frank stitely, author at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

three ways to thrive with limited capacity

turn the staffing shortage into a new opportunity.

charles dickens had to be writing about the accounting profession when he wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

clients are plentiful. i met a new client coming out of the restroom at our office complex. we get four to five inquiries a day – out of tax season. during tax season, we turned down four out of five prospective clients.

more on staffing: tax and accounting jobs and salaries show strength | olympics of outsourcing and offshoring for accountants | new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | can’t recruit? retain! | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

staff are not plentiful – at least not good ones. i’m getting two or three resumes a day, but they’re the warm body sort most of us learned the hard way not to hire during the pandemic. you’ve seen these resumes too. they are people with six employers in eight years. you are certain to be number seven in nine years. they claim eight years of experience, but you can see from their job history that it’s really two years of experience repeated four times. and – they want $100k for those two years of real experience.

humor

how a case of beer saved the u.s. financial system

great businesses are formed by trusting others … even if they need a 24-pack to get there.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

you’ve probably heard of the 1929 stock market crash, black monday, the dotcom bubble and the great recession. all of these combined pale in comparison to what almost happened back in 1986. save for a case of miller lite, our financial world, as we know it, would not exist.

more: even with value pricing, time tracking matters and here’s why | end tax season meetings with clients…seriously | get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

i landed this job not because of my fabulous accounting qualifications. i was a double major in economics/finance in college. i would have taken a job sniffing used toilet paper out of college with those academic credentials. i got the job solely from my relationship with paul karstetter, the second name in what eventually became stitely & karstetter, cpas.

pricing, fees & billing rates

even with value pricing, time tracking matters and here’s why

higher productivity equals higher capacity, which drives faster turnaround times. faster turnaround times create happier clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

employee productivity plays a huge factor in managing wip (work in progress). because capacity is the denominator in the lean six sigma equation, and employee productivity is a big factor in capacity, employee productivity becomes a big factor in determining turnaround time.

more: end tax season meetings with clients…seriously | get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, let’s dismiss all the consultants from the room who tell us that time tracking and productivity metrics don’t matter. mostly, these consultants have never managed or owned cpa firms. rarely have they worked in firms for any length of time. they have never known the struggles of meeting payroll during the first pay period in february when employee hours are up, but the tax season money is not rolling in yet. goodbye. don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out, or do let it hit you. that’s up to you. i hope it’s a heavy door.

here’s an example that shows why time tracking and productivity metrics matter:

pro member exclusive

end tax season meetings with clients … seriously

clients who want to meet should be more than willing to pay for that meeting.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

what did dorothy and her friends fear in the wizard of oz? “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” dorothy feared the wrong things if she was a partner in a cpa firm. we don’t see much wildlife in our offices during tax season unless you count fast-food delivery people and the occasional crazy client.

more: get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

we should fear the events that destroy our priorities and drain hours from productive work. meetings and phone calls and emails, oh my! from a practice management standpoint, let’s look at why these communication methods are so destructive.

pro member exclusive

get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye

with just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round and have more satisfied clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

when i’m frustrated, here’s how i explain the importance to clients of letting us work our process:

“when you get your car repaired, you don’t look over the mechanic’s shoulder and tell him which wrench to use. the same principle applies to us. if you knew the best ways to prepare tax returns, you should become our competitor.”

more: train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

let’s be perfectly honest with each other.

there’s a reason you aren’t actively training clients to allow you to work efficiently. you’re afraid that you’ll lose clients.

i guarantee that you will.
read more →

humor

train now before it costs you down the road

your time investment now could reap dividends during tax season.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we’ve all heard it.

ask if an assigned project has been completed and get the, “it’s done, but …” followed by a few reasons why said project is still – let’s be honest – incomplete.

more: keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

let’s examine how we got a “done but” society. a lot of this will sound like, “back in my day, sonny …” old man nonsense, and a lot of it is.

however, i promise you a solution after my sociological exploration of 21st-century culture. you won’t need a degree in sociology to understand this.

humor

“done” only has one meaning

“done but” increases wip and turnaround time. profits go … well, you know.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

in my last book, i recommended hiring younger staff. in that book, i cautioned that you might have to teach very simple tasks like breathing and using the bathroom to your newbies.

more: keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s okay to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one reader posted that she didn’t believe it was the responsibility of an admin department to teach bathroom use. she was new to this hot new writing technique called sarcasm, but she did a great job making my point that you have to teach your staff a lot of basic things.

one of those teaching tasks is the meaning of “done.”

client service opportunities

keep clients from “balance due” shock

with just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round and have more satisfied clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

when i talk with prospective clients in any medium, i lead with tax planning. i don’t care if i’m meeting them, calling them or emailing them. i lead with tax planning. the number one complaint clients have about cpas and tax preparers is a lack of planning. they get tax returns and nothing else.

more: stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | get clients to bring tax docs early…yes, early | why time tracking still matters | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the fun part is seeing the reaction when i mention planning. i tell them that they can know the results while there’s still time to change the results. tax season is no longer stressful because they know the answers in advance about refunds and balances due.
read more →

client service opportunities

stop clients from performing “favors”

“oh, you shouldn’t have.” (you really, really shouldn’t have.)

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we all have clients who bring in tax documents in laminated three-ring binders. they smile big toothy grins and tell us how they’re our most organized client. there’s no reason for us to organize the documents, as they’ve already done us this huge favor. of course, there will be no reason for us to remove anything from the binder and everything should be left in the binder just as it is.

more: who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

we call these people binder boys. they have no clue that organized for them is not organized for tax return preparation. preparing a return from documents in a binder takes twice as long, at least, as preparing returns from a well-organized pdf file.

we also have the people who use five pounds of staples to organize 20 pages. they don’t want any loose documents falling out of the file.
read more →

client service opportunities

who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you

avoid balance-due whining sessions and earn additional revenue.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

you’ve surely had this conversation a million times during multiple tax seasons, most often in april. you give a client a tax return with a $20,000 balance due.

client: i didn’t expect to owe that much.
you: how much did you expect to owe?
client: about $5,000.

more: it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | train your clients before they train you | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here’s where my conversations may differ from yours a bit.

client accounting services

it’s okay to say no to clients (even the large ones)

working with “smaller” clients can often be more rewarding – and profitable – than “big” clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

there’s a reason you aren’t actively training clients to allow you to work efficiently. you’re afraid that you’ll lose clients.

i guarantee that you will.

more: control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | get clients to bring tax docs early … yes, early | why time tracking still matters | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

clients have trained you to be inefficient. they’ll resist retraining. some of them will leave and infect someone else’s practice.

the reason you fear losing clients is that you fear you can’t replace them.

humor

why business email is doomed

malware, ransomware, phishing and other hacker tools will make email obsolete.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

last year, the ceo of slack predicted the demise of business email in five years. i think he’s wrong. i think business email maybe has another two years. there are two obvious reasons why email has a foot in the technological grave.

more: control your time: avoid ambush meetings and phone calls | get clients to bring tax docs early…yes, early | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | train your clients before they train you | why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, spam killed the efficiency of email. how much time do you spend each day deleting spam? you can train your spam blocker, but professional spammers get through using variable email addresses and agreements with internet routing companies.
read more →

client accounting services

stop non-tax season service requests

“i know you’re busy, but …”

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a well-known practice management expert, whom i greatly respect, advises cpas never to tell clients that you don’t have time for them. i disagree with the never part. you know how it starts. on march 25th, the call comes in.

more: control your time: avoid ambush meetings and phone calls |get clients to bring tax docs early…yes, early |you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | train your clients before they train you | why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

“i know you’re busy, but…”

a request follows that could most certainly wait until after tax season. you are hip deep reviewing all the personal tax returns that got stuck in the process while you climbed out of the march 15th corporate tax ditch.

“i need to know if i’m paying unemployment taxes to the right states. i think i should be paying taxes to the people’s republic of california, but i’m not. i’ve been paying unemployment taxes to uzbekistan instead.”

you know this doesn’t have the urgency of picking at navel lint during tax season. she has been paying it incorrectly for the last half-century. another month won’t matter. nonetheless, you have a client who expects you to research unemployment taxes for california and uzbekistan in late march. of course, it’s just a “quick” question. what do you do?

our respected practice management expert would have you perform the research under the principle that you must always appear to have time for everything. i disagree. during tax season, you don’t have time for every request.

that’s a fact, jack.

if you drop everything to respond to this request, you’re keeping one client satisfied, probably not even happy, while making three or four others very unhappy waiting for their tax returns, which presumably are the entire point of tax season.

here’s where i think he goes wrong. he doesn’t believe in telling clients upfront, before and during tax season, that you simply don’t have time for everything and tasks that can wait must wait. that’s tax season. if you follow his advice, you have two alternatives.

do the research and make other clients unhappy. or tell the client that you don’t have the time to do the research until after tax season. both are bad alternatives. you end up making someone unhappy and probably getting an earful when your emotions are already raw.

i believe in setting expectations before tax season. i have previously written about our series of pre-tax season e-blasts getting clients ready for tax season. one of those explains that we don’t have time for everything during tax season. we focus on tax returns and year-end financial statements during tax season. we don’t have time for much else.

we do this with humor. we explain that the biggest problem we have during tax season is actually finding the time to prepare tax returns amid all of the other non-tax season requests. i use some ridiculous example of something a long-dead client asked me to do in the past. i explain that it’s not their request that’s the problem. it’s the 400 requests from other people that are the issue.

an underlying cause of the problem is that all your clients see themselves as your only client. if that’s the case, you are doing a great job of client service. however, this leads to the mindset that you surely have time for this one request. of course, we know it’s not one request. it’s 400 requests.

for example, a client told one of our admin staff last week, “frank will do this for me. we go way back.”

this came from a $500-per-year client. clearly, he sees himself as a very important client. i like him, but our practice doesn’t survive on $500 clients asking for favors in late february.

it doesn’t look like i’m succeeding at stopping the non-tax season requests from the above example. however, my goal isn’t 100% success. that’s not realistic, given the size of our practice. the goal is to stop most of the bleeding. any time that we recover adds to our tax season capacity and pushes off tasks until after tax season when we have more free capacity.

of course, april 16th rolls around and 400 clients all think i’ll have their tasks completed by close of business. but at least you’ve stopped most of the bleeding by communicating up front.

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