How do you build a million dollar accounting firm quickly? That’s the topic we ask Greg O’Brien in this week’s Growing Your Firm Podcast. He did it from scratch in 24 months!

In 2020, Greg was named a Top 5 National Finalist for the Tax Planner of the Year by the AICTC from a pool of over 800 qualified Tax Planners. Greg and his team specialize in working with entrepreneurial clients who own startups or small businesses, and individuals growing into more complex tax and financial issues. 

His experience includes advanced tax planning and CFO services for a wide array of individuals, start-ups and nonprofits. Also, he specializes in helping startups implement proper systems and ensure their accounting and financial statements are accurate as they rapidly grow and approach liquidity events.

Podcast

Summary

  • About Greg O’Brien CPA
    • Billing Model
  • Scaling From Solopreneur to a Team of 7 in 24 Months
    • Growing Clientele: Cold Contact
    • SEO and Google Advertising
    • Hiring Employees

About Greg O’Brien CPA

Greg O’Brien CPA is a forward-thinking, virtual tax planning and accounting CFO firm that is headquartered in Boston, MA. Though Greg is the only one physically present in Massachusetts, the other six employees are completely remote. Greg says he was always a big believer in the virtual model, even pre-COVID, and he would spend hours studying other virtual firms. 

The firm offers tax planning compliance, virtual accounting, and virtual CFO services to individuals, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. Greg O’Brien CPA’s best work results involve producing a tangible result for clients in the form of physical cash saved through taxes or seeing an owner’s reaction to CFO and accounting systems increasing their bottom line.

Billing Model

We’ve emphasized several drawbacks of the hourly billing model and have been vocal advocates of the value billing system. Greg started his business out on the value billing system to begin with, so there was no need for any drastic adjustments, only refinements which came as a result of the development of systems which helped to narrow down the services Greg offered. Clients are charged an onboarding fee for tax planning and set up into their systems. Next, they are presented monthly packages that are value priced to the client depending on their needs.  

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In the beginning, Greg studied several business models in the hopes of acquiring another firm and simply couldn’t understand why there was such low profitability. Eventually, one of his mentors recommended that he strike out on his own and think outside of the box. As a result, his average monthly fee exceeds the expectations of several within the industry: they average between $1,500 and $2,000 per month for each client.

Growing Clientele: Cold Contact

Many people believe that they need sophisticated software, a business email address, or even a unique marketing tactic in order to generate leads and convert them to loyal customers. Greg didn’t have any of that. Instead, he hustled, and he told us, “I really started from day one with cold outreach.” After combing through tech magazines, he would note that a new startup formed. He then became an internet sleuth, figuring out the business owner’s email address. From there, he sent an email to see if the business needed assistance with their first C-Corp tax return.

Because of this one-on-one direct contact, he ended up scoring three clients using the cold contact method, and he still has these clients on a monthly subscription today. From the direct one-on-one contact, clients referred his services via word of mouth, and the “flavor,” or niche, of the services varied from location to location. Greg explains, “So, I’ve developed a nice little niche out in Southern California, and then some of my local clients have just spun off.”

SEO And Google Advertising

“You know, almost every CPA out there has a lousy website. I looked around and saw there’s a lot of websites that are old or lacking. I saw that as an opportunity,” Greg said as he explained another facet by which his business grew.

During the first year, Greg knew it would be wise to invest in SEO and Google advertising for their website. His website alone ended up being the marketing tool that attracted a particular client who had an online start up. “He became a very valuable client to me,” Greg explained. His client referred several other clients to him by the fourth month. Eventually, Greg began actively investing in books and information about SEO and growing an online presence. 

I stopped looking at [advertising] as an expense. I started looking at it as an investment, so if I can spend a thousand dollars a month, but I’m getting several thousand dollars back, it’s kind of a no-brainer.

As Greg began to receive more clients, he eventually had to begin thinking about how to complete the new influx of work.

Hiring Employees

Aside from a part-time bookkeeper, Greg was working alone. He knew that he needed someone full time who could help him, and his bookkeeper at the time was pretty adamant about remaining part-time. So, Greg took his search to the online job boards.

On Indeed, he found one person who had his own firm. After connecting with him, Greg sent him work as a contractor, to test the waters, and the partnership was fruitful. Greg hired him as his first full-time employee. Prior to his hire, Greg had been using Jetpack Workflow as a solopreneur, and after having hired several others, Greg had to figure out how to adjust its functions to accommodate the work of a team. He handed over this task to his new hire, “And now he’s a wizard at it,” Greg says. This freed him up to focus his efforts on finding more clients.

However, he still needed more hands on deck. “I was not prepared for how fast the growth was going to happen,” Greg recalled. He realized that once an employee says they are up to their eyes in work, it’s too late: more hiring should have been done weeks ago. It takes about four to six weeks to hire someone, so, as Greg said, “Hire number two was a scramble.”

From this experience, Greg learned that hires are also an investment. No employee wants to live always on the edge from an overload or in a state of burnout, so it’s important to always plan ahead. Already, he had a system in place for distributing work amongst his team members to prevent burnout, including two tips for how to do so:

  1. Greg explains that he has divided up his clients to “A” clients, “B” clients, and  “C” clients to reflect the nature of their contract and how much work it would involve. 
  2. Once his team hits 75% capacity, Greg knows it’s time to make another hire.

There was a lot more valuable information in the podcast that did not make the show notes, so be sure to listen to the full episode for more of Greg’s secrets to success! If you would like to reach out to Greg personally, check out his website, and connect with him on LinkedIn or reach out to him via email.

See Jetpack Workflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.

As a professional accountant, are project management tools necessary? You have the skills, and know how to deliver the service, so why add the layer of technology? 

But the reality is, project management is freeing up accountants to do what they do best. In navigating the vast landscape of client services, the tasks pile on, so you end up spending more time organizing your thoughts than delivering value.

Think about it: not only are you growing a business with dozens (or even hundreds) of clients, but many of those clients run businesses of their own. And if you’re like many other accounting firms, you do more than simply offer bookkeeping and tax filing. Maybe you offer business planning sessions, payroll, and/or even fractional CFO services, too.

With multiple CPAs to manage, a growing list of clients to serve, and a range of services — there are a lot of projects! This is exactly why project management tools are an accountant’s best friend.

Why Project Management Tools are Important

Without a documented process, things fall through the cracks. And even great processes allow for human error. A project management tool allows you to create a hub for how your accounting practice operates. 

It’s more than a checklist or list of steps, but a system to:

  • Create processes for every aspect of your business (from onboarding new clients to handling their quarterly reports)
  • Assign, automate, and remind the team of key dates and deliverables
  • See a full dashboard of every assignment, process, and project for a snapshot of how your firm is performing
  • Use that data to better train your team and hold them accountable

Bottomline? A well-implemented project management tool allows you to better organize your business, while gaining the perspective of a 10,000 foot view at any given moment. And that leaves you more time to focus on high value actions — without becoming overwhelmed.

Starting to see the benefits? Great. Now it’s time to choose a tool with the features your firm needs.

Key Project Management Tool Features

There’s no avoiding tech in the modern accounting world. And most of the time, it’s a smattering of tools you’ve acquired over time. Maybe a “to-do” app here and a Google Drive there. A calendar by one company and messaging app from another. 

A project management tool brings all of this together, either through native features or via integrations. To use the word again, it’s a “hub” for all business functions to flow.

Planning and Checklists

Each new client requires a plan. All of the tasks for those customers need to be delegated and scheduled. In accounting, you often have the same series of steps, depending on the type of service. 

For example, new client intake involves getting access to accounts, connecting everything into your financial software, and a somewhat standard process of cleaning up their books. (Once a year tax filing clients follow a similar process.)

Now imagine each step of all your processes and services well-documented into one database! 

Key takeaway: Look for a project management tool that allows you to create multiple templates. So, when a new client signs up you can quickly assign accountants the proper checklists and make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Jetpack Workflow has over 70 templates, specific to accounting firms, that you can set up lightning fast.

Scheduling and Workflow

Automated scheduling and workflow features build nicely on top of process templates. Once you know “what” to do, it’s important to add the “when.” Are you, or your CPAs, forgetting to follow up on key dates? 

At best, you’re missing out on great opportunities to sell more services to clients, get referrals from them, or just build the relationship. At worst, you’re not providing the service level to your clients and possibly stressing out the team (and yourself) by having to catch up after missing deadlines.

Project management tools often allow you to set recurring dates for those tasks that need regular attention. 

  • Set a reminder to run key payroll/tax reports each month/quarter
  • A daily reminder to check in on new clients to see if they’ve provided everything you need to get started on their account
  • Quarterly reminder to check in on clients to continue the conversation
  • Annual tasks to email past tax clients to begin the process of getting their filing started
  • The list could literally be as long as every process, task, and service you offer

Key takeaway: Remember, the right PM tool is more than a glorified to-do list. The right solution for your firm should include automated reminders to create a workflow among your team and mitigate the risk of missing things. 

Visualization and Reporting

Taking a step back from the nuts and bolts of your operation is necessary to see setbacks and opportunities in your business. You know what else helps with that? Visual reporting.

It sounds fancy, but it’s an easy-to-see and understand way to look at:

  • Specific items on your plate
  • How “booked” the team is for the day/week/month
  • Progress and completion rate of all projects handled within your firm

Key takeaway: When’s the last time you asked a question like, “How is the Smith account coming along?” The right PM tool means you’ll know the answer without asking. You and your management team can see the exact progress on specific tasks and entire jobs. 

Integrations and… More Integrations

There isn’t an “all-in-one” solution for every aspect of your business. However, many of the common tools you’re already using work together. These are called integrations and are a critical part in creating your business management hub — especially for an accounting firm.

One of the best tools for getting your project management system working with other key tools is Zapier. It’s like a software’s best friend who knows all the other apps and likes to get them together. 

With Jetpack Workflow and Zapier, there are over 2000 connections you can make (our tool to the other tools you use). 

A few relevant examples:

  • Connect your form or service agreement tool to Jetpack Workflow. Once the agreement is good to go, your new client process begins automatically.
  • Create a new client in Quickbooks Online automatically whenever a new client is added to Jetpack Workflow (or vice versa).
  • Or you could send a form for new clients to fill out (that includes everything you need from them). Once they submit the form, it creates a new job in Jetpack Workflow and your CPA knows to get started.

Pro Tip: Enroll in our free Zapier Course to learn step-by-step how to connect Jetpack Workflow to your favorite apps!

How to Implement Project Management Tools in Your Firm 

Choosing a project management tool that caters to accounting firms is a big step in the right direction. After you’ve made that momentous decision, the journey towards process begins. Next on the list? Implementing your new tool while getting buy-in from the team.

Here are five steps to help. 

1. Discover the Usefulness for Yourself (First)

It’s time for you to really learn the tool (or choose a manager as an “ambassador” to head things up). Most PM tools have a trial period, giving you time to set up templates and get a feel for your workflow. Use it, get excited, and then begin to bring in the team.

2. Know Why It’s Best for Them

Ok, so this isn’t a “brass tacks” step, but it is important. Any new system should improve the performance of both the team and the firm. This means, your new product management tool will improve the work life of those who get on board quickly. Key things to address would be the automation and knowing where they are on projects. It’s also a great way to show they’ll have more time to do the things CPAs love, like improving the performance of their clients through advisory services and reporting.

3. Schedule Time to Learn

Of course, everyone will need time to learn how things work. When you’re using the tool for yourself (or your ambassador), take note of the tutorials you read/watch that were helpful. Put together a quick sheet, with links, to ensure everyone has the right information to get started. Then, give them the time to get acquainted.

4. Choose a Starting Point

New tech implementation isn’t as easy as turning on a light. This is especially true for a tool that you hope to be the process hub for your business. Figure out what you’re comfortable with and start there.

Example: Begin with new client onboarding. Set up all of the templates, tasks, jobs, and integrations needed to successfully launch a new customer. Then, each new client comes in via the new project management tool. 

From there, you can add your main service (e.g. bookkeeping or tax filing). Finally, as quickly as you’re comfortable with, add everything else.

5. Adjust and Improve

Once you’re up and running, the job isn’t done. Evaluate how well things are working, invite feedback from the team, and iterate changes that improve the overall function of your firm. A big part about growing your business are the small pivots. And those small changes in your processes often compound into improved culture in your business and better work/life balance for you.

Accounting Life Made Easier with Project Management Software

As the owner of an accounting firm, you’re already managing projects and using technology to perform business processes. Doesn’t it make sense to bring it all into one place for you and the team?
You can try Jetpack Workflow free for 14 days. See how our templates and automation can bring you out of the day-to-day grind to better run your business. Before you know it, you’ll be prioritizing work tasks effectively, leaving more time to grow your firm and even do the fun things that aren’t work-related.

See Jetpack Workflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.

Ira Rosenbloom is currently the CEO at Optimum Strategies, where he consults with small-to-medium-sized CPA firms to enhance their profitability and refine their team management practices. In this show, we’ll talk about how he helps firms track and improve their practice performance, works with leadership to plan and implement succession, and guides them to make sound, strategic decisions for a more effective and sustainable practice. 

It’s rare that we hear first-hand accounts and advice for negotiating succession within a firm, so this interview is priceless. Take a listen!

Podcast

Summary

  • Respect and Addressing Apprehensions
  • Facilitating and The Magnitude of Emotions
  • Checking A Remote Firm’s Pulse
    • Artificial Profit vs Real Profit
    • Efficiency

Laying Out Apprehensions

Ira explains that several challenges can come to the forefront whenever the founding leadership of a business passes the baton to others, for staff members and employees to work in concert with the vision and mission of business owners. Navigating change can be very complicated, and soft skills, often overlooked, can become an asset.

First, when approaching founding members, one cannot forget that they have a unique investment—both literally and metaphorically— in the business. With their investment comes a certain amount of pride for the achievements they have accomplished during the lifetime of the business. Ira reminds us that the goal is to “Open their eyes to the need, to pass the baton to somebody else, but by the same token, not insult them.” 

Consequently, extend respect to them. Realize that they may just be as keenly aware of the needs of the business as you, but put the anxieties, fear, and uncertainties out on the table. When beginning the transition between the founders to Ira’s current colleagues, they were honest about their apprehensions” with “and successors in one of Ira’s former firms, the ones taking over expressed apprehension and petitioned for the founders to act as their mentors. 

Furthermore, Ira and his team had set up retirements for them during the negotiation process. As Ira said, “This was not a situation where we were just cutting the umbilical cord. No, we had decided that we wanted to see some economic shifts, which would ultimately give security to the founders and enhance opportunity to us.”

Facilitators and Their Role in Assuaging Emotions

Part of being respectful and honest about one’s apprehensions involves also acknowledging reaction, whether it be of flabbergast or incredulity. The skills of listening and reading between the lines will become especially valuable. If someone says they’re not worried, Ira says, “They’re holding back.” 

He further explains that it’s the ability of colleagues and partners to solve problems which garners respect. Acting as facilitator to probe the underlying thoughts behind phrases like “Don’t worry about it,” or “I don’t trust this one bit,” shows trust in your leaders’ and colleagues’ abilities to resolve internal matters.

With that said, the devil was in the details of the transaction Ira had negotiated with. It was helpful to bring in an attorney to act as facilitator and mediator during the transition. While the personal working relationships through trust and respect made it completely possible to get on the same page, that relation had the potential to get in the way and act as a distraction. Ira explains:

“We’ve been at everybody’s…weddings, bar mitzvahs, and unfortunately even funerals, so we were able to gauge that until the very end. In many situations, you do need to facilitate an early out especially to hear those anxieties.”

If a legal professional or facilitator had not been present to aid in parsing out those emotions, it is highly likely that they would not have gotten addressed comfortably. While there was trust amongst the group, there may have been someone to disregard and insult the individual. Causing injury to sentiments is completely counter to the overall goals and vision.

Checking a Remote Firm’s Performative Pulse

The starting point for negotiations should reflect the current state and situation of a firm or business. During the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic, special care should be taken neither to over-, nor under-, estimate the net profits earned.

Artificial vs Real Profit

Pre COVID-19 overhead costs such as office or building space were significant expenses for businesses. However, now that many employees are working from home, this expense has decreased drastically. Simple math would reflect this change as businesses have a net profit increase due to a decrease in expenditures. 

Business owners may consider further undercutting competition by decreasing the cost of services. 

Ira gives the following example: “If my competitor is charging $1000 for [a product], I can charge $750 for it because I don’t have the same overhead.” He calls this profit artificial profit because the product itself is worth $1000, not $750.  Keep in mind, even though the expenses are decreased, the value of the product or services still remains the same to the customer or client. They are unaware—and should probably remain unaware—of the firm’s expenses.

Now, another factor to consider as employees are working from home is their real profitability. While it may not be optimum to micromanage, it is critical to consider what the revenue per person is. 

Ira gives the following example of real profit:  “[Pretend that you] pay somebody $40,000 and, someone else is paying them $60,000, but both are doing [work worth] $200,000.” Here, the real profit comes from the employee being paid $40,000 to do the work. One major factor which could also increase the real profitability of employees per capita is to increase their efficiency.

Efficiency

In a previous interview with Arianna Campbell, we talked about ways to increase the productivity of a team by using the acronym DOWNTIME. One factor which can lower efficiency is overproduction, using more or not having enough resources to complete a task. Ira echoed this sentiment when he said, “The number of touches that have to go into moving the product is very important.”

Small firms must make efficiency the center of their work processes. Figuring out how much work is being delegated, when and to whom, is a key step to increasing profitability. It is ideal to limit the number of people who touch a product or take part in a project to those who increase the real profitability while also taking care of clients and solving their problems.

Ira revealed even more in the episode than we captured here. Take a listen to the full podcast! If you would like to reach out to Ira directly, you can do so at ira@optimumstrategies.com or via call or text at (215) 694-8084.

See Jetpack Workflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.
Identify and Eliminate Manual Tasks with Process Management Software

Each month, you and your team have repetitive tasks, whether or not you’re using a project management software to keep track of everything. 

Reconciling transactions, creating cash flow reports or standard bookkeeping for business clients — these “to dos” continue to pile on. If you’re not using a workflow tool, how do you ensure these tasks don’t slip through the cracks?

On top of the monthly tasks, there’s still a business to run and grow. You’re trying to balance regular (or worse, seasonal rush) deliverables with:

  • Building your team
  • Finding new clients
  • Offering new, high-value services (i.e. budgets, forecasts, tax planning, etc.)
  • Having time for family and the activities you enjoy (outside of accounting!)

In a quick sentence; process management software keeps your firm on track. It happens through organization, automation, and task-tracking for you and the entire team.

Why Process Management Software is Important

Accounting is all about accuracy. Crunching and calculating down to the penny for your clients. Numbers are clear and should always “add up” in the end, which makes process a perfect pairing for accounting professionals. 

Workflows are like numbers. You have inputs and outputs. The more standardized your workflows, the more accurate they become, and the more peace of mind you have in your business.

There are multiple reasons that prove the importance of defining your processes and managing the accountability with a workflow software.

Serve Clients (and Your Team) Better

Increasing the number of accounting clients is fantastic. But it’s also a problem, in some cases. 

Example: Your firm is a hit and receives a sudden influx of referrals. You actually increase business by a third within a few months. And then things start to set in — discovery calls, new client onboarding, cleaning up their books. At first it’s exciting, but after some time:

  • You and your team work long hours and are exhausted, because finding time to hire takes a backburner to immediate client work.
  • Some things begin to slip through the cracks, and clients ultimately aren’t served to the level of care you hope to achieve.
  • You want to hire, but it’s almost like you need revenue to come in from the new clients before you can even start looking for someone! (Note: This could also be an issue with your pricing being too low.)

Maybe all of these scenarios happen.

How software helps: A workflow or process management platform allows you to list out and assign every task that needs to be completed for a new client. Nothing can slip through the cracks, because everything is delegated, time-bound, and reported. Plus, you can automate task creation, so when those new clients come in, everything that needs to be done is waiting — without having to create each task manually.

You’ll also see how much each member of the team is doing, to clearly see when it’s time to begin planning to bring on another CPA. 

Work On (Not In) Your Business

As an accountant, you help clients achieve their financial goals. And as a business owner, you must work on your own business objectives. If you’re a modestly-sized firm, this is likely a never-ending struggle to find “balance.” 

Just when you think you’ve got a good system, something happens and makes everything rocky, again. For instance, one of your team members leaves unexpectedly. Does it take time for you to figure out where they left the work? Or beyond a staffing problem, do you personally have to “put out the fire” caused by sudden change? Is all of this causing you to work harder in your business than on it?

This is a problem solved by process. 

How software helps: Clear task management and visual reporting are critical components of any workflow tool. If something happens with either the team or clients, everything that’s done (or yet to be done) is clearly seen by anyone connected to the account. This way, you’ll be able to see how things are going and hold the team accountable, without necessarily having to dig into the work itself.  

Achieve Healthy Growth

Growing unexpectedly, or seasonally, isn’t intentional growth. Steady and planned increase in business is something most business owners want. Sure, you may not want to become a massive firm, with hundreds of CPAs. But a strong business, with a positive cash flow and solid growth trajectory is something every owner wants.

Not as well-considered is the role of tools and software platforms as instruments of healthy growth. You probably understand how a task tool solves problems, but the power of process management software (used properly) sets the stage for increased revenue. 

How software helps: Instead of keeping tasks for your team, a workflow management system helps you create an entire accounting business system. This happens through the ability to create templates based on things like new client intake, specific deliverables, even training processes. 

A quality platform also includes integrations that allow you to connect your process management software to other key tools. For example, Jetpack Workflow connects with over 2,000 apps (via Zapier). Here are some of the most popular apps to connect via Zapier:

  • Connect Slack, for communication with the team
  • Jotform or Google forms for client questionnaires
  • Invoice software, for clean automated billing
  • Quickbooks Online 
  • Spreadsheet tools, CRMs, and more

Have More Time (Outside of Work)

The logical end of improving common accounting firm problems and making deliberate growth possible is having more time. Maybe it’s getting outdoors, hitting the road for a trip, spending it with family, or continuing to build your firm.

Process management software doesn’t help you decide where to spend time. However, it does provide peace-of-mind that everything is handled. Tasks are completed. And your team is ensuring clients are well-served. 

How software helps: It frees up time. You can also “clock out” with a clear understanding of where your firm stands on all key assignments, giving you a sense of accomplishment and calm.

Process Made Easier by a Workflow Software

What are the current processes in your firm? If you’re always busy, but never ahead, it’s time to consider a platform to help document and track your process. The possibilities for growth are there, if you’re ready to set up the systems and manage them.

Try Jetpack Workflow for free for 14 days so you can gain full control over your business and prioritize the moments in life you enjoy more than work. We may not be able to explore and travel just yet, but by prioritizing work tasks effectively, you can leave more time to do the things you want that aren’t work-related.

See Jetpack Workflow In Action

Get under the hood of Jetpack Workflow’s accounting workflow and project management platform. See some of the top features and how it helps your firm standardize, automate, and track client work more efficiently.