by StacyK | Oct 5, 2013 | Mobile Maven, Move Online |
Welcome to the latest post in the Move Online series. We’ve already covered Joining the ProAdvisor program, finding the technology that will allow you to work remotely and ways to help make the transition to remote more attractive to a resistant client.
Here, we’ll talk about how important it is to describe how you work and lay out the scope, methods and expectations for new clients BEFORE you prepare your engagement letter.
Many of us get clients a variety of ways: word of mouth, the Find a ProAdvisor database, Google Ads, etc. They’re either going to call or email us about our services, and since we all know that first impressions are important, I’ll just say this about prospect follow up: be fast, be courteous and have a SOME SORT system to track your sales pipeline (I prefer Method CRM or BatchBooks), preferably one that syncs with your accounting system.
This post is not a sales column, how to book yourself solid or proper techniques for turning every prospect into a paying client. This post is what happens after you’ve sold yourself – your experience, knowledge, innovation and time. You should have a system in place for working with these clients, and be able to describe the process clearly, so they understand expectations. I’ve been doing the training tour and I’ve heard from a number of accounting professionals that they don’t have that system in place… yet.
What I do, for my bookkeeping clients is offer them a choice. It’s almost always remote; I only have 2 clients with which I work on site. The base options are: QuickBooks Online + Bill.com + Intuit Online Payroll or QuickBooks Desktop (hosted via UniDataIT.com) + Bill.com + Assisted Payroll. If the client has other needs – project management, CRM, inventory, e-commerce – then we look at add ons like Mavenlink.com, Method CRM, SOSInventory, Pinnacle Cart.
I explain how these programs, and services from Kildal Services LLC will work in detail, how the setup and implementation will work, whom the client contact will be at Kildal Services, and the most important part: how payment for services and any online applications will be handled. Some firms pay for the applications themselves and then bill the client, but I prefer to have the client billed directly; it’s a matter of what works best for your practice.
There is always a chance that you’ll come across a client that isn’t open to working remotely with you; my advice for this is communication. Take a page from the Intuit book of doing things, and find out what the client’s pain point is, and try to solve for that. Are they worried that they don’t know QuickBooks Online? Offer a few hours of free training. Are they concerned about security? Explain that Intuit uses the same security protocols as major financial institutions, so if they’re already using their bank website, they should be comfortable with QBO.
Once the client understands that this is how they will interact with you and your staff, all that’s left is preparing the engagement letter and getting them that credit card authorization form, so you can start billing their credit card each month your flat fee billing rate… Which just happens to be our next article!
Read Step 3-Offer an incentive for existing clients to remote
Read Step 5-Provide Flat Fee/Value pricing
by StacyK | Aug 21, 2013 | Mobile Maven, Move Online |
We already covered how joining the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program is a great way to get started, and once you’ve established the hardware and applications you want to incorporate into a remote practice, the next step is actually converting existing clients.
As I mentioned in the first article in this series, I used to drive from one client to the next to work with them at their offices. My move to a completely online practice was the result of a number of reasons. The first, and most important, was that I was expecting our second child and knew that I wanted to take time off, but still be able to support my clients. At the time, I was a one-woman show; I had no part time help or the virtual admin that I do now. I needed to convert them to remote, or else refer them to another QuickBooks expert in the area.
The second was that I was almost to the point where I couldn’t take on any more clients, and possibly hitting a cap on my income. Both of these were unacceptable to me. I wanted to diversify what services to offer clients (at the time, more training, support and consulting) and it wouldn’t be possible with the business model I had.
I love what I do – I love the bookkeeping and the payroll part of my job. Sometimes it’s a problem-solving day; sometimes it’s just nothing but data entry, other days it’s helping a client determine how much they afford for a new purchase or hire. I love working with other small businesses, and I wanted to start doing it a different capacity, but unless I found more time, it wasn’t going to happen.
Before I approached my clients, I did that thing I do, pretty much every day. I made a list. I do love lists. I love Top 20 lists of the greatest drummers, random lists of small but deadly animals, and random top 10 lists in general. As big of a gadget dork as I am, I still make a To Do list every night for the next day, using a delicious pink Moleskine notebook. This list had each of my clients on it, in order of which I thought would be most open to moving to working with me remotely to the ones I felt would object heavily. I left off 2 clients: one I didn’t want to move to remote and the other I knew it would work logistically.
The ones at the bottom, the clients I thought would really dig in their heels and object, I put a little star next to, and made a list of 3 possible local QuickBooks ProAdvisors that I could refer them to, should I not be able to convince them of the benefits.
Speaking of benefits, the next bit of the list was to identify benefits that were specific to each client. WHY they should work remotely with me, and how it could help. Some of them were pretty simple – they wouldn’t have to stop working on one of the computers in their office to accommodate me, they would have books that were more up to date because they wouldn’t have to wait for me to come every other week or once a month.
Then I came up with objections these clients might have about the change, and at least 2 counterpoints for each one. I tried to cover each angle, and even called some members of the networking group I had previously been in to ask them what sort of misgivings they would have if presented with my ideas.
My last piece of this list was to come up with what I was hoping would be last resorts – incentives that matched each of these objections. A few examples:
- Run parallel books (the original QuickBooks desktop file along with QuickBooks Online) side by side for 30 days so the client could determine if it would work for them – at no extra charge
- Reducing my monthly fee. With the money and time I was saving by eliminating HOURS every day behind the wheel, it was easy to pass this along to my clients. I would be able to make it up (and then some!) with any new engagements
- Adding services. Because QuickBooks Online has the ability to memorize reports, add them to groups and have them automatically emailed at specific intervals, I was able to offer clients additional reporting. Weekly reports rather than biweekly or monthly
Most of my clients were very receptive to the plan; one long time client even offered to be my guinea pig whenever I found a new program or technology, as long as it didn’t interrupt service or cost him extra. Thanks to him, I was able to determine the best remote login applications, many fantastic add ons, and really fine tuning processes for working with clients. I had a few that were reluctant, and I had to offer one (or more, if they really resisted!) of my “last resort” options. In the end, I only ended up losing one client. I had anticipated an attrition rate of about 15%, so I was quite pleased. Plus, it was the one client I was almost positive I would be referring to another local QuickBooks expert.
The entire process took about 2 months; I first made the list in late October of 2008, approached each client in early November, and had them all converted by the end of the year. I was able to do almost of the year end work in January either from the hospital or my living room while I was recovering from delivering my son, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my business.
Read Step 2 – Find the technology that will allow you to work remotely
Next: Step 4 – Bring any new clients on as remote right away
by StacyK | Apr 12, 2013 | Mobile Maven, Move Online |
I’m a huge fan of working anywhere except my office. In fact, one of the main reasons I started my own business almost 10 years ago was to have no one to boss me around (just kidding)! Actually, the real benefit of running my own office was that it was a way to have more flexibility and control over my own schedule. Back then, I had a not quite 2-year-old daughter and sending her to daycare all day, every day was killing me. Not to mention the stress if she was sick and I had to call in. I know that many of you are contemplating moving your practice online, so hopefully my experience and what I learned along the way will help make the transition a smooth one for you and your clients.
So how did I make the jump to moving my practice online? Well, it was 2003, and I was working full time as a bookkeeper for a plumbing company, and while I really liked the people I worked with, I found that I could still do my job effectively without being in the same office with them or eight hours a day. The afternoons were mostly spent calling in building inspections; I had a Palm Pilot with a database of all the active jobs we had going on and all the critical information – Lot numbers, building department phone numbers, and permit numbers. When requests for these inspections were called in by crews, I realized I could easily manage them by updating and syncing them from my Palm Pilot to the file on my computer. Basically I COULD TOTALLY WORK REMOTELY. I let my boss know this, but unfortunately, he didn’t understand and thought I had to be in front of my computer to track everything. He wanted me at the office – so while I waited for that handful of calls to roll in every afternoon, he paid me to sit in my office, playing Euchre on Yahoo.
In 2004, after working as a contracted bookkeeper for a number of clients as a “side job” for about a year or so, I realized that I needed to make a major decision: it seemed I wasn’t going get the raise at my full time job that I’d been promised, and my client list was growing. I wasn’t quite at a place where the clients replaced the job’s income… But I was CLOSE. As soon as I joined the ProAdvisor Program and became certified, I was able to get enough to make the jump. I gave my notice, formed my company and was on my own!
It wasn’t until 2007, when I was pregnant with my son and wanted to take more than the one week off that I had with my daughter (yeah, you read that right, I got to take a week off while I worked for that plumbing company), that I really began to understand how everything I was doing for clients could be done from my own office – or really anywhere. I wanted to recover and take care of this new little person, but still wanted to serve my clients, all of which I had long term relationships with. Knowing that moving my clients online would enable me to do both, I started the process of converting clients to this model. I offered my clients a 5-10% drop in monthly fees, since I didn’t have the unbillable drive time, so they immediately saw a benefit. I was able to stay home with our son and spend so much more time him and our daughter, so my family immediately saw a benefit as well 🙂
The most surprising thing was that because I had more spare time, I was able to start posting answers to help forums, which people from all over were seeing. I started getting clients who were scattered across the country and whom I immediately set up remotely. With this new business model, I went from having a 100% local client base that I used to have drive all over the place to service, to having about 75-80% out of state, the rest local and all but one client was remote! My transition to an online business was complete – and I’ve never looked back.
If I could do it, you can do it. Here’s my step-by-step guide to moving to a remote practice. Some parts may work for you, and some may not. You may find that you need to switch the order around. Each practice is different, and we all have different clients, but there are certainly similarities in their expectations of us, and “I’ll get back to you tomorrow when I’m in my office” doesn’t really fly anymore. That being said, I really hope this is helpful to you!
Step 1: Join the QuickBooks U.S. ProAdvisor Program or the UK/Australia ProCloud Partner program, depending on your global location. I truly recommend this. Both programs offer resources to grow your practice. While I can’t speak to the specifics of the ProCloud Partner Prorgam (it’s brand new), I can about the ProAdvisor program. As a member, you get product discounts, ongoing training & product certification, free QuickBooks Online Accountant, a dedicated account manager, assistance with marketing your practice and much more. Within two months of joining the U.S. ProAdvisor program, I had billed enough through engagements facilitated by the FindAProAdvisor.com website that my fees to join the program were paid for!
Step 2: Find the technology that will allow you to work remotely. This needs to be in place before you can really start. For me, it was generally a combination of QuickBooks Online and using Teamviewer.com to remote into client computers. QuickBooks Online (and QuickBooks Online Accountant) have allowed me and my clients to work on the data independently – even at the same time if necessary. Unless I’m doing support or training, I don’t log into a client’s computer to for bookkeeping tasks. As much as I truly love the Teamviewer program (and still use it to log in to my home computer), I found that the logistics of logging into a client computer was sort of buggy because sometimes they would forget to leave the computer on, or the program wouldn’t be running, or they might still be working when I tried to log on.
You also need to consider the hardware. I decided to switch to Mac in 2012 so that I can support all of my clients. The ones using QuickBooks Mac, QuickBooks Online I can do this with native software, and I service QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise clients with a hosting service.
Step 3: Offer an incentive for existing clients to go remote (if they resist). Explain that you are still able to serve them, and possibly serve them even better, because you won’t be wasting time traveling from one appointment to the next all day. I determined my savings in fuel, time and mileage and passed it along to clients as a reduction in their flat monthly fees. They liked that! I asked the ones that were REALLY resistant to try it for one month, and if they really didn’t like it, I would be more than happy to refer them to another local QuickBooks expert. Out of all of my clients, I ended up only losing one after the switch to remote.
Step 4:. Bring any new clients on as remote right away. Find a system that works for you, and explain to prospective clients that is your process and what the benefits are from their perspective. I let possible new clients know that we will most likely be working with QuickBooks Online and some SaaS add ons like SOSInventory.com and Bill.com. In those early days, if I encountered reluctance, I’d offer a “first month free” option. These days, if the prospect resists, I simply very politely offer to refer them to someone else.
Step 5:Provide value/flat fee pricing. Back in the days of having to go from one onsite appointment to another, I billed hourly. It made sense. These days, with the automation options available in online software, combined with the always-on access, I offer flat fee pricing and monthly billing. I have an in depth interview with the client regarding options, expectations and existing workflow. Together, we determine what roles and responsibilities each of us will have, and then I determine a fee per month. We both sign an engagement letter, then the client signs an authorization form allowing me to charge their credit card or do an EFT payment each month. This simplifies billing for me, establishes clear expectations between me and the client, makes budgeting easy for them, and doesn’t penalize me for being super efficient and therefore billing fewer hours!
Step 6: Specialize. Find a niche – whether it’s software applications (like I did with QuickBooks Online and other mobile solutions), a feature (Inventory) or an industry (health care providers), find something to specialize in and become an expert in that area. Get to a point where when people in your community think of this specialty, they think of YOU and only you!
Step 7: Market yourself! Guess who had NO advertising/marketing budget when she started out? THIS CHICK. Today, with social media, marketing is so much easier. As some of you may know, I’m also the cohost of Radio Free QuickBooks. Using primarily social media, we were able to go from 12 listeners a week to over 10,000 in less than two years and we did it with nary a dime to spend on marketing. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blog posts are very cheap, and the ROI is phenomenal! Help forums are also HUGE to build your brand! I have had so many clients contact me to say thank you because an answer I posted on a help forum or a blog article I’ve written helped them with a similar question. YouTube, Vine, iGivit and other video options are also a great way to show the world all the stuff you have to offer!
Step 8: Use video conferencing apps, to “meet” your clients. One prospect I had been emailing back and forth with a bit was slightly hesitant to hire me – until we did a short Google Hangout. There really is nothing better than getting to actually chat face to face with people – even if it’s remotely. (For the record, one of the things that finally sold them was my nosy cat that ignores me until the webcam turns on, then she paces back and forth in front of me on the desk!). With so many choices, and many of them free or very low cost – Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangout, Fuze, iVisit, Webex – it shouldn’t be hard to find one (or more) that works for you and your clients.
Step 9: Create your own network. I wouldn’t be able to support my current group of varied clients without a strong network of colleagues – people that do what I do, but not exactly. For example, I’m not an expert in ecommerce, but Jim Savage is. I refer people to Dawn Brolin when they’re looking for help with a Not for Profit. For franchise setup and training, my girl Christine Galli is the go-to. It works both ways as I also have colleagues referring clients to me with questions about best practices with QuickBooks Online or other mobile applications.
Step 10: Form strategic alliances. Work with people outside your industry – quality service providers and products that you can use and feel comfortable recommending to your clients, and with which you can trade referrals. For instance, I have a business coach that I can refer clients to if I see they need help with focus and planning, and she refers clients that need help with their back office technology or processes. Become an expert in a software application and build a relationship with the developer; join an affiliate program, such the ones Avalara.com, Acctivate.com or Mavenlink.com each have.
Step 11: Build a good website, and put a blog on it. You don’t have to update it every day – once every week or so is fine. Ask people to contribute content to it – clients, vendors, and colleagues – I guarantee almost everyone that you ask to write a 300-400 word piece will most likely gladly do so. Who turns down free advertising? I know I don’t!
Over the next few weeks, I plan on doing additional posts to expand on each of these items here, so keep checking back for updates!
I want to close with a few quotes from colleagues on ways to look at and take on this process:
Peter Cullen recently wrote for the Intuit Accountant Blog and offered a great bit of advice onhow his practice made the transition to online services: “…we start out by communicating the value to our client of performing accounting services in the cloud. We educate the client on “the cloud” and exactly what the transition means…”
Christine Galli (the co-author of the original U.S. ProAdvisor Certification exam, something her and I have in common, although my only claim to fame is being one of many original co-authors of the QBO Certification!). Christine gave me this nugget: “Think of QuickBooks Online as a meeting place for your professional team. Don’t hold the information hostage from others that can help elevate your practice and your client’s business.”
My last bit of advice comes from colleague Jim Savage: “The best way to get your practice online is to find someone who you respect and do the same thing they did.” Yep. Pretty much.
No go do it! Start with one client and see how it goes. You won’t be disappointed, and my guess is you’ll never look back.
by StacyK | Feb 11, 2013 | Mobile Maven |
As I write this, I’m at the Hyatt Regency near the San Francisco Airport at the Intuit Reseller conference. I didn’t bring my laptop on this trip, since it’s just a quick one – out early Sunday morning and home by Tuesday afternoon. I decided instead to travel with just my ipad and sweet little bluetooth keyboard.
I didn’t think it would be too big of an issue – I have a fantastic project manager working for me that can handle anything thrown her way while I’m traveling for work. This morning, I woke up to an email from the producer of RFQTv.com, telling me the latest episode had been uploaded to YouTube.
No problem! I’ve got the WordPress app on my phone and ipad, right? Yes, but the add-in that we use for the home page of RFQTv.com is a little funky – when I add a new video, I then have to drag it up the top of the list for it to be the featured episode.
My wonderful, fantastic, easy solution: open the Citrix receiver and login directly from the internet browser in my UniData account.
Just wanted to share how I unexpectedly use my hosted account – I love my ipad, but sometimes it’s just not possible to do the work I need to on the native apps or with the native browser. I can’t imagine why I ever thought: I’m really not going to need this… Now I can’t imagine ever working without it!
