Ready for a Change to Your Work-Your-Tail-Off Busy Season Routine?

The difference between accounting practice owners that make a meager living and those that are far more comfortable financially can often come down to just one or two skills that are easily learned.

Most accounting professionals build their technical tax and accounting skills – far more than they need to – but they ignore the more important set of practice management and development skills that will help them take their practices to the next level. They keep reaching for technical credentials because that’s the more comfortable road.

But it’s also the less profitable road.

The good news is hundreds of accountants and QuickBooks consultants are figuring that out and finding an easy way to get the skills they need to make more. The Accountant’s Accelerator program is specifically designed for QuickBooks consultants, CPAs, EAs, and bookkeepers who want to earn more, work less, and serve clients better. And you can get a complimentary, no-strings, no-heavy-sales-pitches, Sneak Peek into the program this Thursday.

http://accountantsaccelerator.com/aa-sneak-peek/

This program not only helps you learn the skills you need to move from technician to business owner, but it also helps you leverage your time by providing lots of done-for-you materials in all areas of your practice. Here are some excerpts from members:

— “I am getting so much out of the exposure to new ideas and new developments!” – Tracy
–“Three or four more leads per week.” Jemel
–“It gave me motivation and clarity to do what I need to do to generate more income.” —K.K.
–“You put together great programs!” –Diane
–“A big eye opener.” — Cherri
— “I love your products and am enjoying my training so much. … you are an inspiration to women and to me.” – Brigid
–“I appreciate how much I have learned from you.” — Cindy
–“Immediately useful. She understands accountants, our weaknesses and turns those into strengths through her program. –Jeff

I’m excited to invite you to my complimentary “Sneak Peek” webinar on Thursday, January 19, 2017. Find out who’s in the program, what you get, what the sample forms and templates are, 1 hour CPE, and a bonus (to be announced). You can sign up right here:
http://accountantsaccelerator.com/aa-sneak-peek/

If you’re ready for more income in 2017, then take action to find out more about this life-changing and practice-changing program. Sign up and mark your calendar for your complimentary “Sneak Peek.”

To your success,

Sandi

P.S. Feel free to invite your friends, but reserve your spot first. Register here at no cost to you:

Accountant’s Accelerator 2017 Sneak Peek

Ten Quick and Easy Tips for a Better Busy Season

Happy new year!  A new year gives us new perspectives and the chance to adopt new ideas.  That’s today’s topic.

On Thursday, January 19, 2017, I’m hosting a complimentary webinar “Accountant’s Accelerator Sneak Peek,” and YOU are invited!  This webinar will help you identify where you might be leaving easy money on the table, give you an edge to take your practice to the next level, and learn the most common mistakes of accounting practices so you don’t make them.  Sign up here at no cost to you (1 hour CPE):

http://accountantsaccelerator.com/aa-sneak-peek/

Ten Quick and Easy Tips for a Better Busy Season

Another busy season is upon us.  Are you feeling excited, anxious, or dread?  It’s probably a mix, but hopefully there’s more excitement than any other emotion since you will be helping so many more people during busy season than any other time of the year.  Here are ten easy-to-implement ideas to help your busy time go smoother than ever.

1. Get paid in advance.

If you have issues with clients paying your fee, change your collection policy this year, especially for clients who have not paid promptly in the past.  Most tax preparers price by fixed fee, usually by form and complexity, so it should be easy to collect the client’s money before you hit the e-file button.  If you bill hourly, it will take extra time, so weigh the pros and cons and do what’s right for you, not the client.

2. Automate your scheduling

Cut out hundreds of emails this year by allowing clients to set and change their own appointments, limited by the time blocks you allow.  An automated scheduling system will do the trick.  Try ScheduleOnce, which is what I use, or TimeTrade, which many mid-sized firms use.  Or Google “scheduling app” to find your own.

3. Reduce re-work

Wait until all of a client’s papers are in before reviewing and completing the return.  This won’t avoid all rework, but it will reduce it.  Use a checklist to see what’s in and what you are still waiting for, and have an admin monitor the list, send reminders, and notify you when everything is complete.

4. Eliminate annual errands

The requirements of modern life can take away precious time and focus during busy season.  These are things like car maintenance, annual medical appointments, CPE deadlines due to birthdays, home repair tasks, and other requirements.  Move as many of these tasks that you can to before or after season so you don’t have so many interruptions.

5. Automate your marketing

Don’t stop marketing during season; it’s the best time to get new clients.  Instead, automate as much as you can by using marketing technology.  Write your newsletters and schedule them in advance.  Write your social media posts, and schedule them using an app like HootSuite.  Update your website now.  Map out any networking meetings, and do any prep work you need to do ahead of time.

6. Get help with domestic tasks

If you don’t already have someone during season to do personal and/or business errands such as grocery shopping, prescription pickups, dry cleaning runs, post office duties, bank errands, and all the little chores that won’t wait, then get someone.  Also make sure you outsource housekeeping, lawn care, pool care, snow shoveling, and any other jobs that you shouldn’t be doing during season.

7. Update your technology

Avoid technology problems and changes during season by scheduling updates before and after your busy time.  Buy new equipment well before or after busy time.

8. Get busy earlier

Offer your clients an incentive or discount to get their documents in as early as possible.  You will be surprised what people will do for five percent off.

9. Batch your work

Interruptions are your enemies, not just during tax season, but all year long.  Learn to create blocks of time to knock out groups of like tasks back to back to reduce restart time and task switching time.  Back-to-back your appointments two to three days a week and leave your other days clear for uninterrupted client work.  Check your email only once or twice a day.   Schedule all phone calls, if possible, and don’t answer if you’re in the middle of client work.  Train staff to visit you once a day, not every five minutes, to ask their questions.

10. Systematize client onboarding

Hopefully, you’ll have a slew of new clients to bring on.  Make sure your onboarding process is systematized for you and for them so that you can get them started as smoothly as possible.  Create a welcome kit that tells them about your process and what to expect so that you’re not having to repeat the conversation over and over again.

Use these ten easy tips as a checklist to see what you can do to make your busy season more efficient and more profitable than ever.

Want more tips like this?  Join our free http://accountantsaccelerator.com/aa-sneak-peek/

Accountant’s Accelerator 2017 Sneak Peek

Are you looking for an edge that will help you grow your accounting practice? Would you like to find a way to make the “marketing” part of your business a little easier? Are you just starting (or starting over) your accounting business and need to find clients?

Join us on Thursday, January 19, 2017 to find out how:

http://accountantsaccelerator.com/aa-sneak-peek/

Five Trends for the Modern Accountant in 2017

As 2016 winds down, it’s a time for celebration and reflection.  What will you focus on in 2017 to make your life and your business even better than it is now?  What new skills and tools do you need to make these transformations?  That’s today’s topic.

The team at Accountant’s Accelerator wishes you and your families a very happy holiday season and an exciting and successful new year.

Five Trends for the Modern Accountant in 2017

As accountants, our daily work is full of to-the-penny details that keep us focused on transactions, charts, data, and numbers all day long.  We have to be good at the details to be in our industry.  But we also need to be able to move from the trees to the forest and see the big picture.

It’s such an exciting time to be an accountant.  Not only are they making cool movies about us, we are seeing so many exciting and productive changes that we can benefit from.  Here are some sweeping trends and how to measure how your firm stacks up.

From Compliance to Advisory

The most exciting change for me is how accountants are making a difference in the lives of owners of small businesses.  A study by Intuit showed that when small business owners hire an accountant, their success rate goes up by … drumroll, please…. a whopping 89%.   Did you realize you had that much impact on your small biz clients? You are truly dream shapers for these entrepreneurs.

As compliance work becomes automated, advisory work will take on a larger role in your business.  One measure of how your firm is doing is to calculate the percentage of revenue that comes from compliance work vs. advisory work.  The modern accounting firm is generating a growing percentage of advisory work year after year.

From Hourly Billing to Value Pricing

As data entry becomes more and more automated each year, hourly billers are actually giving themselves a demotion year after year by staying with this pricing method.  More than half of the profession has switched to fixed or flat fee pricing or a version of that: package pricing.  Many are also value pricing which is a better way to price high return-on-investment engagements.

How is your firm doing in this area?  What percentage of revenue is being priced by the hour versus flat fee or value pricing?  As the mainstream catches on to fixed and value pricing, the hourly pricing method will be less and less common.

I still think hourly pricing is easier when you first get started, but as soon as you have some history, you should move to a better pricing method.

From Operations to Multiple Functions

In the traditional accounting firm partnership and compensation model, the emphasis has been to promote accountants who were good technically as well as able to bring in business.  This makes for a great service for clients, but often shortchanges development of other corporate functions, such as sales and marketing and human relations.  Newer business models are appearing that don’t have these deficits, which leads to a more well-rounded corporate business model for accounting firms.

From Desktop to Cloud

Today I just moved my last desktop app, Outlook email, to Google apps email in the cloud. My accounting system, my scheduling system, my to-do list, my payroll system, and a huge number of other vendor apps are all in the cloud now.  All of our client delivery is done via the cloud.  We are nearly 100% cloud-based.

Measure how your firm fares by calculating the ratio of desktop apps to cloud apps.  More and more firms are moving everything to the cloud for better accessibility, security, and collaboration.

From Technician to CEO 

As accountants, almost all of us start out being technicians.  We’re good at accounting and taxes.  As our business grows, our skill set needs to expand from accounting knowledge to CEO-level skills: deal-making, pricing, developing new markets, and managing and growing people, to name a few.

Do you see yourself more as a technician working on client work, or do you see yourself developing your staff, your clients, and your business by adding these skill sets?  You can rank yourself based on the amount of time you spend being a technician versus being a CEO.

A Great Start to 2017

This month, we have a chance to reflect on the trends above, assess where our firms stand, and decide on a course of action that will take us where we want to go in 2017.  How did your firm rate in each of the above trends?  Which trend should you start improving first?

The good news is a growing number of practice consultants, including our team at Accountant’s Accelerator, are focusing on providing marketing and practice management training and support for the small CPA firm.  This means you have easy access to courses and tools that can help you modernize your practice.

Create your 2017 plan, and perhaps your New Year’s resolutions, around these five trends, and watch your success grow in 2017.

Accountant’s Accelerator 2017

I’m super-jazzed to announce Accountant’s Accelerator 2017, which will be two different products: a library of the last 6 years of AA’s “greatest hits,” and a live webinar series across 2017 of 6 multi-webinar courses with CPE.

The training content that has been Accountant’s Accelerator for the last six years is now available in the all-new Accelerator Library, making it more affordable than ever. With full access through December 31, 2017, you can watch dozens of training videos, download dozens of forms, samples, and templates, and learn from several ebooks, all designed to help you make more, work less, and serve clients better.

Regular $199, now $149 through December 23, 2016.

Find out more and sign up here:

http://acceleratorlibrary.com/

The second product is a series of 6 live webinars to be held throughout 2017 on topics including value pricing, practice management mastery, marketing, selling and proposals, and advisory opportunities.  For the first time ever, Advisor Accelerated plus an Advanced Advisor course is included in this series.

We don’t have all the descriptions and dates posted yet, but we know some of you are already ready to commit to the 2017 schedule and want to spend some profits down in 2016. You will be able to sign up for each of these courses separately at prices ranging from $149 to $299, but if you plan to attend all of them, you will benefit from the All-You-Can-Eat price of $497.

Find out more and sign up for one or all here:

http://accountantsaccelerator.com/schedule-2017/

Why 2017 Is the Year of The Accountant

Accountants have finally arrived.  This upcoming tax season and year-end should be the best you ever have in your career.  Here’s why.

I got my CPA in 1980.  (Yes, I was three years old.)  A few years later, in 1984, a movie came out that had a character that was an accountant.  Played by the excellent actor Rick Moranis, this accountant was a slimy, gossipy, short, bald stereotype that was not pretty for the profession.  The movie was Ghostbusters.

I have suffered for 32 years with that stereotype, and you might have, too.  Do you have clients who don’t make their document deadlines?  Who don’t value your time?  Who don’t pay their bills?

Well, that can all stop in 2017.  Here’s why.

In 2016, the movie The Accountant came out.  The character who is an accountant is played by Ben Affleck.  He is tall, good-looking, brilliant, and competent.  There’s even a beautiful female co-star, Anna Kendrick.

Not only is the accountant good-looking and competent, he is armed and deadly.  Since he works for many mafia and mob-like clients, he is skilled in the art of respect and survival.

After 32 years of suffering, there is hope.  In 2017 when the 2016 tax season starts, our stereotype can finally change.  I recommend you send out movie passes to The Accountant along with your tax organizers.

Now when your clients don’t make their deadlines, don’t pay their bills, or don’t value your time, just remind them of the new stereotype of the accountant.

Have a wonderful year-end and busy season.

The Easiest Way to Increase Revenue in Your Accounting Business

The easiest way to increase revenue in your firm is to raise prices. That’s a quick short-term answer that can work year after year, except if you are still billing by the hour. In the long term, hourly billers have a more systemic problem to solve as compliance work becomes more and more automated.

Many in our profession say that value pricing is the answer, but I don’t believe it works well with all clients and all services. Ron Baker is a well-respected genius who has led the charge to value pricing for decades among large accounting firms, and his beliefs are that you should not only throw out timesheets, but you should also throw out the clients who don’t accept your value-based prices.

Most of us in the smaller firms simply can’t afford that extreme view. A few of you have numerous micro-business clients (under $1MM in revenue), and value pricing can be harder in that market (and even in the $3 to $20MM market) than in the large firms where you have scale and leverage on your side.

Rather than jump off a cliff, my view is to take one step at a time as you are comfortable. Baby steps if you have to. But first, let’s tease apart where most people are getting stuck in pricing their accounting and tax services.

Step 1. Don’t let anyone dictate how you should price.

Hourly billing and value pricing are two pricing options, each at opposite ends of the pricing spectrum. I really don’t know why more thought leaders aren’t steering you to the middle. I like the middle. I am financially conservative like that. I think most accountants like the middle of the road. Even if you want to go to the extreme, staying in the middle for a while will reduce your risk and build your skills on your way there.

Step 2. Learn about all the pricing options in and outside our industry.

Even if you are happy with your pricing, it just makes sense to get some training on pricing if you never have. At the least, you’ll be able to better understand your clients’ many different business models and pricing options. And you will be able to feel like you’ve done your due diligence with regard to your own firm’s pricing choices.

If you feel pressured about how you are pricing or feel like you are missing out on something, then education is the way to resolve those feelings.

Step 3. Realize it’s not an all-or-none choice.

When making a pricing choice, you don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is where many accountants are getting stuck:

Fact 1: Value pricing is a no-brainer when it comes to pricing high-ROI engagements, once you know the formula. People are getting stuck value-pricing low-ROI compliance work as well as lower ROI engagements.

Fact 2: The value pricing process is a little bit different depending on whether you are working in a large firm or small firm. Value pricing implementation is also different depending on what size business client you are working with.

Fact 3: The process to value-price recurring monthly work differs from the process to value-price one-time projects, and when there is both, often when a client first comes to you, you need to separate them when you work out the price.

Fact 4: The very definition of value pricing varies among thought leaders, confusing practitioners even more than they already are.

Fact 5: In many cases, true academic value pricing requires a higher level of sales and negotiation skills than most accountants possess.

Fact 6: Value pricing is the most profitable of all pricing methods (or is it?). In theory, this is true, but in practice, you need to account for lost work, increased selling cycle, and extensive training. By the end of all that, package or fixed pricing with a high margin component might be your better bet.

Step 4. Make a smart decision about your pricing.

It’s your firm. If you want to keep hourly billing, it’s your choice. IF you want to value price and throw out your timesheets, it’s your company. I believe most accountants will implement something in the middle once they understand the options: fixed pricing, package pricing with a value component, or something else.

And that’s why we’re offering our pricing course starting November 9. We’ve found that a boost in pricing, selling, proposal, and/or estimating skills is what really makes a difference when increasing your revenue in your accounting business.

5 Ways to Add More Profit When Pricing Your Accounting Services

Why are some accountants able to get a higher price for their services than others? There are a multitude of basic reasons, such as education and expertise. But there are also several factors that are completely within your control and that will greatly affect your profitability. Here are five for you to consider:

Mix compliance with advisory

You need to perform the compliance work because that’s the foundation of what your client needs. But clients don’t necessarily value the compliance work. When you mix in your advisory services, your ROI soars, and many clients value and seek your expertise and knowledge. The clients that don’t value your advisory services probably don’t understand how it can help them.

An easy way to sell advisory services and to get more for your compliance services is to bundle the two services together. When you do that, you can include a higher profit margin because the client will be benefiting as well. Start by adding a monthly review session with your clients to help them interpret their reports. If you’re already doing this, take it to the next level with additional diagnostic work that helps your client increase revenue, profit, or cash flow.

Change your pricing method

If you’re still billing by the hour, there are more profitable options, such as fixed fee, package, and value pricing. These pricing methods simply require new pricing skills, a change in procedures, and a willingness to change.

Get clear on your scope

Some clients ask for every extra there is. You may need to set boundaries if clients are asking you to do more than what they are paying you for. This happens in hourly billing when you are charging bookkeeper rates and your client is asking about CPA-level problems. It also happens in fixed fee pricing if the scope of the work is not nailed down.

Take a look at your clients and see if there are any leaks you need to plug when it comes to delivering services you are not being compensated for.

Communicate your value better

Many of your clients don’t have a clue about all the things you do for them in the background. When you can educate your clients on some of the background work that they never see, it helps them to understand and appreciate you more. Communicating this to clients requires a blend of marketing, selling, and educating your clients on the value you bring to their businesses.

Confidence

The last item that can make a huge difference in your ability to get the price you want is your own confidence. Think about how you present your offer to clients. Are you strong or meek? Do you cave in at the last minute and discount your price? Your buyer is equally concerned about choosing the right accountant for the work they have, and your confidence in yourself and your business will go a long way toward affirming your buyer’s choice. In fact, it is probably the most important of all five of these tips.

Try these five ideas to add more profits when pricing your accounting services. And if you would like more pricing, estimating, and selling tips, check out our course below, starting in November.

Five Ways to Boost Efficiency in Your Firm

Many accountants and bookkeepers are interested in finding ways to work less while maintaining the same or higher level of income. It’s possible when you implement one or more of these five tips.

Careful client selection

Once you fill your practice, you can become more particular about who you choose to take on as clients. Consider selecting clients that are similar in industry, size, and need. You will have a good feel for what these clients need and can develop a simplified routine to onboard and serve them. The result is increased efficiency as well as the opportunity to serve the client in a deeper capacity as you learn more about the clients.

For example, serving five homogeneous construction clients is more efficient than serving one retail, one nonprofit, one medical supplies company, one landscaper, and one bank.

Software leverage

The software tools available to accountants are as exciting as they have ever been. They nearly eliminate boring data entry and allow us to automate workflows better than ever before. All we need to do is take advantage of these tools.

One way I have approached this is to look at tasks that take up a lot of time. In 2014, I had a staff member taking about 25 percent of her time scheduling appointments. Today, I let an app do it by placing a button on my websites, netting a savings of over $15,000 per year. We’re always looking at what we can do better. Right now, we are researching membership apps and switching website management software.

Time batching

This one is my clients’ number one favorite secret. Learning the opposite of multi-tasking, where you can get into the flow of similar tasks without interruption, is one of the highest payback efficiency tips there is. Time batching is where you perform like tasks in a batch of time before you move on to other things. Examples include doing your email for 30 minutes, then stopping and not looking at it for hours, setting your appointments back to back on one day, running errands together one day a week, and even asking staff to hold their questions to once per day so you are interrupted less.

Procedures

There’s nothing better to boost personal efficiency than delegating tasks to a staff member. My experience is things get done so much faster when I let them go to staff. To make sure staff do things the way you need them done, develop procedures that outline your requirements. It reduces employee stress and speeds training because they now know what you want.

Find a coach or mentor

Half of the success in being efficient is knowing what NOT to spend time on. Unfortunately, if you are in unchartered territory, you may not know what’s foolish and what isn’t. A coach or mentor who is several steps ahead of you can provide guidance on how to prioritize your projects and ideas.

Which of these five ideas will you implement first to gain efficiency?

Why Offering Packages Can Catapult Your Revenue

I am super-honored to be speaking at the huge and spectacular QuickBooks Connect conference in October in San Jose, CA.  And since I can’t wait, I thought I would give you a speak preview of what I am speaking about in today’s article.

Why Offering Packages Can Catapult Your Revenue

More accountants and bookkeepers are moving from hourly billing to fixed fee and package offerings.  Just what does an accounting package look like? And what are the benefits of offering packages?  Here are some answers.

Accounting Packages

An accounting package is simply a bundle of accounting services, packaged up and offered for a flat fee or a monthly ongoing fee, in the case of monthly accounting services.   Think of a gift basket with lots of goodies in it, such as chocolate, a bottle of wine, exotic nuts, and a pair of wine glasses.  Accounting packages have lots of goodies in them, a software platform, usually a cloud one, bookkeeping services, advisory services, and tax compliance.   Okay, not as delicious, but you get the idea.

Packages are more common outside the U.S. in Europe and Australia, and are fast-growing in popularity everywhere.  A choice of three packages is quite common, with the accountant offering small, medium, and large options that vary in scope and features.

Payroll services are almost always offered in a package form, but packaged tax and bookkeeping services are less common.  Packages can be specific to one accounting service, such as bookkeeping with features like reconciliations, reports, A/R, and A/P components. Or they can be broader to meet all small business accounting and tax requirements, such as the one described above.

Benefits 

The benefits of offering packages are huge.  Many of the accountants we have worked with have commented about how transformational packages are to their practices.   Here are just a few of the things we hear over and over again.

Certainty of costs for clients

 Packages are easier to sell because the client can see exactly what they are getting and they love the fact that they can budget for the fixed costs.

Easier billing and improved cash flow

Packages are easier on you for billing purposes because you can ask for payment in advance and significantly reduce your accounts receivable balance.  One accountant said packages solved her cash flow problems.

Difficult to compare to competitors

When charging hourly, you are often compared to other hourly competitors (which is ludicrous, but whatever).  With packages, it’s highly unlikely your package contents will exactly match your competitors’ offerings.  So prospects will not be able to compare your prices with others.  This helps to de-commoditize your offerings, and that’s a good thing.

Confidence in your “system”

Surprisingly, offering packages makes you look organized and systematized, and clients appreciate working with a professional with experience.  Packages build the clients’ confidence in you simply because you look like you have a proven “system.”

Profitability

Since you’re pricing a bundle of services, you can add in the higher-dollar items, such as advisory work, and build in whatever profit the market will bear.  You have far more leeway with this pricing method than with hourly and flat fee pricing.

Easier to deliver, train employees

Each package will have the same components to deliver to clients.  You are more likely to set up a checklist and procedures which can then be passed to employees to deliver the services.  Packages systematizes your entire operation, which then frees you up to do more of what you want to do.

Easier sale

When you give prospects a choice of three options rather than a yes/no binary option, they are more likely to say yes.

How Now Brown Cow 

So you might now be wondering how to go about transitioning to packages, what they should include, and other details.  If so, then join me in San Jose, CA at QuickBooks Connect on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:30 AM for my session:  How to Create Packages, Step-by-Step.  For more information and how to register, go here:

https://qbconnect2016.attendease.com/agenda/sessions/how_to_create_packages_step_by_step.html

The first 50 audience members in my session will receive a free paperback copy of the book “Start with a Profit.” See you there!

 New Social Media Packages: 

And speaking of new packages….  We are jazzed about our new social media packages.  If you’re struggling with social media, but really want to benefit from this marketing channel, check out our new packages:

http://acceleratorwebsites.com/services/social-media-package/

How to Create and Sell Advisory Services

First let’s define advisory services by what they are not. They are not compliance services. Sales tax issues, bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation are all compliance services.

Advisory services should leave the client better off in profits, efficiency, peace of mind, or time. Tax planning, cash flow planning, and workflow automation are advisory services. They are not required by law, and hopefully, the client benefits from implementing them.

Advisory services come in several different buckets:

• Technology improvements. I could argue that accounting system selection is compliance work because systems required to comply with recordkeeping requirements. But there is an advisory component to it with regard to choosing the best system for the client. I would consider automation and workflow improvements advisory work.
• Financial literacy and planning. This bucket helps the client keep more of what they make and includes tax planning, financial planning, and increasing the literacy of clients.
• Specialty services. These are categories such as fraud work, business valuations, and succession planning. The accountant is generally required to have detailed accounting education in the specialty.
• Profit and revenue improvement. This bucket is one that’s overlooked because it can be difficult to structure into a service. Plus, few people understand that there is a huge difference between accounting skills and business profit improvement skills. Not all accountants have good business skills, but they can learn them easily.

The other thing holding accountants back in this category is fear of marketing.Increasing revenue is the number one pain point for small businesses.Accounting and technology rank lower, #4 and #5 in some surveys.

Revenue improvement, cash flow planning, breakeven analysis, pricing assistance, gross margin measurements, and job costing are included in this category.

Which types of advisory services are you doing already? What type are you interested in? Once you’ve settled on a direction, you can take these steps to create your new advisory service:

1. Decide if you need training.
2. Review your client base to estimate the demand for your new service.
3. Create your new service based on what your clients need.

Selling advisory services requires a different approach than selling compliance services. A successful sale of advisory services requires a high level of trust and an expectation of receiving a return on investment. When there is a match between what the client needs and what you offer, you have the potential for a sale.

Expanding your practice to include a larger percentage of advisory work can be extremely rewarding, both financially and personally. It’s not only where you can become a true business partner to your clients; it’s where you can turn a client’s accounting department from an expense into a profit center.

And, if you’re interested in advisory training on profit and revenue improvement, check out our course below that starts next week.

Seven Things Accountants Can Do Now to Increase Their Profits for Next Year

Summer is a wonderful time of the year with less work pressure, good weather, and a more comfortable work pace. As it draws to a close, here are seven things you can do now before you get busy again.

We are jazzed about our new social media packages. If you’re struggling with social media, but really want to benefit from this marketing channel, check out our new packages:
http://acceleratorwebsites.com/services/social-media-package/

Our next offering is Advisor Accelerated, which earns participants the Certified Business Profit Consultant designation. Starts September 13, 2016; read more here:
http://accountantsaccelerator.com/product/advisor-accelerated/

Seven Things Accountants Can Do Now to Increase Their Profits for Next Year

Most of the year, we’re too busy working in our business — serving clients, putting out fires, and dealing with vendors or employees – that we don’t take time to work “on” our business so we can get to the next level. Now is the perfect time to explore and initiate projects that we can’t afford to think about other times of the year. Here are seven ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Attend an accounting industry conference.
There’s nothing better for motivation than a conference. With great speakers, exhibits, and a chance to meet peers, a conference provides a unique experience for us to learn ways to improve our practice. There’s one somewhere almost every week. Here are a few that are coming up:

FICPA – September 28-30, 2016 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
QuickBooks Connect – October 23-26, 2016 – San Jose, CA
Thomson Reuters Synergy – November 2-5, 2016 – Grapevine, TX
New England Practice Management Conference – November 16-18, 2016 – Uncasville, CT

To find a conference, look in these places: software vendors, state CPA societies, professional associations that serve the industry, and major CPE providers.

2. Update your marketing materials, especially your website and social media.
Technology is huge part of our jobs now, and it’s essential that your marketing materials reflect updated technology or your firm will look out of date. A current web design is most essential, and the designs have dramatically changed in the last few years so that a re-design is pretty much a must. If you’re going after startups, you won’t get hired if your site looks old and tired. (And if you need help, check out our new web packages for accountants here: acceleratorwebsites.com )

3. Knock out your CPE.
If you’re like me, you have a birthday a bit too close to tax season. I try to knock out my CPE early because I just don’t like last-minute rushing around.
4. Earn a new certification.
Several vendors in our profession offer software certifications that can not only help you learn their product better, but also display your expertise in your marketing materials. Many of these programs are free or low-cost. For example, Intuit have several certifications on QuickBooks expertise, and once you have one certification, you can be listed in their Find a ProAdvisor directory, which yields lots of great leads. Other vendors that have certifications include Bill.com, TSheets, and Xero, to name a few.

For bookkeeping, AIPB offers a certification, and for business, we offer the Certified Business Profit Consultant. All of these lead to new and expanded services offerings, meaning more revenue for you.
5. Adopt new technology.
We are constantly looking for new technology to improve our firm’s profits and make our clients’ lives easier. And we’ve been pleasantly surprised at the ease of workflow and headcount reduction we’ve been able to achieve in the last few years by implementing apps that streamline our project management.
6. Take a vacation.
Giving your mind a break from the daily chores at the office can provide you with a new outlook and fresh ideas.

7. Become a trusted advisor.
As compliance tasks become more automated, it just makes sense to begin moving your practice to advisory services. That may mean learning more about small business hot spots and needs and possibly even expanding your financial role to more of a business partner role.

There are many ways to approach this: one way is to go deep with technology solutions and workflow. A good start would be taking the QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification training. A second way is to learn about specific industries and cater to that niche. To do this, attend the industry’s major conference so you can pick up on terminology and issues facing the business owners. A third way is to go deep on business functional knowledge, such as operations, HR, and marketing. If you have controllership experience, you’re a natural, and our Advisor Accelerated course next month leans in that direction too.

Choose one or two of these seven options before the summer ends to take your business to the next level.

Upcoming Courses:

Advisor Accelerated –September 13 – 29, 2016
Are you considering making the transition from accountant to “Trusted Advisor” but don’t know where to start? Do you wonder how to market, price, and sell advisory services and especially whether your clients will bite? Have you heard about how you “must” become a Trusted Advisor, but don’t have a clue what they’re talking about?

If so, you’re in the perfect place to find out about a new one-of-a-kind course and certification that we’re offering with you in mind. It’s called Advisor Accelerated, and it starts September 13, 2016. It’s designed to help you take your monthly accounting clients to a higher level of financial literacy and business success. If you’re looking for more monthly clients, you’ll have a higher level of service to offer them. Plus, you’ll earn the Certified Business Profit Consultant designation that you can display on your marketing materials.
I’ve never offered this low of a price for this course, and that includes your certification. This course is offered once a year, so grab it before it’s too late. 5 CPE. $199. All sessions recorded and downloadable. Find out more here:
http://accountantsaccelerator.com/product/advisor-accelerated/