having it flow automatically to invoices saves 30-60 minutes per billing cycle. At 2 billing cycles per month, that's 12-24 hours monthly across a team-12-24 hours that become billable instead of administrative overhead.
Project management software ROI for accountants comes through capturing billable time that currently disappears into gaps between tools and eliminating administrative work that scales with client count. Plutio pays for itself when it recovers one unbilled hour per week-everything beyond that is profit improvement.
Why Plutio is the best project management for accountants
Plutio handles project management as part of a complete platform where project tracking, time tracking, invoicing, client communication, and document management work together rather than as separate tools that need manual connection.
Project tracking that shows margin in real time
Create projects from templates (tax preparation, audit, bookkeeping, advisory) with task lists and time budgets pre-configured. As team members log time to tasks, the project dashboard shows time logged vs. budgeted per task and total project, hours remaining before going over budget, and current realization rate (billable hours vs. total hours worked). Tax season dashboard shows 30 returns in progress with status for each (organizer sent, in preparation, in review, ready to e-file, completed), who's assigned to each return, and whether any returns are approaching time budget limits-complete visibility without asking for status updates.
Time tracking that connects to billing automatically
Log time to specific tasks and projects with billable/non-billable designation. Timer runs during work or manual entry captures time after completion. When creating invoices, pull all unbilled time for a client with one click-logged hours become invoice line items automatically with task descriptions, dates, and rates applied. No manual time reconciliation, no spreadsheet exports, no copying data between tools. Accountant logs 4.5 hours preparing a tax return across three work sessions; invoice shows "Tax Return Preparation - Form 1040" with 4.5 hours at $175/hour for $787.50, generated in 30 seconds instead of 10 minutes of manual entry.
Client portals that centralize communication and documents
Each client gets a branded portal where they access current project status, uploaded documents, messages, invoices, and payment options. Instead of sending tax organizers through email (where they get lost), upload to client portal with automatic notification-client logs in, completes organizer, uploads W-2s and 1099s directly to their tax project. All documents attached to the right project, no email attachments to download and organize, no questions about which version is current. Client asks about refund status through portal message; response attaches to tax project, visible to anyone working that return next year.
Recurring project automation
Monthly bookkeeping clients need the same tasks every month: receive bank statements, categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, prepare financial statements, send to client for review. Set up the template once with task list, time budgets, and deliverable checklist. System creates new bookkeeping project automatically on the 1st of each month, assigns tasks to designated team members, and sends client notification that monthly close has started. Recurring work runs automatically instead of requiring manual project setup 12 times per year per client.
Proposals and contracts that flow into client projects
Send project letters as proposals with scope, deliverables, timeline, and fees. Client reviews online, signs digitally, and pays retainer if required. When client accepts proposal, Plutio creates project automatically with tasks from template, timeline from proposal, and fee arrangement configured. Scope documentation lives with the project-so when clients request additional work mid-project, original scope is immediately accessible for comparison, change requests get documented with additional fees, and extra work without extra pay becomes visible and billable instead of silent margin erosion.
Team workload visibility and task assignment
Dashboard shows every team member's current assignments with hours allocated and due dates. During tax season, managing partner sees that Sarah has 35 hours of work due this week while capacity is 40 hours-she can take another small return. Michael shows 52 hours assigned with 40-hour capacity-he's overloaded and needs help or deadline extensions. Workload balancing happens proactively instead of reactively when someone misses deadlines or burns out.
White-label everything
Use your own domain (portal.yourfirmname.com). Upload your logo, set your brand colors and typography. Every client-facing touchpoint shows your firm's brand-portal login page, invoices, proposals, contracts, booking pages, email notifications. Clients interact with your firm, not with software branding.
Unified inbox for all client communication
When a client sends a portal message, submits a form, asks an invoice question, or books a consultation, the message appears in one inbox. Reply directly without opening email. Communication threads attach to client records and relevant projects-so next year's preparer sees why estimated payment calculations changed mid-year without asking.
Granular permissions for firm hierarchy
Control exactly who sees what at the level that makes sense for accounting firms. Partners see all projects, margin metrics, and team workload. Managers see their assigned clients and team members. Senior you see projects they manage. Staff accountants see only tasks assigned to them. Clients see only their own portal. Each role has appropriate access without manual configuration per person.
No-code automations
Create rules that trigger actions without your involvement. Common accounting automations include: when project status changes to "Ready for Review," assign review task to designated partner and send notification; when time logged reaches 90% of budget, email project manager with warning; when client uploads documents to portal, notify assigned preparer; when invoice becomes 15 days past due, send automatic payment reminder with late fee calculation if applicable; when proposal gets accepted, create project from template, send welcome email to client, and assign initial tasks to team members.
Native integrations for accounting workflows
Connect Stripe, PayPal, and Square for invoice payments-clients pay online instead of mailing checks. Sync Google Calendar or Outlook so scheduled consultations appear on firm calendars. Link QuickBooks or Xero for accounting integration. Use Zapier to connect 3,000+ other apps-push completed tax returns to SharePoint, create tasks from emails, sync client data with practice management software.
Everything runs from one app with your branding, your terminology, and your workflow logic-project management, time tracking, invoicing, client communication, and document storage all connected so data flows automatically instead of requiring manual copying between tools.
How to set up project management in Plutio
Setting up project management in Plutio takes 2-4 hours for initial configuration, then 5-10 minutes per client once templates and integrations are in place.
Step 1: Configure default settings (30 mins)
Set your firm's standard billing rates by role (partner, manager, senior accountant, staff accountant). Configure your fiscal year, work week, and holiday schedule. Set default time tracking settings (require task selection, billable vs. non-billable designation, minimum increment for time entries). Choose your invoice numbering format, payment terms (net 15, net 30), and late fee policies. Upload your firm logo and set brand colors for all client-facing communications.
Step 2: Create project templates (1-2 hours)
Build 5-7 templates covering your common service types. For accountants, recommended templates include:
- Individual Tax Return (Form 1040): Tasks for organizer preparation and delivery, client document collection, return preparation, senior review, partner review (if required), e-file, and client delivery. Time budget: 1 hour organizer, 3-4 hours preparation, 1 hour review, 30 minutes finalization. Total budget: 5.5-6.5 hours.
- Business Tax Return (Form 1120/1120S): Tasks for organizer, financial statement preparation, tax return preparation, review, client review meeting, finalization. Time budget: 2 hours organizer, 6-8 hours preparation, 2 hours review, 1 hour client meeting, 30 minutes finalization. Total budget: 11.5-13.5 hours.
- Monthly Bookkeeping: Tasks for bank statement receipt, transaction categorization, account reconciliation, financial statement preparation, client review. Time budget: 3-5 hours depending on transaction volume. Recurring monthly.
- Audit Project: Tasks for planning, fieldwork, testing, review, report preparation, client presentation. Time budget varies by organization size; template provides structure that gets customized per project.
- Advisory Consultation: Tasks for initial meeting, research and analysis, recommendation preparation, presentation to client. Time budget: 2-4 hours total.
Step 3: Connect integrations (20 mins)
Link Stripe and/or PayPal for invoice payments-lets clients to pay online when invoices arrive instead of mailing checks. Connect your calendar (Google Calendar or Outlook) so scheduled consultations appear on your work calendar and client consultations sync automatically. Test each integration with a sample transaction before using with actual clients.
Step 4: Import existing client data (30 mins - 1 hour)
Export client list from current practice management software as CSV. Upload to Plutio to create client records in bulk. For active projects, create projects manually (5 minutes each) or build from templates. Historical project data can remain in existing tools-focus on current and future work going into Plutio.
Step 5: Test with one complete project
Run through the complete workflow with an actual client project rather than a test account. Create project from template, assign tasks to team members, track time to tasks, update project status as work progresses, generate invoice from logged time, send to client, and process payment. Testing with real work reveals any gaps in template design or workflow configuration before rolling out firm-wide.
Common setup mistakes to avoid
- Over-customizing too early: Start with minimal templates covering the 80% common cases. Add complexity based on actual use rather than trying to account for every possible variation upfront. Better to launch with simple templates and refine based on team feedback than spend 10 hours building perfect templates that need revision anyway.
- Ignoring mobile: Download the mobile apps (iOS and Android) during setup and test key workflows-time tracking, task updates, client messages. Accountants work from client sites, home offices, and firm offices; mobile access matters for time tracking accuracy and project status updates.
- Skipping automation setup: Configure automatic reminders and notifications during initial setup rather than adding later. When client uploads documents to portal, assigned preparer should get notified immediately so work doesn't wait for someone to manually check the portal. When time logged approaches budget, project manager should get warned automatically.
Build templates for the 80% cases that cover most of your work-standard individual returns, typical bookkeeping clients, common advisory projects. Edge cases and complex projects can be handled with customized projects built from scratch or heavily modified templates.
Project management organization for accountants
Organizing project management creates clarity about project status, team workload, and margin-enabling efficient workflow and preventing work from falling through gaps.
Project organization by service line
- Tax Preparation: Group individual returns, business returns, amended returns, and tax planning projects. Filter by tax year (2024, 2025) and status (organizer sent, in preparation, in review, e-filed, completed). During tax season, dashboard shows all returns in progress with preparation status for each.
- Audit and Assurance: Financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations organized by client and project period. Track by phase (planning, fieldwork, review, reporting) and see which projects are in which phase at a glance.
- Bookkeeping: Monthly, quarterly, or annual bookkeeping clients organized by service frequency. Recurring project templates create new projects automatically when periods arrive (monthly bookkeeping project for ABC Company generates automatically on the 1st of each month).
- Advisory and Consulting: One-time projects for financial planning, business valuation, M&A support, and strategic consulting. Organized by client and project type, with custom timelines and deliverables per project.
Project lifecycle stages
- Proposal sent: Project letter delivered to prospective client, awaiting acceptance. Track proposal status and follow up on outstanding proposals rather than letting them age without resolution.
- Waiting for client: Project accepted, organizer or document request sent, waiting for client to provide information. Prevents preparers from wondering why work isn't started-clear that client holds the next action.
- In progress: Active work happening. Subtasks show specific status (in preparation, in review, revisions needed). Team members see which projects are actively being worked vs. waiting.
- Ready for delivery: Work complete, final review done, ready to send to client. Managing partner or client service team handles delivery and invoicing.
- Delivered and billed: Project complete, invoice sent, awaiting payment. Archive when payment received.
Information to track per project
- Client name and contact information
- Service type and project period (2024 tax return, Q4 2025 bookkeeping, 2025 audit)
- Project manager and assigned team members
- Time budget (total and per task) and time logged to date
- Fee arrangement (fixed fee, hourly, retainer) and amount
- Key deadlines (tax filing deadline, financial statement delivery date)
- Documents (client-provided and firm-prepared)
- Communication history (emails, portal messages, phone notes)
- Margin (revenue vs. cost based on time logged at billing rates)
Proven methods for project organization
- Use consistent naming conventions: "Client Name - Service Type - Period" (e.g., "ABC Company - Corporate Return - 2024", "John Smith - Individual Return - 2025"). Consistent naming makes searching and filtering reliable.
- Update project status in real time as work progresses rather than in weekly meetings. When tax return moves from preparation to review, update status immediately so managing partner dashboard reflects current state without asking.
- Archive completed projects rather than deleting them. Historical project data shows how long similar work actually took vs. budgeted time, informing future estimates and pricing.
- Tag projects with relevant attributes (first-year client, complex return, multi-state, international) to filter and analyze patterns. Discover that first-year clients take 40% longer than budgeted because prior accountant work papers are inadequate; adjust estimates accordingly.
Organized project management enables pattern recognition-you see that estate returns take 12 hours on average instead of the budgeted 8, that certain clients always provide documents late, and that specific types of advisory work generate extra work without extra pay. Structure serves margin through visibility.
Client portals for accountants: project management connection
Client portals connect project management data to client-facing access, creating smooth project experience where clients see progress, provide documents, and communicate without flooding email.
Portal as project hub
Clients access their complete relationship with your firm through branded portals. Current tax return status (organizer sent, in preparation, in review, ready to e-file), uploaded documents (W-2s, 1099s, receipts), communication threads (questions about deductions, estimated payment discussions), invoices and payment options, scheduled consultations, and previous years' returns and financial statements-connected. Project management data powers what clients see: project status in your system determines what portal displays to clients.
Consistent professional experience
Portal presentation reflects the organized project data in project management system. Clients see their 2025 tax return as a project with clear status, required documents checklist with completion tracking, and deliverable timeline showing when draft return will be ready for review and when final e-file will occur. Professional, consistent client experience across all projects and service types instead of ad-hoc email updates with varying levels of detail.
Self-service access reduces questions
Clients find their own documents, invoices, and project status. Instead of emailing "What's the status of my tax return?" or "Can you resend my 2024 return?", clients log into portal and see current status or download prior year documents themselves. Project management organization enables client self-service without creating administrative burden-documents and status are already organized per project; portal just makes them accessible.
Two-way document flow
Portal interactions feed back into project management. Client uploads W-2s through portal; notification goes to assigned preparer and documents attach automatically to tax return project. Client asks question through portal message; response attaches to project communication thread visible to anyone working that project. Complete picture from both perspectives-firm sees all client interactions in project context, client sees all firm communications and deliverables in portal.
Project continuity across tax years
Portals maintain client relationship across recurring projects. Returning tax clients log into the same portal each year, see their work history (2023 return, 2024 return, 2025 return), and access prior years' documents without requesting them. Connection maintained between annual projects instead of treating each year as starting fresh. Bookkeeping clients see 12 months of financial statements, prior correspondence about accounting policy decisions, and recurring document requirements-institutional memory accessible to clients and new team members.
Portals make project management client-facing-internal project organization translates directly to external client experience, and client interactions flow back into internal project context automatically instead of living separately in email.
How to migrate project management to Plutio
Migration from another project management software typically takes 3-5 hours of active work spread over a weekend, with the best time to switch being after tax season (May-June) or before year-end work ramps up (September-October) rather than mid-tax-season when project volume is highest.
Step 1: Export from your current tool
Most project management software provides CSV export of projects, tasks, and time entries. Here's what to export from common tools:
- Asana: Export projects to CSV from project settings. Includes tasks, assignees, due dates, and custom fields. Time tracking data exports separately if using time tracking integration.
- Monday.com: Export board to Excel/CSV from board menu. Includes items (projects), status, people, dates. Time tracking exports separately from time tracking view.
- Karbon: Export work items and time entries to CSV from settings. Includes client, work type, assigned team, status, and time logged.
- Spreadsheets: If currently managing projects in Excel or Google Sheets, export to CSV directly. Focus on active projects rather than completed historical work.
Step 2: Build templates in Plutio (2-3 hours)
Use your exported project data as reference to create new templates for common service types. Don't try to recreate every historical project-focus on forward-looking workflows (tax preparation, bookkeeping, audit) that will be used for new projects. Review 5-10 recent similar projects from your export to identify common tasks, typical time allocation, and standard deliverables. Build templates from those patterns rather than copying one specific project.
Step 3: Set up integrations (30 mins)
Connect payment processing (Stripe, PayPal), calendar sync (Google Calendar, Outlook), and accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero) if applicable. Test each integration with a sample transaction before relying on it-send a test invoice to yourself and complete payment, create a test calendar event and verify it syncs, log test time entry and verify it exports to accounting software if integrated.
Step 4: Import active project data (30 mins - 1 hour)
Upload your CSV to create client records and current projects in bulk. Map fields from your export to Plutio fields (client name, project type, assigned team, due date, status). Focus on active projects (work currently in progress) rather than completed historical projects-forward-looking data matters more than historical archives. Completed work can remain in old system for reference.
Step 5: Run parallel for new projects
Use Plutio for all new projects starting after migration date while keeping the old system active for work already in progress. When new tax client signs project letter in June, create project in Plutio and work entirely in new system. Tax returns already in progress in April stay in old system through completion. The approach prevents mid-project tool switching that confuses team members and creates gaps where work falls between tools.
Step 6: Phase out the old tool (30-60 days)
Once all active projects on your old system complete (typically 30-60 days for most accounting work except audits which may take longer), cancel that subscription. Export any remaining historical data for archives if needed. Team transitions naturally because they're working new projects in Plutio while finishing old work in the previous system, rather than forcing immediate complete cutover.
Common migration pitfalls to avoid
- Trying to migrate everything including 5 years of historical data: Focus on active projects and forward-looking templates. Historical project details can remain in old system for reference; attempting to migrate complete archives delays launch and provides minimal value since most historical data never gets accessed.
- Switching mid-tax-season: Finish in-progress seasonal work on the old system rather than switching tools mid-workflow. Learning new system during your busiest period creates errors, frustration, and resistance. Migrate during slow periods when team has time to learn without deadline pressure.
- Not testing time tracking and invoicing integration: Verify that logged time flows correctly to invoices before relying on it for client billing. Discovering integration gaps after completing project work means manual invoice creation that eliminates the primary value of connected project management.
- Skipping team training: Schedule 30-60 minute training session with team members who will use Plutio. Cover creating projects from templates, logging time to tasks, updating project status, and communicating with clients through portals. Hands-on practice with test projects before using with real clients prevents confusion and errors.
The investment in migration pays back in time saved on every future project-automated invoicing from logged time, elimination of status update meetings because dashboards show current state, and client self-service through portals that reduces administrative questions. Most accounting firms recover migration time investment within the first month through efficiency gains.
