Setting Your Practice Up for Success in 2024
Keys to business success include strategy, the right people, marketing well, operational efficiency and keeping organized finances. It sounds easier said than actually done, especially for tax practitioners entering tax season. As we enter our busiest time of year though, it’s even more important to consider the factors that help drive success. Simply being “busy” is a great distraction from looking at whether your practice is growing and growing in the right ways.
Success starts with a plan, and this is something that many of us easily sidestep when we get busy, burnt out, and are putting in a lot of hours. Contrary to popular belief, simply taking on as much tax work as possible to generate sales isn’t a healthy long-term strategy, but one that we can easily slip into when the sales are easy.
If you really want to build a sustainable practice, go into tax season with clarity about what kinds of new clients you’re looking for, and realistic expectations of what you can take on. You must be willing to say no when projects come across your desk that you are not the best fit for your firm. If you don’t turn down work that isn’t right for you, you’ll find you and your team burning out faster than ever and your client turnover ratio will eventually make your head spin. Neither is going to contribute to long-term profit margins.
Market yourself strategically to only what you want to take on. If you’re not willing to work with small 1040s, don’t put up social posts and advertisements with individual tax planning strategies, but instead consider local chambers of commerce and business groups. These types of small tweaks will help your business grow with my stability which will in turn result in less stress and burnout.
Operational efficiency is another absolute necessity to success drive future growth. A big part of this in tax practices is technology. Having the right team is also crucial, but even the right team working in an inefficient environment isn’t going to last. Firms need to stay abreast of what tech stacks are the right fit for their work and size and deploy a consistent strategy of training and development to ensure they aren’t staying stagnant.
Unfortunately, fewer, and fewer tax professionals are coming into the profession. With staffing shortages not looking to improve any time soon, gaining efficiency through technology is a key component of a successful firm.
If you haven’t given much thought to these success tips before now, your best strategy to deploy before tax season is organization and clarity around new customers. Defining what type of new work, you want and how much you can take on is something that can reasonably be done in the next couple of weeks before the busy season starts to take hold. Marketing, hiring, and tech strategies are probably best left to when you’re not drowning in billable hours. But you can make sure you’re making strategic decisions about your workload and honestly assessing your current processes before the busy season starts.
Taking an honest approach towards what you can improve upon in the new year is the first step towards building a long-term practice.
Christine Gervais
Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and providing strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.