The advent of cloud technology has provided accountants and bookkeepers with a range of new ways to help their clients. As the industry moves towards universal adoption of technology, the key differentiator in the market will become client service.
To find out how accountants and bookkeepers are using the cloud to stand out, we hosted an event with some of our top partners, in Sydney. The event was called Clients in the Cloud.
Hosted by Sophie Hossack, Country Manager for Receipt Bank in Australia, we welcomed an exciting range of speakers. On our panel of leading cloud accountants were Tim Hoopmann, CEO of Cornerstone Group; Simon Allsop, Found of My Accounts and Kirsten Forrester, CEO of Accounting for Good. We were also joined by technology consultant Clayton Oates, recently named one of CPA Advisor’s Top 25 Industry Thought Leaders.
Over the course of a day packed with insight and thoughtful discussion, we were able to find out how the new breed of accountants and bookkeepers are going further than ever before to help their clients.
Here are some of our top picks.
1. In-depth reporting isn’t just for your biggest clients
Software such as Spotlight, Crunchboards and Fathom have given accountants and bookkeepers the ability create detailed reports at the touch of a button using data from their cloud accounting software. Information that was once only available to large companies with analytics teams is now within everyone’s reach, and you need to be offering that service to all your clients.
In her opening address, Sophie examined a case of a Receipt Bank partner using technology to go the extra mile to delight a client.
Imagine you’re running a few different paella stands at markets and other locations in your city. You want to expand but don’t know if you will be able to. That’s a chance for your accountant to step in and make a difference, and our partners did.
Using the regular stream of data that the client was sending him with the Receipt Bank app, our partner started producing weekly P&L reports to give his client more visibility over his business performance.
Since having access to this, the client has been able to expand his business from 4 stands to 7 within 3 months and tripled their profits by using real-time information to focus their energies and resources into the more profitable locations.
Download our free guide to hacking your client list for maximum profit.
2. Clients expect more
We’ve mentioned before that client experience is the key to boosting your profits, and Sophie built on this with some eye-opening statistics.
A recent survey by Macquarie Wealth Management confirmed that 80% of high performing firms say adding value to their existing clients is their most effective means of growing.
However, there is another price for those who don’t look to their own clients first. Accountex Group reports that 72% of small businesses who changed accountants in the last year did so because their accountant did not offer proactive client service.
3. A technology onboarding process is essential
Tim Hoopmann has wide experience recommending the cloud to clients.
“There are clients that just get it and you don’t need to sell the features but simply mention the benefits. Then there are others that think it might be useful but don’t want to use it. Setting expectations up-front for clients is key,” explains Tim.
Kirsten Forrester also puts a lot of importance on the onboarding process for the future of the relationship. “We concentrate our expertise on onboarding,” says Kirsten. “We make sure there’s a thorough process for it too, so we set them up in practice management and Receipt Bank and follow up regularly.”
4. Your customer support matters more than ever
As much as online help desks can be a source of frustration when done badly, when they’re used correctly they ensure a better standard of customer service that could set you apart.
Clayton Oates discussed how technology will come to characterise more of our personal interactions, including data from Gartner that by 2020, 50% of interactions will be deliverable by AI, enabling devices to handle routine transactions.
Finding new ways to add human touch points then becomes a way to reinforce your client relationships.
At Accounting for Good, Kirsten Forrester’s team do this by using Freshdesk for their customer support. It gives great visibility over communications and it stops things from sliding to the bottom of people’s inboxes and not being dealt with.
Simon Allsop’s team take a similar approach, ensuring that all the communications are centralised in a large bucket and everything can be searched and found.
This keeps turnaround time on tickets short, and makes sure customers feel valued with every interaction.
5. Effective marketing requires stories that clients recognise
As more accountants and bookkeepers move to the cloud, technology alone won’t enough to distinguish your firm.
Currently, many accountants and bookkeepers fall into the trap of thinking that because they have bought Xero, QuickBooks Online or Receipt Bank they have now become a trusted advisor and clients will flock to them. However, as our panellists emphasised, modern marketing requires you to make a connection between what you can offer and what your clients need.
As Clayton put it “We’re in the difference making business. There is tremendous opportunity in this industry, but you need to know why you’re doing it.” After all, if you don’t know why clients should choose you, how can you persuade them to do so?
Both Tim Hoopmann and Kirsten Forrester are big fans of word of mouth and social media as a means to add trust and social weight to their message. Tools like Twitter and Facebook allow practices to offer prospective clients a glimpse into what sets them apart. This could be via client interactions on Twitter, sharing testimonies or just getting to know the team.
Even with the amplification that the internet provides, the message still needs to be focused. Kirsten explains, “We are very clear on the outset to shift away from just talking about software and focus instead the value we can provide.”
Thank you to all our speakers who demonstrated what was possible when you combine a commitment to client service with the right technology.
If you want to find out how you can make a real difference for your clients, watch out for our next event, or get in touch.
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