Practice Management

It’s not enough to dream of success. It’s not even enough to set goals.

The only way to truly achieve your dreams and build the business you’re meant to build is to sit down and just do it.

And that’s where many of us…well, fail is a strong word. But it’s the doing that trips us up more times than not.

We overbook our calendars until today’s to-dos become next week’s past dues. We procrastinate on the things that are important while attending to things that are merely “nice to do.” And someti…

Imagine you had a client who consistently failed to get you the information you needed, or do the tasks needed so that you can do your work.

They couldn’t find the time to get a copy of their bank statements.

They were too busy to chase up supplier invoices.

They were working too hard and completely forgot to sign off their VAT return.

It wouldn’t take long before you sat them down for a serious talk about the future of your relationship - and their business. A client such as that is a frust…

Oscar Wilde said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."

Whenever you do something different from others, people will start to take notice of you.  It's inevitable.  They may think that they can do what you do.  They may even try their hand at it.

Should you be worried?

As bookkeepers, we are in a profession that, whether we like it or not, has a really low barrier to entry.  There's not a huge amount of investment involved in setting up a practice…

The process of onboarding new clients is your opportunity to set expectations and boundaries for the future of your relationship.  

The process of onboarding has become more time consuming over the last few years. Money laundering checks are becoming more in-depth, with online checks costing money to carry them out.

The checks can sometimes involve a bit of back and forward to ensure that you have the documents to let you tick all of the boxes required.

It's not just a legal process, but also…

When you find that you have a client who is making you miserable, or you've ranked your clients and find that a D has appeared, what is the best way to move on?

Firstly, you need to remember that this is your business.  You are perfectly entitled to choose who you work with and who you don’t.  If a client has managed to slip through your net and is now making you miserable you have two choices.  You can train them, or you can bin them. 

The decision is yours to make, but is likely to come down…

It’s easy to fall into a rut.  You do the same things today that you did yesterday, and tomorrow will be the same (unless it’s one of those rare weekends where you don’t work). 

Every day merges into every other day a bit like that Bill Murray film, Groundhog Day. Maybe you feel that it’s one step forward, two steps back all of the time? The reasons for feeling like this can vary, but from my experience it’s normally one or more of the following:

• You don’t have enough clients, and worry abou…

The client who always dumps a box of receipts on your desk right before the tax return deadline.

The client who asks you for financial advice and then does the opposite. Every. Single. Time.

The client who seems to vanish off the face of the earth until you've sent out multiple 'payment overdue' reminders.

The chances are you recognise at least one of these nightmare clients. If you have been really unlucky, you'll be familiar with all three — and a few more besides!

All you want to do is he…

I made the crazy decision that a Saturday trip to IKEA was a great idea this weekend.  After being carried along in the crowd around the store, I noticed the same thing with virtually every product.

IKEA have planned their whole store to encourage you, the shopper, to spend more money with them.

They have a few base products, and then add-ons to allow you to personalise that product to your requirements.  

They don't want you to buy a KELLAX shelving system at £39.  They want you to add four …

It seems counter-intuitive to actively disengage clients.  You’ve worked hard to recruit them and probably spent time and money finding them in the first place.  If you want a business that serves your dreams, though, this is a skill that you’re going to need to get comfortable with.  Fast.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time I’m sure you’ve felt it.  The clients who felt so right before now feel all wrong. You once loved working with them, but suddenly they make you feel as thoug…

As humans, we’re not good at absolutes.  We can’t look at a colour and tell the exact hue.  We can’t life a bag and say exactly how heavy it is.  We can’t hear a sound and tell how loud it is. Our brains are just not programmed to allow us to do that. We are experts at comparisons though.  We can see two colours and say which is the most red.  We can lift two bags and say easily which is the heaviest.  We can hear two sounds and immediately we know which is louder. We love to compare.  The same …