Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/39633
FROM THE TRENCHES A Randy Johnston 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. Switching Software for Better Client Service A standard consulting practice rule is that switching software is expensive. Disruptions to procedures occur, retraining is required, and without careful analysis you may force your organization into a product that has less capability or is more diffi cult to use. We expect clients to switch soſt ware as frequently as they switch physicians or religions. T e benefi ts of switching soſt ware products can be extraordinary when you understand your business needs and pick a good solution. T e disruption can be monumental when a poor solution fi t is selected. Unfortunately, there are times we can't avoid switching, such as when a product is discontinued or when a company ceases to exist. Switching soſt ware has occurred more oſt en this year (and for the right reasons) than we have seen in the last 25+ years. It may be time for you to take your organization in a new direction or to a whole new level … or not. Most tax and accounting fi rms want to take a "safe" approach and do what they've seen others already doing. It's the innovators who will oſt en take a calculated and thoughtful risk, and choose a new or diff erent way to complete their tasks. Safety We respect and have recommended for some time the strategy of choosing your core products from a single vendor. For some fi rms, that typically means large publishers that have all of the products that are needed for ef f iciently and eff ectively running a practice: tax, audit, practice manage- ment, document management, por- tals, and so on. In the United States, com- panies like CCH, Thomson Reuters and Intuit have been building or acquiring products in order to off er a full portfolio. You may want to use 16 16 September 2011 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com solutions from a single publisher with a full portfolio or you may prefer to follow a best of breed approach, choosing solutions from many diff erent suppliers. T e advantages of dealing with large publishers include integration, support services, training, best practices, planning, innovation and vision. But the greatest advantage may be the safety of dealing with a known entity. EMBRACING CHANGE WILL PUT A CHARGE INTO YOUR LIFE AND WILL CONVINCE YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS IMPORTANT AND VITAL TO YOUR CLIENTS. In other sections of this issue, you will see reviews and coverage on payroll and client write-up. CCH, T omson Reuters, Intuit, Sage, AccountantsWorld, CYMA, Open Systems and other publishers off er products in these categories. And as you look at the products reviewed, your comfort level may drop as you see smaller or less well known publishers, even though they may have a superior product or suffi - cient fi nancial strength. I know and trust all of the publishers named above. Risk When you stay on an existing solution, you have known costs, limitations, capabilities and comfort. When you switch soſt ware, you have to manage through product claims, facts, selection, change management, different costs, dismissing prior suppliers, culture change, retraining and a myriad of other factors. T e smaller your organization, the easier this can be. Conversely, the larger the organi- zation, the harder it may be to convey the benefi ts and strategy, and spread the cultural change among the team. It can also be challenging to manage the training and converting of everyone's thinking to the new way of doing things. To manage the risk, you should select and test carefully. Pick only a few people within the organi- zation and a few clients to prove the concept. For example, if you intend to switch clients from ADP or Paychex to an in-house payroll off ering from Intuit or T omson Reuters, then you must be sure that all of the capabilities needed for your clients are included. Further, you should have thought through how marketing, profi tability, and client acquisition and retention improve by off ering this new service in-house. Since fi rms have outsourced payroll for so many years, most practitioners believe they don't want to deal with the hassle or responsibility of payroll. Others have thought again about recurring revenue and increased profi tability by client that includes services beyond compliance. Accounting Software, Payroll & Write-up Are a Start T e AICPA is projecting that the amount of simple tax preparation work will decrease over the next fi ve to 10 years because of more automation, and that audit work will be done by fewer fi rms. Since small fi rms oſt en have 80% or more of their revenue from tax, and larger fi rms frequently have splits of 40% tax and 40% audit, these compliance services need to be augmented by new off erings. When you assist business owners with making money and helping them run their businesses more effectively, the conversations change from the "must dos" of compliance, to the "wouldn't it be great if…" of business advisory services. For most accounting fi rms, off ering services that involve accounting soſt ware, payroll and write-up is the start of becoming a stronger business advisor. These products allow you to build a monthly recurring revenue business that your clients are excited about, and that you can be excited about, too. Large publishers like CCH, T omson Reuters, Intuit and Sage can help you get there. So can smaller publishers like AccountantsWorld, Intacct, Open Systems, CYMA or Xero … if they fi t your client's needs. You will be able to expand the off erings with more capabilities in business analytics, niche spe- cialty advice, wealth management and other specialty off erings. Managing Change One of the biggest challenges you have as an owner or a manager, or perhaps just as an individual person, is managing change. T is topic has been widely covered in many books and articles. My encourage- ment to you is to embrace change. Work with those around you to get through changes in your tech- nology and fi rm as easily as possible. Embracing change will put a charge into your life and will convince you that what you are doing is important and vital to your clients. And isn't that why you entered the profession in the fi rst place?