client service opportunities

how to create a winning proposal

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businesswoman making a presentationflip your perspective to avoid a “so what” response.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

getting the proposal document right is a mini-science in itself, and it’s not within the scope of this post to explore it in depth. however, the following guidelines will help you understand the process and principles.

more on business development: how to prepare for the first meeting with a new prospect | the five fastest ways to kill a new opportunity [video] | understand the dna of business development success | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | the science of pipelines | prepare your next generation of professionals | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

first and foremost, you must write the proposal from the viewpoint of the client, not your own. it must make sense to them, and it must pass their “so what“ test. if the prospect reads a statement or sentence in your proposal and mentally asks, “so what?” that is the kiss of death for your proposal.
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linkedin launches accountant-for-hire service

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linkin profinder listing
linkin profinder listing

new buying service promises accountants projects and ongoing assignments.

by hitendra patil
pransform

the shared economy, contingent workforce, millennials’ preference for work-life balance, the cloud, artificial intelligence, big data. everything is converging to disrupt traditional business models of many industries and professions.

and accounting is not immune to disruption. on the contrary, accounting is ripe for disruption. note carefully. it is all only “disruptive.” not “destructive.”

riding the new reality, the undisputed leader of business social media – linkedin – is now leveraging its platform to help shared economy workers get new clients.

meet profinder: accountant’s new opportunity  (and a new threat?)

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why credentials are worthwhile

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aadmission to tax court is just one example.

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

question: i appreciate your offer to help me pass the test to become admitted to the u.s. tax court. i question whether it is worth the effort. can you enlighten me?

more practice doctor q&a: everyone needs strategic planning | help clients, increase revenue: make sure everyone on staff knows your firm’s full menu of services | how to sell your practice | when a client balks at necessary work | 14 ways to use timesheet data | why more firms are trashing timesheets | how much overhead is too much? | when partners stop growing | clear billing procedures make collecting easier | there’s more to growth than marketing | how to make staff a team again

answer: what is the value of any credential?  if you don’t use it, or did not earn it, or will not promote it, you might not realize or feel any value, so perhaps you should not make the effort.
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tax season 2016: turning id theft from a problem into an opportunity

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identity theft on the web with credit cards and social security

31% report problems, making it one of the top three issues of the 2016 season. but can accountants turn the problem into a new opportunity?

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

with identity theft emerging as one of the biggest problems for tax preparers, their clients, and their friends at the internal revenue service, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is asking how to turn that problem into an opportunity.

more on tax season for pro members:  accountants speak out on politics and the economy  |  lessons learned from a bad busy season  |  3 ways to save time during busy season  |  most tax professionals call 2016 busy season much improved over last year | stress less this tax season  |  is tax season the new fraud season?  |  5 tax season motivation tips  |  recognize your tax season resources  |  tax season 2016: irs in crisis  |  eliminate tax season excuses  |  record pre-season hiring surge: ready for biggest tax season ever?  |  16 qualities of a good tax season client

after all, security costs money. if clients are made aware that the danger is real, maybe they could be willing to pay a little more if they know their tax preparer is spending resources on security. it might also be an opportunity for practitioners to offer their it expertise or it partners to help clients secure their systems. it would be a win-win-lose situation for practitioners, clients, and hackers, respectively. and even if better security doesn’t translate to better revenues, it’s always a good selling point. clients need to know of the danger and preparers’ efforts to counter it.

still, it’s a problem for the practitioners we’re canvassing even when it doesn’t happen, mostly because of the cost and inconvenience of prevention efforts.

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the dreaded ‘quick question’

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young businessman in office on phonemaybe a training session is what’s needed.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

let’s talk about how to handle those “quick questions.” how many times do we have clients who say “i just have a quick question” and it’s never a quick answer?

more small firm growth strategies: how to manage client expectations | how to handle price sensitivity | how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | building reputation to build your business | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

what are we going to do? are you going to bill? what about the time and effort to track and invoice your clients for those quick questions? what about the questions that are never quick?
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best practices for handling mistakes

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businessman horrified by what he sees on computer screen3 steps to take.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

we’ve all made a mistake. admit it; we have all made a mistake before. maybe we missed a deadline or you posted things to the wrong account or overlooked something. what’s a mistake you made before?

more small firm growth strategies: how to manage client expectations | how to handle price sensitivity | how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

the first time i made a mistake i thought the world was going to end. i was devastated and thought my future and having my own firm was over. i’m out of business because i messed something up.
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problem clients are opportunity clients

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overstuffed and overflowing files3 steps to making their lives easier.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

you know who we’re talking about here. they show up in early april with everything you need to prepare their taxes. but it isn’t on a cd. it’s in a soaking-wet shoebox. or they’ve got everything ready on january 2, except it turns out they aren’t sure whether they made their quarterly irs payment last july. or when you ask for their total payroll tax paid, they say, “payroll tax?”

or their numbers just don’t add up. or they desperately need a refund this year, no matter what. or they say they’ll get back to you but don’t. or they keep asking your for legal advice. or they just don’t have time, what with mom and her broken hip, the kid needing to be picked up from ballet class, the dog that needs to go for a walk at 5:30 or else. or they can’t get their capital gains records from their financial advisor…guy named madoff…he just disappeared!

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what we learned in 2015: 3 accounting lessons from greece financial crisis

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hunt
hunt

and what clients need to know for 2016.

by alisa hunt
post university

on august 20, greece avoided – just barely –  defaulting on its debt by making a payment to the european central bank towards the billions it received in aid from several european countries. it’s the latest chapter in the country’s economic downfall, and still, not a major step forward as this payment only repays existing debt and does not aid in rebuilding greece’s broken economy.

it’s going to take years, decades even, to stabilize the country’s financial wellbeing. even then, greece will have shattered any credibility it might have had with european leaders, banks, and the rest of the world.

countless articles have been written on how a lack of accountability, transparency, and general financial literacy within greece’s government caused the situation to continuously decline, and for good reason: what happened to greece can happen on a personal scale.

here are the most important lessons to take away from the fallout in greece.

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19 ways to better networking: be the nerve center

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businesswoman working on laptop giving thumbs up sign5 reasons to reorient your networking.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

last century’s networking model still works and is still worth doing, but you can do better in the 21st century by inverting the old model. rather than going to the chamber of commerce and rotary meetings to promote your services, go with the intention of gathering other people’s services.

as a cpa, you, more than anyone else, are at the center of local business. you know more about a bunch of businesses – your clients – than virtually anyone else. you know what they’re doing. you know what they need. and they most certainly need far more than what your firm offers.

but your firm can offer more. you can offer the services of dozens of indirectly related companies and professionals, among them:
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8 steps to gaining a client by helping a client

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three climbers helping each other up a hillthis is one of those times when a small investment pays a big return.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

nobody knows your clients like you know your clients. you know them from deep inside. even a simple tax prep gives you insight into the nature of a business – its services, its efficiency, its growth or stagnancy, its honesty and dependability. some of this you can glean from the process of tax preparation, audits and such, but it also comes from the chats you have with the client during the course of the year.

as you have certainly noticed, none of your clients run a perfect business. they could all be more efficient. they could all come closer to their potential. they could all use something that you can help provide – even if it’s not one of your services.
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