Why accountants need to get hands on with clients

I admit to being someone who doesn't go out of his way to seek social intercourse and so for years I tended to keep all but the most important (and pleasant) clients at arm's length but Mark is absolutely right if you do not make the effort to get to know them & their businesses you will always be seen as a 3rd party.  Yes, maybe they will appreciate what you do and it's good enough but could there be more?

In addition to my natural reluctance to get too involved I also found the ticking clock syndrome a barrier both from my side (ie with fee sensitive clients) and obviously from the client's side (being fearful of picking up the phone)  and so, after a great deal of analysis & research, I decided to drop time recording and just quote & bill clients for the work in the year ahead to include the ability for them to contact me as many times as they wanted.  Yes a bit of a cop out but it at least got rid of one half of the syndrome.

The pros & cons of time recording or not, quoted or time based fees, are debated on here ad nauseam (and I have created my fair share) however two years down the line the difference in my working relationships with clients from removing what I and many clients saw as a barrier to the natural flow of information is dramatic and, contrary to what others thought, the exercise has naturally lead to me being able to generate extra work & advice, some of which they needed for years without me knowing it.

For any out there is a similar boat I'd recommend trying it with a sample of long standing "static" (aka boring) clients.

I decided to drop time recording and just quote & bill clients for the work in the year ahead to include the ability for them to contact me as many times as they wanted.  Yes a bit of a cop out but it at least got rid of one half of the syndrome..

Posted by Paul Scholes on Tue, 09/02/2010 - 23:27

We stopped time recording years ago. Amazing how much time you save simply by not having to mess about recording your time. And paying "by the minute" really does wind clients up. Taking an interest in client's businesses, as opoosed to just their profit & loss account, also makes thyem feel more important, as though you actually care about them, not just the fees.

I thought that it was just GIVING a better service to include free telephone advice for my clients but I have found that I benefit too.

If clients are free to contact me their book-keeping is better and saves me time at the year end. They're happy to ring to discuss what they were told by that famous tax adviser "a bloke in the pub" which also makes my life a lot easier.

I'm fairly new so I still record time for my own internal use so that I can check that my fixed fee levels are correct and see where I can tighten up on my own time management. I must remember to add a new category for all the time I spend on Aweb!

My USP is that my clients never have to see me. It is a huge time saving for me and them.

Fortunately it will take humans another 100,000 years of evolution before forming & maintaining relationships via email & telephone takes over from one to one interaction. 

Unfortunately I accept that, for accountants, it may have already arrived.

@Paul Scholes -  Ha Ha. I agree.

I must admit, the larger and more complex the client, the less my method works.