Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing series highlighting this year's Insightful Accountant's "Top 100 ProAdvisors." Over the remainder of the year, we will introduce you to our winners, getting their insights on a wide range of topics, including what it is like to be a leader in their profession, how to stay on top and what the future holds.
It was a pattern that Carrie Kahn knew had its advantages. When more and more of her customers started asking for solutions specific to their respective industries, she created, what she calls, a go-to network of professionals. The group enabled her to find the "best" of an industry on a support level to serve her clients.
Thanks to these types of initiatives, The Complete Business Group (CBG), of which Carrie is founder and CEO, is helping ensure its clients are in the right products.
With more than 20 years of experience, Carrie continues to help small business owners and their staffs implement the most cost-effective and easy-to-use QuickBooks accounting solutions for their businesses. Her team's diligence has driven CBG to be one of the largest and fastest growing Intuit Premier Resellers in the world.
As an Intuit Reseller specializing in QuickBooks products and services, Carrie and her team help provide solutions to end users. Carrie also developed a partner program to mentor ProAdvisors and enable them to earn commissions, rather than leaving money on the table.
In addition, Carrie serves as a host and QuickBooks Product Expert for the Accountants, Bookkeepers, and Business Owners (ABBO) Facebook Group. Her industry recognized leaderships has landed her as a "Top 100 QuickBooks ProAdvisor of the Year" for 2014, 2105 and 2016. This year, she was named "2017 Top Social Media Resources ProAdvisor."
Carrie also is a voice to the IRP channel and serves on its Advisory Council. She has been in the Top 10 Intuit Premier Resellers (IRP’s) since 2012 and currently is ranked No. 1 in the East.
What does it mean to you to be recognized out of more than 200,000 ProAdvisors in the world?
It’s quite an honor each year and the competition is growing. It's really nice to be recognized by my peers.
Your first thoughts on getting news of the honor?
Very excited to be selected and be included in a list of ProAdvisors considered the "best of the best."
How has your ProAdvisor practice changed or evolved over the last couple of years?
We have added a Partner program to our practice so that we can collaborate on support projects and my partners can earn money recommending QuickBooks products.
Why is continuing to enhance your skills and acumen critical to staying one step ahead of the curve?
Technology is quickly changing, especially in the world of QuickBooks. They continue to add features, change pricing and have moved to subscriptions. I love learning about QuickBooks and decided to develop my “niche” as a QuickBooks Product Expert. My focus is to stay up to date on the different options of QuickBooks products, subscriptions and integrated solutions.
Give us a snapshot of today's accounting landscape. What are you seeing out there?
I see a huge shift to automating our processes. I have been working on this in my business for the past few years and have seen a tremendous growth as a result. There is also more information available than ever for free. I encourage all ProAdvisors to get their Advance certifications. It will help elevate you in the community and better serve your clients.
What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
It’s ok to collaborate; you don’t have to fear your competition. Find those you work well with and they can become an extension of your team. You should always follow your gut and work with those who have a similar level of customer service as you.
What is the story that best describes how you help your clients?
I have found that so many customers are coming to us looking for specific solutions within their industry. By creating my go to network of professionals, I am able to find the best of the industry on a support level to serve my clients. With our resources, we're also able to ensure our clients are in the right products at our best and sometimes lifetime discounts.
How do you create balance in your work and personal life?
I do several things. To start, I delegate personal tasks so I can focus on doing more things I love. I have set work hours so I can spend time with my family. When I am on family time, I shut off my phone, close my office door and I am present with them. Being an entrepreneur and working from home is a big responsibility, but you also have much more flexibility. I can schedule in activities like kids awards ceremonies and so forth to sprinkle a little personal during my work time.
What's on your to-do list the rest of 2017?
I am continuing to automate processes for our company. I am developing content for our partners to add to the partner resource center for training and to answer product questions. In addition, we're setting up systems for streamlined workflow for processing orders. I serve on the IRP council, attend Intuit Direct demo days and plan to attend Quickbooks Connect. All of our initiatives are centered around supporting partners and growing our company.
Special thanks to our program sponsors, including Canon imageFORMULA Document Scanners, ADP, Finagraph, "Scaling New Heights" and Intuit's QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program.