Chris came from a sales and finance background, so when he acquired System Six in 2021, he quickly saw the processes for bringing in clients and getting paid left much to be desired. 

From creating proposals to getting clients to sign them, the firm's original process was error-prone and fraught with inefficiencies.

"We would literally have to remember the last client we sent a proposal to. We would grab that, copy and paste it, do a new folder, and then edit the document. We would have to read it carefully to make sure there were no lingering names from the previous client," explains Chris. 

When the team had to create a new proposal and engagement letter, they had to navigate through multiple apps and manage a series of back-and-forth communications with the client.

Proposals were created in Word, converted to PDF, and uploaded to RightSignature (the company's contract management software). Then, the follow-up process with the client was done via email. 

"That's a 40-minute process with a ton of room for error. It was quite painful," Chris recalls. 

The process was just as tedious on the client side, particularly when it came to asking them to provide their billing details. 

"The customer would have to type in the bank account information manually. They had to type in the routing and the account number, so that's a place for error. Then we would open that PDF and manually enter it into QuickBooks—which was a second place for error." 

In addition to being cumbersome and unreliable, the whole process didn't meet the polished and professional experience that Chris wanted his clients to have. 

“If we were going to charge a premium price,we needed a premium sales experience. Word wasn’t that. Ignition is”

Chris upgraded to Ignition as soon as he acquired System Six, enabling him and the team to automate routine tasks and focus on growth.

With Ignition, System Six revamped its client proposals and engagement letters and upgraded from manual procedures and multiple apps to a single, integrated platform. Rather than spending an excessive amount of time switching between applications and verifying details, Ignition streamlines the firm’s processes, allowing for faster and more accurate proposals.

That translates to a 75% reduction in time spent crafting proposals and engagement letters. 

Streamlining the client journey also allowed them to close and onboard clients faster. 

"Our time working with prospects is faster, and their experience is better."

All that free time meant Chris and his team have more bandwidth to bring in leads and customers.

"There's more time for me to spend on business development. I spend more time generating good prospects and less time on the mechanisms around actually getting revenue from those prospects, which is processing these agreements."

He continues, "Tim, my head of sales, would say the same thing. If he's sending out, say, one to two discoveries per week, that used to take him an hour and a half. Now it takes 20 minutes. That's two new sales calls you can take every week. That adds up over the year."

It's not just about client volume. System Six also attracts bigger clients, in part due to Igniton's professional and high-quality engagement letters and proposals. 

“We've added much bigger clients over the last couple of years. With Ignition, we're able to show up in a more professional way and go after larger clients. And we've gotten feedback that we win because we have the most detailed proposals."

Chris explains that while other, sometimes larger, firms still use PDF engagements, he and his team impress their prospects with digital proposals and engagement letters powered by Ignition. New client close rate is higher due to both the professionalism of the proposal and also in how quickly they can provide the proposal to the client after discovery.

"We're now able to win that $4,000 a month client that maybe we weren't winning in the past because we present much better to them."

"We nearly doubled revenue from 2021 to 2024 and Ignition's definitely a part of that," Chris adds.

Another notable aspect of System Six is that the firm offers premium services, ensuring that each client receives personalized attention and value. That's why Chris loves that Ignition offers the perfect balance of standardization and flexibility. 

"It's the mix of standardization and customization that works well for us. Every proposal starts exactly the same, and templates enable that. But we're also high value and high touch [at System Six], and Ignition allows us to customize very well inside those proposals," Chris explains. 

In addition, System Six maintains rigorous control over billing and client agreements.

"We're pretty aggressive about billing for out-of-scope and effectuating fee increases throughout the year. Ignition makes all of that easier and then it's given us time back to bring on bigger clients."

With that, Ignition's automated client billing capabilities have allowed System Six to enforce its terms and ensure that all work is billed for. 

System Six had already implemented fixed-fee recurring billing prior to Ignition. While they didn’t have any issues with accounts receivable, Ignition allowed them to speed up billing and payments even more. 

“With Ignition, there's no room for error and we get paid the minute clients accept a proposal. In the past, our team would have to manually enter the client’s information and payment details.  But  they could make a mistake which would delay our deposit by a week in some cases,” explains Chris. And in the event of unplanned work, billing for those tasks is a breeze with Ignition. 

"85% of our revenue is fixed fee, but we do ad hoc work as well. We bill clients once a month for ad hoc, so it's just a quick copy and paste of the invoice and then changing the numbers," he explains. 

"It's much easier to bill thisway versus how we were doing it before, which was saving a PDF and emailing it out to the client."

Ignition has also helped with team morale, says Chris. The team at System Six has grown significantly since Chris bought the business, and tools like Ignition have been invaluable in reducing repetitive tasks and improving overall job satisfaction.

“We've basically doubled our team alongside doubling our revenue, and I think Ignition has definitely played a role in retention of our team,” he remarks. 

According to him, when employees have access to efficient tools, their day-to-day experience improves. Thanks to Ignition, employees spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on high-value activities.

“Ignition has definitely played a big part in our team not having to do as much work that they don't like doing. And that means people stick around more.”