Crete Professionals Alliance uses data as its force multiplier
Industry
Professional Services
Solution
Domo
Client Since
2023
Crete Professionals Alliance
Crete Professionals Alliance (Crete PA) is redefining how independent accounting firms approach growth and transformation. Unlike traditional mergers, Crete PA’s innovative model enables its partner firms to retain their local identity, leadership, and culture while gaining access to advanced resources and technologies. Backed by investments from Thrive Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, Crete PA ranks among the nation’s top 40 CPA firms, and are on their way to the top 20. Central to Crete PA’s ambitious strategy is its partnership with BT Partners, whose Executive Analytics practice provides the tools and expertise needed to leverage data, streamline operations, and drive sustainable growth.
"BT Partners gives us the leverage we need to scale efficiently. Their responsiveness, industry expertise, and ability to deliver exactly what we need have been essential for our rapid growth."
Turning data into a nationwide advantage
One of Crete PA’s primary goals was to leverage data and consolidate it across its growing network of partner firms to create a single source of truth. For Rick Tyson, SVP Finance & Accounting, this was central to building the foundation for a scalable business. “We need a solution that can integrate data from multiple systems, provide nationwide visibility, and do it fast,” Tyson explains. After evaluating several options, Crete PA chose Domo as its analytics platform and BT Partners as its implementation partner.
“BT Partners came highly recommended, and it was clear from the start that they understood the unique needs of professional services firms,” says Tyson. “What stood out to us was their ability to manage the process—managing everything from data integration to dashboard creation without requiring extensive support from our internal team.”
Fast, efficient onboarding for a growing network
Onboarding new partner firms quickly and efficiently was an ongoing challenge, especially given the wide variety of accounting systems used by the firms. BT Partners is the ideal partner for this task, offering a turnkey integration process that streamlines data consolidation and visualization. “Every time we add a new firm, BT Partners makes it seamless,” Tyson says. “They build the dashboards, ensure everything runs smoothly.”
Thanks to BT Partners’ expertise, Crete PA can leverage data, and now has deep visibility into critical financial and operational metrics, including billable hours, open AR, realization rates, and days sales outstanding (DSO) across all partner firms. With these advanced insights, Crete PA can drive data-informed decision-making, optimize firm performance, and deliver strategic recommendations. “BT Partners has really been instrumental in our success,” Tyson says.
Powering data-driven decisions
With BT Partners’ help to leverage data, Crete PA has created a dynamic analytics environment that drives decision-making at every level. Dashboards built by BT Partners provide a mix of big-picture overviews and detailed drill-downs, making it easy for Crete PA to track trends, measure performance, and optimize operations. For example, Crete PA recently used its analytics platform to reduce outstanding AR significantly. By giving a new AR Collections Analyst access to a custom dashboard, the team was able to collect over two million dollars in unpaid invoices within just a few weeks. Crete PA also uses BT Partners’ dashboards to standardize financial reporting across its network. “We create the same financial statement packages for all our partner firms, and we’ve streamlined this process tremendously,” Tyson notes.
Trusted partnerships fuel growth
For Tyson, the true value of Crete PA’s analytics strategy lies in the partnership with BT Partners. “Domo is a great tool, but BT Partners makes it all work,” he says. “They’re like an extension of our finance team—a force multiplier. They handle the details so that I can focus on strategy, decision-making, and expansion.” This partnership has given Crete PA a strategic advantage, enabling the company to grow without adding significant headcount. Tyson estimates that without BT Partners, Crete PA would need multiple senior analysts to manage its analytics needs. “BT Partners gives us the leverage we need to scale efficiently and profitably,” he says. “Their responsiveness, industry expertise, and ability to deliver exactly what we need have been essential for our rapid growth.”
Delivering results for partners and investors
Crete PA’s analytics capabilities have also become a powerful tool for attracting new partners and impressing investors. By consolidating data into a single platform, Crete PA can publish nationwide results, benchmark performance. “It’s helped us integrate more quickly and deliver enterprise-grade intelligence to both our partners and investors,” Tyson says.
A strategy for long-term success
As Crete PA continues its rapid growth, its partnership with BT Partners remains a cornerstone of its strategy. “Relationships are everything,” Tyson says. “I’ve worked with BT Partners at Crete and other companies, and they’re in my growth playbook.” For Crete Professionals Alliance, the combination of advanced analytics and a trusted implementation partner has unlocked new possibilities for growth and transformation. “BT Partners has been critical to our success,” Tyson concludes. “They deliver results.”