The situation
A UAE tax consulting firm managing client filings through shared spreadsheets on an internal drive. Multi-entity clients meant one Excel file per entity, tracked manually. Audit trails were reconstructed from email after the fact.
The specific problem
- Sensitive financial data living in open spreadsheets on a shared drive.
- No role-based access. Any consultant could see any client.
- No audit trail. If a filing changed, there was no history of who changed what.
- Email automation was manual — reminders to clients went out through someone's mailbox when someone remembered.
What we built
A secure internal application for the filing workflow. Role-based access, audit trail on every field, encrypted storage. Email automation tied to filing status — reminders go out on schedule, escalations go out automatically. Multi-entity support so a single client with five entities shows as one account with five entity profiles underneath.
Shape of the build
- Role-based access — consultants only see their assigned clients.
- Audit trail on every field change, exportable for diligence.
- Encrypted storage, internal-only deployment.
- Multi-entity client model — one account, many entities underneath.
- Email automation tied to filing status (reminders, escalations, confirmations).
Where it is now
Pilot delivered. Multi-entity UAE scope is live. The shared spreadsheets are retired for the scope we shipped. Further phases are a roadmap item for the firm.
Why this shape fits the pilot
The pilot delivered three modules — client intake and entity model, filing workflow with audit trail, email automation. The rest of the firm's workflow (resource allocation, billing, time tracking) is a follow-on sprint.