Our 2021 Accounting and Bookkeeping Trade Efficiency Report takes a detailed have a look at the efficiency of the business between April and Could 2021. Over 500 practitioners from accounting and bookkeeping companies of all sizes took half and the info gathered provides us clear perception into the business because it stands immediately.
The report covers the important thing elements of operating a profitable accounting and bookkeeping apply, from recruitment and development to supporting shoppers by way of the pandemic. General, the info reveals that the business has been remarkably resilient, with simply over half (51 p.c) of respondents telling us that their enterprise is rising at the same fee and even quicker than it was pre-pandemic.
We just lately held a reside panel with business consultants to debate how key insights from the report can be utilized to future-proof your accounting and bookkeeping practices. Hosted by Kat Bond, Head of Accomplice Consulting & Verticals at Xero, our panel included Jonathan Bareham, Founding father of accounting agency Raedan, and Paul Barnes, Co-Founding father of GoProposal and Founder and MD of accounting agency MAP.
Watch the recording under or learn on for the important thing highlights.
Supporting shoppers with basic enterprise development
Knowledge from our report reveals that practices rising quicker than pre-pandemic are most definitely to have 100 p.c of their shoppers utilizing on-line accounting software program. The report additionally reveals that harnessing know-how (37 p.c) and supporting shoppers with Making Tax Digital (43 p.c) are seen as the important thing alternatives for development for UK companies.
Each the pandemic and Making Tax Digital have introduced enterprise house owners’ consideration to their funds and the way know-how can enhance the effectivity of not solely their bookkeeping but additionally their general enterprise operations. Our panellists notice that as consciousness and understanding of know-how will increase, so will your shoppers’ questions and necessities.
The true problem for accounting companies is to maintain the momentum going and proceed to have significant conversations with shoppers. Our panellists advocate taking the time to know shoppers’ particular business challenges, get near what’s happening of their companies, ask the precise questions, and have conversations about what you’re seeing of their numbers.
Paul Barnes provides that it’s additionally essential to contemplate the place your shoppers’ blindspots could also be. While some could readily strategy you for recommendation and help, others could be extra reluctant to achieve out and carry on high of their tax obligations and upcoming regulatory adjustments. Hold an eye fixed out for these shoppers who could not proactively ask for assist to make sure they’re conscious of the help you’ll be able to present. Make it clear that you simply’re there to offer training in addition to recommendation.
Boosting profitability in your agency and your shoppers
One other noteworthy discovering from our report reveals that companies with 75 p.c or extra enterprise shoppers utilizing on-line accounting software program benefit from the biggest common income per shopper. The adoption of on-line accounting software program is a key driver for enhancing profitability in your agency. Our panellists notice that companies usually can’t give their shoppers the identical stage of help utilizing desktop functions, so the worth of cloud providers has by no means been extra outstanding. Having a two-way channel of communication, the place you’ll be able to each have a look at the identical knowledge from anyplace on the earth simply with an web connection, is important to staying on the ball and recognizing areas for optimisation, subsequently boosting profitability in your shoppers.
Early adopters of cloud accounting software program are actually paying dividends as others within the business put together for Making Tax Digital. For individuals who have already leveraged cloud accounting, the following step is guaranteeing shoppers are sustaining high-quality knowledge. From there you’ll be able to start having conversations about additional enhancements to their accounting processes resembling streamlining funds, automating fee collections, and higher managing their payroll. It’s additionally value taking a look at bespoke functions which might be related to your shoppers’ industries that might additional optimise their processes and increase profitability.
Recruitment and retention in your agency
Knowledge from the report reveals that 30 p.c of companies might be hiring extra full-time workers within the yr forward. With a shift to distant working on account of the pandemic, companies are not centered on hiring the perfect native expertise, however can now think about hiring the perfect international expertise. As talked about above, early adopters of cloud know-how will profit essentially the most, as they’ll have already got the infrastructure in place to help a digital workforce.
Equally, the recruitment growth additionally provides the chance to contemplate your retention technique. Our panellists level out that you could be not be the one agency that’s taking a look at a recruitment drive, so it’s essential to judge your employer model and retention initiatives. Particularly, think about the wellbeing help your agency provides to keep away from burnout, the steps you’re taking to foster a wholesome work-life stability, and find out how to create a significant office in order that present and future workers have extra motive to proceed selecting your agency as their employer.
Think about evaluating new channels of recruitment as a substitute of merely counting on businesses. Revisit your tradition, model, and values and ensure that you’re clearly speaking them all through the recruitment course of. Lastly, Jonathan Bareham suggests it’s value contemplating how your recruitment course of itself might be tailored to reflect your model and tradition, resembling by together with video functions if you wish to entice a tech-focused workforce in your digital-first agency.
Constructing monetary stability in your agency
Should you’re entering into offering advisory providers, it’s essential to first set up your agency as worthwhile and credible. Monetary stability and pricing are on the very coronary heart of this; be sure that the laborious work you’re delivering to your shoppers is coming again to you when it comes to worth which you can then make investments again into your groups and enterprise. Take time to step again and construct a uniform pricing system that all your crew are on board with.
Our panellists additionally focus on how scope creep has been a selected problem during the last eighteen months, each with distant working and the variety of shoppers which have been turning to their accounting companies for help. That is one other facet to judge when constructing your agency’s monetary stability. Take inventory of how a lot recommendation and help you might have given away at no cost to shoppers, resembling furlough help, and talk with shoppers if you must tweak your charges going forward. Jonathan Bareham notes that charging a small quantity per shopper for furlough recommendation would general pay massive dividends to the agency while additionally making your workers really feel as if their time is valued.
Evaluating and monitoring how time is spent on shoppers can even assist you to make higher selections about find out how to package deal your providers going forward. That is particularly essential as you construct your crew, enterprise and providing. For all the important thing knowledge, obtain the 2021 Accounting and Bookkeeping Trade Efficiency Report or have a look by way of the key insights from the report for a fast abstract. It’s also possible to entry the apply well being verify software to see how your apply compares to comparable dimension companies.