Accountants vs Clients: Avoid a Battle Royale by Staying Off the Ropes
Are you ready to rumble…with your clients?
When it comes to a company’s financials, you and your client’s goals should be aligned…but they often aren’t. As bookkeepers (with clients in both corners), we often have ring-side seats to conflicts between accountants and business owners. Here’s a quick look at how you can drop the gloves and encourage your clients to empower you to help take their business to the next level.
Squaring off against your clients
When it comes to accounting-related functions, business owners tend to be task-focused: “If I can tick this off my list, I can put my focus on other areas.” But with this approach clients can miss out on opportunities.
Accountants tend to be strategy-focused: “If my clients took the time to look at the larger picture, they could improve their business.” Sadly, when it comes to this “fight”, accountants usually lose, as you are primarily in business to help businesses save on taxes — so you wind up putting all your efforts into getting the file in on time. Is this a victory? Yes, you met the deadline, and earned your dollars. But is it satisfying? Missed opportunities to move your client’s business forward can be frustrating.
How to come out swinging
The most effective thing you can do to help your clients is to get them organized. It may be a low blow, but the truth is, if your clients are sending you a shoebox full of receipts and reports, you are going to spend all your billable hours sorting that out. Any possible time left over for strategic, long-term goals is squandered.
Bring in a ringer
One simple way of solving this problem is to let a professional bookkeeper get the details right so you have more time to spend time finding opportunities and efficiencies for your clients instead of chasing down details. Having a bookkeeper in your corner is the key to making everyone winners!
