When you first opened your accounting firm, you likely spent most of your time worrying about things like finding customers for your services. Once you locked in enough regular customers that you started burning out, then it became about finding employees. Then, it was about bringing in enough business in the off-season to justify keeping those employees on full-time.
In the midst of all of that, you probably weren’t focused specifically on business growth. Once you get established, though, a lack of business growth becomes a matter of concern. If you’re not seeing the kind of growth you want, keep reading for some tips on achieving the growth you want.
Trim Inefficiencies
Any time a business develops organically without a clear business plan or strategy, you end up with inefficiencies.
For example, when you first started out, you probably depended on free-to-use or extremely low-cost tools out of necessity. Those tools often don’t meet your exact needs and reduce productivity. Are you still using any of them?
Are there things you can automate that you haven’t? Do you have an underperforming employee who needs to go? If you look hard, you almost always find inefficiencies.
Practice Management Software
Speaking of inefficiency, you will swiftly lose the ability to keep everything in your head once your firm grows beyond about 3 people. There are simply too many moving pieces to keep track of between employees, clients, marketing, and business development. That’s why so many firms buy a practice management software system, such as PracticePro 365.
All of the best practice management software options let you do things like keep track of the important metrics, monitor productivity, and even deal with invoicing from a single dashboard. These kinds of company tools help you monitor the things that drive growth.
Ditch Low-Value Services
Some services deliver a high value for your firm, while others barely move the needle. Unfortunately, those low-value services often soak up a lot of working hours. Go through your service offerings, evaluate their overall contribution to the firm, and ditch the low performers.
Re-Think Your Role
How many hours a week do you spend on client work? How much time do you spend on business development? If you want good firm growth, the number of hours you spend on actual client work must decrease over time.
Your job must increasingly focus on big picture issues like securing new clients and people management. As the owner, you must work on the business as much as or more than you work in the business.
Growing Your Accounting Firm
Growing your accounting firm is largely a matter of stepping back from the daily client work. While you might enjoy it, it’s also time you don’t spend securing the firm’s future.
Instead, you must focus on things like trimming inefficiencies, monitoring key metrics, and securing clients. That often means selecting business tools that help you with those tasks, such as practice management software. As the owner, you must focus on the tasks only the owner can manage.
Looking for more business management tips? Check out the posts in our Business section.
