Accounting firms have a unique vision of the world.
They see businesses at the forefront of innovation, expansion, and growth. But it’s not always easy to turn that attention back on themselves and examine what they need to do to scale their business.
This guide will help provide some clarity on that. Read on to learn about the accounting solutions and strategies to grow a financial firm in 2024 and beyond.
Invest in Accounting Software
Modern accounting software can be a game changer for your business.
It’s worth looking at cloud-based options, as they are scalable and cost-effective. They also make it easy for your team to work from anywhere, which is valuable if you have remote work policies. When shortlisting accounting software providers, always check each one has the features you need by visiting their website.
Modern accounting software gives you access to real-time data about your business. So it can help with your decision-making.
It’s also helpful in spotting problems early, like a potential cash flow issue. It can also help you create a professional image with your customers through features like automated invoicing.
Revisit Your Branding
You need a bold and memorable brand to scale your accounting firm. Look at how you present yourself to the world at the moment. It may be time for a revamp.
Start by looking at your current brand’s strengths and weaknesses and comparing it to competitors. Focus on how your brand fits in the new digital world.
Do you have a website that looks modern, for example? Do you have a presence on social media?
Remember that your brand must feel unique and authentic in your industry. That’s what customers want to see, and it will make them loyal to you, which will ultimately help you scale.
It’s worth getting some advice from a branding expert, too, if you plan to do a complete overhaul. Digital marketing services can help you create something professional yet modern.
Automate Basics Parts of Your Accounting
You’ll see efficiency gains in your business by automating routine tasks.
Applying this to your accounting can help you become more productive and help your business grow. For example, suppose you have lots of data entry for your accounts team to complete.
You can use tools and AI to help automate this and allow your team to work on more complex accounting tasks instead.
Automating your payroll also leads to significant time savings. You won’t have to carry out cumbersome checks and calculations on things like taxes or expenses. Always look at the work that’s taking the most time to see ways to automate part or all of it.
Outsource Non-Core Tasks
Outsourcing some financial tasks will help your team stay focused and productive. They’ll find it easier to focus on the things that drive the most growth.
One popular outsourcing option for financial management is payroll.
Many outsourcing providers are dedicated to running all payroll tasks. They can do this more efficiently than in-house teams juggling multiple demands.
By outsourcing payroll, it means you get that critical task completed each month without having to worry about it. Instead, your financial teams can focus on strategic goals like reducing operating costs through the business or investing in innovation.
Streamline Client Onboarding
Choose an accounting solution that makes setting up new client accounts easy. It will streamline and quicken your onboarding process, helping you to stay on top of new clients as your business grows.
A good solution will include features like electronic signatures and online forms.
It’s also helpful if it integrates with your customer relationship management tool. The latter will reduce your data entry work and provide a better high-level overview of your financials for each client.
New customers will notice your seamless setup, and you’ll have better financial accuracy from day one with a new client. That will help you present a professional image to the outside world.
Focus on a Solution Tailored to Your Niche
Focusing your accounting strategy around your niche will help create a more meaningful impact. It enables you to optimize how you use your financial team.
For example, perhaps you specialize in accounting services for manufacturing departments. In that case, you might want to consider investing in solutions that focus on cost accounting to help your clients maintain profit margins.
If you work with tech firms, you might want a solution that gives them financial data about their products, like total revenue per customer.
Always think about your target industry and its unique financial challenges. That will help you find accounting solutions that best match your services.
Use Financial Data to Grow
Your accounting team will have access to lots of valuable data. Use business intelligence tools to turn this information into analytics for your clients. It will give you valuable insights, like financial trends and sales performance.
Financial data can often provide some of the most helpful insights about new markets and opportunities to help your client’s business grow. For example, it will help you highlight a business’s most profitable products and services.
Think of ways you can be more strategic with your financial data and how you can present it to your customers. There is information hidden there that will help your client grow.
Implement an Online Portal for Clients
You can streamline financial transactions with your clients. That has two benefits.
It makes customers happier because it’s more convenient for them. Second, it keeps your accounting team working efficiently, which is vital as you scale.
An online portal is somewhere for clients to view invoices and track payments. It’s helpful when you have multiple invoices and clients want to track where they are with their payments.
Having it available online means you won’t have phone calls from customers querying invoices. It’s also more transparent and reduces the chance of errors. That will help you build a long-lasting, trusted partnership with your most important customers.
Remote Accounting Solutions and Virtual Teams
Many accounting teams are now moving to a virtual, or remote, model. Some may have teams working in different countries.
With this setup, you can still work closely and collaborate without geographic distance getting in the way.
Find accounting solutions that address this problem with features that help teams work from anywhere. That will include cloud-based models, collaboration tools like chat, and advanced reporting.
All this ensures that your team works together on the same financial strategy for your business, even when they aren’t in the same office.
It’s also helpful when handling remote clients. Virtual collaboration tools will allow you to have face-to-face consultations with your customers without the expense of traveling.
Solutions to Bolster Your IT Security
In the digital era, accounting firms face unique security challenges. You hold lots of highly sensitive financial data on behalf of your clients.
Should that financial data fall into the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic for your customer and permanently damage your reputation as a trusted accounting firm.
Look for solutions that offer premium-level security against modern cyber threats. That includes the best encryption and two-factor authentication for your most important software.
You also need to stay on top of regulations surrounding data, like GDPR. It’s worth doing regular audits. An external security firm can check your standards and identify gaps.
Expand Your Services
You must continue to offer new services to your clients if you want to grow. That will help you get higher revenue from your existing client base, which is essential, even when successfully winning new customers.
Survey your clients to find out where there are gaps between what you offer and what they need. It might include the following:
- Financial planning
- Consulting
- Tax services
- Financial compliance
You should also look at the skills and capabilities you have in-house. You might have specialists in specific industries that you could package into a new service.
Focus on Team Development and Training
Don’t forget that your team is the most central component of any growth strategy. So make it a priority to invest in training and development.
That will include general professional development and other soft skills essential for your business, like customer service and communication.
If you invest in accounting tools and software, you should also allow your team time — away from their day job — to learn how to use this.
Encourage your team to participate in industry conferences and network events, too. It can often spark new ideas and inspire people to work on their professional growth.
Having a business culture that values the ongoing development of its people is the best way to ensure your long-term growth and keep clients happy.
Focus on the Client’s Experience
Clients expect more than a standard service from their suppliers.
A long-lasting relationship requires an experience that makes the client feel important from day one. It means going above and beyond what you’ve done in the past and what your competitors offer today.
You can do this by personalizing the service for the client and offering a more bespoke package of work that better fits their business profile and industry.
You could also focus on some wraparound elements that make up exceptional service, like communication and responsiveness. Always seek feedback from customers and use that to make improvements.
Exceptional experiences are crucial to your growth. Impressed customers are more likely to stay with you and may refer you to peers, too.
Happy customers will also leave you glowing testimonials and reviews, which you’ll need to attract new clients and scale your business.
Focus on Employee Engagement
Happy, loyal employees are highly productive and motivated. They also represent the best image to your clients. It’s essential to understand this and why it’s a factor in your growth as a business.
You need to find ways to engage with your employees to boost retention rates and ensure teams are satisfied with their jobs.
Survey your workforce and use that to shape an HR strategy that will help you retain top talent. For example, many teams nowadays look for flexible and remote working to help them create a better work/life balance.
You should also examine some employee packages you offer, like maternity and paternity leave, vacation time, and bonuses.
Adopt Lean Management
Lean management is more common in manufacturing, but service-based businesses like accounting are beginning to see its value.
Lean management is all about reducing waste and becoming more streamlined and agile. For example, you could examine what your teams do and spot duplicate work.
Even the most efficient businesses have areas for improvement, especially as they grow. Without keeping tabs on things, productivity can slowly decline, and costs can rise.
You can avoid that with a lean management approach, taking stock of each process in your business and asking tough questions about how you can do things differently. Getting an external consultant to do this is often a good idea, as they can examine your business with fresh insight.
Create Some Strategic Partnerships
A strategic partnership can be a helpful way to enter new markets or launch new services. You could collaborate with other professional service businesses, such as law firms, which may have a similar clientele.
You could also partner with companies to offer a new package of services, like linking with an accounting software firm to provide a new technical accounting service for your customers.
Many opportunities are available, accounting solutions so the best way to begin is to head to networking events to brainstorm ideas with your peers and business contacts. Speak to your customers, too.
They may have unmet needs you can fulfill by partnering with another company. It’s a highly effective way to scale your business and keep yourself one step ahead of the competition.
Accounting Solutions for Business Growth
One thing is for sure: In today’s competitive age, no accounting business can thrive by standing still. Use these ideas and accounting solutions to create a growth strategy for your business.
There are lots of ways you can scale your business. So keep reading for more ideas. View our latest posts now for some tips and guides.
