Streamlining Communication During Peak Tax Season and Beyond

About St. Benedict at Auburndale School

• Sector: Accounting

• Location: Los Angeles, CA

For an accounting firm, the stakes of communication are never abstract. Clients come to Medkiff & Company, Inc. during some of the most financially consequential moments of their year - deadlines looming, questions urgent, anxiety high. In that environment, every missed call, every dropped connection, and every frustrating hold experience carries weight far beyond the interaction itself. Delivering the responsiveness, consistency, and professionalism clients expect requires a communications infrastructure that can keep pace with the pressure, especially when tax season turns up the volume on everything.

Scenario

The client experience was bearing the cost of a system that couldn't meet the moment. Poor call quality and frequent dropped calls disrupted conversations at critical junctures, leaving clients frustrated at precisely the times they needed reliable support. Long hold times compounded the problem, and inconsistent responses across communication channels meant that the quality of an interaction often depended on who answered and how, rather than the standard the firm intended to deliver. Limited availability outside business hours created additional barriers for clients working around their own demanding schedules, further restricting the firm's ability to serve them effectively.

Behind the scenes, the operational burden was equally unsustainable. Staff were spending significant time on repetitive, low-value tasks such as routing calls, answering frequently asked questions, and managing scheduling - work that drained productivity and pulled employees away from the complex, high-judgment work that actually drives client value. 

Managing multiple vendors for disconnected communication tools added layers of administrative complexity that slowed the team down and made consistent service standards difficult to maintain. During peak tax season, when call volume surged and every hour counted, these inefficiencies compounded quickly, putting both client satisfaction and employee capacity under serious strain.

Outcome

Medkiff & Company, Inc. implemented net2phone's unified communications solution, replacing their fragmented, multi-vendor setup with a platform purpose-built for businesses that demand both reliability and efficiency. net2phone delivered enterprise-grade call quality, intelligent automation for routine tasks, advanced reporting and analytics, and the mobility tools needed to keep teams connected and responsive, whether in the office or working remotely during the firm's most demanding season.

The impact on client experience was immediate. Call quality improved dramatically, and the dropped calls that had previously disrupted business conversations were effectively eliminated. Interactions became more productive and professional from the first ring, and that reliability translated directly into measurable business outcomes - increased revenue and sales as client conversations moved forward with confidence rather than frustration. The firm's professional image was strengthened by the consistency clients now experienced across every department and every touchpoint, regardless of who they spoke with.

Operationally, the transformation was equally significant. Automating routine tasks freed staff to focus on the accounting and advisory work that requires their expertise, reducing workload pressure and optimizing how the team's time and capacity were deployed. Consolidated vendors simplified management and reduced complexity, while robust reporting and analytics gave leadership the visibility they needed to make data-driven decisions about performance and staffing. 

The result was an organization that not only reduced operational costs but built a communications foundation capable of absorbing peak-season demand without breaking down - one that turned a long-standing liability into a genuine competitive advantage.

We have been able to take in more clients as a result of faster productivity and we even hired 2 more employees mid last year. The stress of doing taxes and dealing with tax season is not as stressed as it has been in the past.

Lydia Santisteban

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