client accounting services

five ways to find out.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

your firm’s value proposition is not what you say. it is what your clients and prospects perceive. perception is reality. here are some proven ways to identify your firm’s real marketable value.

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• ask your clients: it is not so easy to “be in the customers’ shoes.” you will be surprised how you can gain immense insights from your clients – about how they perceive and experience your service and how they feel; what they find of value and what they feel frustrated about. don’t guess, don’t assume, just ask them. it is easy to conduct customer surveys online (e.g., surveymonkey has a free version that allows you to collect 100 responses; google forms are also free to use). identify the most common positives and negatives that emerge from survey data to be able to improve your marketing and customer experience.

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plus one for referrals.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

we asked about sales and marketing methods as part of the accounting profession’s largest cas survey. among firms offering client accounting services, the chief means for gaining new cas business is “proactively seeking referrals” and the firm’s “website,” each at 48 percent. networking at local/regional/national events follows at 35 percent.

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the other marketing methods deployed by cas firms are:

• networking at local / regional / national events: 35%
• search engine optimization: 14%
• influencer or social media marketing: 11%

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clients cause some of the problems, but not all of them.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

we discussed that you need to explain the why of your client accounting services pricing. a price is a measurable number. “value” of each of your cas component also needs to be reasonably measurable for your clients and prospects to understand the why. this is easier said than done, and you need to keep rewriting the value statements, testing them and revising them.

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the best way to define the measurable value of each of your cas components is to state it from the client’s perspective, i.e., which business decisions the client can make based on the information/insight/intelligence you provide in a given cas component, and under which circumstances. then state the measurable impact of such business decisions. e.g., “on an average, we help our clients reduce money stuck in inventory by 11 percent, which in many cases results in lower overdraft interest costs by about 1.3 percent annually.” without the numbers in your value statements, clients can feel you are pitching marketing fluff.
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then show the most expensive one first. here’s why.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

when your prospects shop for client accounting services, what they find out about cas pricing methods and trends defines their pricing expectations. if you follow very different approaches to price your cas offering, it will take significant effort on your part to educate the prospects (and existing clients) about why you are pricing cas the way you are. as they say, it’s easier to ride the horse in the direction it’s going.

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it is good to first conform to the perceptions of prospects when it comes to your cas pricing. once you ride the horse, you can direct it to the destination you want to take it to. once you conform to the pricing method (not the dollar value) expectations of the prospect, their anxiety, and perception of risk (what value will they receive in the price they are willing to pay) reduce. after that, they are more open to evaluating the choices you present to them.
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use pricing strategies to your advantage.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

pricing your services correctly to ensure reasonable profitability is a major decision you will take in your client accounting services practice.

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the accounting profession’s largest cas survey results revealed how cas firms price their cas offering:

• the topmost method of pricing the cas offering is fixed/flat fee, used by 41 percent of the respondents.
• the next common method of pricing cas is “mixed method of pricing” (a mix of hourly, fixed and value pricing), charged by 36 percent of respondents.
• hourly billing method is used by 33 percent of respondents.
• about 28 percent of respondents use value pricing as the method for cas pricing.

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true communication is the key.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

a successful client accounting services practice requires increased interactions with clients. your usual non-cas methods of client communications are not sufficient to meet the demands and expectations of your cas clients. you must leverage new tech tools to reach out, communicate and collaborate with clients more frequently.

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some accounting software can help you automate client notifications (by email/text) based on customized triggers set up in the software. similarly, automated payroll software can keep clients informed automatically. mobile apps of core accounting software are becoming a necessity to deliver client service and communications.

why?
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use your engagement letter to provide some reassurance.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

“people think of us (accountants) as the compliance agents – the necessary evil.”

this sentence haunts me even today, after hearing it nearly 15 years ago from a multi-award-winning, highly experienced cpa.

perception!

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has the accounting profession’s brand been (predominantly) perceived as “compliance” only?

“we deal with the past. we do audits. and we deal with the present. we do taxes and books. future – is not our business.”
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it will make setting your processes easier.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

we know the outcomes that are important from the client perspective can, and should, define your firm’s cas processes.

but how do you create your firm’s cas-specific processes? where should you begin? how would you know what to change and what to add to your processes?

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it is both difficult and easy to create your firm’s cas processes. it will be difficult, not impossible, to ask if you do not have reasonably deep insights into what your clients need and want. it will be easy if you have periodic interactions with your clients.
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traditional reports fall short. here’s how to do better.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

if you are wondering whether client accounting services needs a different set of reports, you are in the right place. at the same time, it may be confusing how you can produce reports that are different than those your software provides out of the box.

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cas is about the outcomes of your work, from the clients’ perspective. cas outcomes are useful, insightful, and advise clients in ways that routine, traditional reports cannot deliver. the outcomes you provide from your cas offering need to relentlessly focus on the relevance, usability and importance from your clients’ point of view. one of my ex-clients, an experienced and expert cpa from san diego – who had mostly high-net-worth individuals with multiple businesses as his clients – told me, “after 19 years in practice, i realized that small to medium business entrepreneurs are not really concerned with managing their balance sheets. it is the job of the accountant.”
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