How Tallywise’s founder stopped chasing calendars and started leading
Within two months of joining, Zahra Nanji became the single point of execution for Abid Hussain, founder of Tallywise. Calendar, client follow-ups, reporting, hiring support and social media now run in the background while he focuses on clients and strategy.
About the founder and business
Tallywise is a founder-led accounting business serving US clients. Abid is a former CFO who provides financial clarity to his clients. Abid Hussain leads a team of accountants who deliver the financial work.
Abid and his accountants decide what needs to be said and handle the financial services. Zahra carries those messages to clients, chases documentation, and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.
The challenge
A crowded calendar. Client work and meetings consumed Abid’s day, and someone had to own scheduling.
Scattered communication. Conversations were happening across email, Slack and text at once, and it was easy to lose track of who owned what.
Deadline-driven client work. Documentation requests and month-end statements needed steady follow-up so clients were reminded early rather than at the last minute.
Recurring reporting. Daily sales and purchases reports needed a dependable owner who understood the numbers.
Growing side workloads. Hiring support and marketing content were adding pressure as the business expanded.
The solution
Zahra took on a broad but well-defined scope. Each area has one clear owner, and each connects back to Abid’s approval so quality and tone stay under his control.
- Calendar and scheduling
- Manages Abid’s executive calendar and checks team availability before booking.
- Client communication
- Relays approved messages to clients, follows up on open items every two days, chases documentation, and sends reminders ahead of month-end.
- Reporting
- Prepares daily sales and purchase reports in Excel and Power BI.
- Hiring support
- Screens candidates, schedules interviews, and keeps screening notes in Word.
- Social media and marketing
- Writes content, designs posts in Canva, and schedules them.
- Vendors and documents
- Gets vendor quotations and organizes shared drive folders with the accountants.
One system for communication. Instead of information living in email, Slack and text, Zahra advocated one consistent system: record action items in one place after every conversation, use an agreed title format, and label status clearly. The result is a searchable record that shows ownership and progress at a glance.
Approval before client messages. Zahra does not message clients without Abid’s approval, which keeps the client voice consistent.
Results
Founder time recovered. Abid no longer coordinates scheduling himself.
Proactive client management. Follow-ups run on a regular rhythm, and clients are reminded early about month-end needs.
Clearer team communication. The action-item system gives everyone the same picture of what is done, in progress or waiting.
“My day went from chaos, missed deadlines and angry clients to a consistent message and easy to manage scalable business with Zahra.”