Kieran is the founder and CEO of Satori Accounting. His role is to improve the development of our business and service levels to our clients. As a member of the advisory panel to the Digital Accountancy Show and an advisor on the Early Adopters Hub, Kieran connects with forward thinking digital accountants across the globe to enhance our knowledge and service offering. Kieran enjoys reading, personal development, walking/running and following his beloved of Luton Town FC.
juggling I hear you FirstTab, it is a daily challenge dealing with client cases and problems, marketing for new business, brand development, service/procedures improvement, employee management, admin and finances, CPD etc etc etc.
But we could be doing lots of other more difficult and less rewarding work so we are thankful.
As for "gurus" I have to say I have had success in taking the advice of a few practice development people over the years, complimented with my own reading and research. The main thing is making these ideas work for you, fit into your business, actually doing something and taking action.
Putting our prices up in a systematised and methodical way was the biggest of such things that we have done having taken advice from a "guru". And the best by far.
I started my practice 5 years ago and have experienced similar challenges to you. No doubt there are more people post-qualified who are going it alone, and many non-qualified.
We love Xero and all things cloud based. Whilst this has helped our practice immensely, it has also created more bookkeeping being done by clients with the belief that they need our services less.
The truth is that the reverse situation is actually the case and by getting this message across properly we can grow our business.
Dragons Den was defo a driving factor for me taking the big step! That and being stuck in my old job with no real chance for partnership within the firm.
I would say the key things to help our growth is doing the right service for the right type of client and at the right price. Build a client base to be proud of, not just compliance based and time consuming work.
And getting good clients means better quality clients via referrals!
Totally agree that we love what we do and will always stay fresh and keep going!
the big shift It's happening whether accepted or not and accountants must see the opportunity in this instead of any perceived threat. Thankfully we adopted cloud technology and Xero 5 years ago. We would never look back!
client profiling Sack the PITA "D" clients as soon as practical. Look at how to improve "C" clients and talk to them about what they need to do to fit your firm. Systematise the compliance work and allow bookkeepers to work the system to do more of the compliance work for you. Finally prioritise your "A" clients for higher value services and fees.
I think that allowing others to manage client affairs is OK and actually a good thing for growing and developing a practice, but the principal/partner should always see their clients even if it is only to sit in on their stuff once a year.
I didn't think many of the clients would follow. I did local advertising and networking straightway to try to generate new clients. A few agreed to move with me and these were clients I brought to that firm anyway, and I pushed for extra work and referrals from them as a starting point.
One client who moved was with the old firm about 25 years. Client was having cash flow issues and didn't want any more surprise bills. Asked old firm for a fixed price quotation on 3 occasions. Met the partner a few times but no fixed price was forthcoming. The last meeting basically involved the client asking why they were not willing to give the fixed price only to be told "well we think you're going to Sparkey999 which is why you want a fixed price to compare rates so why should we bother, you've made your mind up"
Client duly leaves, contacts me for a price, was provided with price, agreed to price and pays in advance by SO every month since. Sale of business is imminent and more fees to myself!
All I can say is that sour grapes should be spat out quickly and get back to focusing on your business/clients.
As Mark says, always do the right thing and be seen to do the right thing. Not everyone will see it that way, but if an independent reasonable person would see it that way, and you are confident in your own actions being ethical and more than fair in business, then you have little to worry about.
clients who follow I have dealt with this scenario. As a manager in previous firm many clients dealt with me only with no partner contact. Clients saw myself as the person sorting their affairs. When i went out on my own, many tracked me down.
Despite trying my utmost to smooth out this situation as best possible, my efforts were futile. Clients choose who they want to work with but my previous firm failed to understand this. I copped flack for several months despite doing what i considered the most ethical things, such as contacting my old firm every time a client contacted me and trying to arrange for them to meet the client and put a proposal in place so that they stay put! Problem was my old firm seemed to be quite arrogant and felt that it was only a panic attack by the client, they wouldnt actually leave.
end result was clients leaving on grounds that these meetings were never set up and they felt the old firm didnt want their custom anymore.
so despite my good actions and intentions and agreeing this process before i left, clients make their own choices and you cant control how the old firm reacts or feels towards or about you. But always do the right thing. And be careful which clients you accept in the process!!
Early warning system Something like this would help, as opposed to MLR. Accountants are best judges of those unfit to run ltd companies and this should be highlighted before unfit directors leave many other businesses high and dry, and the public purse too. Granted many such directors/companies are not using an accountant, but surely there's a way of tackling this issue before insolvency hits?
Time billing and menu pricing @Nigel
Out of curiosity, do you agree that time based billing should be avoided? I subscribe to the theory that this method passes all price risk to the customer and the price is delivered at the end of the task/service, both matters being poor form in the 21st century.
Also, do you have similar prices from your menu for similar clients for accounts prep work regardless of client type/size/records?
EDIT: just re-read your post and see that different prices are given to similar clients after negotiation and review of the work involved.
Arriving at the fixed price I offer all clients a fixed price and in general and overall I make a nice profit. My main issue and concern is how do I know if my pricing on a client by client basis is right, without measuring time?
Time based billing is a definite no-no. But should fixed prices be revised up and down based on time records?
Or do we assess jobs on a set of standards, such as bank rec vs no bank rec, then take into account transaction numbers, to arrive at fixed prices which properly assess "value"?
Problem I see with this method is "value" being assessed is not the customers value. Indeed, customers/clients see little value in compliance work anyway.
My answers
juggling
I hear you FirstTab, it is a daily challenge dealing with client cases and problems, marketing for new business, brand development, service/procedures improvement, employee management, admin and finances, CPD etc etc etc.
But we could be doing lots of other more difficult and less rewarding work so we are thankful.
As for "gurus" I have to say I have had success in taking the advice of a few practice development people over the years, complimented with my own reading and research. The main thing is making these ideas work for you, fit into your business, actually doing something and taking action.
Putting our prices up in a systematised and methodical way was the biggest of such things that we have done having taken advice from a "guru". And the best by far.
The Time Vampires..............
.......................enough said!
crowded market
Hi FirstTab,
I started my practice 5 years ago and have experienced similar challenges to you. No doubt there are more people post-qualified who are going it alone, and many non-qualified.
We love Xero and all things cloud based. Whilst this has helped our practice immensely, it has also created more bookkeeping being done by clients with the belief that they need our services less.
The truth is that the reverse situation is actually the case and by getting this message across properly we can grow our business.
Dragons Den was defo a driving factor for me taking the big step! That and being stuck in my old job with no real chance for partnership within the firm.
I would say the key things to help our growth is doing the right service for the right type of client and at the right price. Build a client base to be proud of, not just compliance based and time consuming work.
And getting good clients means better quality clients via referrals!
Totally agree that we love what we do and will always stay fresh and keep going!
Good luck FirstTab.
the big shift
It's happening whether accepted or not and accountants must see the opportunity in this instead of any perceived threat. Thankfully we adopted cloud technology and Xero 5 years ago. We would never look back!
client profiling
Sack the PITA "D" clients as soon as practical. Look at how to improve "C" clients and talk to them about what they need to do to fit your firm. Systematise the compliance work and allow bookkeepers to work the system to do more of the compliance work for you. Finally prioritise your "A" clients for higher value services and fees.
@johnjenkins
I think that allowing others to manage client affairs is OK and actually a good thing for growing and developing a practice, but the principal/partner should always see their clients even if it is only to sit in on their stuff once a year.
I didn't think many of the clients would follow. I did local advertising and networking straightway to try to generate new clients. A few agreed to move with me and these were clients I brought to that firm anyway, and I pushed for extra work and referrals from them as a starting point.
One client who moved was with the old firm about 25 years. Client was having cash flow issues and didn't want any more surprise bills. Asked old firm for a fixed price quotation on 3 occasions. Met the partner a few times but no fixed price was forthcoming. The last meeting basically involved the client asking why they were not willing to give the fixed price only to be told "well we think you're going to Sparkey999 which is why you want a fixed price to compare rates so why should we bother, you've made your mind up"
Client duly leaves, contacts me for a price, was provided with price, agreed to price and pays in advance by SO every month since. Sale of business is imminent and more fees to myself!
All I can say is that sour grapes should be spat out quickly and get back to focusing on your business/clients.
As Mark says, always do the right thing and be seen to do the right thing. Not everyone will see it that way, but if an independent reasonable person would see it that way, and you are confident in your own actions being ethical and more than fair in business, then you have little to worry about.
clients who follow
I have dealt with this scenario. As a manager in previous firm many clients dealt with me only with no partner contact. Clients saw myself as the person sorting their affairs. When i went out on my own, many tracked me down.
Despite trying my utmost to smooth out this situation as best possible, my efforts were futile. Clients choose who they want to work with but my previous firm failed to understand this. I copped flack for several months despite doing what i considered the most ethical things, such as contacting my old firm every time a client contacted me and trying to arrange for them to meet the client and put a proposal in place so that they stay put! Problem was my old firm seemed to be quite arrogant and felt that it was only a panic attack by the client, they wouldnt actually leave.
end result was clients leaving on grounds that these meetings were never set up and they felt the old firm didnt want their custom anymore.
so despite my good actions and intentions and agreeing this process before i left, clients make their own choices and you cant control how the old firm reacts or feels towards or about you. But always do the right thing. And be careful which clients you accept in the process!!
Early warning system
Something like this would help, as opposed to MLR. Accountants are best judges of those unfit to run ltd companies and this should be highlighted before unfit directors leave many other businesses high and dry, and the public purse too. Granted many such directors/companies are not using an accountant, but surely there's a way of tackling this issue before insolvency hits?
Time billing and menu pricing
@Nigel
Out of curiosity, do you agree that time based billing should be avoided? I subscribe to the theory that this method passes all price risk to the customer and the price is delivered at the end of the task/service, both matters being poor form in the 21st century.
Also, do you have similar prices from your menu for similar clients for accounts prep work regardless of client type/size/records?
EDIT: just re-read your post and see that different prices are given to similar clients after negotiation and review of the work involved.
Arriving at the fixed price
I offer all clients a fixed price and in general and overall I make a nice profit. My main issue and concern is how do I know if my pricing on a client by client basis is right, without measuring time?
Time based billing is a definite no-no. But should fixed prices be revised up and down based on time records?
Or do we assess jobs on a set of standards, such as bank rec vs no bank rec, then take into account transaction numbers, to arrive at fixed prices which properly assess "value"?
Problem I see with this method is "value" being assessed is not the customers value. Indeed, customers/clients see little value in compliance work anyway.
Any thoughts folks?