Probate Plus for Accredited Accountants
Accountants are increasingly looking for software to handle and produce their estate accounts.
The ICAEW have now accredited over 300 accountants to manage probate work and we have sold Probate Plus to many accountancy firms.
Accountants appreciate the low entry costs of taking on Probate Plus and they immediately see the benefit of using a system which gives them the tools to take control of an administration from day one. They particularly understand the power of the Probate Plus cash tracking features. As one user commented “it’s just so important not to cut corners. Every penny must be accounted for and software which makes that easier is invaluable”.
Top attractions of Probate Plus for newly accredited practices:
- Features to help examine and report on an estate - forensically
- The cost-effective pay-as-you-go model.
- No expensive annual fees.
- Excellent training and support.
- Quick to install and use.
- Flow charts to hand-hold through a typical estate.
- Powerful cash tracking and reconciliation features.
- Automatic report generation and huge range of reporting options.
- Useful IHT form filling tool.
- Free template letters for correspondence.
Case Study
We put some questions to Chris Beeston, who was accredited to handle probate work in 2017 and uses Probate Plus at Geens.
Q: What were the reasons your firm decided to get accreditation to do probate work? Was it just for an extra income stream? Or did you have enquiries from clients?
“As a firm we have a significant inheritance tax planning function, we were often carrying out lifetime planning and, in many cases, planning that would only reach fruition upon death. It therefore made sense for us to be able to oversee the planning at death. It was what our clients wanted – they wanted one professional dealing with their affairs rather than several.”
Q: What particular benefits do you think accountants can bring to probate work and the administration of estates?
“We think accountants offer many benefits to this work area. We have regular contact with our clients meaning we are well placed to identify any potential changes and opportunities as they arise. We also believe that a familiar face is always helpful when dealing with these matters at what is often a very distressing time.
On a more practical matter we believe that one of our clients’ major concerns is inheritance tax. The system is notoriously complicated and our primary skill set is as tax advisers meaning we will ensure all relevant reliefs are claimed and our vast experience in dealing with HM Revenue and Customs is invaluable.”
Q: Do you have any other comments on your experience of getting into the area of probate so far? Have you had much work yet?
“Our experience has been a very smooth one but we came from a very strong inheritance tax knowledge starting point which we think really helped us. There was still lots to learn and lots of things to put in place but we now have Probate Plus and specialist client account banking facilities, meaning everything runs very smoothly.
We have been delighted with the response we have received. We envisaged that we would initially aim this new service at our current clients when undertaking planning – and this is true – but we have had an incredible response from all of our clients and contacts. So much so that we have been expanding our advertising to the wider public in our local area and have now got key relationships with our local hospital, funeral director and the Will writer we outsource to.”
