Final point in this series – but the most important one if you want to grow and improve your practice. For a long time I was resistant to having any team members. I had worked in big businesses before I started my practice and had been responsible for teams of up to 30 people. This was draining in itself; it often felt like having 30 children! For too long I… Read more
As choosing to work with the right clients is vital, so is providing the right services. You may decide that you purely want to focus on compliance work. Or it may be compliance plus some advisory in the form of management accounts, cash flow forecasts and board meetings. Or you may decide that you want to commit to a comprehensive range of advisory services, or what I prefer to break… Read more
The sooner you’re able to identify the clients you want to work with the better. Better for you and better for the clients. I made the obvious mistake that many do of taking on any client who agreed to pay my fees. But I quickly became busy with a huge variety of business types and client types. Most clients were, and still are great to work with but there was… Read more
The earlier you get your pricing right the better. You need to work out what you want to charge and not be influenced by other factors – how much you need the work, whether you like the client, what mood you’re in. Try and remove emotion from it. Easier said than done! I was guilty, as are many others, in the early days desperate to win work you price low… Read more
Do your prices reflect the value you provide to clients? If you’re working at or close to capacity, whether it’s just you or if you have a team, are your profits at a level you’re happy with? Do you review your prices regularly? Do you have a process to distinguish between simple queries which should be free and more complex matters which need to charge for? Are your fee proposals… Read more
Regardless of whether you’ve planned starting your practice for months or you’ve started at short notice, it’s highly likely that the dilemma and uncertainty over where your next clients will come from will be a constant cause of anxiety until you have enough to make sure bills are paid. Where you find your clients will very much depend on your approach – do you want to work with anyone, what… Read more
If you’ve read my e-book, heard me speak or seen some of my postings on LinkedIn, you’ll know I’m a fan of technology and how it can make our lives easier and enable us to provide a far higher level of service to clients. If you’re a user of Xero or Quickbooks Online you will know there are a huge number of business applications which can be linked to these… Read more
Even the best systems and processes for completing work in your practice will fall down if you don’t tell your clients what you’re doing, when and why. You need to allow plenty of time for clients to respond to requests for information. Remember the numbers aren’t always their priority – they have a business to run! Communicate to them in plenty of time, let them know at the start of… Read more
There will be a period as your practice grows, that you have spare capacity. You can be very responsive to client’s request, regardless of how urgent they are. You will be happy to accept clients with any type of records – paper, spreadsheet, desktop software, cloud software. Maybe even brown paper bag jobs! No bother, you’re keen, hungry and you need the work. But be careful. If you don’t get… Read more
In my opinion there has never been a better time to start an accountancy practice than right now. It’s often said that the sector is being disrupted, it really is. Technology means that work can be completed quicker and easier and from anywhere with an internet connection. The traditional 9-5 working day… is a thing of the past Cloud technology means a higher level of services with more client contact… Read more
Anyone who has played sport at any level with be familiar with this phrase. You’ve seen these people. They turn up at your club, gym, event – could be football, running, cycling – the golf course… They’ve got all the latest kit and gadgets but once the game gets under way its pretty clear they don’t know what they’re doing. I used to see this in my younger days playing… Read more
I run a successful and award-winning accountancy practice. I’ve created a great work/life balance and am in the fortunate position of being able to earn enough to enjoy the lifestyle I want and have enough time to do what I want with the people I care about. I’m also far less stressed than I ever have been before. So why would I want to start coaching accountants? They’re the competition… Read more