Successful cloud-based accounting firms organize around several key operating principles. These are the persistent ideas that drive everyday behavior. Some of the principles may seem like common sense. Keeping them top of mind will guide your team’s actions and help you make better decisions. They create efficiencies and generate growth.
One of those core principles is to standardize your practice on specific accounting software. This means that instead of, for example, using several Bill Pay solutions, your practice learns one and uses one for all clients. This has a host of benefits:
Increased work quality and efficiency
Learning new software is challenging. Learning multiple programs to serve the same function multiplies the difficulty. Standardizing gives your team the chance to become experts in your software of choice.
As they learn the ins and outs of your technology stack (the software you've chosen to standardize on), your team's expertise will enable them to deliver increasingly awesome solutions to clients more quickly.
The time saved will increase profit and create more opportunity to provide high-value advice. It frees your team up to create more wow moments for your clients.
Plus, using one technology stack with all clients means you will be able to get volume discounts. Lower costs mean better margins.
Builds a strong foundation of trust with clients
By being software experts, it's even easier to convey confidence that you can solve a prospect's problems. And the net benefit is that this confidence will translate into a foundation of trust with the client.
Your value as an advisor is not the details of the software solutions you use. It is your ability to solve client problems. Standardize to deliver a great work product. Standardize because it means you can deliver a compelling service at a compelling price. Standardize because it will increase your clients' trust in you as a true partner in business.
Simplifies your workflow
Standardization helps simplify your workflow. This makes it easy for your team to document the process, train staff and onboard new clients.
Onboarding is the first experience a client has with your service. You want it to be seamless and for your team to be well-positioned to handle potential issues.
Strong documentation and training are key to this. Standardization helps make this possible in a world of many competing priorities.
Wrap-Up
When you standardize your technology stack, your staff can become experts. That makes it easier for them to develop great client solutions more quickly. They’ll build deeper relationships. And work more effectively. All of which lead to a healthier bottom line. And if you can nail the process for on-boarding new clients to your stack it’ll become a real engine of growth.
