New Year Planning
With the year nearly out and another busy tax season on our doorstep, there’s no better time to start thinking about the improvements we want to make within our accounting practices in the new year.
In order to grow, it’s important to not only continue leveraging cloud technology – but to make the most out of the opportunities it affords.
By doing so, we can make 2017 the biggest and best year yet for our firms.
Expand Your Offerings
Demand for services beyond basic compliance is increasing due to the sheer volume of tasks that are almost completely automated thanks to cloud accounting software. With stronger analytics capability, accountants now have much deeper insight into their clients’ financials – and with that comes the opportunity to devote more time and expertise to our clients on the best path for their businesses.
More accounting firms are offering virtual CFO services to small business clients, giving them access to an experienced financial professional at a fraction of the cost. Using cloud solutions you can share data, create powerful reports with ease and offer financial insight and guidance.
An expansion of offerings doesn’t have to be strictly limited to higher level, visionary services. Consider offering services like onboarding and converting clients to cloud accounting software, creation of custom accounting ecosystems, monthly checkups – all at a fixed price. It’s all about diversifying.
A refined focus on productivity will prove invaluable for accountants in the coming year. By better managing our existing clients, we’ll be able to add new ones and grow.
Be Less Busy and More Billable
If you had a heavy workload this year, distinguish whether the majority was billable work in order to grow your practice next year. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking because you were overloaded there isn’t room for more clients.
In order to improve efficiency in the new year, consider whether you’ve been able to convert the maximum possible number of clients to your cloud accounting platform. Doing so means less back and forth and more collaboration on a single ledger in the cloud. After all, you can only work as fast as your clients let you.
A refined focus on productivity will prove invaluable for accountants in the coming year. By better managing our existing clients, we’ll be able to add new ones and grow. Xero is giving accountants access to the tools to do so with the release of Xero HQ, an enhanced platform for Xero Partners to run their practices more efficiently than ever.
The platform’s Activity Feed prioritizes and displays client work that needs your attention, taking away the pain of digging through client files one at a time. Marketing can be somewhat of a struggle, but Xero HQ also provides help in this area, with the ability to edit your listing on the Xero Advisor Directory directly in the platform.
Take control of how your practice is presented to the world by adding a personal touch and showcasing your industry and expertise in your listing. These are just some of the advanced cloud tools you can use to give your firm the upper hand in 2017.
Make Hiring a Constant Priority
A huge part of what makes a firm successful is the team behind it. While it’s unlikely you’ll have open positions 365 days a year, you should conduct your recruiting strategy as if this is the case.
Make recruiting a constant momentum by being willing to meet with new talent regardless of whether you have an open position. With Millennials fast becoming the largest generation in the workforce, it’s important to create a recruiting strategy with the needs and wants of this subset in mind.
A successful recruiting strategy begins with an alignment of benefits and culture – consider unlimited PTO, flexible work and parental leave.
A dedicated career section on your website that articulates your firm’s culture and accurately expresses size and values is a necessity for successful recruiting and reduces churn. If you’re honest with the right potential employee from the beginning, they will trust you with their career.
Additionally, create relevant content including blogs, videos and more and post them on your website and social media channels – doing so will make your firm memorable and increase your exposure to quality candidates. Millennials are leading the charge when it comes to recruiting today – adapt in order to recruit and retain the best talent from the hiring pool.
By diversifying your offerings, relying on automation and focusing on recruiting, 2017 will become "The Year of Your Firm."
Xero Ambassador David Emmerman is a partner in Emmerman, Boyle & Associates in New York City. For the past 15 years, David has had a passion for working with his small business clients and his team to develop a best-in-class accounting experience. Having had a passion for technology for the past 20 years, his experience with small business owners and cloud-based solutions have come together perfectly in his role as a Xero Ambassador.