CPA Practice Advisor

JAN 2013

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/99887

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 9 of 35

FROM THE TRENCHES By Randy Johnston Doing Less May be More T he demands from clients, team members, and all of those around us continue to increase. In the name of great client service we ofen try to expand services to cover these demands, but is that the right strategy? Because technology has been a great enabler, we have been able to do more with less, but is that the right strategy? Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you want something done, ask a busy person." Tis was later paraphrased by Lucille Ball to, "If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. Te more things you do, the more you can do." Tis may be efcient, but perhaps not an efective way of delivering client service. Perhaps David Henry Toreau was correct when he said: "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." Can we provide great client service by focusing on doing less, but doing it beter? The Idea Most of us have one or two core competencies. Our clients frequently Mr. Johnston is executive vice president and partner of K2 Enterprises and Network Management Group, Inc. He is a nationally recognized educator, consultant and writer with over 30 years' experience. He can be contacted at randy.johnston@cpapracticeadvisor.com. 10 ask us to stretch in a direction that seems atractive and interesting, but is beyond our core competency or interest. Certainly we want you to grow and expand your expertise. Entering completely new lines of business while maintaining old lines of business can be distracting. Consider the oferings you have today in your practice. Most firms perform tax services for both business and individuals, although many would prefer exclusively doing business tax. Larger frms ofer audit services, but many smaller frms have concluded that the regulatory requirements are excessive for the return on this service. Specialized services like litigation support, wealth management, DCAA compliance or an expatriate tax practice can be highly atractive services. Bookkeeping services have come back into vogue because technology can help make the service easier to deliver. Examples of technologies that have improved this offering include: SmartVault for document management, ShareFile for fle transfers, Bill. com for Accounts Payable processing, Payroll Services from ADP, PayChex, Intuit and others, online accounting with products like QuickBooks Online, Accounting Relief, Xero, Monchilla, Wave, Freshbooks and SageOne. Hosting of QuickBooks and Sage 50 allow the traditional desktop products to be run in data centers giving real-time access by both the client and the accountant. But just because you CAN do it all, January 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com do you want to? What areas of business of those services. and the practice of accounting are your It is wise to discuss services of the strengths? Where do the strengths of past year, and proposed services of the your team lie? Do you have a vision of coming year. Have a plan for each what you want your client that responds to frm to be? Note that their needs. Consider t he fol low i ng a re monthly payments JUST BECAUSE YOU examples, not suggesf rom c l ient s t h at tions of what your frm faten out cash fow CAN DO IT ALL, could look like. Only and reduce collection you, your partners, efforts. Recognize DO YOU WANT TO? and your team can do that some good, longthat. term clients may not • Add one value added ft your defnition of service per client per the new, good clients. year, until there are at least four You can use the 80/20 rule to underservices being used by all clients. stand the value of much of your client • Provide all services on tablet techbase and the value your expertise. nology. Remember that there are three basic • Integrate all services on your web technology strategies: on-premise, site. hosted in the cloud and SaaS. You can • Respond to all client requests in less mix all three of these options making than ėve minutes through automated a hybrid choice. response and within four business Educate your team on the client hours. service strategy, the technology and • Perform interactive ėnancial reviews the culture of the frm you are trying monthly. Schedule face-to-face client to achieve. Bring your team along with visits at least quarterly. you on this journey. You have to • Maintain reasonable work hours communicate well to be successful. during tax season and throughout the year, typically less than 50 hours/ The Results week total. W hile results vary based on the • Compensate partners and team people, clients and locale, these members 20 percent above the going strategies work globally. You can rate in your area. expect to provide higher client satisfac• Provide the ability to work from any tion, work less, make more and have location to all team members. overall beter team and client satisfac• Allow ample vacation time for all tion. team members. Use technology as the lever that • Schedule all tax returns at the makes all of this happen. Less complex beginning of the season, filing and fewer pieces of technology can extensions where needed. run smoother and with less cost. Be • Create relationships that allow for cautious of vendor's promises of what ėxed fee billing, increasing revenue they can do. Even if a vendor can do in the process. what they say, it may not be what you need and want. Go with teams that The Execution have proven track records and that Spend some time considering how understand your business model. you'd like the practice to evolve. Tese teams may give you even more Schedule times to listen to your clients. ideas of services that add more value Understand the technologies that it to your clients. takes to deliver those services. Create client service documents that explain the services you provide and the value

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of CPA Practice Advisor - JAN 2013