Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, Tax Preparers, QuickBooks ...€¦ · 1. Increase your price. The...
9
Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, Tax Preparers, QuickBooks® Consultants, and Accounting Software Resellers A Special Report by Sandi Smith Leyva 60 Ways to Increase Your Accounting or Bookkeeping Business Revenue Accelerator Accountant’s
Transcript of Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, Tax Preparers, QuickBooks ...€¦ · 1. Increase your price. The...
Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, Tax Preparers, QuickBooks® Consultants, and Accounting Software Resellers
A Special Report by Sandi Smith Leyva
60 Ways to Increase Your Accounting or Bookkeeping Business Revenue
AcceleratorAccountant’s
Are you looking for ways to increase your business revenue in your tax or accounting business? If so, here are some ideas for you to consider.
For best results, read this when you are not hurried or stressed. Have an open mind. You may have thought about or considered some of these in the past when it was not the right time, and maybe now is the right time.
Don’t let fear or our natural dislike for change cause you to think negatively as you read these. It’s easy for us to get lazy about changing things in our business, but you won’t get more revenue keeping things the way they are!
Think about the positives of these ideas before you think about the negatives, and you might actually have some ideas to choose from when you’re done. And remember, it’s all about helping the client and being valued and paid what you’re worth.
1. Increase your price.The simplest way to add more revenue is to increase your price. You may lose a few clients, but if you do it right, are valued, and do a great job for clients, they’ll pay more. Some may even say, “It’s about time; you were underpriced.”
2. Increase referrals.If clients or prospects are asking you if you take new clients, then it’s not clear to anyone whether you want new business or not. Also, when you talk to a client and if you complain or mention how busy you are all the time, you may actually be hurting your chances for referrals. Greet clients happily and let them know you are taking new clients. Let them know what the ideal client is for
you. And tell them how much you’d appreciate their referrals. You have to say it out loud; don’t assume clients know.
3. Stop giving away services for free.Are you offering clients advisory-level services while charging a bookkeeper rate? Are you acting as a coach to some clients without charging for your coaching services? If so, stop it. You’re giving away services for free, and this isn’t helping your revenue!
4. Add new features to your existing services. If you offer bookkeeping but not budgeting, add the feature of budgeting to your service and increase your rates accordingly. If you offer tax return filing but not tax projections, then add it. Your clients may already be asking for these things; listen to them and adjust your packages and services accordingly.
5. Provide software installation and setup.If you don’t already offer technology services, this is a first step. Whether the software is desktop or online, you do this all the time, but the client only does this once in a blue moon. The client will probably be willing to pay for the time savings if you can explain it well.
Bundle in selection and customization services and you have a whole new service line to offer clients.
6. Try wholesale software billing.This is where you are billed for the client’s software and you bill the client for their software, with, of course a markup based on what you and the vendor have approved. Your revenue will increase with volume as the markup will go to profit.
Some accounting professionals do this for other accounting professionals that don’t want to mess with it, so think outside your client base on this one.
7. Charge for phone consulting.Do your clients just have a “quick question” all the time? If so, the answer probably took you years to learn. Charge for the phone time.
8. Better yet, charge a support retainer.Do some of your clients need you “on call” for support? If so, charge them a monthly retainer fee for access to you on short notice. The charge is incurred whether the client uses the support or not. The value is in you being available on short notice whether they need you or not.
9. Offer training.Do your clients need to learn the accounting software? If so, you have lots of options. One on one customized training is the most requested. Most small business owners don’t have all day to go to a class. This new service can be profitable if you have the knowledge, ability to explain, and the patience of a teacher.
10. Provide accounting software add-on services.Does the accounting software fall short of features the client needs? When the alternative is to go to a more expensive accounting package, you may be able to save the client a lot of money by suggesting an add-on application that integrates deeply with the accounting software they are using. You can select, install, customize, and train clients on the add-ons.
11. Offer payroll services.You may already offer payroll services with your bookkeeping or accounting services, but if you don’t, it’s something to consider. It’s much easier these days as employees onboard themselves, and cloud payroll can be processed in about five minutes per pay period.
12. Earn affiliate fees.Many software products have affiliate programs where you earn a commission for referring your clients to them. You can earn a little or a lot this way depending on how much effort you put in selling the software.
13. Provide administrative services.One example of this is to copy clients' thermal receipts at year-end because you know they aren’t going to do it. Offer to do this as an add-on to your packages and you might be surprised at how many clients take you up on it.
14. Offer to help with accounting policy development.Many startups don’t have policies written like refund policy, shipping policy, or other policies that are required for e-commerce. Help them with these accounting-related policies as part of a service you provide.
15. Propose entity compliance.Making sure corporations have their board meeting minutes in a book, have the correct address of the agent on file, and other legal requirements can be a service you offer. While it’s not directly related to accounting, it’s right up your alley because you’re already more organized and deadline-focused than most entrepreneurs.
16. Offer classes.Some clients might want to learn more about accounting or their accounting software. Offer classes to teach financial literacy, accounting for non-accountants, how to read financial reports, and accounting software.
17. Offer webinars.Ditto the above, but instead of face-to-face, do it in a webinar. If you have an excellent turnout at your webinars, you could partner up with other instructors and offer a wider variety of classes. Consider your attorney, insurance broker, referral partners, IT consultant, HR expert, and more.
18. Sell templates.Have you got a lot of forms, samples, and templates that could benefit a new entrepreneur? If so, consider selling these in a package. This would work best when niched to a specific industry. Include things like Chart of Accounts, credit card authorization forms, collection letters, and the like.
19. Hire bookkeepers.Did your client just lose his bookkeeper? If so, offer to help him through the interview process to get a new bookkeeper onboard. You can offer interview questions, job descriptions, technical tests, and much more expertise to a client’s hiring process. The typical search firm gets about 30 percent of the first year salary, so this is not a trivial service.
20. Provide workflow efficiencies.Do you find that a client’s accounting services are especially cumbersome? If so, they’ll benefit from your review of their workflow and suggestions to streamline their accounting processes. This is a sought-after consulting service, so your fees can be profitable.
21. Consult with other accounting firms to do what you do.Find an accounting firm that isn’t doing what you’re doing. For example, if you have a booming QuickBooks bookkeeping business, many accounting firms are scratching their heads how to start one. Consider becoming their consultant to help them with their new division.
22. Set up mobile accounting.Do clients want to do accounting on their phone but struggle with the setup? Add a new service that helps a client setup their online banking, accounting software access, payroll and/or timesheet access, and other add-on access. Walk them through making an online deposit and the correct endorsement: “For electronic deposit only” and maybe even order them a new stamp.
23. Teach at community colleges.Earn a little extra money by teaching at your local college. It can be great for marketing to new clients too.
24. Write and sell a book.This one’s a little harder, and you won’t get rich as an author. But a book is the best “business card” ever and will get you great credibility for long-term revenue growth.
25. Be a part-time supervisor for clients.For clients with full time bookkeeping staff, you can offer supervisory services. This might include a package of services that includes managing the bookkeeper’s work product, assigning tasks, training, giving annual performance reviews, and setting salary. You have more expertise than most entrepreneurs when it comes to reviewing the work of a bookkeeper, and clients might appreciate the time savings this service offers.
26. Train other accountants.If you have deep knowledge into accounting software, a particular industry, or you’ve simply figured out how to do something you think most other accountants haven’t, you can put together a course for your peers.
27. Help others pass software certifications or the CPA exam.Have you earned a software or accounting certification? If so, design a review course to help others pass, or work with a vendor to create courses to get certified.
28. Accept speaking engagements.Speaking fees can be earned for someone who has public speaking skills. You can speak at accounting conferences or your local Chamber meeting. Sometimes the pay is low, but if you get really good, some speakers earn thousands of dollars per speech.
29. Charge for data conversions.Do you have clients who need to either clean up existing data or convert from one accounting system to another? If you’re data-savvy, you can offer this service which includes exporting, cleaning up, reformatting, and importing data from one system to another.
30. Earn commissions.One of the best ways to earn commissions is to partner with a merchant service provider and refer them to clients. For each account your set up, you get a small percentage of revenue that is run through the merchant account, which adds up to a lot over the years.
31. Provide business consulting.Most owners of small businesses have expertise in what they sell, but not so much about running a business.
Creating strategic plans, helping with budgeting, and general business consulting will always have a market for owners who want to grow their businesses and do things right.
32. Sell hosting.Desktop software is often hosted to make it more accessible. You have the knowledge to tell clients about this option and to move the files to a hosted solution, with a markup for yourself.
33. Write articles.You can get paid to write articles, but it can be tough to do so. Whether you get paid or not, getting them published will provide you with great exposure and will boost your reputation.
34. Save a corrupted file.Have you got a client who has a corrupted file? If so, your restoration services could come in handy. There are only a few experts nationwide that provide this service, so if you have this skill, let people know.
35. Offer coaching services.Are you great at helping clients with mindset issues aswell as business and accounting issues? Then you might make a great coach. Create coaching packages for your clients.
36. Help clients take additional payment methods.Many of you have helped clients set up ACH. You can also help them through merchant account applications, setting up Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, PayPal and other payment methods. This is also a way to help speed up cash flow for clients.
37. Be a Mac expert.There are not too many accountants using Mac computers compared to PCs. Make sure clients know you are Mac-savvy if you have that skill.
38. Become a trainer.If you like speaking and traveling, there are lots of opportunities to be hired by an accounting software vendor that does training road shows and conference sessions. You may also be able to train for a CPA state society or go into CPA firms as a trainer on a wide variety of topics.
39. Provide a review service.Most new clients who start using your bookkeeping services need their files cleaned up first. Especially if they are doing it themselves, it’s probably wrong. You can provide two services here: first create a cleanup plan by reviewing their accounting files or system, and second, to actually do the work of cleaning it up. Many accountants don’t charge for the review but they should.
40. Offer a green service.Do you notice any clients with a lot of paper? Let them know how to go paperless with your new service. They’ll be helping the planet as well as feeling good about themselves.
41. Add a software option.If you know QuickBooks, go out and learn Xero or Sage so that your clients will have multiple options. This also helps your business reduce enterprise risk so that you’re not tied to one accounting software vendor.
42. Add a niche specialty.Learn the ins and outs of a particular industry so that you can serve clients more in-depth than you do currently. You may also want to set up benchmarking as part of your niche services.
43. Learn one part of accounting in depth.There are many aspects to accounting, which make it so interesting. One example is inventory. There’s so much to know about re-order points, carrying costs, obsolete inventory, FIFO, out-of-stock items, back orders, drop ship, assembly items, lot numbers, Class A items, and more. If you have this knowledge, you can go to town offering in depth services. Other areas might include point of sale, field service, fixed assets, job costing, accounts receivable, and more.
44. Focus on a particular size of business.If you prefer working with mid-market or larger businesses, make it clear that you do, and design additional services for them.
45. Focus on a type of entity.Especially for tax preparers, let people know what types of entities you prefer working with. Do you like C corporations, nonprofits, partnerships, LLCs, or S corporations better? Or maybe you prefer working with individuals, trusts, or estates.
46. Learn one part of tax in depth.Are you expert at helping expats? Perhaps you really understand the Section 199A rules well. Or perhaps you’re really good with tax planning for real estate investors. If you have the knowledge, design a service around that and let people know about it.
47. Offer advisory services.In another article, I’ve listed 39 advisory services you can offer, so you can see that here: https://accountantsaccelerator.com/ultimate-list-advisory-services-accountants/
48. Manage client software licenses.Are your clients in compliance with their software licenses? You can be hired to do an “audit” of sorts to make sure your client has the right number of licenses and is using them legally.
49. Profit from your content.If you’ve generated a lot of content on a blog or on a YouTube channel, you can run ads and get money for running them. You’ll need to work on building a huge following, but some of the top YouTubers make millions every year.
50. Run mastermind groups.A mastermind group is a group of business ownersthat come together for the purpose of improving theirbusinesses or working on a specific skill. The group has a facilitator that guides the meetings. Running these groups can be profitable as well as life-changing for the members.
51. Provide test companies. A lot of accounting professionals need a place to try new features or integrations on a test basis so that if something happens, they don’t damage the live file. Building a good test company takes a lot of time and effort. People will pay for the use of a test company that is already built and saves them a lot of time.
52. Offer product comparisons.If you know several software solutions in depth, you can create a comparison chart. People won’t pay a lot for this, but you may be able to charge a little bit if you have an excellent reputation. You can also bundle it in with training, templates, or other services and mark the services up.
53. Partner.Sometimes the synergy of bringing in a partner or partnering with someone for a particular aspect of your business can create new revenues for you. All of the above ideas and more can be done with or without a partner. Bring in a partner when they have something you don’t – a skill or resources – that will shorten your learning curve and bring you revenue faster.
54. Offer a membership program.Bundle your services together by offering a membership program which might include coaching and training as well as other services. It’s an additional service line and more revenue for your business.
55. Provide CPE to CPAs or IRS approved courses to EAs.CPAs need 40 hours of CPE each year. You can get accredited through NASBA and a few other states to provide this educational training.
56. Offer a VIP program.Do some of your clients want to cut to the head of the line all of the time? Offer them a VIP service where they can pay extra for faster service, even during tax season.
57. Create a support package to offer troubleshooting.If you don’t want to charge for every phone call, you can create various levels of support packages for clients that are bundled in with your bookkeeping or tax services.
58. Change your pricing method.If you’re charging by the hour and not feeling like you’re getting what you’re worth, your rate may not be the problem as much as your pricing method. Other pricing methods, such as fixed fee, packages, and value pricing can earn you higher revenue.
59. Charge a late fee.Demand and supply rules. If a client comes to you on April 10, don’t turn them away. Charge them more than the client that came to you in February. Some businesses charge double for a rush fee; this is similar.
60. Charge a trip charge. Your plumber does. If you have to visit the client these days, you should be compensated for all that work you had to do: driving time, gasoline, wear and tear on your car, dry cleaning, putting makeup on, and getting dressed up. Charge extra to visit a client and less to work remotely.
Did you get some ideas to boost your revenue? I hope your mind is buzzing with ideas.
If you need help implementing some of your ideas, we have an entire toolbox of learning opportunities available for you at Accountantsaccelerator.com
Check us out and let us know what your specific needs are.
About Accountant’s Accelerator
Accountant’s Accelerator, a division of Sandra L. Leyva, Inc., offers training, coaching, consulting, and outsourced marketing for CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, tax preparers, and other self-employed accounting professionals who want to grow their practices, earn more, work less, and serve their clients better.
We offer a full set of marketing services, including training, website design, SEO, newsletters, and social media support, as well as a full range of self-study products in our store.
Sandra L. Leyva, Inc. is a Texas corporation with offices in San Jose, CA and Plano, TX. Other divisions include Accelerator Websites, Accelerator Newsletters, and Accelerate Small Biz.
Sandra L. Leyva, Inc.6965 El Camino Real
#105 PMB 683Carlsbad, CA 92009
http://www.AccountantsAccelerator.com
Questions?Call us at 408-550-4325 or email [email protected]
