Michelle Long and Sandi Leyva, Author at CPA Trendlines

3 Ways to Work Less and Earn More

Think about the value you’re providing.

By Sandi Leyva and Michelle Long
The Ultimate Accounting Virtual Conference

Let’s talk about three ways to earn more in fewer hours.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: When to Turn Over Client Data Files | How to Fire a Client | How to Manage Client Expectations | Trashing the Spreadsheet: Best Practices in Modern Expense Management | 3 Ways to Implement Value Pricing | Building Reputation to Build Your Business | Need More Business? Focus on Referrals

One of the first things you can do is learn more about modern accounting apps. There are so many apps available today that really allow us to work faster and more efficiently, whether it’s for us or our clients. So it’s really important that you keep up with these changes and with technology because there are new apps coming out every single month.
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

How to Fire a Client

BONUS: Sample Client Disengagement Letter.

By Sandi Leyva and Michelle Long

How many clients have you fired?

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: What to Do When a Client Doesn’t Pay | The Dreaded ‘Quick Question’ | How to Handle Referrals – And How Not To | Why Clients Need Dashboards | 3 Ways to Raise Your Prices | Your Existing Clients Are Your Best Leads | Need More Business? Focus on Referrals

Let’s talk about firing a client because sometimes you do need to fire your client. Maybe they’re difficult to work with, or a guy is belligerent and loud and yells, and you don’t want to work for him. Maybe there are ethical issues.
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FEATURED

What to Do When a Client Doesn’t Pay

Ask questions. Negotiate. And be ready to cut your losses.

By Michelle Long and Sandi Leyva

How many times have you been unable to collect from a client?

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: The Dreaded ‘Quick Question’ | How to Manage Client Expectations | How to Handle Price Sensitivity | How to Handle Referrals – And How Not To | Trashing the Spreadsheet: Best Practices in Modern Expense Management | How to Find Hidden Money for Your Clients | Why Clients Need Dashboards | 3 Ways to Implement Value Pricing | How Small Firms Can Use Value Pricing | 3 Ways to Raise Your Prices | Building Reputation to Build Your Business | 3 Killer Lead Generation Channels | Your Existing Clients Are Your Best Leads | Need More Business? Focus on Referrals

When we asked this question in a poll, 26 percent of you had never gotten stiffed from a client… yet.

That’s good. But a lot of us have gotten stiffed or burned when we’ve not collected money from a client. It’s happened to us.

If you’re one of the smart ones it’s only happened once and never again.

What do we do when there is a billing dispute? First, yes, get paid up front and that’s a good policy.

Let’s talk about some situations where there is a billing dispute. First, if you have a big job and they want you to do some cleanup or catchup work and you estimate it will be a minimum of $2,000, you want them to pay you $1,000 up front before you do the work. If they’re not willing to pay you $1,000 now what makes you think they’ll pay you $2,000 later? Right, so they should be willing to pay some money up front.

PRO Member Exclusive

Increase Fees and Keep (Most of) Your Clients

BONUS: A sample letter you can send clients.

By Sandi Leyva and Michelle Long
The Ultimate Accounting Virtual Conference

When is the last time you increased your fees? Was it the past year, the past one to two years, over three years … or never? If you haven’t, you should.

How do you increase your fees?

Sometimes it’s a sticky situation but you should start setting a policy where you’re going to increase your fees on a regular basis, maybe every year or two. That allows you to avoid having large increases.

If you haven’t increased your rates for five years and you have to go up quite a bit at once that will be harder for the client, but once they get used to an annual or every other year increase and accept it then it’s easier to keep your fees.

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

The Dreaded ‘Quick Question’

Maybe a training session is what’s needed.

By Michelle Long and Sandi Leyva
The Ultimate Accounting Virtual Conference

Let’s talk about how to handle those “quick questions.” How many times do we have clients who say “I just have a quick question” and it’s never a quick answer?

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: How to Manage Client Expectations | How to Handle Price Sensitivity | How to Handle Referrals – And How Not To | Trashing the Spreadsheet: Best Practices in Modern Expense Management | How to Find Hidden Money for Your Clients | 3 Ways to Implement Value Pricing | How Small Firms Can Use Value Pricing | Building Reputation to Build Your Business | Your Existing Clients Are Your Best Leads | Need More Business? Focus on Referrals

What are we going to do? Are you going to bill? What about the time and effort to track and invoice your clients for those quick questions? What about the questions that are never quick?
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