Unhappy with Your Tax Refund?
Taxpayers are often unhappy with the size of their tax refund, believing it should be bigger.
How to Build a Referral Network
Word-of-mouth referrals are the number one method professional services firms get leads and gain new business.
How Business Owners Search for Accounting Services
Australia has 2.2 million businesses with the average business owner being over 50 years old, and 84% over 35. The over 35 business owners search for accounting services in the following ways.
Shop-Front Ground Level ‘Vs’ First-Floor Accounting Practices
Ground floor in the right area near anchor businesses is always superior. You don’t get walk-in business to level 1 as such.
Client retention
Client retention is about exceeding the client’s expectations so that they become loyal advocates for your practice.
The Trouble With Debt
The three ways accountants can get in trouble with debt financing their practice are: Using short term debt to make long term investments. Doing this creates problems as the short-term debt will need to be refinanced well before the long-term investment returns are available. If the short-term debt cannot be refinanced, the lender will either sell or close the business. Failing to consider that when increasing debt it increases business risk. Borrowers need to ensure their cash flows have a Read More…
Introducing New Services to Existing Clients
This strategy is about creating new services that you can provide to your existing client base. It is similar to the low hanging fruit strategy, but involves more work. The practice has to create the new services, train the staff on delivering the new services, and develop a marketing plan. When considering what new services to provide ask yourself two questions. Firstly, what service would provide immense value to existing clients? Secondly, does the practice team have the skills or Read More…
The Effect of a Good Office on Productivity
Productivity studies show that the most significant factor in determining an employee’s ability to focus is their physical environment.
Strategic pricing
A good pricing strategy is one which is a good balance between the price floor and the price ceiling.
Accounting Practices KPI’s
An accounting practice’s key performance indicators (KPIs) are the set of quantifiable measures that are used to gauge or compare performance.
Working Capital Management
Working capital management involves ensuring a practice has positive working capital so it is able to continue its operations.
Practice Sin 7 – Poor Time Management
Principals often spend too much time on activities that have no value. The Pareto analysis can be applied to time management.
Practice Sin 4 – Failing to Change
As the business environment changes, practice owners must change. To not do so is to get left behind.
Practice Sin 3 – Operating the Practice Like a Hobby or Vocation, not a Business
Without the discipline and focus on managing the business for maximum profit, standards and performance falls.
Practice Sin 2 – Underinvesting in Personal Professional Development & Training
The professional development underinvestment occurs in the areas that are most important and critical to practice principals.
Sturgeon’s 10% of Practices
If a Purple Cow practice is not achievable, then being part of Sturgeon’s 10% of practices would still be a worthy goal. This would be financially rewarding of course with annual principal profits of $1m plus. If you are already achieving this, well done. If you are not, how do you get there? Firstly, you need to start with your strategy. If you currently have a stuck-in-the-middle strategy, you need to take Michael E Porter’s advice and chose one out Read More…
Practice Sin 1 – Failing to Reinvest in the Practice
The number 1 sin for an accounting practice is failing to reinvest in the practice. Reinvestment can significantly increases net profits.
Importance of Strategic Planning
A business strategic plan details the methods by which a business sets out to achieve its objectives. Typically a business strategy will cover a period of three to five years.
Tax Considerations with Investing in Property
Buyers get a building inspection and a pest inspection report prior to buying their property but they don’t make an appointment to see their accountant.
SMSF Advice Options
At June 2015 the ATO advised that there were 556,998 self-managed super funds in Australia with 1,049,840 members. During the 2015 financial year 32,073 funds were established and 1,350 funds closed (by either the members or ATO). On 1 July 2016 the accountants’ exemption was repealed and ‘Recognized Accountants’ can no longer recommend the establishment or winding up of a self-managed superannuation fund unless they are appropriately licensed. Previously Regulation 7.1.29A of the Corporations Regulations 2001 permitted this without being Read More…
A Purple Cow Practice
To make a Purple Cow practice is extremely difficult and probably only one in a thousand practices will be able to achieve this.
The Cost Leadership Model is not Profitable
The cost leadership model is not a profitable for accounting practices as practices with no staff where the principals do all the work have low revenue.
Differentiating Your Accounting Practice
Differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market.
Cost Leadership Strategy
An overall cost leadership strategy involves providing products or services at a lower cost than your competitors
Pros and Cons of Establishing a Finance Broking Division
The pros and cons of practices providing finance broking services are similiar to financial planning save for education requirements and training.
Time Management
Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. The Pareto analysis can be applied to time management. This is the idea that 80% of tasks can be completed in 20% of the disposable time. The remaining 20% of tasks will take up 80% of the time. The 80-20-rule can also be applied to increase productivity as it is assumed Read More…
How Should I Structure My New Business
When clients come in to see me about starting a new business they have many different questions depending on the type and size of business they are commencing and their own understanding of business. One of the more common questions is; what type of entity should I use? There are several different entities, or business structures, that can be used to run a business. These are, sole trader, partnership, company and trust. Some of the advantages of being a sole Read More…
Body Language Secrets
Body language is the non spoken word of communication.
Attractions of Providing Value Added Services
Value added services are attractive to accounting practice principals.
The Science of Substantiation
I am often asked by clients to perform financial miracles with their expense deductions.
3 Tips for Accountants in 2017
3 tips that will help make you a better accountant in 2017.
Uber: A Threat and a Lucrative Opportunity
Uber can be a tremendous opportunity, with the benefits of it derived by those who approach it with an entrepreneurial mind.
70% of Accounting Practices Have No Strategy
According to Michael Porter the worst strategic error is to be stuck in the middle, or to try simultaneously to pursue all the strategies
Identifying Business Opportunities
Operating a small business is one of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences and the difference between business success and failure is sometimes marginal. There are also specific activities that can be undertaken to improve business outcomes depending on your position in the business life cycle. An experienced commercial accountant can “add value” to your business far beyond tax compliance by reviewing your business performance from a commercial and risk management perspective. Cash flow management, efficiency through maximising production rates, Read More…