Argento CPA frees Canada-based trade businesses from the finer points of accounting through its bookkeeping, tax planning, and comprehensive advisory services. 

The firm wanted to move away from time-consuming admin and hourly rates, and sought to automate reconciliation with accounting software.

Every hour spent tracking, billing, and preparing proposals detracts resources from revenue-generating activities. For Argento, this meant less time for delivering high-value services and building client relationships.

Founder Michael Argento managed all proposals using Microsoft Word, where he’d duplicate past proposals and edit the project specifics into each proposal document. Tracking down client signatures and following up on approvals exacerbated the stress and delays.

Argento caught itself in a loop: sending manual invoices, chasing down overdue payments, and resolving scope conflicts. The constant delays tightened budgets, putting growth plans and investments on the back burner.

“[We were] frustrated with AR collections too. Our clients would usually pay at the end, but often late or there could be some disagreements around cost or what the scope was.”

Disagreements over final billing amounts caused lengthy and uncomfortable back-and-forth discussions, wasting time and impacting client experience. 

Argento’s turning point came when manual processes began draining resources and stalling growth. Michael sought a scalable solution that could streamline proposals, unlock growth opportunities and work with their existing tech stack and future technologies.

Argento cut proposal-related tasks by 90% using Ignition’s easy-to-sign proposals and engagement letters. The team no longer needed to format proposals from scratch or follow up on signatures, freeing up $70k in billable hours.

“Now we can put what’s included and what’s not included in the proposals and the terms. You can standardize the agreements and not have to cut and paste things.” Michael also appreciates the professionalism that comes with adding videos in proposals.

Plus, each accepted proposal in Ignition automatically generates a work item in Argento’s practice management software, Karbon. 

Transitioning to fixed, recurring monthly payments with automated payment collection in Ignition has streamlined this process and brought accounts receivable to zero.

Argento now collects payments upfront and encourages direct bank transfers, eliminating unpredictable one-off billing. Clients pay for services according to a clearly defined scope agreed upon in advance.

In the event that additional work is required outside the original agreement, the team can easily bill for it on the spot with Ignition’s instant bill feature, which lets them create and send an invoice without the need for a new proposal.

Overall, Argento’s streamlined billing structure saves 3 hours a week on time tracking, invoicing, and overdue follow-ups. Michael equates this to $46,800 billable time (3 hours per week at $300/hr) but expands,, “You can’t really put a price on the peace of mind of not having to chase people for money”.

The biggest impact on revenue and profitability for Argento has been using proposal options to offer 3 tiered pricing. This pricing strategy filtered out lower-value clients while also expanding higher-value accounts with premium services. 

The team’s increased capacity and ability to upsell premium services leveraging proposal options increased revenue by 129% in the first year using Ignition.