Four Simple Game-Changers to Modernize Your Practice

Focus on the client experience.

By Blake Oliver
with David Leary

My mom is in her 70s and still gets the taxes organized for her household. She’s been using the same 10-partner firm for the past 30 years. Like many small firms, hers had no succession plan, so it recently merged with a big firm – top 25. As you may imagine, her recent tax season experience was disappointing. She submitted all her documents on time and then didn’t hear anything from her new accountant for weeks. Finally, she received a return to review and was shocked to see herself marked down as blind. My mom is NOT blind. There were other errors in her return, including a missing real estate transaction. Clearly, it had not gone through a proper review process.

MORE: Nine Ways to Measure Client ExperienceHow the Pandemic Changed Firm Mindsets | Twelve Clues It’s Time to Outsource or Offshore | Yes, You Have the Staffing for CAS | Why Firms Shy Away from CAS | Hook Your Firm on CASCan You Identify Real CAS Prospects? | 8 Ways to Create Your CAS Practice | Do You Value Your CAS Value?
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My mind exploded, wondering how such a large, well-known firm didn’t have a better quality control process in place. I’m guessing they didn’t even have a workflow management solution. After sharing this story with several CPAs at other large firms, I learned that my mom’s situation was not all that unusual.

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Aynsley Damery: Adding Value Is the Only Way to Stay in Business

Rethink the 80:20 rule, because the 80% are likely stealing from you.

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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr for CPA Trendlines

Aynsley Damery wants accountants to think more deeply about their work. The CEO for Clarity said we need to think about what clients want and deliver it to them, but as simple as that sounds, the problem is he doesn’t “think many accountants truly understand what their clients are looking for.” Clients who have started their own businesses are looking for a combination of “money, time and freedom.” However, Damery said, we’re selling them dashboards, KPIs and cash flow forecasting without explaining why that’s important and what that’s going to do for them. “Clients are looking for an advisor who’s going to listen to me, understand my hopes, my fears, my vision, what the challenges are, and be able to be there to support me,” Damery said.

MORE: Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a MindshiftJennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone LovesMike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training PracticesHector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be FreePrivate 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 WilkinsonWhen Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey SchmidtCan Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves?Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson

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“Our clients don’t understand numbers, yet we give them plans with the numbers, and … it doesn’t help,” he said. Instead, Damery said CPAs need to help them understand what they need to do “to make a difference and move their business forward. And that’s not about giving them the answers. That’s about asking the right questions.”

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20 Ways to Deliver Wow! Every Day

Word "WOW!"Amaze clients with 8 ways to add real value and 12 ways to delight clients.

By Rob Nixon

I have been telling accountants to be proactive and add value ever since I started working with you in May 1994.

MORE ON STRATEGY: Keep a Watchful Eye on Clients | Why Clients Really Stay | 8 Ways to Build Team Engagement | How to Create 4 New Billable Hours per Day | Do You Know What Clients Want? | Is Your Business By Design or Default? | The World Is Flat | The Profession Disrupted: Compliance Commoditized
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If you are going to remain relevant you are going to have to be proactive and add value. That means the level of WOW needs to improve.
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How to Create 4 New Billable Hours per Day

You have more capacity than you think.

By Rob Nixon
Panalitix

I am going to show you how to free up to 4 hours per accountant per day of new capacity – without hiring any more accountants. 

MORE ON STRATEGY:  Don’t Let Technology Make You Dumber  |  Do You Know What Clients Want?  |  What It Means to Be a Real-Time Accountant | 12 Predictions on the Future of Accounting | Will the Internet Replace CPAs? | The Profession Disrupted: Compliance Commoditized
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Catch Rob live and in-person: CPA Trendlines readers can save $50 on Firm of Now events with the discount code “TRENDS” at firmofnow.com.

I’ll use the example of a sole practitioner with accountants. You can multiply the math out for your size firm. You’ll see that by implementing just three strategies you can free up to 4 hours per accountant per day – maybe more. With five accountants that’s 100 hours per week, or 4,500 hours+ per year.

If you have an average hourly rate of just $150 that’s $675,000 of new capacity. You could re-fill the capacity or downsize your team. Have I got your attention yet?

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14 Ways to Leverage Client Data for New Billings

Chart of client interest in KPITop of the list? Cash flow forecasting.

By Rob Nixon

As you become a real-time accountant, one of the key steps is to strongly recommend that your clients migrate across to a cloud accounting solution. That’ll take 12 to 36 months to systematically help your clients change.

MORE ON STRATEGY: Don’t Let Technology Make You Dumber | Do You Know What Clients Want?  | What It Means to Be a Real-Time Accountant | Are Your Goals Big Enough? | Is Your Business By Design or Default? | 12 Predictions on the Future of Accounting | Finding New Opportunity in Compliance Services | The World Is Flat | Will the Internet Replace CPAs? | How Offshoring Is Shaking Up Accounting | The Profession Disrupted: Compliance Commoditized
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Let’s assume you have done that. You have spent the time training them. You have helped them to get good data in, so good data can come out.
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11 Questions to Ask Every Tax Client

Question marksAn easy way to introduce clients to additional services.

By Ed Mendlowitz
How to Build a Stronger Tax Practice

Many times we have important preliminary discussions when we obtain a client’s tax information.

MORE ON MARKETING: Why CPAs Are Suited to Financial Planning | Tax Projections: How and Why | How to Raise Client Awareness of Services
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Skilled interviewing, or effective follow-up techniques, can make these into an additional engagement.

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What’s Lousy, the Client or Your Approach?

Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and AInvestigate why problems exist.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

QUESTION: I have a client that is a not-for-profit and they are having a dinner and expect me to attend as well as take an ad.

MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: Too Much Paper, Too Many Drives | Do You Want to Keep This Employee? | How to Know Everything | Checklist for Running a Practice | Hate Meeting People? Try Improv (No Joke) | Help Clients, Increase Revenue: Make Sure Everyone on Staff Knows Your Firm’s Full Menu of Services | How to Sell Your Practice

However, they are a lousy client. They do not give us the requested information until the last minute and then complain we are always late with our report. They pay us months after the bill is sent and then only after quite a few phone calls, and then they complain about the fee being too high when it is half of our time charges – they are on a fixed fee and don’t let us raise it each year. And now they expect a “contribution.” What should I do?
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Marketing vs. Selling: Both Must Serve the Client First

Woman explaining financial brochure to manIt comes down to what will best serve your clients.

By Ed Mendlowitz
How to Build a Stronger Tax Practice

There are differences between marketing and selling.

Selling is a process whose goal is an actual order. Marketing involves the totality of presenting the company to the prospective customer so they want to do business with you.

MORE ON MARKETING: Adopt a Marketing Mindset

Salespeople need immediate gratification. Marketers take a long-term view.

Both are necessary for successful growth.
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