AVN explains how to turn around your practice
How are things going in your accountancy practice? Just peachy? Or are you feeling overworked, underpaid and underappreciated? And not just because it was January recently – but all year round?
In my experience of working with accountants, many of them get stuck at a certain level and can’t seem to grow their business or their profitability. This can go on for years, or even decades.
If you find yourself in this situation it could be because you’re making one or more of these mistakes.
Mistake 1: you’ve accepted the status quo
‘Life’s rubbish ... but I’ve kind of got used to it!’ Is this what you’re thinking right now? Or is life just about OK? You’re making a living, you’re earning an income. You aren’t really enjoying it, but what else can you expect?
You can expect a lot more! I firmly believe that it doesn’t have to be this way and that there is a better way to run your accountancy business.
But it has to start with you. If you don’t believe things can improve, well, they won’t. If you start striving for better and looking for solutions, things will start changing.
My advice is to aim high but start small. Set ambitious goals and then break them down into manageable chunks so it’s easy to get going. When you do this consistently, those small improvements really do make a difference.
Mistake 2: your prices are too low
When did you last raise your fees? Putting up prices strikes fear in the heart of many accountants. You worry you’ll lose clients or get negotiated back down again. So your fees stay the same for years on end.
But of course, this means that your clients are less profitable every year, even though you’re working just as hard for them.
When you think about it, it’s insane! We accept price rises in other industries so why not in accounting?
When I’m coaching accountants and I tell them to raise their fees, they usually come up with a whole raft of reasons why they can’t do it. But when they take the plunge, most clients barely even query the new fee (though there are exceptions of course).
My suggestion is to test out new prices on clients you really wouldn’t mind losing. So either they leave and you free up capacity for more profitable clients, or they stay and you earn more from them. And once you gain confidence in quoting higher prices you can roll this out further.
Mistake 3: you don’t invest in yourself
I realise that suggesting you take time out to work on your business acumen during tax season is probably the last thing you want to hear. But if you want next January to be less of a slog, you do need to action this at some point.
Upgrading your skills in, for example, marketing, selling or managing your team is essential if you want to keep up with your competitors. Understanding how to sell and deliver advisory solutions will be increasingly critical as compliance services become more and more automated. What are you doing to keep up to date and seize new opportunities?
The world will move on whether you like it or not – don’t get left behind.
Once you recognise that you’re making these mistakes, you can start to do something about it. I’ve created a free guide that explains this further (as well as other common mistakes) and shows you how to avoid them.
Shane Lukas – AVN for Accountants