Marie Greene founded Connected Accounting in 2019 to create a modern, cloud-based accounting firm that prioritizes automation, efficiency, and deep client insights.
With a team of 14 spread across multiple U.S. states, Connected Accounting specializes in complex accounting solutions, custom reporting, and CFO-level financial management.
The firm primarily serves clients in Southern California but also has a national and international client base, including Australian and New Zealand companies with U.S. entities.
Marie’s mission is to stay ahead of industry trends by embracing technology and preparing for a future dominated by automation and AI.
Challenges in Accounting Operations
Before adopting G-Accon, Marie’s firm faced several industry-standard challenges:
- Manual Reporting: Generating financial reports required extensive manual intervention, including downloading data from multiple platforms like QuickBooks and Xero.
- Quality Control: Existing tools didn’t support full review processes without logging directly into accounting software.
- Complex Client Needs: Clients required highly customized reports, such as profitability analysis by client or partner, which were time-intensive to prepare.
- Cost and Accessibility: Competing tools, like LiveFlow, proved to be costly and less flexible in their pricing and customer engagement.
Marie identified a growing need for a solution that integrated seamlessly with Google Sheets and provided robust automation to streamline operations.
Discovering G-Accon
Marie’s firm transitioned to G-Accon after initially using LiveFlow. According to Marie:
“We used to use LiveFlow and switched over to G-Accon because it, for us, answered the same need, but it was a lot more affordable. And it was a pretty easy transition overall. We had to train the team, but the tool’s pretty intuitive.”
Marie appreciated G-Accon’s:
- Affordability: “G-Accon provided the same functionality at a fraction of the cost."
- Flexibility: "We use G-Accon for quality control, pulling data directly into Google Sheets for a seamless review process. No other tool offers this flexibility".
- Ease of Use: “The fact that G-Accon lives in Google Sheets makes it so easy. I don’t doubt the data. Sometimes if you copy, paste, or download manually, I always doubt—was this updated? When was it updated last?”
- Support: “They understood us and they wanted to work with us, not to clear us from all the cash flow.”
How G-Accon Transformed Connected Accounting
- Streamlined Quality Control G-Accon enabled Marie’s team to conduct comprehensive reviews of client financials directly within Google Sheets. This eliminated the need for multiple software logins and ensured data integrity, as G-Accon consistently pulled updated information.
- Custom Reporting Efficiency Using G-Accon, Connected Accounting automated the creation of custom reports tailored to client needs, such as monthly profitability analysis and accrual-to-cash conversions. These reports could be updated effortlessly, saving the firm significant time.
- Team Adoption and Workflow Integration G-Accon’s intuitive interface allowed Marie’s 14-member team to adopt the tool quickly. Its seamless integration with both QuickBooks and Xero ensured that the firm could manage its diverse client base without operational disruptions.
- Cost Savings Switching to G-Accon resulted in a measurable reduction in operational costs. The affordability of G-Accon’s pricing model allowed Marie’s firm to reinvest savings into other growth areas.
According to Marie: “The G-Accon team understands us because they’re small business owners too. They’ve created a product that’s practical, efficient, and affordable. It’s rare to find a tech company that cares about relationships, but G-Accon does—and that’s why we’re happy to work with them.”
Results and Business Impact
1. Significant Time Savings
"We link it once, duplicate our workbook for every client, and for every month of the year, and it works."
2. Client Satisfaction:
"Instead of having to download accounts receivable reports every pay period or every month, we just run AR on a recurring basis and it updates."
3. Scalable Growth
G-Accon’s automation capabilities allowed Connected Accounting to scale its services without increasing headcount.
As the accounting industry transitions to a decade dominated by automation and AI, Marie sees tools like G-Accon as essential for staying competitive and attracting top talent.
Marie highlighted just how essential G-Accon has become to her operations:
“If G-Accon disappeared tomorrow, I’d need to hire someone else or switch to a more expensive competitor. It would cost me so much more time and money.”
Key Takeaways
Marie’s experience underscores the value of investing in affordable, user-friendly tools:
1. Automation Is Essential:
To remain competitive, accounting firms must embrace automation and streamline repetitive tasks.
2. Relationships Matter:
G-Accon’s customer-focused approach created trust and loyalty.
“They understand our challenges and work with us to solve them.”
3. Pricing Transparency Builds Trust:
“Their reasonable pricing has won them adopters, including several peers I’ve recommended to switch.”
Marie’s Final Thoughts:
“G-Accon is the tool every accounting firm should be using. It’s under the radar, but it has completely transformed our operations.”
About Connected Accounting
Connected Accounting was founded with a vision to do business differently. In 2019, Marie Greene decided to reach beyond the normal expectations of a financial services firm by creating one that provides peace of mind for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Founded: 2019 Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA Team: 14 professionals across multiple U.S. states
Learn More About Connected Accounting: https://www.connectedaccounting.co/
About G-Accon
G-Accon is an integration tool that connects Google Sheets with accounting software like QuickBooks, enabling automated data uploads, downloads, and real-time financial insights. With G-Accon, organizations can streamline their financial workflows and gain access to up-to-date financial data without manual intervention.
Start your free trial today and see how G-Accon can empower your financial reporting.
Transform your financial processes with automation – make reporting easy, accurate, and scalable with G-Accon.
