here’s what you’re looking for: sandi smith leyva

management

3 steps to business clarity amid the sea change in accounting

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

with labor day closing in, it’s a good time to take stock of where we stand for the year, plus re-group as needed before the 2014 busy season is upon us.  with so many changes in software, politics, tax laws, and global standards, it’s pretty easy to feel a little disorganized.

more for soloists and small firms:  the five essential skills accountants need today  | the seven essential components of a simple marketing plan for accountants  | take six big steps to go beyond compliance services     |     when your business needs to be rebooted  |   two steps to easy cross-sells   |   the hot new tech product for automated data entry   |   five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping   |   six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   |   proactive ways to get more referrals   |   the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |   new client opportunities with mobile apps   |   six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |   what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |   accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

here are three steps to help us take stock of our foundational business goals, re-evaluate our big picture, and get us centered as we enter the next quarter. read more →

outlook & analysis

the five essential skills accountants need today

above and beyond accounting, you need business know-how.

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

we’ve worked super-hard on gaining our accounting, tax, and auditing skills.  those skills alone will keep us working as employees for someone else, but what if we want to go out on our own or grow our business beyond what we have now?

more for soloists and small firms: the seven essential components of a simple marketing plan for accountants  | take six big steps to go beyond compliance services     |     when your business needs to be rebooted  |   two steps to easy cross-sells   |   the hot new tech product for automated data entry   |   five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping   |   six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   |   proactive ways to get more referrals   |   the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |   new client opportunities with mobile apps   |   six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |   what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |   accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

here are five skills to consider adding to your toolbox so you can get ahead faster. how do you rate in each of these areas?

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outlook & analysis

the seven essential components of a simple marketing plan for accountants

start with an excel spreadsheet.

by sandi smith leyva, cpa

it’s quite common for accounting firms — even the regionals — to have no marketing plan in place. the marketing plan might very well be, “get as many referrals as we can.” or it might be a number for each partner — which is not a marketing plan. or it might be, “if it’s not busy season, i’ll go to my networking group.” none of these are plans. they are individual marketing tasks and components.

the number of companies that do not have fully functioning marketing plans is certainly not surprising because marketing by cpas was illegal – and considered quite sleazy — in most u.s. states until about the 1970s. so we are a profession that has always been behind on our marketing skills.

now that most of us need to market, the relief is we can do it on our terms, using excel spreadsheets, with a bunch of numbers, adding in some deadlines, and creating a very organized process, just how we accountants like things.

so here are seven components of the kind of marketing plans i like to create. we start with an excel spreadsheet. read more →

outlook & analysis

what i’ve learned from my clients

by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator

i feel extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful set of clients that i have learned much from the last few years.

more for soloists and small firms: take six big steps to go beyond compliance services     |     when your business needs to be rebooted  |   two steps to easy cross-sells   |   the hot new tech product for automated data entry   |   five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping   |   six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   |   proactive ways to get more referrals   |   the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |   new client opportunities with mobile apps   |   six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |   what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |   accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

here is a list of lessons learned that i hope will inspire you to work with your clients in new ways.

read more →

client service opportunities

take six big steps to go beyond compliance services

beat the billable hour by doing more than just taxes or quickbooks.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

as compliance services become more commoditized and automated, accountants are faced with how this affects their practice and their bottom line. they can:

  1. serve a higher level client that requires greater complexity, making themselves fairly immune to these changes
  2. serve a larger number of clients to offset a drop in revenue per client averages
  3. add new services to their practice to boost revenue per client

those are pretty much the options available to keep profits from shrinking. but today i want to focus on the third point above, adding new services, and provide you with some ideas on how you may be able to serve your tax compliance clients in new ways.

more for soloists and small firms:  when your business needs to be rebooted  |   two steps to easy cross-sells   |   the hot new tech product for automated data entry   |   five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping   |   six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks   |   proactive ways to get more referrals   |   the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |   new client opportunities with mobile apps   |   six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |   what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |   accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

even if you don’t do taxes, you will find some ideas for new related services you can think about offering to your clients. (remember, it’s easier to sell to existing clients than to acquire new ones.) read more →