How Solutions Group Accounting Firm Cut 5 Payment Tools

Profile

Solutions Group Accounting Firm, an accounting firm based in Florida, underwent a pivotal shift when new management took over in May 2024. 

Aiming to scale and solidify their role as a one-stop shop for financial services, the new executive team recognized that Canopy—already in use at the firm—had untapped potential that could be leveraged to support their broader vision.

Boasting over 2,200 clients and a rapidly expanding workforce of 50 employees (with plans to double that figure within two years), Solutions Group Accounting Firm (SGAF) prides itself on delivering forward-thinking financial solutions that help clients strategically optimize their businesses. 

By tapping into Canopy’s complete suite of features and customizing workflows, SGAF reduced inefficiencies by consolidating multiple tools into one platform, improved client communication through integrated messaging and client requests, simplified their payment process with Canopy Payments, and prepared for growth by organizing workflows that enabled fast onboarding and scalability.

Problem

When new management came on board in 2024, Solutions Group Accounting Firm set its sights on ambitious growth. While this bold direction brought exciting opportunities, it also introduced growing pains and uncovered inefficiencies. As the team worked to scale quickly, they encountered several challenges.

Multiple Payment Systems

When CFO Ryan Medico joined SGAF, one of the first major issues he encountered was the tangled mess of payment systems in place. 

The firm was juggling five different merchant processors. The result was a fractured billing system that created unnecessary confusion for both the team and their clients.

This patchwork setup made it nearly impossible to calculate realization rates or understand profitability at the client level. Without a centralized system, the finance team was flying blind when it came to cash flow insights.

Manual Processes 

As the firm sought to scale, Ryan and the rest of the executive team recognized that their team was forced to spend time on admin tasks, and it was leaving them without enough time to do meaningful work. 

Supporting a staff of over 50 while offering multiple services, including bookkeeping and tax advisory, became increasingly difficult without a streamlined, integrated solution.

With a growing client base and plans to expand their employee headcount, SGAF needed to put a scalable system in place to support future needs.

Missing Out on Full Tech Stack Utilization 

Solutions Group Accounting Firm had been using Canopy since 2022, but was only scratching the surface of what the platform could do. When the new executive team came on board, they quickly discovered that the firm was relying on an overextended tech stack and paying for multiple disconnected software tools, many of which overlapped in functionality or simply weren’t being used to their full potential.

This fragmented setup created operational inefficiencies on multiple fronts. Employees were forced to toggle between various systems for tasks like client communication, document sharing, billing, and task tracking, which added unnecessary complexity to their day-to-day workflows. 

Clients, too, were left confused by the disjointed experience, receiving invoices and engagement letters through different platforms and having to track down information that could have easily been centralized.

Solution

While Solutions Group Accounting Firm had been using Canopy since 2022, with new management and aggressive goals, they fully implemented all Canopy features starting in 2024. By doing so, they were able to consolidate their processes and empower their team. 

Here’s how Canopy became the all-in-one solution that transformed SGAF:

Streamlined Payments

One of the team’s top priorities was overhauling the firm’s disjointed payment infrastructure. With five different payment processors in play, billing had become unnecessarily complex and error-prone. To fix this, they consolidated all invoicing and payment operations into a single, unified system using Canopy.

Centralizing their payment processes in Canopy gave SGAF a clearer picture of its financial health and eliminated the confusion caused by managing transactions across multiple platforms. 

Now, all deposits and accounts receivable are tracked in one place, making it easier for the finance team to monitor cash flow and reduce delays in collections.

Comprehensive Workflow Automation

SGAF took full advantage of Canopy’s customizable workflows. By creating templates tailored to their unique services, the firm could seamlessly integrate processes across departments.

“With Canopy, we really love our custom automations. We built out templates for all our different services. When specific things are finished in a project, it closes out and pushes over to our invoicing team to create an invoice, which gets sent over to our tax team to start prepping for their tax return now that the bookkeeping project is finished.”

Tailored Support and Adaptability

With a growing team and a diverse client base spanning industries like construction, real estate, healthcare, and e-commerce, Solutions Group Accounting needed more than a one-size-fits-all platform. They required a solution that could flex around their unique service offerings and internal processes, and they found that adaptability in Canopy.

From the start, SGAF engaged directly with the Canopy team to customize their workflows. Rather than relying on canned responses or FAQ links, the Canopy team provided real-time support and guidance, making the implementation process highly collaborative.

“One of the things we love about Canopy is that every time we have questions, we get pointed in the right direction. And it’s not just an email auto-response, with a link to the website's FAQ section. It’s been personalized support that has helped us dial in our workflows.” - Ryan Medico, Solutions Group Accounting Firm

Results

By fully adopting Canopy, SGAF streamlined operations, consolidated payment systems, and improved team efficiency. 

The firm gained clearer financial insights, saved time, and enhanced the client experience, which has positioned them for scalable, long-term growth.

All-in-One Practice Management for a One-Stop Shop Firm

Since fully adopting Canopy as their all-in-one practice management solution, SGAF has been able to transform the way their firm operates, internally and externally. 

By consolidating five disparate merchant processors into just Canopy’s integrated payments system, they’ve streamlined invoicing and AR processes, reducing average days to collect from 40 to 22. 

This shift didn’t just improve the payments side. It unlocked more predictable cash flow and allowed the team to focus on high-impact work.

Centralizing information in Canopy has given them the data they need to measure realization rates by client, which is crucial for a firm that offers everything from bookkeeping and fractional CFO work to Tax Advisory and exit planning. 

On the client side, the move to a unified portal experience has been a game-changer. Clients now have 24/7 access to invoices, retainer balances, and engagement letters—all from a single mobile-friendly platform. Even hesitant, “old-school” clients adapted quickly once they realized the ease of use and visibility into their financial data.

Improved Efficiency

By centralizing invoicing, tracking, and communication, the firm eliminated inefficiencies and got back time for employees to focus on other tasks.

“With Canopy, we were able to free up 25 hours a week for an employee who previously handled accounts receivable. By streamlining from five merchant processors down to just one, his workload dropped to just a couple of hours a week. Now, he’s leading our project bookkeeping team—and in the past three weeks alone, he’s completed 19 long-standing projects. The efficiencies we’ve gained have been incredible, and they’ve made us significantly more profitable.” - Ryan Medico, Solutions Group Accounting Firm

This time savings has had a ripple effect across the organization. 

Reclaiming those 25 hours didn’t just impact one role. It allowed the firm to reallocate resources toward revenue-generating activities, increase project turnaround time, and resolve backlog that had been slowing down operations.

Seamless Scalability

With a team of 50 employees and plans to double in size over the next two years, SGAF needed a platform that could grow with them. 

Canopy provided the foundation they needed to scale without sacrificing visibility, efficiency, or client experience. By unifying core functions like task management, time tracking, billing, and client communication into a single system, the firm has established repeatable, automated processes that are crucial for sustainable growth.

Custom workflows and automations built within Canopy now ensure that as soon as a task is completed, it seamlessly triggers the next steps, such as sending the project to the invoicing team or kicking off tax prep. 

These automations have eliminated manual handoffs and allowed teams to stay aligned, even as new employees join and service volume increases. This kind of operational structure makes onboarding new staff and scaling services not just possible, but efficient.

As SGAF continues to grow its client base and expand service offerings, Canopy’s flexible platform ensures they won’t outgrow their system. Instead, they’re building a tech-enabled firm equipped to handle more clients, more complexity, and more opportunity.