client

when should you drop a client?

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the thought and calculation that goes into pruning a client list.

by ed mendlowitz

question: i want to clean out my client list of small tax clients because i am just too jammed during tax season, and don’t have enough business to hire someone. should i just drop the lowest-paying 10% of my clients?  

response: i never like dropping clients unless you just can’t stand them and are losing money on them and they never referred any new business to you. however, there are times when it is smart to prune your client list. 

many times practices grow where you take every client that comes along. for some that is a good strategy. for others, the strategy could be to accept only the type of clients you feel you could service best and can get the right fees. we are in a personal service business and we make our money by the work we personally do or personally are responsible for and personally supervise. we literally give up part of our lives for the benefit of our clients (and also to make our living). somehow the living comes – for some a little higher and for others a little lower, but it comes. it is the way we want to spend our time that we need to control. 

this starts with a clear assessment of your abilities and what gets you charged up, and where you think you can help clients the most, and for which they are willing to pay your fee based somewhat on the value of what you contribute to them. regardless of when you started and how much you might have strayed from your original plan, you can always do an up-to-date assessment and start from that point going forward.  read more →

i just lost my biggest client

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and a

by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“

question: i just suddenly lost my biggest client. they said they outgrew me. what could i have done to keep them?

response: maybe nothing. and at this point it may not matter, but there are some things you can do to maybe get them back in the future and stop it from happening with another client.

losing any client is not pleasant, and losing a large client hurts. and when it is sudden it hurts even more.

i will answer this in three parts.

1. how to try to salvage something from the loss.
2. how to stop this from happening in the future.
3. how to avoid being “suddenly” surprised. read more →

past due fees

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by ed mendlowitz “tax season opportunity guide“ question: a client owes me a very large amount of money and seems to be giving me a runaround and i need to get the check quickly. the client has the cash, so … continued

accountants and six fundamental human needs

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by hitendra patil
pransform

celebrity author anthony “tony” robbins identified six fundamental human needs that everyone has in common, and states that all behavior is simply an attempt to meet those six needs.

these six human needs are certainty, uncertainty/variety, significance, connection/love, growth and contribution.

as an accounting services provider, if you can identify the ways to meet these six needs of your clients (and your staff), if you can recurrently and consistently do things that lead to clients  (and your staff) actually experiencing the satisfaction of these needs, you are more likely to improve your firm’s performance. the question to ask is, “what should i do to ensure that my services/products fulfill these needs of my clients?”

for now, let us focus on your clients. here are some suggestions on what to do to fulfill six fundamental needs of your clients. read more →

client satisfaction starts with ‘likeability’

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the science behind happy customers.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

in “the 9 building blocks of a winning vision that the big four have discovered,” august j. aquila and robert j. lees brought out the common vision elements of big four firms. and one of them is “put the best people at our clients’ disposal.”

it’s not common sense! it’s actually human behavioral science. you will be surprised to know how this works at a much deeper level than you think.
read more →

how to turn client surveys into new revenues

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download the sample client satisfaction survey.

by ed mendlowitz

question: is there any value to sending clients a survey?

response: yes.  our firm sends a survey with every deliverable to a client.  we want to know what they think and how they feel about our service.

i think your best friends are the clients that complain.  this gives you an opportunity to correct any deficiencies or exceptions.

one time a long time very good client put on the survey that we were great but our fees were high.  i immediately met with him, reviewed our charges, had the time runs and details of everything extra we had been doing beyond the scope of our engagement, and the value to the client.  in the following year he recommended two clients to us!  i don’t believe we would have gotten the referrals had he not complained.

here is a sample of a survey we’ve used: read more →

take six big steps to go beyond compliance services

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beat the billable hour by doing more than just taxes or quickbooks.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

as compliance services become more commoditized and automated, accountants are faced with how this affects their practice and their bottom line. they can:

  1. serve a higher level client that requires greater complexity, making themselves fairly immune to these changes
  2. serve a larger number of clients to offset a drop in revenue per client averages
  3. add new services to their practice to boost revenue per client

those are pretty much the options available to keep profits from shrinking. but today i want to focus on the third point above, adding new services, and provide you with some ideas on how you may be able to serve your tax compliance clients in new ways.

more for soloists and small firms:  when your business needs to be rebooted  |   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

even if you don’t do taxes, you will find some ideas for new related services you can think about offering to your clients. (remember, it’s easier to sell to existing clients than to acquire new ones.) read more →

providing work papers to new accountant

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when is it required?

question:

a long time business client that owed me a large balance for unpaid fees sent a letter dropping me. he then wrote me a letter requesting me to send “his” papers to his new accountant. can i insist on being paid first or do i have to send the papers? i made some notes on a worksheet adjusting his numbers that went on the tax return. do i have to send this also and if so, do i have to write these up in proper journal entry form?

more from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor:  11 business-getting tips for the young staffer  |  how to get started in family office services  |  three and a half ways to get your own cpa practice |  novice manager needs to know: how to do it all? | why no one listens to you |  when not to offer a free initial consultation | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners  |  what do you think you’re doing?  | can you teach judgment?  |  clients’ calls at home  | what you need to know before expanding into business valuation |   seven ways to increase fees  | 10 best practices for tax season  | nine healthy things to do during tax season  |  12 reasons to love tax season | free instant download: sample fee schedule for 1040s |   also: “implementing fee increases” and “the tax season opportunity guide.”

answer:

read more →

consulting with a client who is also a friend

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question: i have a close friend who is also a client. he went through a rough time with his wife threatening a divorce and we spent a lot of time talking about it (out of office settings).  i sent him a bill and he returned it with a notation that “we spoke as friends and not as a professional consultation, and the bill should be cancelled.”  what should i do? read more →

the client service team in action

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by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 while some firms have explored the idea of client service groups, and leading thinkers like patrick mckenna have been training firms in the concept for several years, few firms have developed the … continued