Monthly Archives: January 2015

3 Ways to Test Your Revenue Forecast

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hand drowning in money holeIt comes down to what’s in your new client funnel.

By Sandi Smith Leyva
The Accountant’s Accelerator

You may have heard about the marketing funnel before. There are lots of variations, and I want to cover it in a way that helps us examine our mix of products, services and prices.

MORE ON SMALL-FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: 8 Must-Haves for a Prospect Kit | Whip Out the Wow Factor for Clients | How to Work the Same Hours and Make More Money | If You’re a ‘Best-Kept Secret’ Cut It Out! | BUSY SEASON SURVAL TIPS: 5 Ways to Turn a Tough Day Into a Great One | Take Advantage of 4 Key Marketing Strategies  | Four Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table

The funnel can be pictured like a big “V.”  At the top, wide-open part, there are a lot of prospects interested in your services and products. At the bottom, narrow part, there are a few select customers who buy the most from you. READ MORE →

How to Get Paid Faster This Tax Season

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STAMP PAID - 3DIt’s good for business and considerate to clients.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Tax season is a business and businesses need to be paid. It is harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products. Products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e. performance.

Many accountants price returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule. Sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done.

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The Real Reasons Small Businesses Love Their Accountants [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Screen Shot 2015-01-28 at 10.39.02 PMAccountants relieve their worst headaches.

CPA Trendlines sources are reporting on how much time and money small businesses spend each year on accounting and tax preparation and each month on payroll administration.

The data should support practitioners’ value proposition to small business owners: Some 40 percent say bookkeeping and taxes are the worst part of being in business.

Owners were also surveyed on their opinions of the most burdensome small business management tasks. Next time you talk to your clients — or prospective clients — these pain points might be worth including in the conversation…

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Why You’ll Get Less from Your Partners in a Buyout than You Might by Selling the Whole Firm

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Toy soldiers battle on and for dollar billsHow to determine partner retirement payout terms and annual limits.

By Marc Rosenberg

The vast majority of firms pay retirement benefits over a 10-year period, according to our research.

MORE ON RETIREMENT: Three Ways to Calculate Goodwill Payable in Partner Buyouts, None of Them Great | Eat What You Kill? Then Maybe ‘Book of Business’ Is for You | The Multiple of Compensation Method, Fully Explained | The Ins and Outs of AAV for Goodwill | 5 Points to Consider When Paying Out Goodwill | Clients Leaving? Time to Reduce Retirement Benefits | How to Set Terms and Limits for Goodwill Payouts | 4 Ways to Decide How to Pay Out Capital | Partners May Balk at Guaranteeing Retirement Obligations

We occasionally see five to seven years at lower payout levels. And some firms under $10 million adopt five-year payouts for goodwill, reasoning that because five-year payouts are common for the purchase of a CPA firm, the same term should apply to their own buyouts.

But external purchases of firms are quite different than internal buyouts. READ MORE →

9 Ways to Promote Your Protégée to Others

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Businesswoman being applauded by peersGood news: You don’t have to do it alone.

By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

Promoting your protégée to others is an important part of sponsorship.

MORE ON SPONSORING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP: 8 Ways to Help Your Protégée Focus on Career Opportunities | How to Start an Effective Sponsorship … and Follow Through | 3 Ways to Initiate Informal Sponsorship | How to Establish a Sponsor-Protégée Relationship | 3 Roadblocks to Women and Men Working Together Well | Different Standards, Double Binds Challenge Women | 5 Ways Gender Bias Plays Out at CPA Firms | 3 Reasons Why Men Don’t Pick Women Protégées | Men Advance 2 to 1 over Women without Sponsors | 18 Ways Sponsors Can Help Their Protegees | Beyond Mentoring: Why Sponsoring Women for Leadership Matters

Here are nine concrete steps: READ MORE →

How to ‘Go Digital’ when Partners Demand Monthly P&Ls on Paper?

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Technology Security with Internet Digital Signature as ArtWhy 75% of multi-owner firms have already gone to online monthly financial reports.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

Improving firm efficiency means that the owners have to get on board. One of the more obvious opportunities is the delivery of the firm’s own financial reports.

Too many firms still print a hard copy of the monthly financials and distribute them to each owner, many of whom physically store these documents in their office. READ MORE →

Lowballing and Why It (Usually) Doesn’t Work

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Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and APlus some exceptions and how to pull them off.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

I actually received the same question from two people in one day. These calls were from two CPAs I speak to a lot, have a lot of respect for and who have successful firms with other partners and a good number of staff. 

QUESTION:  (1) I lowballed a fee to get a client ($2,000 a month), got the client and the time was running twice what I charged them ($4,000 a month). I asked for an upward adjustment four months later of halfway between the time and the fee (an additional $1,000 per month). They dropped me and went back to their prior accountant, who was charging less than I was ($1,800 a month), but who didn’t do anything close to what I was doing. I feel the client knew it was a lowball and took advantage of it. What did I do wrong? READ MORE →