Document Workflows Are Manual
Proposals, engagement letters, compliance documents and client deliverables created in Word, emailed back and forth for review, and stored in scattered folders. Version control is a nightmare.
Industry
Professional Services Software
for Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane businesses.
Client portals, document workflows, approval systems, firm dashboards, system integrations and AI-powered knowledge search. Built for accountants, lawyers, consultants and agencies.
Software that reduces admin, improves client service and gives partners visibility of firm performance. Perth-based, Australia-wide.
- AU-wide Perth-based · servicing Australia
- Secure & confidential by design
- Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
- Xero+XPM Practice management integration
The Professional Services Context
Professional services firms sell expertise, but too much time goes to admin
Whether you run an accounting practice, a law firm, a consulting business or an agency, the same pattern repeats: your most valuable people spend too much time on internal admin, document management, client communication and reporting, and not enough time on billable work.
Most firms use a mix of practice management software, Xero or MYOB, SharePoint or Google Drive, email, and various point solutions. These systems do not connect well. Client data lives in silos. WIP is invisible until month-end. Document workflows depend on email chains.
Custom software for professional services is about connecting these systems, adding client-facing self-service, automating the repetitive document and approval workflows, and giving partners real-time visibility of firm performance.
Challenges
Common problems in professional services
Operational pain points we solve with custom software, integrations and AI.
Client Engagement is Email-Only
Everything goes through email: document sharing, status updates, requests, approvals and questions. Clients have no self-service access. Your inbox is the interface.
Time Tracking and Billing Gaps
Billable time tracked in spreadsheets or estimated after the fact. Time leaks between what is worked and what is invoiced. WIP reports compiled manually and always out of date.
Systems Do Not Talk to Each Other
Practice management, accounting, CRM, document management and project management all separate. Client and matter data re-entered across platforms. No single source of truth.
No Visibility of Firm Performance
Utilisation rates, WIP, unbilled revenue, client profitability and pipeline data scattered across systems. Partners get outdated spreadsheet reports. Decisions made on incomplete data.
Hard to Find Internal Knowledge
Precedent documents, templates, client histories, technical guidance and compliance requirements spread across shared drives, email archives and people's heads. New staff cannot find what they need.
What We Build
Software solutions for professional services
Client portals, document workflows, firm dashboards, system integrations and AI knowledge search.
Client Portals & Self-Service
Secure client portals where clients access their documents, track engagement status, approve deliverables, upload information, view invoices and communicate with your team. Professional, branded and secure.
Eliminates email-based document exchange, status enquiry phone calls and manual update notifications. Clients see everything they need in one place. Your team stops fielding "where is my report?" calls.
Role-based access: different permissions for partners, managers, team members and clients. Audit trail on every document access, download and action. MFA and encryption standard.
Document & Approval Workflows
Structured document workflows: creation from templates, review routing, approval chains, version control, digital signing and delivery. Every document follows its defined path without email chains.
Approval workflows for engagement letters, proposals, internal sign-offs, compliance reviews and client deliverables. Multi-level approvals with delegation, escalation and deadline tracking.
Template management: document templates with dynamic fields, clause libraries, standard paragraphs and conditional sections. Create consistent, professional documents faster.
Firm Performance Dashboards
Real-time firm performance dashboards: utilisation rates, WIP, unbilled revenue, fee recovery, pipeline, client profitability and team capacity. Data pulled from time tracking, billing and CRM systems.
Partner dashboards: portfolio performance, team utilisation, outstanding WIP, debtor ageing and upcoming milestones. Updated daily from live data, not monthly spreadsheet snapshots.
Practice group and office-level views. Compare teams, identify capacity issues, spot underperforming matters early. Drill down from high-level metrics to individual timesheets and invoices.
System Integrations & Data Flow
Connect practice management, accounting (Xero, MYOB, Xero Practice Manager), CRM, document management (SharePoint, Google Drive), time tracking and billing systems so data flows without re-entry.
Client onboarding automation: CRM to practice management to document management to billing. New client setup that takes 30 minutes of admin compressed to 5 minutes of data entry in one place.
Custom integrations with industry-specific platforms: ASIC, ATO, legal case management, financial planning tools, and compliance monitoring systems.
AI-Powered Knowledge & Document Search
Your firm's accumulated knowledge (precedent files, templates, technical guidance, client histories, compliance requirements) is one of your most valuable assets. But only if people can find it.
We build AI knowledge search systems trained on your internal documents. Staff ask questions in plain language and get answers with source document citations. Faster than searching folders. More reliable than asking colleagues.
Use cases: finding precedent documents for a new matter, checking compliance requirements, locating clause library entries, answering technical queries from legislation and guidance notes, and onboarding new staff faster.
Case Study
Firm dashboard that increased billable hours by 20%
We built a practice management dashboard with matter tracking, billing, document management and team workload visibility for a mid-size legal practice.
Read the full case study 35% Faster billing
20% More billable hours
100% Matter visibility
Outcomes
What changes when the systems work properly
Capture more billable time and recover more fees
Accurate, real-time time tracking connected to billing eliminates the leakage between work performed and fees invoiced. Firms typically find 10–20% of billable time was going unrecorded.
WIP visibility means matters do not drift for weeks before being reviewed. Partners see unbilled work daily, not at month-end. Billing cycles shorten and revenue recognition improves.
Client portal delivery and approval workflows accelerate the final steps of engagement completion. No more waiting for email sign-offs that delay invoicing.
Professional, differentiated client experience
A branded client portal with document access, engagement tracking, invoice history and secure messaging positions your firm as modern and service-focused. Most competitors still rely on email.
Clients get 24/7 self-service access to their information. No waiting for someone to return a call. No searching for email attachments. Everything in one place, always current.
This is a competitive differentiator. In a market where professional services are often commoditised, the client experience becomes a reason to choose your firm and stay with it.
Less admin, more productive hours
Document workflows replace email chains. Approval routing replaces manual follow-up. Client onboarding automation replaces repetitive data entry. Template management replaces re-creating documents from scratch.
System integrations eliminate double entry across practice management, accounting and CRM. Data entered once flows to every system that needs it.
The cumulative effect: staff spend more time on client-facing work and less time on internal admin. In a fees-per-hour business, that directly impacts revenue.
Institutional knowledge captured and searchable
When a senior partner retires or a key team member leaves, their knowledge walks out with them, unless it is captured in searchable systems. AI knowledge search makes your entire document library accessible.
New staff become productive faster because they can find precedent documents, templates and guidance without asking colleagues. The learning curve shortens dramatically.
Compliance and risk management improve because the current version of every policy, procedure and technical guidance is findable instantly. No more accidentally using outdated information.
Our Services
Relevant services for professional firms
The services we deliver for professional services clients.
Custom Software Development
Client portals, document workflows, approval systems and firm management tools.
Dashboard & Reporting
Firm performance, WIP, utilisation, client profitability and pipeline dashboards.
API & System Integration
Connect practice management, CRM, accounting, document management and billing systems.
AI Solutions
AI knowledge search, document processing, automated document drafting and compliance assistance.
Web Application Development
Modern web applications for client-facing portals, internal tools and firm management.
Legacy System Modernisation
Replace Access databases, spreadsheet-based tracking and outdated practice tools.
Professional Services Software
Need a client portal, firm dashboard, or workflow system?
Tell us about the firm, the systems you use, and the admin that consumes your team. We will scope a solution and quote fixed-price.
Use Cases
Typical solutions by workflow
Common professional services workflows we build software around.
01
Client Portal with Document Access
Secure, branded portal where clients access documents, track engagements, approve deliverables, view invoices and communicate with your team.
02
Document Workflow & Approvals
Structured document creation, review, approval and delivery. Template management, version control, digital signing and audit trails.
03
Firm Performance Dashboard
Utilisation, WIP, unbilled revenue, debtor ageing, pipeline and team capacity: real-time from practice management and accounting data.
04
Client Onboarding Automation
New client setup flowing from CRM to practice management to document management to billing. One data entry point, all systems updated.
05
AI Knowledge Search
Search precedent files, templates, technical guidance and compliance documents in plain language. Answers with source citations.
06
Time Tracking & WIP Reporting
Real-time time capture connected to billing and WIP reporting. Accurate, timely and integrated with your accounting system.
Integrations
Systems we integrate with for professional services
We connect practice management, accounting, CRM and document management systems.
Xero / MYOB / XPM
Accounting and practice management integration. Invoicing, WIP, trust accounting and financial reporting.
SharePoint / Google Drive
Document management integration. Access, organise and search documents without changing where teams store files.
CRM (HubSpot / Salesforce)
Client relationship data connected to practice management, billing and marketing systems.
DocuSign / Adobe Sign
Digital signature integration for engagement letters, approvals and client documents.
ATO / ASIC / Regulatory
Integration with regulatory portals for lodgement, compliance checking and data retrieval.
Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace
Calendar, email, Teams/Slack and productivity tool integrations for seamless workflow.
Project Examples
Professional services software we have built
Recent project examples from professional services clients (details anonymised).
Our clients were emailing us for document updates, calling for status checks, and we were manually compiling partner reports from three systems every month. HELLO PEOPLE built a client portal and firm dashboard that changed everything. Clients self-serve. Partners see firm performance daily. Our admin team has capacity for the first time in years.
Why Us
Why professional firms choose HELLO PEOPLE
We understand matter-based workflows, client confidentiality and the need for connected firm systems.
1. We Understand Professional Services
We have built client portals, firm dashboards and document workflows for accounting firms, law firms, consultancies and financial services. We understand matter-based workflows, billable time, compliance and client expectations.
2. Security and Confidentiality
Role-based access, encryption, audit logging, MFA and data residency in Australia. Client data protection is not optional in professional services. We build it in from the start.
3. We Connect Your Existing Systems
Xero, MYOB, XPM, SharePoint, HubSpot, CRM and practice management platforms: we integrate with what you already use. We add the missing pieces, not replace what works.
4. Fixed-Price, Staged Delivery
Scoped, quoted fixed-price, delivered in stages. Client portal in 8–12 weeks. Dashboard in 6–10 weeks. Full platform in 4–7 months. You see working software early.
5. Perth-Based
Based in Perth, working with professional services firms across WA and other states. All hosting on Australian infrastructure.
6. Ongoing Support
Monthly support plans covering bug fixes, security patches, system monitoring, integration maintenance and feature development.
FAQs
Common questions about professional services software
Can you build a client portal for an accounting firm?
Yes. Client portals are one of our most common professional services projects. Secure document sharing, engagement tracking, digital signing, invoice access and messaging — branded to your firm. Fixed-price quote after scoping.
Can you integrate with Xero Practice Manager (XPM)?
Yes. We integrate with XPM for time tracking, billing, WIP reporting and client management. Also Xero accounting, MYOB and other practice management platforms.
How do you handle client data confidentiality?
Role-based access, encryption at rest and in transit, audit logging, MFA, Australian-hosted infrastructure and zero data access for our team after deployment. We build to the security standards professional services require.
Can you build a dashboard showing firm performance?
Yes. Firm dashboards pulling from practice management, accounting and time tracking. Utilisation, WIP, unbilled revenue, debtor ageing, pipeline and team capacity. Role-based views for partners, managers and team leaders.
How do you scope and price professional services software?
We provide a fixed-price quote after scoping. Focused tools (a client portal, a firm dashboard, a document workflow system) sit at the lower end of project size. A full platform combining portal, workflows, dashboard and integrations is larger.
Can you help us with AI for our document library?
Yes. We build AI knowledge search systems trained on your internal documents. Search precedent files, templates, technical guidance and compliance documents in plain language. Answers cite the source document and section.
How long does a professional services project take?
Client portal MVP: 8 to 12 weeks. Firm dashboard: 6 to 10 weeks. Full platform: 4 to 7 months delivered in stages. You start using core features while the remaining modules are built.
Do you provide ongoing support?
Yes. Monthly support covering bug fixes, security updates, integration maintenance and feature development. Professional services firms need reliable systems and our support ensures they stay that way.
Get Started
Talk to us about software for your firm
What systems does your firm use? What takes the most admin time? What would your clients value most? Tell us, and we will come back with a plan.
Sending your details…
You can stay on this page while we send it.
Tell Us About Your Firm
What type of practice? How many people? What systems do you use? What admin processes take the most time? We will come back with a plan and fixed-price quote.
Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.
