What's Next For Accounting? - Issue #147

The number 1 driver of customer satisfaction for accountants:

Not: Technical ability
Not: Your tech stack
Not: Your website aesthetic

It's answering the d*** phone. Responding to emails. Following through on [your desired comms channel] within [timeframe your client expected].

It isn’t a high bar these days, but having a system for this is also the best way to protect your time.

13 tips to standardize comms & align expectations:

1. Communicate a standard turnaround time. Doesn’t matter what it is, it just needs to exist.

2. Not all requests are created equal. Your turnaround time is your acknowledgment time. Many requests will take longer to resolve.

3. The only exception is when you’re OOO. So don’t forget your OOO, or pull in a teammate when you’re out.

4. Over-communication beats under-communication. Never be afraid to send a quick update, or a no-update update.

5. Don’t leave turnaround time up to your team to decide. For each role there’s a rule, and we’re all held to our turnaround time rules.

6. Your availability is the most scarce in your firm. If it isn’t, why won’t clients just go to you every time?

7. Design turnaround times to drive client behavior. For example an immediate call with an admin, same-day call with a staff, 72 hour call with the big boss.

8. No channel should jump the line. If you respond to that text, they’ll never follow the flow again.

9. Where possible trade synchronous work - let’s have a quick call to discuss - with asynchronous work - here’s a loom outlining my proposed solution, and a scheduling link if we still need to discuss.

10. In almost no situation should the big boss be taking unscheduled client comms of any kind.

11. Enable self-service where possible. Fetching docs from their portal, paying an invoice online etc.

12. Integrate response times into how team members are incentivized. Be careful rewarding over-responsiveness, but keep a close eye on under-responsiveness.

13. Wrangle rogue channels. You make the rules about how clients can interact with your firm. Any comms outside those channels must be redirected.

Clients are no different than mice in a maze! If they can get the cheese by texting you, calling you directly, they’ll never go through your team again.

💎 This Week's Sponsor
How Proper Card Management ELIMINATES Preaccounting Work (in 7 minutes) 👇

📅 This Week

• Two pods this week diving into my favorite new book of the year for accountants, Down To 40:

  • The questions to ask during discovery that’ll ensure you maximize pricing opportunities Video Audio

  • The hard decision to position your firm for better paying work Video Audio

• I shared the story of an accountant building a firm on Upwork, and how to grow beyond the platform

• The internet’s own Mike Sylvester & Rebecca Driscoll launched an accountant community

• Running a side hustle accounting firm? A small group of folks doing this recently launched a Discord server to support each other

• A large tax advisory software provider is looking for a VP of marketing - hit reply if you’d like an intro

🤓 Nerd Corner

• A bunch of accountants discussing their favorite pencils

• This new app just grew to over 1M users in less than 3 days - it’s like Notion, but for building AI agents from scratch

• How to use Zapier to pump Cognito Forms submissions into a shared Google Sheet so you don’t need more ppl in your Cognito account

• Spreadsite takes any spreadsheet you upload and turns it into a dashboard

• Minority Report has arrived, as Argentina plans to use AI to predict crime before it happens

🔮 Q&A

How do we communicate VALUE to clients so they understand it's worth more than our fees? Link
Solving for pains your client already feels will always be easier than convincing them of your value. As a starting point, examine your current client list to identify why your best clients value you highly. Identify the meaningful pains you’re solving for them, and use those pains to attract similar clients. Discuss these pains online & at trade shows consistently and people will find you.

How can I find another accountant to partner with? Link
Access to connections is a product of your willingness to be visible and engage with the professional community. Leverage social media and online communities to connect with like-minded professionals. But before jumping into an equity agreement, consider a more reversible approach. For example a partnership with a firm who will do the tax work for your bookkeeping clients, provide sales tax advisory, etc. You could always do an equity deal down the road, but jumping straight into it is risky.

Any advice for buying out a retiring firm owner? Link
Look out for outdated systems and practices. The effort required to modernize such a firm and retrain staff can be substantial. Look for progressive firms that align with your tech stack and price appropriately. Always weigh the trade-offs between buying an existing practice and building your own. Buying is usually a faster path to cash flow, but the trade-off is the cost & strain of change management.

Is accounting still worth studying in 2024 with AI on the horizon? Link
AI will likely change how accounting work is done, but the need for accountants will persist due to ongoing regulatory and reporting requirements. Today’s talent shortage is only set to worsen as accountants retire. AI presents an existential threat to all knowledge work, but due to the regulatory aspect of what we do, accounting seems low on the list of those professions that could be on a path to extinction.

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Tax Manager | 120-160k
Need centralized ops & tax manager to get me out of the way
GoSystems Tax, Canopy, Quickbooks Online

Junior Bookkeeper - Up to 50k
Seeking self-directed professionals who can thrive in a remote environment
Karbon, Lacerte, QBO, O365/SharePoint, Ignition

Tax Senior - 80-95k
Need more champions of change as our industry evolves
Axcess Tax, Axcess Workflow, Engagement, BNA Tax Planner, Acrobat

Client Lead - 65-75k
We can use more folks who love to automate & optimize
QBO, Gusto, Bill, Ramp, Karbon, Keeper, Teams, Zapier, Loom

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