While reading a recent AICPA newsletter I came across an article that so beautifully addressed exactly how we at Full Potential try to work with our clients that I asked the writer for permission to post his article here.  While the article was written to CPA firms about CPA firms, the principles are sound and apply well to almost any business providing crucial services to other business owners.

Thank you Rick, for allowing us to post your article here!  —–

Recently I read some alarming facts about how CPAs are viewed by their clients. A recent study of small business owners revealed that 40% of them think that their CPA provides little or no help in making their businesses successful. I also read that 68% of clients who leave their accounting firm do so because they believe their CPA doesn’t care about their business.  These are scary statistics given that the most significant challenge facing CPA firms of all sizes is client retention, according to the AICPA’s 2009 CPA Firm Top Issues Survey.

Reports like these make me wonder if the CPA profession has become complacent in assuming that we will always be the clients’ trusted advisors. There’s a disconnect somewhere. If national surveys show year after year that clients look to us for the quality of our financial advice, why do so many business owners not view their CPAs as a strategic partner in their success?

It may boil down to a simple, but important factor in the relationship — communication.

As a CPA and business advisor, my number one duty is developing relationships with my clients that extend beyond the compliance work.  This is especially important with small businesses, as they often rely on us as a total business solutions provider.

Small businesses are a driving force in our economy. They account for more than 50% of jobs in the private sector, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. What’s more, they are a significant client base for many CPA firms.

With the weight of the economy bearing down on them, CPAs have a responsibility not only to help keep them afloat, but also to help businesses  prosper.

Today, people are looking for ways to stretch their dollars further, and that includes fees for professional service firms. Just doing the work isn’t good enough anymore. Being a proactive partner with your clients — knowing what their hardships are and delivering solutions — strengthens the relationship and opens doors for your firm to provide additional service in other areas.

How do you provide value added service that gets you recognized as a strategic partner?

• Start by listening. Visit your client and discuss how their business is faring. Find out their pain points.  Identifying solutions for them before they approach you shows you care about their business.
• Connect them to the right people.  If you have expertise in your firm that can help them address a challenge, great. If not, recommend an outside contact that is best suited for the task. Your clients will remember this and view you as a true advocate for their success.
• Offer solutions they didn’t know they need. Helping your clients with strategy each year makes good business sense. But as Harvard Business Review writer Jeff Stibel says, “Planning is important; plans aren’t.”In the current economy, businesses need to react faster because change has become the only predictable constant. Small businesses have a leg up in this area because they don’t suffer from as much bureaucratic lag as larger businesses do. They often are more flexible and adept at taking advantage of opportunities that you identify.
• Be their eyes and ears in the outside world. Monitor legislation that could benefit clients. Pick up the phone or send a quick e-mail to spark conversations even if you aren’t working on an assignment.  The more value you add, the more likely you are to be called to the table for future projects. If you are not reaching out to your clients at least once a month with some communication, someone else will.

Unfortunately, some business owners don’t see the value a CPA brings to their overall business. This can lead to our services being viewed as a price-driven commodity.

It’s time to deactivate auto-pilot and move your client relationships to a higher level.

Show them you are an integral part of their team and you will remain the trusted business advisor they call for advice in good times and in bad.

Rick Kavenagh, CPA is Director, Business Services for Brockman, Coats Gedelian & Co. 1735 Merriman Road, Akron, OH 44313
Phone: (330) 864-6661
Fax: (330) 864-6918

Categories: Business Tips
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Intuit has released a new update (R8) for QuickBooks 2009 Pro and Premier. This update includes a number of feature enhancement and bug fixes, including improvements to online banking and payroll.

As with many of their major releases, Intuit has made it available for manual download and install before they make it available through Automatic Updates. To find the download, go to the QuickBooks Product Updates. Make sure you have the correct year and version of QuickBooks showing. Download the installer and then run it to get started.

If you’re not in a hurry, this update will be made automatically in a couple of week (assuming you have automatic updates turned on, and you should).

Categories: Business Tips, General News
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Did you know that most Washington businesses file monthly, quarterly and/or annual reports on 14 or more different forms? And that they report to at least 7 different government agencies?

We will be conducting a free workshop, called “What to expect when you’re expecting business” which is open to all who are interested.* We’ll be covering what to expect when you register a business, such as who to register with, what taxes you’ll be paying and how to know if you’ve done everything right.
*  Just get a free Biznik membership to attend.

The workshop is on Friday, February 20, 2009 at the Inside Scoop in Mill Creek. Space is limited to 12 people.

Categories: Business Tips, Full Potential News, Tax News and Tips
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Does everything pile up on, under, and around your desk space?  Are you constantly juggling appointments and trying to find time for everything?  I know these have been on-going challenges for me my entire career!  I recently met a terrific professional organizer who gave me some excellent tips, and here are two that fall under the “Simplify” category:

1.  Always (yes, always!) leave open space in your calendar and all areas of your environment.  Yep, that includes under your desk!
2.  Trust having less!  Only bring something else into your space that is going to serve you, actually get used, and that you have room for.

It is amazing how liberating it is to get rid of anything and everything that does not serve me well!

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There are many sayings that have sprung off of the old military slogan of, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  There is so much truth in that for almost everything in life, that the real depth of the statement often eludes us.  We all recognize the “woman’s” version that says we all go shopping when the going gets tough, but in truth, we all tend to do what ever we feel gives us the most comfort and encouragement when life overwhelms us.  At times that is finding an inspirational book, or seeking advice from our pastor or friends whom we have confidence in, or just wrapping up in our favorite robe and sitting in front of “A Knight’s Tale” for the twentieth time with a bowl of chocolate ice cream and just escaping for a couple of hours.

What I have found during this first 15 months that our own business has been housed in commercial office space is that two things are absolutely true: 1) launching your business out in the world is expensive and will soak up every penny of your well-thought-out budget and then some, and 2) the first place to dedicate your advertising dollars is a solid proven organized professional networking group.  Now, I have never thought of myself as a public speaker, or as gifted in promoting anything, so when we opened our doors last May and one of the first people I met told me that I HAD to get out and stand in front of people and sell my business, I about panicked!  All I knew was that I did not know anything about networking, and that I had secretly hoped that our signs would go up and people would magically start pouring through the door.  That was my plan, or well most of it at any rate.

So, we joined the Chamber of Commerce and met some nice people, and gained one client, and then I drummed up the courage to visit a few networking groups in our area.  I joined one and gained another two clients.  Oh, my one-minute commercial didn’t improve right away, but I knew that if I hung in there and learned from the other men and women who were taking their time to help me grow, something wonderful was bound to happen.  And, it did!

What I learned through joining serious networking groups such as eWomen, BNI, the local Chambers of Commerce, and others was confirmation that perseverance and keeping your eye on the goal were absolutely essential, and that I was no longer alone in trying to tell people about my business.  I was out there meeting other business owners who cared about helping one another succeed!

Now, we’re six months down the road and money is tight, gas prices are absurd, time is precious, our clients (all of whom are small business owners) feel the crunch as much as we, and business is slow.  Since we do their bookkeeping and taxes they sometimes ask what expenses they might cut, and almost always they want to cut advertising first.  After all, print advertising is expensive and you can’t really make sure it gets in front of your targeted audience.  What I tell them every time is that the more times get tough for us the more I get out and network!  I invite them to visit networking groups with me and see what they can gain by moving some of their advertising dollars to networking instead of that coupon ad, or flyer that may or may not generate any business. Even in these very challenging times, our own business is steadily growing thanks in great part to getting out and meeting people face-to-face, shaking their hand and telling them about what our services can do for them.

Oprah has an article on the last page of her monthly magazine titled something like “One thing I know for sure,” and all I can tell you with absolute confidence that I personally know for sure about making it through the tough times for our business is that the rougher things get, the more networking brings us through! At my office we tell our clients to look at what is working for them and what is not before deciding where to cut costs, and then I give them OUR numbers for growing solid clients through networking! After all, the reality is that people do business with people they know, like, and trust — and the only way that people can get to know, like, and trust you is when they can look you in the eye, shake your hand, and get to know you.

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Intuit has announced release dates for QuickBooks 2009. They anticipate shipping as early as the end of September, which means it is time to think about upgrading. I haven’t seen notes as to when QuickBooks Online users will see new features.

Should you upgrade?
The good news is that QuickBooks 2009 promises the fix many of the bugs introduced in QuickBooks 2008. The bad news is that those bugs never were fixed in the 2008 software. I don’t want to be too negative about the way Intuit operates, but I think we can all agree that that’s just wrong.

Normally, I recommend not upgrading to the latest QuickBooks version unless you have a specific need for it. This year, the needs are:
1) You want to use the Accountant Copy feature. New for 2009: fixes to imports and reconciliations so that they work the way they should have worked from the start. If we’ve been using the Accountant Copy functions with you, there are some options other than upgrading, but we’re not going to use AC with any prior versions.
2) You are still using QB 2006 or earlier. While you can technically get by with these older versions (we still have them), Intuit does not update or support the older versions. 2005 won’t run on Vista, for example. I recommend staying with a current version.
3) There are any other features you want. For example, you may need the new multiple currency support. There’s a new dashboard reporting view. Or maybe you need to enter transactions for $99 billion; (yeah, that’s been a real stumbling block for most of us).

Overall, you may get the impression that I’m not overwhelmed with Intuit’s support of their products. As a Certified ProAdvisor, I certainly recognize that QuickBooks is the best solution for many small businesses, and we’ll keep using it until we find a better option, but it would sure be nice to see a company fix errors and provide upgrade pricing.

Categories: Business Tips, General News
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