small firm

do you want to do compliance your whole career?

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stressif the answer is no, take these 6 steps.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

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

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 skills to grow your practice | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | design your business around your strengths | 5 cool ways to streamline data sharing | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 5 ways a deadline can help close a deal | draw new clients in like a magnet | 5 things you know that clients don’t | 3 ways to test your revenue forecast | whip out the wow factor for clients | take advantage of 4 key marketing strategies  | four ways to stop leaving money on the table

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.

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.)

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building reputation to build your business

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leverage your knowledge.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

marketing has changed in the last 30 years. one lead generation channel is reputation.

buyers really value industry expertise. as a matter of fact, studies show we underestimate the buyer when it comes to valuing industry expertise. that means as accountants we need to promote our expertise more than what we’re doing. building a reputation is part of that and you can do that a lot of different ways.

more small firm growth strategies: 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

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how the smallest firms can make better technology decisions

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johnston, garrett, tankersley
johnston, garrett, tankersley

that means hardware, os and licensing (hello, audit!). bonus checklist: business vs. home computer models.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett, and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

computer hardware and operating systems provide the foundation from which firms and their staff members manage their work tasks every day. while some practitioners focus more on the brand of the system rather than the quality of the components it contains, we believe that all of the major hardware manufacturers make some excellent, business-grade hardware, and they all also make some low-cost, low-quality items targeted at home users that are not appropriate for use in a business environment.

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5 skills to grow your practice

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young businesswoman walking up green line on a graphlisten for your clients’ pain points.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

we’ve worked super-hard on gaining our accounting, tax and auditing skills. those skills alone will keep us working as employees for someone else, but what if we want to go out on our own or grow our business beyond what we have now?

more on small-firm growth strategies: is it time to reboot your practice? | 5 ways to get more referrals | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | two daily rituals: focus and measure | 5 cool ways to streamline data sharing | 7 ways to get new revenue from old clients | 5 things you know that clients don’t

here are five skills to consider adding to your toolbox so you can get ahead faster. how do you rate in each of these areas?
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soloists, small firms cite tech challenges

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johnston, garrett, tankersley
johnston, garrett, tankersley

cost, keeping up with new software among reasons some balk at investing in better tools.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett, and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

the planning and execution of the firm’s technology strategy is one of the areas where solo practitioners and small firms struggle the most. thirty-two percent of solos and 24 percent of small firms were very concerned about “understanding the technology options and selecting the right ones for the practice.” additionally, 26 percent of solo practitioners and 16 percent of small firms reported “staying informed about current technology” was a major concern of theirs.

more: an it department of 1? soloists, small firms relate

unfortunately, most firms are not using basic management tools like preparing a budget so that resources can be conserved to replace the hardware and applications when necessary. while practitioners like to complain about the cost of their technology tools, compared to not having the tools, the return on investment in technology is significantly better than that of hiring additional employees.

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is it time to reboot your practice?

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man in suit pushing a restart button4 steps to turn things around.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

how does your current business look compared to the one you dreamed about before you started your entrepreneurial journey?

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 ways to get more referrals | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | 5 cures for the summertime blues | two daily rituals: focus and measure | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 9 ways accountants throw away profits | if you don’t develop your business, who will? | draw new clients in like a magnet | 9 ways to increase sales through ‘power networking’ | 3 ways to test your revenue forecast | whip out the wow factor for clients | how to work the same hours and make more money | take advantage of 4 key marketing strategies  | four ways to stop leaving money on the table

do you now have

  • clients you love,
  • a dream team,
  • the financial rewards you are comfortable with and
  • plenty of free time?

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:

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an it department of 1? soloists, small firms relate

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johnston, garrett, tankersley
johnston, garrett, tankersley

tending the details: considerations for email, backup, viruses, websites, retention and remote access.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

small firms require owners to do more back office and supporting work themselves due to the limited number of staff at their disposal.

seventy-one percent of solo practitioners and 30 percent of small firm respondents reported that they personally handle the it support in their firm. smaller firms were much less likely to have others who can assist in the firm, with only 1 percent of solo practitioners and 9 percent of small firms delegating this work to staff or in-house it professionals.

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soloists, small firms cite top challenges

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johnston, garrett, tankersley
johnston, garrett, tankersley

bonus lists: pros and cons of opening an office. top sources of new clients. and how time is spent.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

one of the more significant challenges for a small firm is the determining the proper level of overhead spending to support the firm’s client base as they try to work with clients. despite significant savings in some areas associated with working from home, this lack of infrastructure limits the firm’s ability to

  • hire staff,
  • meet with clients and
  • be accepted as a credible business entity by the larger business community.

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5 ways to get more referrals

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key to leads cloud shapethe first step is knowing who you want. (hint: it’s not “everyone.”)

by sandi leyva
the 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:

more on small-firm growth strategies: 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 3 tips for following up with prospects | 5 ways a deadline can help close a deal | draw new clients in like a magnet | 3 ways to test your revenue forecast | 8 must-haves for a prospect kit | if you’re a ‘best-kept secret’ cut it out! | four ways to stop leaving money on the table

1. know who you want.

the first step may seem obvious, but it’s important to know what type of client you’d like to do business with. many business owners say “everyone.” but if you say that, the reaction is that people don’t know of anyone. it’s counterintuitive, but it’s far better to provide a narrow description of an ideal referral than it is to ask for any old name. when your friends hear the detailed description, they can search their personal black book to see if anyone meets that criteria. you’re far more likely to get one or two great matches with detailed information than you will asking for anyone.

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cpa cannabiz boom

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250 new clients in two years.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

cannabizcpa.pro

for a couple of years now, guske & co. pllc, has been venturing into a vast new niche in the great northwest where the people are nice, easy-going entrepreneurs with a pioneering spirit and a willingness to learn, follow rules, and take risks. his niche — the booming cannabis biz. booming to the tune of 250 new clients in two years, an annual growth rate of 80 percent.

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how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks

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money coming out of sink faucet and going down drainthree ways to capture lost revenue.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

there are dozens (and maybe hundreds) of ways your practice can leak money.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | 5 cures for the summertime blues | design your business around your strengths | two daily rituals: focus and measure | 5 cool ways to streamline data sharing | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 9 ways accountants throw away profits | 5 ways a deadline can help close a deal | 7 ways to get new revenue from old clients | 11 ways to add value for clients | 3 ways to test your revenue forecast | how to work the same hours and make more money | if you’re a ‘best-kept secret’ cut it out! | four ways to stop leaving money on the table

here are three ideas that are fairly simple to implement and may be some great goals for you to consider.

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need more business? focus on referrals

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sandi leyva and michelle long
leyva and long

a quick spreadsheet can show you where your money comes from now – and the best next targets.

by sandi leyva and michelle long
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

for those who need more business, boosting referrals is the cheapest way. so when we start to look at our marketing from a strategic standpoint, referrals is the channel we want to maximize.

if you’re thinking, “okay, how do i lower mymarketing cost? is that even an option? we spend a lot of time lowering our other expenses so why not lower our marketing costs?

there is an order on how to use marketing based on what is the most effective for professional services, and referrals is one of the cheapest ways we can add additional new clients without spending a lot of money on marketing.

start with a spreadsheet

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