Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/44903
value pricing and ditch her hourly billing model. "My clients have never so much as questioned my fi xed fee. Knowing that under this fee there is no restriction on my time, they are in immediately," Abel explained. Still Growing Strong "I'm up to 45 clients and predict continued growth," Abel said. "It's just so easy to service clients in the virtual environment. I can now accomplish tasks in minutes." Because her fi rm is established in and SmartVault for storing and exchanging files," Abel said. "My transition was quick because all the technologies were incredibly intuitive — for both me and my clients." For many of Abel's clients, one training session on the solution was all that was needed. Some didn't require training at all and were able to get up and running by following a concise instruction guide supplied by Abel. A few months later, Abel enhanced her fi rm's workfl ow by adding Fujitsu's ScanSnap. "T ere is no reason to have paper at all," Abel said. "Because ScanSnap fully integrates with my document management system, I can scan docs, and with just a few mouse clicks, data is fi led electronically within the proper client folder. It's all there, at my fi n- gertips, accessible in seconds." Abel admit ed to having a few "paper hold-outs" among her clients. She honored these clients' requests to be leſt out of the Cloud, but was also direct on what they were missing. "I explained that online services off er unlimited access to me. At any time a client can request a fi le and have it sent immediately," Abel said. Abel's paper-based clients are also restricted to a set number of hours per month. Under her fee scale, clients receive four hours of onsite time for review and consulting. If more time is required, they pay extra. For her web-based clients, the lines of com- munication are open 24/7. "I was direct with clients when it came to my time," Abel explained. "If they were online, they had all of me. If not, they didn't." With a highly effi cient workfl ow in place, Abel was also able to implement the Cloud, she was also able to hire two part-time contract employees without leasing offi ce space. "I have one employee in Michigan and one here in Sarasota. Both work from their homes like I do and have full access to the technology and data," Abel explained. Overall, Abel's outlook on the future of Lime & Company is bright. Cloud computing completely changed the way she operates her fi rm and serves her clients. By eliminating the boundaries of time and distance, growth potential is unlimited. "Technology is what initially held me back," Abel said. "But in the end, it's what allowed me to launch my fi rm and grow very quickly. I would tell anyone thinking about starting a fi rm, but intimidated by technology, to look into Cloud applications. These advanced technologies really do take IT out of the equation." Kristy Short, Ed.D Kristy is a partner in RootWorks Communications (RootWorks. com) and president of SAS Communications 360 (SAScommunications360.com) — fi rms dedicated to providing practice management education, branding, marketing, and public relations services to the accounting profession. She is also a professor of English and marketing at University of Phoenix and Cleary University. You can reach her at kristy.short@cpapracticeadvisor.com. ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS. Lime & Company is a service based accounting practice that goes beyond basic bookkeeping services to offer you complete solutions that will help you succeed with your small business. We work in partnership with you to cre- ate a service package that will support your personalized business needs. Some of the services we offer include: • Accounting & Bookkeeping • Consulting • Payroll Processing Lime & Company is proud to service clients at all levels. Let us show you how we can help your business succeed today. If you'd like us to consider sharing your fi rm's story of innovation in a future issue, go to www.CPAPracticeAdvisor. com/great-practices and complete the short form. We want to hear from you. November 2011 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 7