four ways to ‘wow’ not-for-profit clients with powerpoint

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ahow to create ‘killer’ slides that win over clients.

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

question: i have to provide a 5- or 10-minute presentation based upon my year-end audit to the board of a not-for-profit client. i would like to wow them. any suggestions?

more practice doctor q&a: change your thinking about ‘small’ clients | 12 must-knows for niche markets | when large (or any) clients need backup assurances | lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work | how to apply value pricing to bundled services | 6 ways to take a client beyond tax prep | 6 ways to know what you don’t know | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 6 simple steps to impress a prospect

answer: time is precious, and you should use it to provide the essential “big picture” info and in an easy-to-grasp manner. here are some suggestions: read more →

how to build a growth-centric pricing strategy

aquila
aquila

with an eight-point analysis of your firm’s pricing strategy.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

all you need to do is think of any services, professional or commercial, that you have purchased over the last few years. would you pay a premium rate to a bonsai gardener just to trim a regular tree or shrub? most likely not, since there would be many a gardener available to do this simple task. however, the price of an open heart surgery would not matter, if the operation would save your life.

more for pro members: how to combine two firms after merger: carefully  |  six new year’s tips for leaders in tax and accounting  |  mirror, mirror on the wall  |  6 steps to handle staffing problems in a merger  |  new times call for new cpa firm metrics  |  6 reasons why cpa firms fail in innovation  |  7 signs your firm is headed for an implosion  |  why is it always about partner compensation?  |  why merge and what to watch out for  |  13 steps to fool-proof mergers and acquisitions  |  13 questions to ask yourself for personal growth  |  partner problem? first, ask yourself these 21 questions  |  12 reasons cpa firm staff meetings are a waste of time  |  the managing partner’s secret weapon in change management  |  the 10 basic ways to boost profits at an accounting firm  |  12 must-do items for your partner retreat agenda

when pricing your services you need to carefully analyze the three key factors

  1. demand,
  2. competition and
  3. costs.

for example, it’s hard to get a premium price for a basic 1040 return because there are thousands of competitors offering the same service as very competitive prices. however, if you are offering litigation services for high net worth divorce cases, then you need to look at the unique characteristics of your services, what is potentially at risk for your clients and the firm’s overall marketing and pricing strategies.

to find out how marketing oriented your firm’s pricing strategy really is, just complete the following brief pricing strategy questionnaire. there are no incorrect answers. the purpose of the survey is to give you a snapshot of where you are today. you goal, then, is to lay out a plan to get you where you want to be tomorrow. read more →

accountants worldwide report business challenges

chart about nations' business risk aversion

everyone wants their government to get out of the way.

while u.s. accountants certainly rank high in entrepreneurial spirit, with 49 percent calling themselves risk-seeking in the sage accounting index, they were tied by brazil and edged out slightly by their canadian counterparts at 50 percent, with the spanish topping everyone at 58 percent. the four countries also ranked lowest in risk aversion from 27 to 31 percent.

read more →

cpa firms show strength in raising and holding fee rates

auditing and tax rates continue to inch upward.

chart of july 2015 ppi, cpa offices
cpa firm pricing index

pricing strategies and trends in tax and accounting
join the survey. get the details.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the pricing index at cpa firms stands at 116.8, just one-tenth of one point below the six-month average for the year, suggesting firms are maintaining their strong grip on fees. read more →

before you even think about selling your practice

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and abonus checklist: 14 data points you’ll need about your firm.

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

question: do you have any advice to someone preparing to sell their practice?

more practice doctor q&a: how much should you pay to buy, sell or merge an accounting practice? | when is it time to merge? | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | complaining client? no wonder! | running an accounting business | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

answer: here are some things to do when preparing to sell your practice:
read more →

when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates?

abstract illustration of binary data flowhow to get the best deals.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

the internet has undoubtedly had a profound impact on firm communications. it has become the primary driver towards the next generation of accounting applications that run entirely on the web through “cloud” computing.

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learn more

more on tech spending: remote access boosts productivity, requires planning | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | laptop-only workers more common | scanners allow data capture at the source | in pc monitors, more is better

before we get ahead of ourselves discussing cloud opportunities, we have to assess how the internet is used within your firm today. read more →

change your thinking about ‘small’ clients

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and abonus checklist: 11 services that should be part of every “cfo” engagement.

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

question: i have many small business clients and can’t seem to get larger clients. any suggestions?

more practice doctor q&a: it’s not sales. it’s your duty | 7 ways to lose a client’s trust | 6 ways to take a client beyond tax prep | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 14 ways to switch to value pricing | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

answer: when i started, we called the work we did for small clients “writeups.” at some point, write-ups were an embarrassment and we stopped calling them that – we said we handled family businesses. read more →

tax leads accounting industry in price hikes

ppimay15thumbnailaccounting industry shows healthier pricing power than most other industries — and its own clients.

next question: which pricing strategies are best for today’s market? join the survey; get the answers.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

following hefty hikes in billing rates during tax season, the tax, accounting and bookkeeping industry is pushing through price increases three times faster than the rest of the nation’s economy, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 study.

more: fees and pricing reports for pro members only
learn more: go pro here

while most other industries — and, by implication, most of the profession’s clients — are barely managing to maintain price levels, the accounting industry is forging ahead aggressively. the industry’s powerful position in pricing suggests huge demand for the complex services that only accountants can provide. and many practitioners appear to be taking every opportunity possible. to be sure, costs are rising as well, with talent, technology and retirements putting pressure on many firms.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analyzes pricing trends and billing rates for:

  • cpa firm services in general,
  • auditing and assurance services in particular,
  • tax preparation and planning, and
  • bookkeeping and compilations

read more →

four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun

how disruption is creating a “no-choice future” for some firms.

by hitendra patil

the dictionary defines “uber” as a superlative example of its kind or class. the word uber, derived from german language, means “over” or “beyond”.

you may have heard of the uberization of the taxi cab hiring industry, or of room rentals via airbnb, and other such services. that was made possible because of phenomenal leaps in internet and mobile device technologies.

uber logo blue tiltmore for the entrepreneurial accountant: the one word that can make accountants rich  |  management guru chester elton on success  |  savvy cpas focus on the constants  |  10 things that accountants didn’t need to worry about 10 years ago  |  three amazing cpas who want to do tax returns for free  |  can accounting firms lead with work-life vision?  |  why accountants could be the happiest people on earth  | more

the companies, using new but still well-established technologies, are simply focusing on existing industries, simplifying them, and creating a faster, better, stronger, convenient and, more often than not, cheaper process.

accounting’s fundamental business model has not changed in more than 100 years. and this very fact makes accounting indeed a perfect candidate for uberization. albeit, with some caveats. in fact, the stealth-uberization of accounting is already happening in at least four ways: read more →

10 radical steps into the cloud

the bottom line is this: the specific technology you use doesn’t matter.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

once you decide on what cloud software you want to use, here are the 10 steps you need in order to make the transition:

step 1: adopt for your own practice. choose an online software you’d like to try and input your financials. it’s the easiest move to make, and you’ll learn a lot during the process. you’re the most intimate with your own financials, so start there.

more on radicalism: six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | radical tenet #1: embrace the cloud | radical customers are on their way | the market is moving toward the radicals | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | 4 questions radical firms must face | being radical is all about your customer | being radical starts with being the change | why start being radical now? | going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’ | why should cpas be radical? | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

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

i currently run our financials in three sets of software, xero, sage one and quickbooks online. why? because i want to know what’s happening in all three products — and which one works best for me. i would also suggest playing with bill.com. it’s how you’re going to learn best how to use it. read more →

tax preparation fees and services

screen shot 2015-06-09 at 9.19.17 pmthe national trends and averages

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

while tax professionals taking a well-deserved break this summer, they are also carefully assessing how well – or poorly – they fared in tax season 2015 and they are beginning to lay plans for tax season 2016. chief among their concerns will, no doubt, be a thorough review of their mix of services and fees.

fortunately, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has compiled authoritative data in an easy-to-use set of charts, graphs and infographics to guide the strategizing for 2016.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reveals:

  • the average time it takes an amateur do-it-yourselfer to do a 1040 – useful information in understanding and communicating to clients the true value of a professional.
  • how many tax professionals give away over $100 per client in free consultations – and how competitive the market may be for practitioners.
  • prices by type of form: itemized 1040; state; schedule c’s; 940s; 1065s; 1120ss.
  • prices by region: west, midwest, northeast and south.
  • how many preparers charge to file an extension and how much they charge.
  • trends in 1040 business.
  • practitioners’ age ranges and years in business.
  • the characteristics of the communities in which they operate.

read more →

are you managing knowledge or wasting it?

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and a15 points to consider.

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

question: how can we share our firm’s collective knowledge with everyone who works here?

answer: not easy, but can be done. it just needs recognition that there is knowledge that can be shared, and you evidently have that.

more practice doctor q&a: how to suggest additional services to clients | when staffers stagnate | when busy gives the wrong impression | 7 ways to lose a client’s trust | quote with care when asked for valuation | 12 must-knows for niche markets | when fees don’t keep up with cost increases | why the average fee doesn’t matter | how to apply value pricing to bundled services

knowledge is what we are dealing with and transferring to benefit and create value for our clients. knowledge is currency. the ability to apply it to the right situation, at the right time in the right way creates value for the firm. each firm should develop a knowledge management program. here are 15 things to consider:
read more →