How To Unlock The Full Potential Of Your Firm?

In this blog, we will teach you how to unlock the full potential of your firm. That is to say, accountants have faced a number of challenges since the start of the pandemic. The sudden shift to remote working and changing customer demands meant many had to adopt new ways of working. In addition, businesses have needed additional support to adapt to the changes that came. As we emerge from this, accountants will play an important role in their clients’ economic bounce back. That is to say, there is a real opportunity for accountants too. As with happy clients, business growth soars. The tip for how to unlock the full potential of your firm is to nurture your clients’ growth. By taking these small steps and creating better efficiencies for clients, accountants can gain the headspace needed to grow their firms.

The question is how to unlock the full potential of your firm. Here are some ways that could help:

• Focus On The Specifics

Accountants need to be efficient, accurate, compliant, and productive to best help their clients. This requires the right tools. Here enters cloud technology, it has the potential to become an accountant’s most powerful weapon. It can drive efficiencies by reducing technical complexity, increasing agility and supporting flexible working. It can also improve accountants’ ability to rapidly respond to changing customer needs. For example, a huge task for any practice is recording business purchase orders, invoices and expense receipts. Whether a sole trader or limited company with many employees, submitting and recording receipts is a time-consuming task. This leads many accountants to fall into the trap of becoming preoccupied with lower value actions.

One extremely effective tool to combat this is record digitalisation, stored in the cloud. This tool can streamline lengthy admin tasks like tracking client receipts, capturing photos and digitally processing receipts, invoices, purchase orders and bank statements. In addition, this frees up accountants’ schedules, enabling them to respond to impromptu client requests and deliver value-add services. It also allows for valuable collaboration with colleagues that can benefit practice operations in the long run. By minimising the occurrence of incomplete records or lost receipts and invoices by ‘snapping’ all records as they arise, standards can remain high and expectations can be met on a continuous basis. Through harnessing a cloud approach, accountants can streamline services, act smart and respond flexibly to changing requirements as they happen. Freed from time-consuming tasks, they can focus on more value-add services. This will help them cross-sell services to clients and grow their business.

• The Key To Unlocking Potential

That is to say, happy clients, equal happy business. So for accountants looking at how to unlock the full potential of your firm, it is essential that they get this right. Adopting cloud software can play a huge role in empowering accountants to work smarter, not harder. It gives them the headspace that they need to meet their goals and focus on what they love and do best – supporting clients. Only then can they grow with confidence and thrive moving into the next normal. Now you know some ways of how to unlock the full potential of your firm, let us move ahead.

How Accountants Can Build Better Client Relationships?

Anyone running a business knows that customers need to be continually made to feel special. But how can accountants afford to go the extra mile when fees are being so tightly squeezed? Successful firms that are addressing the service challenge all have one thing in common. They are turning to digital technology to optimise every step of the client journey and secure longer-lasting relationships. We know some tips for how to unlock the full potential of your firm. Now here are some tips for enhancing the client experience:

• Technology Helps Lay The Foundation

With the technology that is now available, accountants are in the best position possible. They can get everything done more quickly and easily than ever before. The clever use of digital technology can help lay a firm foundation. That is to say, there is more time to invest in developing the advisory role. This ultimately helps to build better engagement.

• Move The Relationship On To A Digital Footing

Being able to own and serve the client is paramount and moving the relationship on to a digital footing can enhance the relationship by ensuring that everything the client needs to do business. That is, people can access their financial applications on their smartphones. This use of a mobile engagement platform is helping top firms to communicate more effectively by providing clients with a wide range of tools that deliver heightened security ranging from two-way instant messaging to secure document portals for the quicker approval of tax returns. In addition, accountants who use the platform are able to differentiate their firm, aid digitalisation and collect data more effectively.

• Encourage More Digital Interaction

Digital interaction is now more of an expectation than ever before. With so many using banking apps and social media messaging being on hand whenever needed, clients expect their accountants to communicate with them in the same way. If they don’t, the perception is that they are not fulfilling their role as accountants for business. Sharing information in a digital format on a mobile engagement platform is seen as a key element in building a stronger relationship with clients. Successful firms say it makes it far more flexible for both parties and allows information to flow freely. The simple tasks, such as the scanning of receipts on smartphones and tracking mileage, enhance the relationship by ensuring regular interaction. Being in touch several times a day instead of only several times a month strengthens the connection and helps create a more meaningful relationship.

• Human Touch Is Essential

None of the accountants who have taken the digital lead has ditched the human touch completely. They tell us it is now more essential than ever. Technology allows accountants to better understand their clients’ preferences. That might be as simple as phoning at eight in the morning rather than in the afternoon, the big takeaway is that the client feels valued and their experience is enhanced.

• Track Against Tasks To See If There Is Slippage

Slow creep can be a problem especially when most firms now offer fixed fees. One of the biggest mistakes accountants tell us they have made is not to track tasks to see how the firm is performing. Those that have solved the problem now utilise technology to assess the time spent on the projects undertaken for their clients and they compare this with what was agreed at the outset. If the amount of work undertaken isn’t correct anymore, then slippage becomes a real problem. In these circumstances, firms are taking steps to review the fee and ensure they drive other opportunities such as training to help strengthen the offering.

• Make The Client’s Life As Easy As Possible

Accountants can take on the role of technology experts if they lead their clients along an easier path. One of the biggest challenges, as any accountant will know, is getting information from directors. That is to say, even for simple items such as expenses claims. Digital tools make the collection of data a simple day-to-day occurrence and their use removes much of the struggle that so many clients experience. Putting the solutions in place that makes their lives easier is a positive step towards enhancing the client experience.

• Take Advantage Of Tools That Level The Playing Field

Whether a client is an innovator, early adopter or one of the late majority, snapping receipts with the camera on their smartphone in real-time has a positive benefit of levelling the playing field. Some clients may have to be persuaded to do things differently but if they are given a reason why it will make their lives more efficient, they are more likely to move across the technology adoption curve.

• Bring Tools Together So They Are All In One Place

Storing all client programs in one easy to get to place on their smartphone helps to streamline information and simplify access to it. The top accountants keep it simple by providing clients with a single portal, so they can easily work on any of the software recommended to help run their businesses while they are on the move. By putting the solutions in one place and creating a unique set of industry-specific tools for that particular client’s digital journey, there is a distinct sense of tailoring the offering to suit the individual.