Today's Features
THE RADICAL CPA

The Four Factors for Fixed Pricing

Price targetPlus 5 reasons not to manage employees by timesheet.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

Ron Baker and Ed Kless of the VeraSage Institute are the hands-down experts on value pricing. They do a phenomenal job of explaining how it works and why you shouldn’t track time.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Clients Buy Solutions, Not Time | How to Leverage Social Media | Why Transparency Matters to Clients | How to Become a Social Business | The Cloud Is Your Starting Point | Why Transparency Matters in the ‘New Firm’ | 10 Questions to Prepare for Radical Change | Radical Firms Embrace 4 Values
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I’ve done it for the last nine years and I absolutely love it. I would never go back to time and billing.
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MARKETING & SALES

Marketing Materials 201: Some Advanced Tips

Young man working in home office5 ways to wow potential clients.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

I've discussed a lot of basic ways to get the word out about your business.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Testimonials: Why and How | 10 Marketing Materials You Need | Content Marketing Types and Tips | Are You Newsworthy? | Why CPAs Need Video | Make Google AdWords Work for You | Make the Most of Trade Shows | Track Your Online Reputation
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Today we'll go over some more advanced marketing materials.
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TALENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Change the Way You Think

Portrait of a young pensive businesswoman in officeThe 4th of 4 steps.

By Bill Reeb

The realization that all we have to do to be different is to allow ourselves to think differently is very powerful. The great news is ... it’s often not that hard, and sometimes it is downright easy, once you focus your attention on the right places.

MORE: 3 ‘Letting Go’ Actions to Help You Get Unstuck | Become Your Mind’s Lead Programmer | Stay in the Present | How ‘Take What’s Given’ Works in Business | Expect and Embrace Failure Anytime You Do New Work | Determining Your Desires Should Be an Active Process | Know Where You Are Running To
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Before I went through the cathartic steps of working with my mentor John to come up with this process and refining my thoughts on this topic, I would occasionally go through some multiday bouts with gloom. I don’t want to say that I would get depressed because that would be too harsh of a descriptor.
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TECHNOLOGY

Hotspots the Answer for Field Access

Blue WiFi symbol over a map backgroundStop fretting over your client's network.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

One of the revolutions in remote connectivity is happening within your cell phone as digital cellular providers have beefed up and expanded their networks to provide reliable Internet access to remote devices.

MORE: Check Your Bandwidth | Remote Access Requires Planning | Proactively Manage Application Updates | Offsite Backup Is Critical | Scanners Capture Documents at the Source | Roman Kepczyk: Inside The Quantum of Paperless | Two Tech Trends to Watch
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Today, the vast majority of the United States and Canada has access to the Internet through the 4G digital cellular network at speeds of 1Mpbs or more, which is adequate for remote access to most applications, particularly those hosted by cloud providers.
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TECHNOLOGY

Chat Executive Predicts Death of Most Websites

LivePerson office spaceAvailable now: moving conversation from assistant to phone.

By Rick Richardson

Forget stumbling through a customer-support page – the future of commerce won't be found by surfing the World Wide Web.

MORE TECH THIS WEEK: Amazon Offers New Delivery Service for Buildings | 6 Blockchain Jobs of the Future | Paying for Life in 2040 | New Lidar Sensor Slashes Cost, Boosts Production | IBM Has Created a Computer Smaller Than a Grain of Salt | Solar Panels Generate Power from Falling Raindrops | Facial Recognition Could Replace Boarding Passes Within 4 Years | Google, Rolls-Royce to Create Self-Piloting Ships
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Soon many of the tasks we now do via websites and brand-specific apps will be handled through messaging and voice platforms such as iMessage, WhatsApp and Amazon's Alexa, according to Alex Spinelli, the chief technology officer at LivePerson.
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

A CPA Looks Back Across the Generations

Why the profession is so great.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything

When I became a partner emeritus, it meant that it was time to slow down and work less.

MENDLOWITZ' PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: How Many Hours Should Staff Work? | Is This a Rut?  | Taking Over Poorly Done Work | When to Offer Profit Sharing | What’s In a Title? | Managing Partners Should Drop their Book of Business | What’s Lousy, the Client or Your Approach? | Checklist for Running a Practice | Why Credentials Are Worthwhile
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I started working only two days a week. I thought I would have more time to pursue many of the things I had always wanted to do but never had the time. Since that point, I seem to be busier than I ever was and still have many projects I want to do, but can’t seem to get to.
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MARKETING & SALES

Testimonials: Why and How

Woman winking and holding thumb upThese pay off HUGE.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

A testimonial is a short written recommendation from a past or current client. Most accountants I talk to hate testimonials and don’t use them. But here’s what they don’t realize: Other people love them, and they really make a difference.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: 10 Marketing Materials You Need | Make Direct Mail Work for You | Write Your Way to Expert Status | Make Newsletters Work for You | How to Schedule Social Media Content | The 5 C’s of Successful Websites | Speaking: How, Where and Getting Leads from It | The A-B-C’s of Getting Started with Advisory Services
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If you don’t have any, a prospect could assume that you don’t have any clients either. Get rid of that objection easily by posting testimonials so prospects know you’re not just starting out.
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SUCCESSION & RETIREMENT

Making Partner: Today’s 15 Essential Skills and Traits

Do you have what it takes? Bonus: Six boxes to check off, and seven tough questions.

By Marc Rosenberg

What is the right stuff to earn a promotion to partner? This is one of several questions that if asked of ten partners from different firms, you may get ten different answers.

MORE: Why You Might Want an Executive Committee | How to Specify Managing Partner Duties | When Votes Must Be Taken, What Are the Options? | Ownership Percentage and Capital Accounts | 5 Key Reasons to Have a Partner Agreement

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I have worked the following script dozens of times at partner retreats: I ask the group what it means to be a partner and write their responses on a flipchart. When we’re done, one of the partners yells out “Oh no. None of us qualifies!” And because the truth is often said in jest, this retort is no joke.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every partner in every firm was a star partner? For almost all firms, this is an impossible dream. So how high should the bar be raised – realistically – to become a partner, or conversely, how low should it go?

Following are common examples of skills and traits that CPA firms require of their partner-potentials before they are promoted to partner. Plus: Six boxes partner-candidates must be able to check off, and seven of the toughest questions to assess readiness. This list is not all-inclusive and will vary from firm to firm.

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TALENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT

True Diversity Means Creating Equity

Woman opens door to find brick wall behind itWho is trying to get in the room but can’t?

By Liz Gold
in From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

So, we know you can’t just put the diversity and inclusion phrase on marketing materials and call it good. There needs to be some substance behind the claim.

MORE ON RADICALISM: A Legacy of Leadership Must Extend to Diversity | 5 Ways to Create a More Diverse and Inclusive Workplace | Goals, Goals, Goals | 3 Challenges in Shifting to Product Management | Productized 1099s the New Vision Way | Why Our Clients Need Us to Be Radical
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Part of that substance includes looking at the word “equity” and considering how you can provide equitable opportunities and growth potential to every individual in your firm.
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MARKETING & SALES

Checklist: The Essential Goal-Oriented Business Metrics

30 items for 2 types of goals.

By Jassen Bowman
Tax Resolution Systems

If you need help coming up with some ideas on what types of goals to set within your business, I might suggest you review the following list of possible metrics (things to measure) in your business.

MORE ON TAX RESOLUTION: Building Your Dream Team | Suggested Tax Resolution Client Payment Guidelines | When to Follow Up on Prospects | Checklists for New Lead Generation | How to Handle Client Complaints | Case Study: Building a Tax Resolution Business | Marketing Requires Ruthless Accountability
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You want your goals to be specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused and timed. Your goals will probably change over time as you become better and more confident.
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