accountants to the rescue as startups struggle

line chart

 

three ways that you can help.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

small businesses rarely make the headlines, but as a whole they represent a huge portion of the american economy. more than 98 percent of all american businesses have fewer than 100 employees, and 77 percent have between one and 10. together they account for 36 percent of the national workforce.

more: talent gap widening: be very scared | accountants hopeful, concerned and confused about ai | looking for recent grads? good luck | cpa biz is booming, but for how long? | survey respondents see exciting year coming up | survey: accountants economic outlook brightens | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai
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americans, generally an independent bunch, are known for cranking up new businesses. one in 10 small businesses is less than one year old. the attrition rate is high, of course, but 45 percent have held on for one to 10 years, and they account for 34 percent of small business jobs.
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karen reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business

not more clients, better clients.

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), and boomplay (africa).

the disruptors
with liz farr

karen reyburn wants accountants to stop thinking “about marketing as this one-off thing where you tick little boxes,” but instead about the ways you can use your marketing to connect to the human experience. her company, the profitable firm, or pf for short, has been helping accountants with their marketing since 2012.

more podcasts and videos: giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusionbill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid worksandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow | jody padar: build a practice that works for you, not vice-versa | ira rosenbloom: with m&a, nobody wants a fixer-upper | peter margaritis: the power skills every accountant needs | joe montgomery: find the sweet spot of the right clients, right services and right pricesmarie green: your bad apples are ruining youmegan genest tarnow: hire for curiosity rather than complianceclayton oates: one way to keep clients for life |

learn more

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her new book, the accountant marketer: the structured approach any accountant can follow to attract clients they love, provides a step-by-step process for understanding the unique characteristics of their firm and how to connect that uniqueness with their best clients.

in reyburn’s view, marketing is closely connected to the business. “if you have a marketing problem, you have a business problem. if you have a business problem, there’s often a marketing solution that can help with it.”

this book springs out of a pf coaching group called the accelerator, where participants were guided through a process of creating a structured approach to content marketing that made their marketing better. reyburn and pf take a collaborative approach to marketing. “we don’t do marketing for people,” she explained. “we do marketing with them.”

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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
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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.
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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?
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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.
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20 things you need for a business valuation

man reading in paper notebook in front of two screens

how to help a client who wants to sell their business. (hint: it’s about them, not you.)

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i have a client who’s thinking of selling his business, and he asked me to recommend a consultant to help him get his business in shape to sell. i am afraid that if he finds someone on his own i’ll lose control of the client. he might end up not selling and i could lose the client. i do not know anyone to recommend. what do you suggest i do?

more: valuing a family-owned business: eight options | business valuation comes down to cash flow | 50 ways to create value for business owners and board members | what earnings mean for a business valuation | use organization charts to rewrite the future | what clients don’t know about cost variances | why and how to track payroll costs
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ed’s response: i suggest that you decide what is best for the client and proceed that way. you can find consultants by contacting other cpas, attorneys, or business brokers that work in this area.

however, i also think that this is something where you can probably do most of the work yourself or through your firm. it is not a magic process, but a four-part process.

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would you buy your own services?

don’t expect potential clients to if you don’t know what sets you apart.

by steven e. sacks, cpa, cgma, abc

do you ever wonder why after spending many hours on drafting, editing, proofing, and polishing—and proofing and polishing just once more—your engagement proposal efforts did not result in winning the engagement? and if this happens on a semi-regular basis, the frustration is never easier to take.

more steve sacks: how do you value your most important asset?how to build a winning proposal | six ways to fix your firm agreement | the great resignation or a reshuffling? | listen to learn | build the framework to a solution with five answers | try for success, not a win
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you may have the requisite knowledge, experience, and perhaps even a broad view based on a diverse set of clients. however, you may have become complacent by maintaining a “cookie-cutter” approach to developing your proposals. like the old joke defining a consultant: “a person who takes off your watch, tells you the time, and gives the watch back to you,” implies an approach that you believe is best for your potential client, yet reflects no understanding of what the client actually needs.

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bundle tax services with financial planning

businesspeople having a meeting over coffee sitting together at a table discussing a document, young man and two middle-aged women present

two sample engagement proposals.

by ed mendlowitz
how to build a stronger tax practice

following are two sample engagement proposals for tax return preparation bundled with additional financial planning and business planning services.

more on marketing: when clients haven’t filed taxes for years | seven keys to a complete succession plan | the tax effects of buying or selling a business | elder care: not sexy, but vital | how to guide clients through divorce | help clients manage their investments
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letter 1:

dear _________________:

it was good meeting with you last week. ed and i are excited to be working with you and look forward to a long and satisfying professional relationship.
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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 callstrain 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?
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here’s where my conversations may differ from yours a bit.

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when clients haven’t filed taxes for years

help them put a stop to this.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

it is not unusual to meet with potential clients that have not filed tax returns for many years.

more on marketing: seven keys to a complete succession plan | how to begin a business valuation | how to offer conflict resolution | get your clients talking about retirement | when clients remarry | seven questions to suggest estate planning | four reasons to perform tax projections | four additional services to suggest
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with these clients it is important to get them to understand the seriousness of their situation and that the sooner they comply, the greater the likelihood that the worst they would be subject to would be penalties for late filing and payment if they owe money.
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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, earlywhy 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?
goprocpa.comexclusively 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.

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you’re doing email wrong

the liscio timeline: will it replace email?

there must be a better way.

by seth fineberg

email has always been an albatross of sorts for firms. most firms use it as their primary source of communication and are under the belief that they are “secure” if they use encryption. add the fact that having personally identifiable information on your machine is illegal, which equals one thing: you’re doing email wrong.

more fineberg: careful… you may be advising! | when live events fail | getting real: accounting tech decisions you need to make today | who’s in control? you? or your clients? | time management rule #1 for accountants | why vc is a bigger threat than ai

more on email & cybersecurity: why business email is doomedthe 7 categories of cybersecurity solutions firms needthe why, what and how of cybersecurity for accountantstop tech tools for building your new bos business | yes, ai writes better emailssurvey: records management tops email challengesthree apps for ‘inbox zero’

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email was never meant to be this nebulous communications zone. nor was it intended to be a source of truth or document and communications exchange storage. and now, with new data security laws, there are strict controls on how to use email.

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valuing a family-owned business: eight options

businesswoman working late at desk

the correct standard depends on the reason for the valuation.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

here are eight standards of value that a valuation analyst may need to consider and discuss with a client. each standard has a different set of rules, and the valuations can vary greatly. valuing a business is an art – not a science – even though careful calculations are made to arrive at an appraisal of the business. also provided are some insights regarding how these are used and how the valuation analyst can protect their client.

more: business valuation comes down to cash flow | 50 ways to create value for business owners and board members | what clients don’t know about cost variances | how to advise clients on allocating business resources | be wary of discounting prices | where is your firm in its lifecycle? | six kinds of loan covenants
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valuations of closely held family businesses are confusing because of the varied reasons, uses and purposes for the valuation. there is no one “right” way, because the value arrived at is contingent on the assumption used. this is confusing to many business owners.
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ready for a buy-sell agreement?

 

make sure to consider these 20 points.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

this service puts the accountant in the role of a mediator attempting to resolve conflicts and to serve as a facilitator to move things along to accomplish stated goals.

more on marketing: seven keys to a complete succession plan | how to begin a business valuation | how to offer conflict resolution | get your clients talking about retirement | how to assist investment clubs | when clients remarry | seven questions to suggest estate planning
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

who needs this service

many businesses do not have shareholders’ or buy-sell agreements.
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