i’m 76. should i slow down? how?

senior man working at desk

many considerations factor into the best time to retire.

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

question: i am 76 and am starting to think about slowing down and selling my practice. i am a sole practitioner with three bookkeepers and a secretary/admin person working for me. i have a nice spacious office in a small building i own.

more: who to hire when it’s time to grow | hourly billing doesn’t cover the value; now what? | should you merge? here’s how to chart your path | when selling a firm to staffers is tricky | want to merge? six steps to take | courting a client? don’t give too much away for free | every accounting firm needs quality control | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | should you offer financial services? | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | how much is your tax practice worth? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy
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i have been approached by a larger firm that wants to buy my practice, but they want a guarantee of retention, and i was thinking of working with them for two years to ease the transition, and then sell. how do i set up the work arrangement?

also, they want me to move into their office, but then i will have to sell my office and the real estate market is soft. also, we will negotiate the price now (a percentage of gross) but how do i know they won’t change their mind, or what happens if the transition period is not good and i have to pull out? what do you suggest i do or how should i proceed?
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nancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first | the disruptors

rely on your professional network for answers you don’t know. plus 13 key takeaways.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

the disruptors
with liz farr

nancy mcclelland never intended to start a firm, but after leaving a toxic work environment, she took on a few part-time gigs. because she’d never worked at a cpa firm, she built it “the way it made sense” without bumping up against the traditions of “this is how it should be done.”

more podcasts and videos:  alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles | chris hervochon: be the leader you want to work for | ira rosenbloom: don’t merge for the moneyadam lean: get out of the accountant’s trapgeraldine carter: charging more is better for your clientsvimal bava: when working smarter, not harder, is the only option | 

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the name of her firm – the dancing accountant – reflects her passion for dancing and membership in several dance troupes, including one where she wears miniskirts and go-go boots. sharing that passion with her clients means putting herself “out there” and having faith that her clients respect her work as an accountant. “and you hope that they don’t laugh too hard at your dancing or that they’re not disappointed to find out that you’re just doing silly, fun stuff.”

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make work flexibility work for everyone

woman working on laptop at home while cat looks out nearby window

bonus: a sample flexible work arrangement policy.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset

this post originally by convergencecoaching, cofounded and led by jennifer wilson; updated by rosenberg associates

what is work flexibility?

convergence coaching uses the terms “anytime, anywhere work” and “work flexibility” very similarly. both refer to increased flexibility around timing and location, around one’s work schedule and the place where work is done, while simultaneously meeting the needs of its staff and the goals of the firm.

more: why staff leave cpa firms … and how to stop them | how to solve the big disconnect in talent management | what relevance means for staffing in accounting | how accounting staffing has changed
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

“we like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they (are) at their desk or in their kitchen. yours truly has never worked out of an office and never will.” – richard branson

“be stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods.” – anonymous
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boost your value, boost your fees

person handing a folder to another person

can you leave behind a cheat sheet? a toy? it’s not silly if it works.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firm

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.

more: three ways to make it easier for prospects to say yes | make your next busy season easier now | three ways to follow up with prospects | how mindset affects your marketing | twelve ways your business card can hurt you | got fomo when it comes to ai and chatgpt? you should: here’s what you’re missing | how to weather any economic storm | ten ways to have more energy this tax season | seven steps to keeping your clients forever | give to receive, and eight more ways to boost sales | five things that clients don’t know about accountants
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

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

1. offer a guarantee

you might feel like offering a guarantee is taking on a lot more risk than you’d like to, but this is a myth. when you offer a guarantee, you help to lower the perceived risk your client feels they might have when deciding to do business with you. this greatly increases the number of clients who will take that chance, even if they don’t know you very well yet. the surprising truth is that very few people will take the time to ask for a refund, making the increased sales far more valuable than the few returns you’ll need to process, if any.
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how to attract clients

focus on their needs, not yours.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

let’s start with two simple definitions to avoid any confusion:

  1. the purpose of marketing is to create the opportunity.
  2. the purpose of business development (sales) is to convert that opportunity into a paying client.

more: four reasons accountants struggle with selling | think of it as service, not selling | stop waiting for business to come to you | afive questions to help forecast your firm growth | four key questions about leadership | does client perception match your firm’s reality? | showing leadership through customer service | firm not thriving? five fixes | the real math behind the sales pipeline | five questions for grading prospects | be clear about your roi proposition | keep business development going during busy season | don’t let recurring fees kill your practice
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

when we meet with prospective clients – and i say this as someone who has sat in on many hundreds of meetings of this nature – we rarely give potential clients a reason to buy from us that they care about.
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sean duncan: discover your own genius | the disruptors

there aren’t enough of us to help everyone who needs our help.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members. 

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the disruptors
with liz farr

what would work look like if it reflected your passions? “imagine,” says sean duncan, cpa, “if you worked with the people that you loved working with, talking about the things that you love talking about, and you made a living and helped them?” as duncan says, “that’s just freakin’ awesome!”

more podcasts and videos:  caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles | chris hervochon: be the leader you want to work for | ira rosenbloom: don’t merge for the moneyadam lean: get out of the accountant’s trapgeraldine carter: charging more is better for your clients |

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

duncan was working at a large regional firm back in 2006 when he noticed that many small business clients were asking him for advice, but they couldn’t afford the fees of a large firm. so he started his firm out of “kind of this gut feel” of wanting to help those small business clients. over the years, his firm, smd consulting and accounting, has developed a specialty in working with video game developers, a special passion of duncan’s.

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who to hire when it’s time to grow

young businesswoman speaking with client

management and review still will be needed.

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

question: a cpa sole practitioner with a few part-time staff told me that he has come to realize that he no longer had a practice, but a business, and wanted to hire a person for “growth,” not just someone to help him get through the day.

more: hourly billing doesn’t cover the value; now what? | ask for what you’re worth | two options for collecting past due fees | when board service gets tricky | eleven ways new staffers can help bring in business | busy season is over, so it’s time for some resolutions | want to merge? six steps to take | how to start providing family office services | every accounting firm needs quality control
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

he wanted some suggestions of what type of person he should hire. read more →