when your business needs to be rebooted

four steps when things aren’t turning out the way you dreamed.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

how does your current business look compared to the one you dreamed about before you started your entrepreneurial journey? do you now have clients you love, a dream team, the financial rewards you are comfortable with, and plenty of free time?

more for soloists and small firms:   two steps to easy cross-sells   |   the hot new tech product for automated data entry   |   five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping   |   six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   |   proactive ways to get more referrals   |   the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |   new client opportunities with mobile apps   |   six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |   what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |   accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

if not, don’t give up. you can still get there, and a little business clarity may help you get there even faster.

here are four steps: read more →

two steps to easy cross-sells

start with a spreadsheet.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

here’s a great spreadsheet exercise you can do to identify what i call “low-hanging fruit,” which means added revenue that will not take too much time or money to go after.

open excel, and start a worksheet from the sales numbers in your accounting system.

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms:    the hot new tech product for automated data entry  |  five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping  |  six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   | 10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths

read more →

the hot new tech product for automated data entry

 

by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator

imagine that a new client comes to you with “the dreaded shoebox” of bank reconciliations, receipts and bills. the client is a year or so behind, and you are hired to get him caught up. do you take that client, knowing you’ll be swamped doing data entry for weeks at a low hourly rate?

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms:  five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping  |  six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   | proactive ways to get more referrals   |  the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |  new client opportunities with mobile apps   |  six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |  what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |  10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths read more →

five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

every business needs to do some level of bookkeeping for a couple of reasons:

1) various government agencies require reporting and payments based on the company’s results.

2) the owner needs a certain amount of information to manage their business and keep it profitable.

many business owners hire us grudgingly for compliance work because they have to. and they consider what they pay us as an overhead expense that is a required cost.

but what if we could turn that perception around?

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms:  six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   | proactive ways to get more referrals   |  the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |  new client opportunities with mobile apps   |  six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |  what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |  10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths

here are five areas to consider offering beyond bookkeeping that will help your clients see you as a good investment rather than as an expense. read more →

six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks

how to give clients real solutions, options and opportunities they’ll love.

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

many accountants are quickbooks proadvisors who offer quickbooks consulting to their clients; you may be one of them.

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms: proactive ways to get more referrals   |  the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |  new client opportunities with mobile apps   |  six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |  what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |  10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths

here are the opportunities i see to expand your client services in the area of quickbooks consulting, or for that matter, any accounting software consulting. read more →

proactive ways to get more referrals

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

there are many great things about getting referrals.  first, referrals have a built-in trust that helps you move through the sales process faster.  second, there’s almost no marketing cost involved.  third, they tend to make a better long-term client.

unfortunately, many business owners take a reactive approach to referrals, waiting until they come to them, rather than a more profitable approach, which is to proactively maximize referrals. here are five proactive ways to boost referrals: read more →

the three biggest money leaks in your practice

sandi smith leyva
sandi smith leyva

start with a clean spreadsheet.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

there are dozens (and maybe hundreds) of ways your practice can leak money. here are three ideas that are fairly simple to implement and may be some great goals for you to consider.

more for soloists and small firms: new client opportunities with mobile apps  /  six questions to launch your strategy sessions  /  what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients  /  10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day  /  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate  /  nine value-adds to command a higher fee  /  how to design your business around your strengths  /  how to make it easy for clients to hire you   /  12 fast, low-cost tips for a stress-less practice  

read more →

new client opportunities with mobile apps

sandi smith leyva
sandi smith leyva

the top apps accountants need to know

by sandi smith leyva

mobile accounting has definitely arrived. a great first question to ask clients who are asking for mobile accounting is to just double-check to see if they have already downloaded their bank apps. if not, that may be something you can help them get set up.

but don’t just think about the core accounting system. get them hooked up with their bank, credit card accounts, paypal, payroll, and any other peripheral support that has an app, like timesheets, field services, and project management. when you do, they will be ecstatic at your resourcefulness and you will be their latest mobile genius.

there are some great new apps that extend core accounting systems’ functionality into our mobile devices. let’s take a look at a few of them for accountants, from quickbooks to adp and a host of new applications: read more →

10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day

simple easy activities to boost your business.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

every working day, we’re all slammed with hundreds of things to do. we might need to occasionally slow down and ask ourselves whether we are working on the most profitable things we could for our business. are we constantly fighting fires, dealing with urgent but not important client matters and neglecting the things that could grow our business?

here’s how to move off this treadmill to create a “money maker hour” in your business: read more →

11 sources of wealth we can celebrate

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

we all have far more sources of wealth available to us in addition to the assets we normally count as financial wealth. a great skill to add to our tool box is that of resourcefulness. learning and practicing being resourceful has always come in handy for me while traveling, working, and making changes in my life.

as you go through the list, take an inventory and make a list of all of the resources you have available to you in one form or fashion. by the end of the article, you might be amazed at how wealthy you really are.

  1. your financial wealth is measured in currency. this includes cash, all bank accounts, retirement accounts, annuities, stocks, bonds, commodities, and other market investments.
  2. your property wealth includes real estate and personal property such as furniture, dishes, clothes, jewelry, and a car.
  3. your wealth of abilities, experience, education, and skills provides you with a livelihood and is what you can trade others for other categories of wealth. read more →

nine value-adds to command a higher fee

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

want to charge more for your services?

one way is to offer clients more value. your fees and your value to the client should go hand in hand.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms: accountants, do you know your opportunity number?five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivityrise to the top with a fresh elevator speechfour ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make seven tips to keep the clients you have how to attract clients like a magnet eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

here are nine ideas to increase your value to your clients:

read more →

12 fast, low-cost tips for a stress-less tax season

stress management is critical to a successful season.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

i don’t want to stress you out, but we really do need to do something about our stress levels.

the american psychological association says our kids are getting headaches, having difficulty sleeping, and eating too little or too much due to pressure from school and household finances. the worst part is that  most parents were not aware of the severity of their children’s stress.

many adults reported not knowing what to do to change their lifestyle so they could reduce their stress, so it just makes sense to talk about this a little.

here are the most common stress-reducing tasks that some people do, according to the survey: read more →