The post Capacity? What capacity? appeared first on Smithink.
]]>Attitudes don’t help, either. I was recently in a firm where the partners were quite proud that they had effectively matched their available labour to the work in their pipeline. Their free capacity was less than 3%. While this may maximise short-term profits, how will this firm ever grow?
Labour cost is far and away the biggest cost in any professional service firm, yet few firms have effective resource and capacity plans. When I ask firm leaders what free capacity they have in their firm, few can confidently answer based on their capacity planning. For many, it is more of an educated guesstimate. Even fewer can confidently answer at what level in the firm or at what time of the year the free capacity exists as they lack a detailed resource plan. This lack of accurate information means that the firm is unable to make the best decisions about its labour. When do we need to add additional resources, and at what level? When should we be asking staff to take holidays? How much time is available to develop new services or undertake marketing? When should these activities occur so as not to interfere with our day-to-day client service? When is the best time to conduct training?
There are two elements to effective labour planning.
An effective capacity plan requires two calculations. The first, termed “bottom-up,” looks at the number of productive hours that team members should generate each month multiplied by estimated charge rates. The second, termed “top-down,” estimates the fees that will be generated from each client plus an additional amount for estimated special work from existing clients.
The difference between the two numbers is the firm’s free capacity. A low free capacity will certainly maximise profits in the short term but will restrict a firm’s capacity to grow. Low free capacity will almost guarantee that work will need to be done by people who are too senior or junior for the job, resulting in inefficient use of labour and lowered profitability. Firms with a desire to grow need to create the free capacity. Progressive growth firms ensure that they have a minimum 20% free capacity to ensure that they can effectively service new clients and have time to develop new services and conduct marketing activities.
While many firms undertake capacity planning, few have detailed resource plans, as significantly more work is required. It also involves changes in how clients are engaged. Only accounting firms have a business suited to resource planning since much of the work is repeated year on year and can, therefore, be planned. Most other professional service firms have a lower proportion of their work repeating year after year.
An effective resource plan estimates the hours required for each client group’s annual work. The hours are plotted into a month and matched to the team member most suited to undertake the work. This allows one to see team members who have too little or too much work in a given month. Adjustments can then be made to smooth out issues.
Clients need to be engaged so that they will agree on the month their work will be done. Many clients are flexible, but some are not. Plan the inflexible clients (bank needs reports, etc.) first and use the rest as fillers. The advantage to the client is that they know when the work will be done, and the turnaround time in the firm is substantially reduced as work is not sitting in the corner waiting to get started.
Firms that have implemented resource plans have all seen significant benefits. It’s not easy, but the benefits of team morale and client satisfaction should not be underestimated. Reduced write-offs from better work allocation and overall efficiency from smoothing work throughout the year add to profitability.
A firm that I worked with many years ago reported to me that implementing effective capacity and resource plans had the biggest positive impact on how the firm was managed.
So, with the new year just around the corner, take some time to consider developing your own capacity and resource plans to position your firm to make the best use of your valuable (but expensive) labour.
David Smith conducts firm reviews and facilitates the development of strategic plans and business plans. Contact David at [email protected] to explore how he can help your firm.
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]]>The post The Accountants’ Guide to Fishing appeared first on Smithink.
]]>As any good fisherman knows bait is critical. I’ve never “got” plastic bait, particularly in estuary fishing – the fish are not that stupid! Anyway, it is interesting how fickle fish seem to be. Some love pilchards, some prawns, some squid or worms. How do you know what to use?
It is the same with clients and prospects. Different clients can be attracted to different service offerings. These preferences will change over time as the client’s circumstances change. Unless you want to attract a very narrow range of clients you need to experiment with a broad range of service offerings to see what will work. Some clients may be attracted to simple down to earth services to help them manage their cash flow more effectively. Others may be looking for more holistic services that address their business and personal financial strategies. It is critical that you experiment to determine what offerings are attractive to clients.
Far more important than tackle is having the right skills. You can have all the best gear in the world but if you don’t know how to use it it all can be a waste. Often one can find some of the best fishermen using very basic lines, hooks and bait but they know how to use it to great effect.
It’s an unfortunate fact that many practitioners have made the mistake of investing in business advisory software, without ensuring that they and their team have developed the right skills and processes to ensure that a quality service can be delivered that clients will want to buy on a regular basis. All too often early enthusiasm in building advisory services is lost when practitioners realise that there is much more involved than merely purchasing the latest software tool.
It was for this reason that we developed our Business Advisory EnablerTM process – a 7-step process that practitioners should follow to ensure the successful development of their business advisory services. Client engagement is key, software tools are important but not critical. Key elements are developing strong relationships with clients and having conversations that unlock the issues the client is trying to address.
Of course, having the right tackle is important when fishing. Having hooks too big for the fish you’re trying to catch; not using sinkers when the fish you want are on the bottom; having a line that is too light or heavy all need to be considered. The key consideration is “What type of fish am I trying to catch”?
It’s the same with business development. What type of client am I trying to catch? Have I developed my service offerings around their needs? Are there specific industries where I can add additional value from my specific knowledge of how those industries operate?
Sales 101 is “know thy customer”. When was the last time you strategically thought about your clients, the issues they’re facing and the services that you could provide to help clients address those challenges?
Only when you’ve determined what you’re trying to achieve should you go down to the tackle shop (the software vendors) and find tools that will equip you to provide the services that you have determined are best for your clients and your practice.
You can have all the right gear but if you don’t find the right spot and fish at the right time it can all be a fruitless exercise, except of course for the joy of quiet contemplation.
Knowing which clients to target is a critical piece of the puzzle. Not all will be interested in additional services. Consider as well when you should approach clients. What are peak times in their business when they will be too busy to consider additional ways you may be able to assist them? What life events may be occurring for your client that will trigger the need for particular additional services? Tracking these life events are positioning services that will assist clients in meeting these new challenges can be a highly business development strategy.
Getting more fish hovering around the boat will obviously increase one’s chances of a catch. It’s the same in your firm. Having more people aware of your services or using low cost add on services to compliance is a good way to build trust and show that you can do more than be a tax and accounting compliance accountant. How are you getting more people hovering about your boat? Newsletters, seminars, speaking engagements, social media and more are all critical pieces of practice berley.
SMSF can often be a good place to start in offering a low cost add-on service by offering a free review of the fund – this will lead to discussions around retirement planning, succession, estate planning etc. But by starting with offering a simple low cost service you can open the door to bigger opportunities.
So as you’re getting some time off before 2024 starts its frenetic place, consider what might be your fishing plan for 2024.
David Smith conducts firm reviews and facilitates the development of strategic plans and business plans. Contact David at [email protected] to explore how he may be able to help your firm.
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]]>The post How to get started with marketing in your accounting firm. appeared first on Smithink.
]]>We all know that most business comes from personal referrals and personal reputation. We also know that there are significant opportunities to be unlocked in our existing fee base. To maximise these opportunities much of the marketing heavy lifting needs to be done by the practitioner themselves.
Blogs need to be written to highlight the knowledge and personality of the practitioner. A client needs review needs to be conducted requiring time to engage with clients. Seminars and webinars need to be run, speaking engagements need to be sought, referral partners need to be met, clients need to be asked for referrals, and prospects databases need to be built. A number of basic marketing initiatives need to be executed on a regular basis. Very few require the input of any significant marketing expertise.
Most firms are not executing these things on a consistent basis. To be effective these fundamental marketing activities need to be occurring month in and month out. Don’t expect any returns on the investment until you’ve been doing these things for more than 12 months. The investment firms need to make is in a marketing coordinator – an admin person with an interest in marketing. The coordinator gets out the baseball bat to “encourage” practice leaders to write the blogs, conduct the webinars, meet with clients and conduct needs reviews. With encouragement, the coordinator can organise the newsletter, post on social media, seek out speaking engagements for the leadership team and effectively manage the marketing calendar as a start.
The simple marketing calendar maps out all the activities in the year highlighting who needs to complete each task with due dates. This assists in keeping on track and provides a high-level view to ensure activities are spaced throughout the year.
Marketing expertise does have its place. Creative input is an important component so that websites, newsletters and promotional prices cut through and convey the essence of the firm. Assistance in developing some quality video content is worthwhile. Digital marketing (Google, social media, remarketing) is an important component and can’t be ignored. Every firm needs a digital marketing strategy. Use an expert to help you set it up and train your coordinator to manage it day to day. Periodically, get them to review and make suggestions. But don’t let the marketing consultants take over your whole marketing program.
Consider also some training for your team – how to ask for referrals; how to conduct themselves at a cocktail function; public speaking skills; how to conduct quality needs reviews are all skills that not only benefit the firm but make your team better professionals.
With the current labour shortages, a virtual coordinator could be the right move for many firms – you only pay for the projects and/or hours worked.
To be successful in your marketing time needs to be spent. The leadership group must make the commitment to a marketing strategy, the coordinator must manage it. Use the consultants sparingly. Own it yourself. You’ll be surprised by the results.
Smithink founder David Smith has spent over as a practitioner and as an adviser to professional service firms. His advice is not from a textbook but is practical down to earth suggestions that experience has shown to achieve results. If you would like to find out more about working with David in your firm, contact us.
Andrea Ives has been working with Mark and David for more than 10 years coordinating their marketing. She has the capacity to help other firms. Click here to contact Andrea and find out more.
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]]>The post Strategies to Improve Client Follow-Up appeared first on Smithink.
]]>It made me think of a recent experience I had. My computer experienced issues with Windows 10 Pro tiles that would not load. I called my local computer support provider to seek assistance and what greeted by a very cheerful and professional person who actively listed to my issue and within a few minutes of my call I received an email (or SMS my preference) with an acknowledgement of the call, a traceable ticket number and a complete description of my problem. From there I was constantly updated and upon successful rectification of my issue I received another email closing the case.
I wonder if in the accounting industry we could learn from that experience. Should we be logging calls and emails through our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems or other appropriate software and sending an email or SMS acknowledging the client’s contact with us? Should it have some reference number and summary of the question? At least that way the client would feel that they have been listened to and their question is being actioned. I know how frustrated I get when someone tells me they will call or email me and they do not do so. Something to consider?
Creating a disciplined approach to client communication through a response system in the firm is also critical. It’s all too easy to push things off until the next day. Recently the Partner of a regional accounting firm told me they have a 24-hour rule, stressing the importance of call-backs or returned emails or texts within that time. Improvements have been seen in client communication and satisfaction levels in the firm.
We’ll cover this topic and many others at our Young Guns Workshop open forum session with David Smith and Mark Holton. Young Guns 2021 is running at the Hilton Hotel Surfers Paradise on October 11 and 12. Click here for further information and to register.
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]]>The post Your CRM and Business Advisory Success appeared first on Smithink.
]]>Wikipedia defines a CRM as an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and potential future clients that tries to analyse data about clients’ history with a company and to improve business relationships with clients, specifically focusing on client retention and ultimately driving sales growth.
An effective CRM should not just be a database of clients and their contact information – it should form the centre of your firm. The emphasis should not be on how your client information is stored, but on the strategy behind how the information is used and how it can be integrated across all areas of your accounting firm.
While a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system can be an extremely valuable tool for any organisation, the reality is that most firms do not have one and those that do often find their CRM solution to be ineffective.
For those practitioners who perceive they don’t currently or won’t get value from their CRM, reasons may include:
Accounting firms now manage significantly more client information and are expected to be highly efficient in their use of it. Unfortunately, many firms have tended to focus on inputting a lot of data into their CRM and business systems rather than focusing on how that data will be used. This has resulted in the creation of a data entry strategy rather than outcomes and results strategy. In addition, without integration with other areas of business, the CRM simply becomes a silo of information.
If actively used, a CRM delivers a lot more value than the cost, both efficiencies (cost savings) and effectiveness (revenue growth).
If you focus on a platform strategy for information management and business advisory service management, the benefits of a CRM that is also integrated with your eMarketing strategies and other core business systems are significant:
When I speak to firms, I often hear that I already have a CRM being my practice management software system. I challenge this assumption. A typical practice management system handles the commoditised nature of compliance well, however, in my opinion, falls short in most cases for managing business advisory services.
With advisory, every engagement is different. You can have three clients in the same industry with vastly different proposals, services, solutions and demands. One might need board of advice meetings quarterly, one a succession plan and the other a budget and cash flow and support with receivables management.
How do you manage this efficiently? How do you stop key strategies from “slipping through the cracks”. It is not a compliance report where three clients in the same industry get the same report admittedly with different names, dates and numbers but the same service. We need customised managed solutions and not commoditised solutions.
Come along to our Young Guns Workshop at the QT Gold Coast, 29-30 July, and consider how a properly managed CRM system can benefit your firm, along with many other topics we will be discussing. Click here for further details and to register. Earlybird pricing ends 12 July.
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]]>The post The Value-Added Proposition appeared first on Smithink.
]]>1. Make sure the practices objectives are aligned with those of the client.
This is the most important step you can take to create a successful practice. What do your clients want, not need? While the question is simple, the answer often is not. Do your clients want customised solutions or conservative answers? Do they need someone to hold their hands or challenge their decisions and partner in their success?
2. Get to know your clients.
Clients can be segmented into one of four groups. There are clients who want you and you want them (A Class). There are clients that you want however for some reason they do not want you (B Class). There are the clients who you do not want yet they want you (C Class), and finally there are the clients that you do not want and they do not want you (D Class). Can you convert the B Class to A Class client? Is your future servicing the C and D Class clients?
3. Focus on making your clients more successful.
Think about the things that you can do to improve your clients’ return. The more you do this, the more value-added services you will be providing and the more loyal your clients will become. Use services that promote the need for improvement. Focus on developing the client’s strengths and addressing the client’s weaknesses.
4. Focus on client profitability.
Too many firms focus on client revenue. It’s not what you generate, it’s what you take home. Change your focus from top-line revenue to key bottom-line profit for each client. Determine your acceptable gross profit margin before you accept the next new client. By doing this you will focus on the right clients.
5. Don’t focus only on billing more time.
Client-centred, value-added practices focus on solving client problems and issues, not on building up chargeable time. The more successful you can make your clients, the more successful the practice will be. Learn to bill on the value of your work, not the time that you spend. Know your practices value proposition and sell it to the client.
6. Communicate with your clients.
Determine the most efficient way to communicate with your clients. Some clients may prefer email, while others still like to receive a letter by mail. A client-centered focus demands that you find out how each client wants to be contacted. Treat all clients as individuals and understand their idiosyncrasies.
7. Create systems to eliminate redundancy.
Develop one team way of doing things in the practice. Partners and staff should not have different processes. The more you develop systems and procedures, the more time your staff and partners will have to spend with clients.
8. Reduce your costs of providing services.
Salaries make up the largest portion of a firm’s cost. Make sure your compensation system rewards those who produce the most for the firm. Consider moving away from annual salary increases and create a system that pays performers more than non-performers. Consider paying staff bonuses if they achieve above the budget expectation. Encourage staff to up-sell services when clients present leads and reward them for their efforts.
9. Make client satisfaction a key element of your compensation system.
There is nothing more valuable than a satisfied and loyal client. Reward partners and staff for achieving superior client service and satisfaction. Constantly survey clients on how well you identify and solve their problems.
10. Train your staff.
Professionals are good tax accountants. That does not make them good client service people. They need training in developing listening, writing and probing skills, customer service and in learning how to manage and respond to client objections.
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]]>The post Time for a fireside chat? appeared first on Smithink.
]]>Why is that and what should we do about it? In an era when organic growth can be difficult for some due to local economic or other reasons, this seems an all too easy way of generating additional growth. Lack of resources and being unable to escape the compliance vortex are common reasons.
But all too often the reason is much simpler than that. It is a failure to engage effectively with clients – to have meaningful discussions that will unlock the client’s objectives and the issues which are concerning them.
For younger firm leaders, it is often a lack of confidence to conduct these discussions in a meaningful way that builds deeper client engagement and trust that is the biggest barrier. So how do we overcome that challenge? Like most things in life, it’s a bit of carrot combined with a bit of stick.
Here are a few things to ponder:
That means that when an actual meeting occurs with the client they already have some issues to raise. This boosts confidence in conducting the meeting.
Every client, every year should have one of these “needs review” meetings. People’s circumstances change, life events occur. It is clear that firms that have been successful in conducting these client discussions have developed deeper relationships with their clients and enjoyed growth from additional service offerings resulting from unlocking the needs of the client.
Developing client relationships is just one topic in our upcoming Young Guns Conference to be held on the Gold Coast on July 29-30. Mark your diary now and watch for further information later in April.
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]]>The post The Keys to Exceptional Client Service appeared first on Smithink.
]]>Save the Date: The Smithink Young Guns Workshop is running on July 29 and 30 at QT Hotel Gold Coast. Come along and work on your client service skills as well as many other interactive skill sessions. Details available in April.
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]]>The post Robotic Process Automation (RPA) – the next frontier appeared first on Smithink.
]]>It is also clear to me that the accounting profession is not going to disappear anytime soon. Anyone who thinks they can automate machines to deal with the complexities of Australian tax legislation has rocks in their head (maybe in 2030 that might be a different discussion but not now). That said, it is also clear that fundamental changes are afoot as these new technologies take hold. The question is – what will those technologies being doing and how will their implementation come about?
One thing is also clear to me in my 45+ years in the profession. When you look at how work is done in an accounting firm there is a lot of repetition. Standard workpapers, standard processes, document templates, and consistent outputs are all examples of this repetition. Of course, it’s also not that simple as many firms struggle to achieve consistency and compliance with their processes and standards. But it is here in this “engine room” of an accounting firm that we can see the opportunity for robotic process automation to play its part in slowly but surely taking these standards and fully automating the process.
Many of you would know of ATO Paperbuster (now part of the CCH iFirm Suite). It was an early example of RPA – taking ATO correspondence and automating the filing and generation of related client correspondence. Now with information being directly accessible from the ATO portal and open application programming interfaces (APIs) by the tax software suppliers such as Xero the process can be taken a lot further with automated checking with the tax application, more sophisticated rules-based document generation dealing with varying circumstances, automated filing and communication with the client based on their platform of choice.
But let’s get down further into the guts of an accounting firm. A lot of time and cost is spent on workpaper preparation. How can this be automated? Slowly but surely small business software suppliers such as MYOB and Xero have been working to generate workpapers from the small business ledger. But that’s only part of the story. Workpapers need supporting documentation. Being able to batch import predefined sets of client ledger reports is an important automation tool.
And let’s not forget email. The scourge of the 21st century (although better than the 1980s when life was spent with a telephone glued to the side of one’s head)! Many emails are for pretty trivial stuff – what’s my TFN? I need a copy of my accounts. Here’s the information you’ve asked for. When will my work be finished? Can I make an appointment? It is perhaps here that we will see the biggest impact of RPA in the short term. Imagine a system that can read these emails and determine what is needed, automate the reply, attach required information and file everything away. In the short term you may want to review what the machine is doing but over time, as confidence in the tech grows, you may let it do its thing in the background while you get on with more important tasks.
These processes could have their own alarm systems built in, too. Imagine if in reading emails, the machine can interpret whether a client is unhappy with your service and then automatically bring it to the attention of the practice’s client owner to address. A quick response in such circumstances would impress the client and reduce the risk of client loss. Now that’s tech really working for you.
How far could this go – this “spooky” reading of documents and dealing with discovered issues automatically? Perhaps the system could determine that required supporting documentation is missing for a workpaper. It might find that information in the client’s cloud storage. Having found the required documents, they might be automatically imported, named and filed following practice standards, and crosslinked to the workpaper with financial amounts compared and verified. It is not a great leap to see this happening.
Does this exist today? Perhaps surprisingly to some, it does. Tech start-up www.fyidocs.com has developed a cloud-based document management system specifically for accountants that incorporates robotic process automation and can perform the email and other automations outlined above. This is the sort of tech you need to keep your eye on.
Document management is key. To deliver real breakthroughs, process automation technology must be deeply integrated with your documents, so that they can be interpreted and acted upon. Make sure you keep this in mind when you’re considering your next document management system.
Many fear that technologies such as robotic process automation will be the end of the profession as less labour is needed for many tasks. But the reality is that attracting and retaining talent today has never been harder, partly because kids are not attracted to the repetitive nature of work in an accounting firm. So in the end, RPA will actually be liberating – freeing time to improve client engagement and analysis and attracting new people to the profession who are not interested in processing data.
It’s a brave new world – start your journey today!
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]]>The post How to create ongoing client engagements appeared first on Smithink.
]]>These board of advice meetings need structure. This structure should start with an agenda of what is to be covered followed by a review of the action plan from the last meeting. From there we need to look at the client’s quarterly or monthly financial performance for the period to forecast and converse and develop accountability.
After that let’s talk about any operational issue (IT, HR etc) that is concerning the client and then show them something new like the power of one, simple dashboards, industry specific KPI’s or benchmarks. To conclude the engagement, work through the action plan for the next meeting and confirm the date.
Is your firm ready to engage with new service offerings? Join us on February 21-22 for our Business Advisory Conference. Earlybird pricing has been extended until 18 January.
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