you can make yourself more valuable, but it takes some planning.
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
there is never a bad time to set goals and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time to do so. every goal-setting book tells you to write down what you want to accomplish. if you do, you are more likely to achieve your goals.
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imagine yourself as a balance sheet. what do you need to do to make yourself more valuable next year than this year? one way is to invest in yourself so that you perform at a higher level.
here are the key areas to consider in setting goals. keeping up to date with professional skills is vital to your success.
- billable hours created for others. if you are a partner, a primary goal should be keeping other professionals in the firm busy with billable projects.
- personal billable hours. partners and staff need billable hour goals. you should ask, “did i have too many billable hours last year? too few? how many billable hours do i need each week and each month to reach my annual goal?”
- dollars collected. billable hours are great but there is an old saying: “cash is king.” remember it’s not what you bill, it’s what you collect.
- net realized rate per hour. how much of your billing rate do you realize? this can be a tricky number to determine. a higher billing rate with a higher write-off may generate more cash than a lower billing rate with a lower write-off.
- new business development. you might want to set two goals here: one for new business from existing clients and one for new business from new clients. both are equally important goals.
- referrals. if you have a goal to obtain three referrals per month for the next 12 months, you will have 36 new referrals. it won’t happen just by wishing for it. to do this, estimate how many referrals you can expect from them.
- retaining clients. examine your current client retention ratio. successful firms have a retention of 90 percent plus. look for ways to provide a higher level of service if you need to increase the current retention ration. most clients leave not because the fees are too high, but because the service level is too low.
- professional development. set goals to improve your technical, leadership and communication skills. stay up to date with changes in technology.
what’s stopping you? set goals now!