help clients make decisions, don’t just report on what happened.
by hitendra patil
the definitive success guide to client accounting services
a successful client accounting services practice requires increased interactions with clients. your usual non-cas methods of client communications are not sufficient to meet the demands and expectations of your cas clients. you must leverage new tech tools to reach out, communicate and collaborate with clients more frequently.
more: how to write your cas engagement letter | designing your firm’s cas processes | how to create your firm’s cas team | the technology stack you need for cas | communicating cas to clients and prospects | how to communicate the value of cas | don’t wear a mask
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some accounting software can help you automate client notifications (by email/text) based on customized triggers set up in the software. similarly, automated payroll software can keep clients informed automatically. mobile apps of core accounting software are becoming a necessity to deliver client service and communications.
why?
to find out, we need to examine whether cas client service requirements are different and if yes, how.
are cas client service requirements different?
let us take an example to compare non-cas and cas client service requirements.
if you offer write-up (creating books from bank statements, credit card statements and some additional information you receive from your write-up clients), you know it is after-the-fact work. your client has already undertaken business transactions. those are reflected in the bank and credit card statements. goods/services have been bought and sold, and payments have been made/received. now is the time to “write up” the transaction data or summary into the books being created in the accounting software. you do that work, reconcile books and bank account balance, review the work, produce the financial statements and deliver to your clients.
what are the communications and client service requirements in such work?
- generally (unless you have automated some work by using bank feeds integrated with accounting software), after the end of each month, you follow up with the client to send you the bank and credit card statements. sometimes you have to remind the client multiple times.
- while processing the write-up work, if you come across unusual transactions, you seek more information from your clients. sometimes you have to remind the client multiple times.
- once you have all the information, you process the work, reconcile, create financial statements and deliver to the client, most likely along with an invoice for the work done.
- you may have to remind the client to pay.
- sometimes, the client may ask you why there is a loss in a given month.
there is hardly any interaction with the client. there are rarely any useful insights delivered. there is hardly any advice sought or given. the communications are limited in number. so is value – limited.
now let us compare this with cas.
- you have systems set up to receive most of the accounting-related information almost every day, many times in real time.
- you have technology integrations set up with the client’s bank, point of sales system, vendors’ invoices coming in by email are being auto-forwarded to you, client issues sales invoices from the same cloud accounting software that you have access to, and so on.
- you can reconcile bank and books balances on a daily basis if need be.
- you are able to monitor cash flow, payables and receivables every day.
- you can produce income statements every week if so agreed with the client.
- you can produce payables and receivables reports every week and deliver to the client.
- you are able to identify exceptions, e.g., large payment made or received, cash balance going below a certain amount that can delay statutory payments the client is required to make in the next few days, etc.
- you can identify and monitor sales trends.
- you can provide advice within the month before the month is over, many times every week.
- your communications are, more often than not, useful input for clients to actually make their business decisions, not a postmortem of what happened last month.
in cas, comparatively, there are many more touchpoints between your firm and the cas clients. many of these are interactions, not just one-way information transmittals. you are able to help clients be in better and more control of their business by providing timely insights and action points. and it is not just about the frequency of client communications. it is more about the substance, relevance and actionability of what you communicate.
you are not just an accountant. you are the north star of the client’s business – and a trusted advisor who has the client’s benefit at the center of your universe.