The practice module, six workstreams deep
Partner-segment access enforced at the data layer, handoff notifications, time entry with budget-vs-actuals per engagement, versioned playbooks, a role-aware Today, @mentions, and secure client document requests.
The practice module is what an accounting firm uses to run itself: clients, engagements, staff, deadlines, and the work that moves between them. It has been usable for a while and organized for nobody. We ran six workstreams at it.
Who can see which clients
Firms are not flat. A partner with a book of business should see their segment, and staff should see what they’re assigned. Partner-segment access is enforced at the data layer, not hidden in the interface, so a client outside your segment doesn’t appear in lists, search, or reports.
Handoffs that notify
Work sits because nobody knows it moved. Engagements generate a notification on staff handoff, whether the engagement was assigned to you, returned to you, or is waiting on your review, plus client-facing reminders on the deadlines that need something from the client’s side.
Time, and whether the engagement is worth it
Time entry moved out of the practice module into shared code, so the same entry can post against an engagement, a project, or a job. Budget-versus-actuals per engagement sits on top of it. Set a budget when you scope the work and you can see, mid-season, which engagements are underwater while there’s still time to do something about it.
Playbooks with versions
A playbook is the firm’s standard procedure for a kind of engagement. Playbooks version now: publish a revision and it propagates to engagements that follow it, without rewriting the checklist on work already in progress. Checklists are part of the playbook, not a separate list someone forgets to update.
A Today that knows your role
The landing page is role-aware. A preparer sees their worklist, a reviewer sees what’s queued for review, and a partner sees the segment. It’s an inline worklist with KPI filters and banded groups: click a number and you get the rows behind it. The old choreography board is still at /practice/board for anyone who wants it.
Engagement detail was rebuilt around the records it shows, with inline assignee, due date, and priority editing from the engagements list.
Talking about the work, next to the work
Staff discussion comments with @mentions live on the engagement, so the conversation about a return is attached to the return. Document requests can be emailed to clients as secure links: the client uploads without an account, and the file lands on the engagement.
Appointments
Scheduling runs as a cross-module booking pipeline, with a per-staff calendar view and a Today’s-appointments card on the dashboard. Any module that needs to put a person somewhere at a time uses the same pipeline.
Live for practice organizations. Tell us what your firm does that this still doesn’t model: [email protected].