Natalie Drazil | NJD Bookkeeping & Advisory
saved per week on client follow-ups
saved every quarter with dynamic fields
Gatheroo replaced a daily follow-up routine and a tangle of email threads with a single, automated request system.
This results in hours saved every week, less mental load and clients who respond faster.
About Natalie
Natalie runs a sole-operator bookkeeping practice and works with clients across weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and quarterly cycles.
Her work includes BAS, IAS, payroll, and EOFY processing.
Like most bookkeepers, the rhythm of her business depends entirely on getting timely, accurate information from clients.
For years, that meant a relentless cycle of reminders.
The Challenge
Before Gatheroo, following up clients was Natalie’s biggest pain point.
This took a lot of time.
It’s a problem familiar to anyone running a bookkeeping practice: the busier you get, the more time disappears into document collection and follow-up.
But it was the constant mental load that demanded Natalie’s attention – tracking who had responded, who needed another nudge and whether she’d sent everything a client needed to take action, that forced Natalie to find a solution to her pain
“Following them up was the biggest pain point – a reminder every day.”
One of her largest clients had seven bank accounts, each requiring statements and responses to questions.
Managing that across email, without dropping anything, was a persistent source of friction.
Why Gatheroo
Natalie first heard about Gatheroo through a recommendation from a colleague, Trish, who had been looking for a client portal that was purpose-built, affordable, and Australian.
Natalie evaluated several bookkeeping client portal tools and chose Gatheroo because it does one thing well rather than trying to be everything.
“It’s affordable and Australian and it does one thing. And it does it really well.”
Implementation took less than a single day. Natalie saved more time than this in her first month.
Natalie replaced her existing email templates with Gatheroo templates for each client.
The most time-consuming part was configuring custom dynamic fields – she uses statement dates extensively and getting them to display exactly as her clients needed took a couple of iteration.
Now that’s she’s all set up, she can spin up a new request in minutes knowing all the date references are correct.
The Results
For a bookkeeping practice managing multiple client cycles simultaneously, the gains compound quickly.
1. Time savings
The efficiency gains fall into two categories:
- 1.5 hours per week previously spent on manual follow-ups -> now eliminated. Reminders now go out automatically until clients have given all of their answers.
- 1.5 to 2 hours per quarter saved through dynamic fields, which update statement dates across all templates in one change.
Those hours compound. Over a year, Natalie has reclaimed weeks of time that were previously spent on administrative overhead.
2. Faster client responses
Natalie sends requests to clients on the first day of each month or quarter. Previously, she typically received the first responses around day 14.
Since using Gatheroo, information is coming back earlier in the cycle, a shift she attributes to the automatic reminder emails keeping requests front of mind for clients.
3. A better client experience
For clients on hourly billing, Natalie’s reduced admin time translates directly to lower invoices. The efficiency benefit flows both ways.
Clients have not complained.
Some who were initially slow to respond now act promptly. Not because the process changed significantly, but because the reminders are consistent and the requests are clear.
4. Reduced mental load
Perhaps the most significant change is harder to quantify:
“Reminders go out automatically – I’ve noticed I’ve had more down time. A clearer head. A bit calmer.”
Knowing that clients have everything they need and that reminders are running in the background means nothing falls through the cracks because of her.
As Natalie put it: “I can’t do any more than that. It’s their business and they need to take responsibility, but I know I’ve done everything in my power.”
Why This Matters For Bookkeeping Practices
The workflow Natalie describes: recurring information requests, multi-party coordination, time-sensitive deadlines, and the overhead of chasing responses, is not unique to Natalie.
It appears across any organisation that collects structured information from internal and external parties on a regular cycle:
- Professional services firms collecting client data for compliance, onboarding, or reporting
- Government agencies gathering information from suppliers, applicants, or regulated entities
- Procurement teams managing vendor documentation and due diligence
- HR and operations teams running recurring staff or contractor submissions
The core problem that Gatheroo solves -> replacing ad hoc email threads with structured, trackable, automated requests, scales -> from a sole operator to an enterprise team.
What changes is volume; the workflow improvement is the same.
Favourite Feature: Reminders
When asked what she values most about Gatheroo, Natalie’s answer was immediate:
“Reminders!
I know that I’ve provided them with all the information they need and the reminders keep it front of mind. Nothing is forgotten or delayed because of me.”
The automation of reminders is more than a convenience, it shifts accountability clearly onto the client, while giving the practitioner documented evidence that every request was sent and followed up.
In Natalie’s Words
“It’s a really good tool. If you need a good portal to get information from your clients, regardless of what you do – Gatheroo is helpful. It’s value for money, and even in the time I’ve been using it I can see there have been more improvements. I recommend it all the time.”