Growing clients needn't cause growing headaches

These days accountants play a much more pivotal role for many clients, especially small to medium-sized businesses. It’s not only the GST that has created the need for regular dialogue but the increasingly complex business environment in which many clients operate.

No longer is an accountant someone to contact once a year. Indeed, for some accountants their role has naturally expanded to encompass general business advice, financial guidance, succession planning and much more.

One key area that accountants are often asked about is financial software. What should clients buy, which version and why? Since accountants rely on the quality of information their clients provide, it’s not surprising they’re the first port of call for advice.

So what happens when a client grows out of their basic-model software and needs something more sophisticated? Something that can handle multiple warehouse locations for example, or the demands of import and export.

Once again, clients turn to the ones they trust: their accountant. But just how knowledgeable are accountants when it comes to more sophisticated finance software solutions?

Growing clients mean a growing opportunity

Research has found that 90% of accountants only ever deal with ‘retail’ software—the well-known brands that most clients are familiar with. The kind that can be bought off the shelf in most computer or retail stores. No surprise there, and for many small businesses this solution is fine for the basic tasks. But when small businesses grow and their key people start to lose touch with the day-to-day aspects of the business, what’s required is a richer software solution: a management information system.

The same research found that 63% of accountants weren’t sure what to do with businesses that had outgrown their financial software. And they estimated somewhere between 5 and 10% of their clients were in this situation.

That’s a sizeable chunk of any accountant’s business, especially when those clients are the ones that are growing.

Does it matter?

While the choice of software may seem a minor aspect of a business it has an important flow-on effect. If the software is not up to the task it creates additional work and costs, reduces efficiency and forces the need for operational compromises.

If figures cannot be analysed and modelled in real-time, decision makers are seriously hampered.

The accounting firm that can guide their clients to a more appropriate software solution opens up the possibility of becoming more of a consultant to the client. This can help retain clients who, as they grow, may start looking elsewhere for their financial support.

In fact, both accountant and client win.

So how do you go about helping your growing clients? In fact, how can you confirm the need for a change in accounting package, and what are the next steps?

Finding out what your client actually needs

Most consultants would agree that the best place to start is with an audit of the client’s current and future needs. An audit establishes the current situation, the pitfalls and the advantages of the existing system. This can be easily done through a series of interviews with key personnel, not forgetting the personnel who actually do much of the day to day data and financial entry.

You may like to visit the warehouse or back office to understand any issues on the ground.

It should be clear from this process where the issues and goals are. These can be matched against the software solutions available.

One software provider, Sybiz Software, has recently launched a 'do it yourself' questionnaire to help accountants confirm, or otherwise, their clients' need for more robust software solutions.

Sybiz Software say 'The Empowerment Pack' has a questionnaire that gives accountants an alternative to merely insisting their clients persevere with software that is no longer suitable. Or getting their clients to request quotes from a dozen software providers.

Profitable relationships

As the role of the accountant continues to change, so too will the depth of relationships with clients. A good relationship will see clients relying more and more on the proven and skilled knowledge of their accountant, while the accountant can enjoy a deeper level of engagement.

They used to say ‘no-one got fired for buying IBM’. Well, look what happened to IBM: they had to significantly re-engineer their business because newer and sharper organisations took over their market.

So, while it might seem easy to recommend well known, off-the-shelf software in every case, the smart accountant will look for a more relevant solution and begin a richer relationship with their growing clients.