James Graham: Drop the Billable Hour and You’ll Bill More
…AI type firms, we have a bunch of firms in the AI space, there’s crypto and blockchain is another area, there’s the cannabis space that, you know, I see firms,…
…AI type firms, we have a bunch of firms in the AI space, there’s crypto and blockchain is another area, there’s the cannabis space that, you know, I see firms,…
BONUS: A case study with LOTS of specifics.
By Penny Breslin
It’s Not Just the Numbers
I love the question I get when I set up someone on back office support systems. “What do I need to have to get this started?”
MORE: Accounting Tech Tools to Minimize Your Pain | Strengthen Client Ties with Workflow Tools | Understand Your Online Marketing Options | Narrow Your Prospects by Choosing a Vertical | Build Your Team, Then Choose Your Clients | How Back Office Support Adds Value
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I tell them I need to know your name, address, phone number, EIN/SSN and your passwords. Except for the guy who closed his bank account and had to have the old statements mailed to him, I run with a Chromebook and make sure there is accessible Wi-Fi when I go onsite. If I need to collect documents that have never been digitized, I just have them download Dext and start snapping pics. No paper, no pen, no mess and typically a stunned prospect who wants to become a client. See, I can’t sell, so I let the technology do the selling for me.
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BONUS: The 10 types of clients.
By Penny Breslin
It’s Not Just the Numbers
Taking on a client’s internal accounting work requires a level of comfort for both the business owner and the accounting firm. A client that has already provided you with access to sensitive financial data is easier to work with than a new business with no previous relationship. Once you have done it well with current clients a few times, then you are ready to do this with prospects.
MORE: Eight Tasks to Delegate Today | Ten Questions for Teamwork | Build Your Team, Then Choose Your Clients | Advisory Services Done Your Way | Yes, You Can Be an Outsourcer | How Back Office Support Adds Value | AI Is Not Your Enemy
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Understand that to be able to effectively in-source your client’s internal accounting work to your accounting firm, you need on-demand access to your client’s information. It doesn’t work if you have to wait for someone to send you the information you need. Understand that the processes you use today for write-up and compliance work will not transfer well to this level of client collaboration.
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Whether it’s clients or talent, if you build a better business culture, you’ll get better results.
With Liz Farr
The Disruptors
As shareholder and president of Boomer Consulting, Sandra Wiley has been speaking with firm owners and leaders for nearly three decades and clearly sees the need for change in the profession.
“The business model that was built before cannot be the business model that you have going forward. It simply doesn’t work,” Wiley said. “Now, we’re still living in the old business model,” and we have to get out of it.
MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Peter Margaritis: The Power Skills Every Accountant Needs | Joe Montgomery: Find the Sweet Spot of the Right Clients, Right Services and Right Prices | Marie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining You | Megan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than Compliance | Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a Mindshift | Jennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone Loves | Mike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training Practices | Hector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be Free| Private Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves? | Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson
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When she does exit interviews to find out why people are leaving a firm, she said they all say it’s because of the hours. They need to find more balance in their lives, and they need to work less. While accountants do have government-imposed deadlines for tax returns, there are ways to reduce hours, Wiley explained. We can do extensions to spread the work out over time and people, and we can outsource. Most importantly, we can be more selective in the clients we work with. “We don’t have to work with every client we’ve ever worked with,” Wiley said. READ MORE →
Your clients should notice the difference.
By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide
If you were to define how your firm is different in three sentences, what would those three sentences be?
Write them down. Read those the next day and judge for yourself if your competitors can say the same three sentences to differentiate their firms. If yes, you will see why this is a significant challenge for your firm’s growth aspirations.
MORE: Is It Time for Your Firm to Outsource? | CAS Tech Stack Depends on Cloud Use | Five Ways to Profit from CAS | CAS Is a Value Pitch | Accountants Are Perfect for Virtual CFO Roles | Raise Client Expectations with CAS
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The classic equation of “people, process and technology” defining differentiation from the competition is somewhat flawed in accounting. By its very nature, accounting is about doing exceptionally well-defined work that follows clear laws and regulations. Most firms have employees certified in similar lines of education and specialization. Technology solutions for accountants are highly mature now.
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Dropping services … and clients. Help wanted.
By CPA Trendlines Research
The 2023 CPATrendlines Busy Season Barometer generally looks for the status of firms as they dig into this year’s tax filings. Practitioners tell us how things are going, how well they’re doing, what their main concerns are and what they see happening in local and national economies.
MORE: More CPAs See Worsening Economy | Has Early Tax Season Optimism Peaked? | Marchternity: Just Say ‘No’ | Marchternity: The Solution Is Community | Why the IRS Is Still Doing Data Entry By Hand | News on IRS Is Maybe Sort of a Little Bit Good | Why We All Hate the Tax Code | How Bullish Are You This Tax Season? | Accountants’ Top Problems for Tax Season 2023 | Tax Season 2023: Better or Worse?
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At the end of the survey, we ask what else we should know about their firms. This year, we’re receiving hints of firms in transition – slowing down, branching out, shifting gears, moving on, revamping business models and generally looking for a better business life.
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…it’s sales tax on the East Coast, or storage, or E commerce CPAs, or real estate CPAs or cannabis CPAs. And really doesn’t matter, it just matters, that there’s something…
By Penny Breslin
It’s Not Just the Numbers
I love the question I get when I set up someone on back office support systems. “What do I need to have to get this started?”
MORE: Top Tech Tools for Building Your New BOS Business | Going Viral: Today’s Top Marketing Strategies | Top Ten Types of Clients (And 24 More Reader Suggestions) | Which Kind of Team Do You Have? | Meet the New BOS
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I tell them I need to know your name, address, phone number, EIN/SSN and your passwords. Except for the guy who closed his bank account and had to have the old statements mailed to him, I run with a Chromebook and make sure there is accessible Wi-Fi when I go onsite. If I need to collect documents that have never been digitized, I just have them download Dext and start snapping pics. No paper, no pen, no mess and typically a stunned prospect who wants to become a client. See, I can’t sell, so I let the technology do the selling for me.
READ MORE →