Are you sometimes challenged with determining how much to charge for your accounting services? The way that you perceive your value may affect how prospects will engage with your business. An important part of building a strong bookkeeping business is to properly value yourself and your business. You also need to be able to convey that value to clients – to ensure they appreciate the value you bring to their business.
The best accounting advisors know their value. They don’t under value their services and they are willing to lose out on a potential client if that prospect isn’t willing to pay for those services. They regularly cull their client base to remove unhealthy clients.
How do you come to value your services and gain the confidence to take your business to that next level? I’ve had the pleasure of working with many bright and talented accounting advisors. I’ve been able to observe what the ‘greats’ are doing and I often try to share their experiences when I speak with accounting advisors.
Here are a few of my observations, feel free to add your own!
Learn, learn, learn. The best bookkeepers I’ve worked with know their stuff. At least the main stuff – they’re strong in their knowledge of accounting, tax laws, government requirements, etc. I’m always proud of the fact that Telpay could serve as an important partner in any accounting advisor’s repertoire. There is a lot to learn in the emerging world electronic payments/electronic funds transfers and we are a valuable resource for anyone willing to take the time to sit in on a webinar or two. These days, many companies are offering webinars to help users get up to speed quickly. Learning need not be on your own anymore!
Know thyself. The happiest and most contented bookkeepers I’ve come across know what their goals are – to build a home-based business, to work part-time with a few clients, to build a medium sized accounting practice, to be the most technologically advanced bookkeeping service, etc. The unhappy accounting advisors I’ve talked with often don’t have those guiding principles or have a vision of what they want or why they are doing what they are doing. Many end up working with clients that are not a good fit or being stretched to the limit and stressed out. There must be some great advisors or programs out there to assist with building one’s founding principles, discovering “the why”, as they say.
Focus. Many accounting advisors specialize in one area of industry for example working with franchises. Others focus on one particular accounting system and become the very best they can be with that system.
Join a Group. Talk to others. I’ve mentioned this before, but accounting professionals are among the most supportive out of all of the professions. I’m always amazed at how many people give their time and contribute to online forums and local chapters.
Business owners want to work with the best, it’s that simple. Knowing the value you bring to your clients will make for a healthier client relationship and will put you on the road to building a better business.