At a Glance:
- Pillow May cut proposal time by 90% using Socket.
- Onboarding now takes 30 minutes less per client.
- Billing time halved with Bulk Adjustments and Price Monitoring features.
- Confidence in pricing gained, with real-time proposal building on client calls now standard practice at Pillow May.
As a ‘Best Place to Work’ and ‘Women in Finance’ award-winning practice, Pillow May Accountancy also proudly features in Steve Pipe’s ‘The World’s Most Inspiring Accountancy Firms’, and it’s easy to see why.
Since 2019, Pillow May have been industry leaders in cloud technology and service innovation, and are continuing to pioneer modernisation of the accounting industry. To support their continued growth, Pillow May needed a client engagement solution that could unify their existing systems and standardise their pricing structure, while also improving the speed and efficiency of their onboarding processes.
The Roadblock: Clunky Systems, Slow Proposals
Before switching to Socket, Pillow May were seriously considering building a custom solution just to get the functionality they needed.
Jessica Pillow, Founder and Director at Pillow May, told us how their existing system was clunky and lacked flexibility. Because the system was spread across multiple tools, it introduced errors and operational inefficiencies.
“Our main challenge was improving the onboarding process. We wanted a smoother flow between proposals and engagement letters, and a system that allowed us to adapt pricing quickly without duplicating effort”
The lack of a seamless system ultimately resulted in slower turnaround times, and less time spent serving clients.
- Proposals could take an entire day.
- Billing required manual checks, taking significant time.
- Onboarding was taking 30 minutes longer than necessary per client.
The Turning Point: Real-Time Proposals, Real-Time Results
Jessica mentioned their challenge to Jonathan Gaunt, Co-Founder at Socket, and fellow practice owner of FD Works. Jon is all too familiar with this relatable challenge in the accounting industry, and, after seeing how we were solving problems like theirs, it felt like a natural fit for Jessica.
“Socket brought everything into one place. We’re now able to build proposals in real time, during client meetings, and send them out within minutes, something we could never do before.”
Building proposals in real-time has been a game-changer for Pillow May. Socket’s pricing functionality gave the team confidence and consistency with their pricing, which has allowed them to approach client conversations around fees and costs with ease.
It’s both a huge time saver, and great for building trust with their clients right at the start of the engagement.
No more awkward fee discussions or searching for the right spreadsheets, just transparent, on-the-spot pricing with tailored proposals ready to send right after the call.
A Game-Changer for Team and Client Experience
As Jessica explains:
“Socket has transformed the way we engage with clients. Rather than having pricing buried in spreadsheets or Word docs, we can talk clients through their options on the call and send a tailored, accurate proposal right after.”
With proposal features like flexible price drivers and the ability to send proposals with a choice of service options, the team could quickly personalise proposals without relying on extra tools or duplicating work.
“It’s also reduced the back and forth internally — everything’s in one place, and there’s no need to reconcile separate tools like Word, Xero, and our engagement software.”
Speeding up Onboarding and Billing
Socket has allowed the Pillow May team to save days of time usually spent on repetitive admin:
“Socket has massively sped up our onboarding process. Where we used to take a day or more to get a proposal out, now it’s done within 10–15 minutes“
Replacing a series of disconnected tools with one dynamic proposal solution has been the key to simplifying and standardising their pricing and client onboarding. The reality of a streamlined system means that Pillow May can now offer seamless and straightforward onboarding to their clients in a fraction of the time.
What’s more, Socket has amplified the client experience and efficiency gains as an end-to-end system that powers their connecting systems, like invoicing and practice management.
“We actually chose to use Socket for billing over our existing software, which says a lot.”
Through the Xero integration, Pillow May was able to streamline their billing processes further, utilising enhanced Price Monitoring features and automations like Bulk Adjustments. By handling billing processes in Socket, they’ve removed the need to constantly switch between different tools.
The Results: Time Saved, Confidence Gained
- Proposal creation and sending time reduced by 90% — from a full day to 10–15 minutes.
- Billing time cut by 50%, thanks to bulk adjustments and monitoring tools.
- Client onboarding sped up by 30 minutes per client.
- Eliminated tool-switching, boosting team productivity and accuracy.
- Pricing transparency resulting in better client relationships.
“It’s been fantastic working with the Socket team. They genuinely listen — whether it’s a bug or a feature idea, they’re quick to respond and often help us improve our own systems. The speed of development was also a pleasant surprise. Features are added quickly, and issues are resolved fast.”
Looking Ahead
As the firm grows, having efficient, integrated tools is a top priority.
They’re looking forward to full integration between Socket and FYI, which will complete their end-to-end onboarding system. The team is confident that with Socket, they can continue scaling operations without compromising client experience.
“If you’re an accountant or bookkeeper, use the whole package to get the best experience, especially billing. We actually chose to use Socket for billing over our existing software, which says a lot. It’s just faster, clearer, and easier for the whole team. Also, as Socket is a growing business, they are always eager to hear new ideas and ways of doing things which makes them great to partner with.”
For modern practices looking to scale smarter, Socket isn’t just a tool — it’s a results-driven solution that transforms the entire client journey.
Curious how Socket can work for your practice?
See it in action here.
