We’re doing something a bit new here up in Pittsburgh for the new podcast this week!

Our new book,  “Double Your Accounting Firm: Lessons Learned on How Top Firms Grow Faster, Build Stronger Teams and Increase Profit” was released on Amazon. And I’ve been getting emails like crazy about the value it’s provided.

It’s a compilation of 100+ episodes of the Growing Your Firm Podcast, over 300 articles on this site, plus the tens of thousands of accountants interacted with since the foundation of Jetpack Workflow that’s brought this book to fruition.

It’s not some cheap ebook either. This is a 180-page manual to truly catapult the growth of your accounting firm. I talked with my team and we felt having a series discussing and diving into important elements of the book might provide added value for the price of the book.

And that’s why…I discuss:

• The one law that could double employee efficiency
• The actual job activities for everyone in your firm
• How touch points could bring in more revenue streams without signing a new client

MAKING WORKFLOWS ‘WORK’

You may think this is Deja vu…but it bears repeating…when you have the right workflows in place, two things happen:

1. Efficiency jumps up
2. Employee capacity floodgates burst open

Then, you’re fully maximizing your assets (team members) and getting the most bang for your buck. The problem is this takes planning, time and patience. When work is constantly landing on your team’s desks, something like ‘workflow’ gets bumped in the meeting schedule to next month.

When you shift your mindset about your service offerings…things change. Rather than think you provide a limited scope service…what if you looked at your offerings as a PRODUCT-BASED BUSINESS.

You’re packaging up services like a product and trying to do the job as efficiently as possible. The way to do this is by having an ‘assembly line’ method, as recommended to us by Jeff Borschowa. 

A regular product manufactured goes through the same checkpoints until completed. This is how your service offerings should be. If you can’t trust the process, how can you trust the staff to complete it?

EVERYONE’S EXACT ROLE IN THE FIRM:

The way to kickstart this workflow process is defining roles in the firm. When each person ‘does their job,’ the machine runs like clockwork.
Let’s start at the top. We talked with Rob Nixon about this and he gave us pretty straight answers on what each level should expect.

PARTNERS/OWNERS:
– 60% business development, 30% high-value client work, 10% team building
– Everything else gets delegated down

MANAGERS:
– Implement systems that Partners pass down
– Find the cracks in the system and update as needed
– Onboarding new clients (more than actual client work)
– Spread out capacity

PRACTITIONERS:
– Voice of firm for small clients
– Foot soldiers doing the compliance work and delivering most of the services
– Quality touch points with clients

ADMIN STAFF:
– Paperwork and make sure completed work goes out
– Answering phones
– Everyone above Admin SHOULD NOT be doing non-revenue activities like scanning, sorting, etc.
Practitioners should not be spending time scanning in new client documents. I talk a bit about touch points on this episode because it’s so important.

POWER OF TOUCH POINTS WITH CLIENTS:

You should do these touch points forever after. There is tons of business sitting inside of your firm you haven’t tapped into yet.
Touch points give you access to these missing revenue streams. Scheduling time with clients to discuss their overall business allows you a ‘behind-the-curtain’ peek at what they need help with.

Know this — your clients don’t know all your services. For you, offering payroll as a service is a no-brainer. For clients, they may have zero idea you offer payroll. It’s not a no-brainer for them.

Again, build touch points into your calendar and don’t skip them. Set time in down months to take a swim in the deep end with your clients.

TURNAROUND TIME ON PROJECT WORK:

Turnaround time on a client’s project is a great starting point to measure how to boost efficiency and employee capacity. For many accountants, they can get a million returns out the door on April 15th if they need to.

Yet, without those ‘hard’ deadlines, imagine how much work gets backed up in workflow.

Decreasing turnaround time raises your client’s expectations of your firm. Right now, so much time gets wasted going back-and-forth with clients on missing documents and questions.

Instead…

ONE LAW TO DOUBLE EMPLOYEE CAPACITY

If employees worked under “Parkinson’s Law”, they would double employee capacity.

See, you’ve probably heard of good ol’ Parkinson’s Law and probably used it a time or two. Parkinson’s Law means time will expand to allow us to get a task done.

In school, you needed a paper done by 9 am Monday. You busted your hump Sunday night and got it done. That’s Parkinson’s Law in full force.
Create internal deadlines and make your team accountable to this. Wasted back-and-forth with clients is REACTIVE.
Reacting to problems leads to client dissatisfaction. Set deadlines once client work walks through the door.

BENEFITS OF INCREASED CAPACITY:

You may be putting off workflow issues to focus on other tasks like compliance or marketing…but, workflow opens up capacity, which makes clients happier, who then refer more to you.

Better workflow opens up space in your team’s calendar to fill with another high-profile client.

Get your workflow fixed by sitting down with your team and getting a global picture of it. From a prospect calling up through delivering a tax return. Every step in the process needs to be scrutinized. Damien Greathead recommends, when in doubt, ask the admin team who know everything!

IF YOU FIND THIS PODCAST FORMAT HELPFUL OR NOT HELPFUL…
SEND AN EMAIL TO David@jetpackworkflow.com and let me know your thoughts!

On July 25, 2017, our book “Double Your Accounting Firm: Lessons Learned on How Top Firms Grow Faster, Build Stronger Teams and Increase Profit” was released on Amazon. Hardcover copies will be available in the coming weeks.
With this book, we plan to add even more value to your accounting firm besides just workflow processes.

• Page 52: Actual scripts to move clients into the more profitable fixed and value pricing model

• Page 89: Top 2 crazy good strategies to get new clients in your firm this month

• Page 136: Step-by-step process to meet and close new prospects (scripts and blueprint included)

• Page 220: Building out 6-figure profit centers this year to double your firm

For a limited time, you can grab a discounted copy. Click here to get your copy.

Related Articles:

1. How He Grew from 2-10 Employees in 1 Year…While Working Abroad. The Josh Zweig Interview
2. Double Your Bookkeeping Revenue by Cutting 30% of Your Clients & How to Hire the Perfect Partners [Case Study]
3. 7 Ways Accountants Can De-Stress After Busy Season Burnout

On July 25, 2017, our book “Double Your Accounting Firm: Lessons Learned on How Top Firms Grow Faster, Build Stronger Teams and Increase Profit” was released on Amazon. Hardcover copies will be available in the coming weeks.
With this book, we plan to
 add even more value to your accounting firm besides just workflow processes.

• Page 52: Actual scripts to move clients into the more profitable fixed and value pricing model

• Page 89: Top 2 crazy good strategies to get new clients in your firm this month

• Page 136: Step-by-step process to meet and close new prospects (scripts and blueprint included)

• Page 220: Building out 6-figure profit centers this year to double your firm

For a limited time, you can grab a discounted copy. Click here to get your copy.
———————————————————————————————————————

The Rookie Mistake Firm Owners Make:

Are you seeing more clients come signing on the dotted line, but profits remaining stagnant?

It’s a common problem especially for firms making less than $50 million per year which is most firms. The answer you’d think would be to find more clients, hire more staff, and update your numbers and see what changes.

It’s a dangerous treadmill that leads to burnout and unhappy employees.

What’s the mistake these owners make?

They work on the billable hour model Now, we’ve discussed other methods of pricing before (value pricing and fixed fee). But, today is more important than ever to bring up.

As the workforce gets younger, they are looking for more freedom and less time at the office. Unfortunately, with billable hours, employees are rewarded for spending more time in their seats.

There’s no reason for employees to innovate, use new technology, or do their work faster to  make room for new clients.

The Mindset You Need To Start:

If you’re on a billing system right now, it would be downright foolish to make a drastic switch. You must do it slowly…starting with your mindset.

See, there are dozens of firms out there who charge much more than you doi. They’re doing it not from billing their time but their value.

The first step is understanding and believing in the value you provide. You’re not a bookkeeper or a tax preparer anymore. You’re a business consultant helping your clients 10X their business.

See how much a mindset shift this is. Because trust me, if you only look at WHAT you’re doing and not WHY it affects your client’s businesses, your employees are doing the same.

We are in the information age. Every piece of information is online somewhere. Your clients know this, but don’t have the time to find the valuable intel they need. They lean on you…you can hear it in their voice.

“Hourly billing doesn’t fit the knowledge economy.” —
Ron Baker, value pricing prophet

You’re worth far more than just your time.

Doctors bill thousands of dollars for a few minutes of their time. Because they bring real, life-changing value. Whether you agree with the healthcare system or not, it doesn’t matter. That’s not the point.

The point is you have an expertise that is valued whether you know it or not.

The worst part of billable hours is how it hits your clients. They’re afraid to give you a call because they know they’re on the clock when you pick up the phone.

If you’re afraid of ‘wasted time’ it’s the risk you have to take to grow a company. Large companies, like Apple, take risks spending billions to develop the next iPhone. They’re rewarded with billions.

How do I have this conversation with current clients?

You’ll want to start with your most trusted clients first. Tell them you are looking at your current service offerings and there might be some extra ways you can add value for them.

Also, describe how you are moving pricing models to be more efficient and get work out to them much faster. Show vulnerability that you are growing but also how it will benefit them as your client.

Next, simply go through similar value-digging questions. You’ll learn more about your clients this way, plus you can ask for referrals at the end. If you’re still uncomfortable,
call up your most trusted client and simply ask, “Hi Mr. Client, we are making some changes in our pricing and service offerings. I am trying out a new way to present to clients. Can I have 20 minutes of your time to try it out on you and get your feedback?” This trial conversation could lead to more sales when your client says, “I didn’t know you did that!”

Action Steps

1. Ask yourself, do I firmly believe I’m worth more than other firms? You must have a “Yes” to this answer.
2. Recognize the differences and benefits between fixed pricing and value pricing as opposed to the dreaded billable hour.
3. Look at all your current service offerings and rank them by revenue. Are there profitable ones you could bundle?
4. Practice the value conversation with a client and prospect.
5. For your next prospect, offer at least three options to them based on the format addressed above. Judge the results and adjust

In the book, Double Your Accounting Firm, I go into much deeper detail on how to use this specific roles and turn them into a well-oiled machine.

Your first order of business to double your firm is to pick up a copy of the book.

Click here to get your copy.

After you do, it really helps when you leave a review on the book. It’ll make it much easier for other accounting firms to find the book. It’s an easy way for you to pay it forward.