growth strategies

don’t let recurring fees kill your practice

by

businessman sleeping with a giant dollar bill for a blanketthere’s comfort and then there’s complacency.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

as you know, the traditional accounting firm model is firmly based on the reality of recurring fees that come in from clients every year. we can rely on these and forecast accurately how much revenue they bring in – which hopefully covers overheads and direct expenses of the business.

more: who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is a good thing, right? well, maybe not as much as you think.
read more →

free consultation? not always

by

three people talking around a table

don’t give it away too easily.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i was wondering what your thought is regarding initial consultation fees. currently, i do not charge a fee for an initial consultation, and it seems that most cpas do not charge either (at least not the sole practitioners that i know).

more: measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | 47 types of business valuation to provide | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | uncooperative partner might not be the problem | merge in lower-priced work without losing out
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

would the fee deter new clients or actually weed out the ones who are most likely not going to become clients anyway? if a fee is charged, then how much, and how long should the consultation last? should the fee be applied to any work that i am eventually engaged for?
read more →

use timesheets for productivity, not billing

by

back office support calls for flat rates. here’s why.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

let’s get to the big questions that confound professional service providers of all types in today’s tech environment:

  • how do i charge my client for these services?
  • how do i continue to get paid?
  • how do i charge hourly for processes that will be taking less and less time because of the application of technology?

more: best practices for source doc permissions and handling | sixteen guidelines for naming conventions | you have to manage three kinds of procedures | tech tips for back office support | decoding accounting tech (and all those acronyms) | digital marketing strategies level the playing field | eight tasks to delegate today | advisory services done your way
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

fixed pricing

flat-rate billing is the logical choice for back office support (bos) services. this fixed pricing is typically used for monthly recurring work. we can do this by knowing how long it takes to create any given transaction. there will be swings in time, but the idea is that the fixed monthly rate considers the busiest season or months for the business. that way, on less heavy months, you receive the same rate and it makes up for the times when the workload increases.
read more →

eleven ways to serve clients even better

by

businessman standing outside the office on the phone with coffee

improve your relationships and your revenue.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

as you build your relationships with your clients, it’s always a good thing to see how you can serve them even better.

here are 11 ways you can add value to your existing services that will enable you to stand out from the competition, serve the client better and put more green in your bank account.

more: give to receive, and eight more ways to boost sales | five ways to target the low-hanging fruit | are your revenue projections realistic? | six strategies to make more without working more | the art of prompt engineering for accountants | calculate your business relationship ratios
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as you go through the list, check them off to see which ones you are doing, and which ones sound good to add to your business.
read more →

best practices for source doc permissions and handling

by

woman wearing glasses typing on laptop in front of wall of windows

four steps to asserting control.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

permissions are key. in our company only three people have a connection to their local c drive from our managed server. also, we can track who is logged in, from where, how long and what they accessed.

more: sixteen guidelines for naming conventions | revisit your back office support procedures | federated search: what it is, why it matters | accounting tech tools to minimize your pain | do your apps play well with others? | it’s ok to have favorite clients
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if documents are in our cloud storage, the permissions to download them can be turned off. viewing is done from within the document storage app. nothing is perfect. they can still take a screenshot but we attempt to keep things as closed as possible while still allowing for work and efficiency.
read more →