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The risk and reward of being a single-software practice
Do fewer tools and narrower markets make an accounting firm more profitable? At flinder, distilling our ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and working with Xero-platformed clients only increased the firm’s value and improved our operational excellence. But is the single-software approach right for your accounting firm?
Alastair Barlow
August 16, 2025
A lot has changed since the inception of cloud-based accounting software. At first, practices rushed to make use of - and extract value from - the proliferation of new tools, plug-ins, and efficiencies. When done well, a firm could create a super-charged network of ‘best of breed’ applications to drive their practice forward.
But this tech-loaded approach can damage a firm’s bottom line. Many practices have seen their software costs soar - even when the tech stack fails to integrate as seamlessly or as effectively as it should. And in some ways, this app bloating has actually created inefficiencies. Despite, or perhaps because of, the thousands of accounting apps now available on the market, firms are looking to consolidate. They’re “tightening up their tech stack”, as Billie Mcloughlin, Practice Consultant at 20:20 Innovation, describes it.
Is it time for more practices to switch to a single-software approach? While much of the conversation picks up on the GL, there are plenty other spaces where the single-solution debate is relevant.
What benefits does tightening your tech stack bring? And do the risks outweigh the rewards?