Accountant - how to generate new business

T

trg

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Hi Folks,

Been mulling this over a while now and am struggling to figure out a way to generate business so i said i'd come online here to seek opinion.

Basically I am recently installed accountant in a company that is rapidly going down the tubes, making unsustainable losses and the directors do not agree on anything. So aside from last in - first out scenario there is simply no future here.

I have a real desire to work for myself, I currently have about 10 private small clients but they are generating around €5000 p.a. only, which is fine when there is only a few evenings and weekends but its a very small base to start from.

I reckon I would need to do generate €30k in year one and am at a loss as to how to go about getting it and also as to what is ethically acceptable.

  • I have been thinking along the lines of writing a letter to SME's in the local area
  • Just chatting the people in SME's that I know around
  • Has anyone any experience in online advertising for such a service? I would imagine there would not be much out of it as word of mouth is the key I feel
My opportunities to get myself out into the market are scarce because of the full-time job. I am in a catch 22 as I would love to leave but I cant afford to give a few months with no income or immediate hopes of income.


Has anyone any ideas? I appreciate many of you are accountants yourself and may not feel compelled to pass on info to a potential competitor but any words of wisdom or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
You should probably try to get a part-time job somewhere which would give you a basic income while you develop your business.

Are you a qualified accountant?

Do you have Professional Indemnity insurance? It just surprises me that doing €5,000 work would be worth it because of the insurance costs involved.But I suppose you have to start somewhere.

Brendan
 
Hi trg, my wife is a GP and she’s moved accountant 3 times in 7 years because of the bad level of service she receives. Despite running TAS, using Laser for almost all transactions and having a receptionist that’s trained as an accountancy technician she still can’t get her accountant(s) to do her end of year returns competently. Each year we go over the final accounts that the accountant prepares before he/she files them and each year there are omissions, mistakes in addition and/or subtraction and other mistakes. This can result in underpayment or overpayment. Therefore my advice is find a niche area, study up on it and offer a quality service where you proactively look after the accounts and business interests of your clients. From what I’ve learned over the last few years doctors know next to nothing about how to run a business so someone who can advise them on financial matters in general as well as submitting their tax return would be a in demand. Knowing a little bit about employment law would also help, nothing major; just an afternoon on the Citizens Advice website would do.
I presume that doctors are not unique in having this gap in their knowledge so there may be other sectors that you could look at.

My general advice is to be proactive in how you serve your clients. It sounds like you are trying to do that where you are now. Why not do it for people who are viable and who will listen?
My experience of accountants is not good. I find that they do the bare minimum and get very defensive when their mistakes are pointed out. Stand out from the general mediocrity that seems to be the norm in your profession.
 
Purple said:
My experience of accountants is not good. I find that they do the bare minimum and get very defensive when their mistakes are pointed out. Stand out from the general mediocrity that seems to be the norm in your profession.
Click to expand...

Indeed, the same description is often applied to GPs :)
 
T McGibney said:
Indeed, the same description is often applied to GPs :)
Click to expand...

I agree completely.
I always found it strange that people thanked their doctor for doing their job but doctors rarely thanked their customers for their business.

Sectors which have enjoyed excessive demand and/or limited supply have been able to conduct their affairs in an inefficient manner. Customer service has been bad and the customers business has not been appreciated. This is still the case with doctors though I suspect that with the massive over-supply in the legal and accountancy sectors this is changing but old habits die hard.
 
To the OP:

You will have to make a decision as to whether you want to work in practice or in industry. You won't be able to do the two at the same time, the skillsets and demands on your concentration and energy are simply too much.

You say that you can't afford to go a few months with no income. In that respect, setting up a practice on your own is going to be a problem as you will not earn a whole lot in your first year or two, no matter how hard you work. In that respect, you might be better off getting a job in a practice and perhaps introducing your own clients to that practice as part of the deal.

If you are a member of an Institute, do not under any circumstances offer paid services to your own clients unless you have a practising cert and professional indemnity insurance. If the Institute discovers you to be doing so, you would be liable to serious disciplinary action which may impact on your career.
 
Purple said:
she still can’t get her accountant(s) to do her end of year returns competently. Each year we go over the final accounts that the accountant prepares before he/she files them and each year there are omissions, mistakes in addition and/or subtraction and other mistakes.
Click to expand...

I find this very peculiar, particularly the mention of addition and subtraction errors. I thought that this sort of thing had gone out with the flood. Don't tell me she is using accountants who prepare calculations and returns manually?

Purple said:
Therefore my advice is find a niche area, study up on it and offer a quality service where you proactively look after the accounts and business interests of your clients. From what I’ve learned over the last few years doctors know next to nothing about how to run a business so someone who can advise them on financial matters in general as well as submitting their tax return would be a in demand. Knowing a little bit about employment law would also help, nothing major; just an afternoon on the Citizens Advice website would do.
Click to expand...

You should expect your accountant to look after your accounts and your tax affairs and hopefully be proactive in both regards.

However I would suggest that it is a major mistake to expect an accountant to "advise on financial matters in general". If you need investment advice, go to a specialist investment advisor, rather than an accountant whose core expertise lies elsewhere. Similarly, if you need employment law advice go to a solicitor, rather than depending on someone who has no expertise in that area apart from an afternoon spent reading a website.
 
T McGibney said:
I wouldn't pay much heed to that thread. The poster who opened that thread (and apparently received a great deal on his accountancy fees) is himself a practising accountant :rolleyes:
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How do you figure that?

If he is, what was the point of his (possibly mis-leading) thread? and his final post about having a new accountant?
 
Purple said:
Sectors which have enjoyed excessive demand and/or limited supply have been able to conduct their affairs in an inefficient manner. Customer service has been bad and the customers business has not been appreciated. This is still the case with doctors though I suspect that with the massive over-supply in the legal and accountancy sectors this is changing but old habits die hard.
Click to expand...

There is no 'excessive demand' nor 'limited supply' in the accountancy practice industry. The country is full of fully-fledged practising accountants (qualified and not qualified) practically in every village in the country. Add to that the large numbers of book-keepers also offering accounts and tax return services, and the considerable numbers of others (including the OP) who do similar work on a part-time or nixer basis. Unlike the legal or medical sectors, literally anyone can open an accountancy or tax practice in this country.

Many accountants remain inefficient and hourly billing policies mean that some practices are disincentivised from becoming efficient. However, clients of technology-aware practices have benefitted from improved services and more accurate accounts and returns in recent years.

You mention that your wife changed her accountant three times in the past 7 years. The fact that she can do so would hardly suggest that the sector is either closed or non-competitive.
 
PaddyBloggit said:
How do you figure that?

If he is, what was the point of his (possibly mis-leading) thread? and his final post about having a new accountant?
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Read their earlier posts on other threads.

Its not for me to second-guess their comments on that thread.
 
T McGibney said:
I find this very peculiar, particularly the mention of addition and subtraction errors. I thought that this sort of thing had gone out with the flood. Don't tell me she is using accountants who prepare calculations and returns manually?
Click to expand...
I have no idea. It was real school-boy stuff though.



T McGibney said:
You should expect your accountant to look after your accounts and your tax affairs and hopefully be proactive in both regards.
Click to expand...
I agree but that's not what I've seen.

T McGibney said:
However I would suggest that it is a major mistake to expect an accountant to "advise on financial matters in general". If you need investment advice, go to a specialist investment advisor, rather than an accountant whose core expertise lies elsewhere. Similarly, if you need employment law advice go to a solicitor, rather than depending on someone who has no expertise in that area apart from an afternoon spent reading a website.
Click to expand...

The advice I would expect is "You need to get "X" issue sorted out. I suggest you talk to an investment advisor/solicitor etc" with a recommendation as to who you should talk to. That’s what I mean about being proactive.
 
Purple said:
The advice I would expect is "You need to get "X" issue sorted out. I suggest you talk to an investment advisor/solicitor etc" with a recommendation as to who you should talk to. That’s what I mean about being proactive.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, most accountants do this as a matter of course, but earlier you said "Knowing a little bit about employment law would also help, nothing major; just an afternoon on the Citizens Advice website would do". This seemed to imply the exact opposite.
 
T McGibney said:
Fair enough, most accountants do this as a matter of course, but earlier you said "Knowing a little bit about employment law would also help, nothing major; just an afternoon on the Citizens Advice website would do". This seemed to imply the exact opposite.
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OK, I should have been clearer. Knowing enough to ask you client if their staff have contracts etc and then advising them to talk to someone to get it sorted out. That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about.
I find it strange that whenever a sector is criticised those within it always jump to its defence. In my limited experience “most” accountants do not offer a service that I would consider adequate. I’m not interested in dealing with people who are just ok at their job. I want to deal with people who are superb at their job. I want to have absolute confidence in the competence of the people I buy services from. My wife holds similar expectations. She’s willing to pay a premium for that level of service but there is a disconnect between what is being offered and what is being charged. People working well within their comfort zone, just plodding through the day are a liability.
There is always enough work for the very best within any sector so the answer to the OP is if you want to be busy then be the very best. That requires ability, engagement so that you understand your customer and their business and lots of hard work. It’s simple but it’s not easy.
 
T McGibney said:
Indeed, the same description is often applied to GPs :)
Click to expand...

To be fair it can be applied to any profession - doctors, accountants, financial advisers, architects, civil servants..
As Sturgeons "Law" states "90% of everything is crud".

To stand out you no longer need to be extraordinary, you just need to match your clients expectations on a consistent basis.

Have a look at the Power City thread, they get great feedback because they confirm your order and deliver on time i.e they do their job.

But they stand out because the industry standard of service is so abysmal.

It's the same in any industry, how many times have you been told that you'll get a callback within the hour only to receive it two days later or not at all?

Ok, that went a bit off topic, apologies. It doesn't really help the OP to get customers but once you have them, treat them well and they will refer new business to you.
 
trg said:
I have a real desire to work for myself, I currently have about 10 private small clients but they are generating around €5000 p.a. only, which is fine when there is only a few evenings and weekends but its a very small base to start from.

I reckon I would need to do generate €30k in year one and am at a loss as to how to go about getting it and also as to what is ethically acceptable.

  • I have been thinking along the lines of writing a letter to SME's in the local area
  • Just chatting the people in SME's that I know around
  • Has anyone any experience in online advertising for such a service? I would imagine there would not be much out of it as word of mouth is the key I feel
My opportunities to get myself out into the market are scarce because of the full-time job. I am in a catch 22 as I would love to leave but I cant afford to give a few months with no income or immediate hopes of income.


Has anyone any ideas? I appreciate many of you are accountants yourself and may not feel compelled to pass on info to a potential competitor but any words of wisdom or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...


I think my main advice would be to save as much money as soon as possible if you really want to go out on your own (i think the same applies to most start up businesses) - its often said that you need about 6 months cashflow when starting out (and possibly more).

Borrowing is risky and interest just another cost.

Lock up (WIP+debtors) is quite significant at present given the prevailing conditions so you really have to consider this.

You say you need to generate €30k in year one? It i'll be difficult to to generate that in year one, a practice is the type of business that needs to be built from the ground up. You've done the right thing so far, but i dont think you just give up your job and decide you want to open a practice.

How stuck for time are you? Could you get the €5k up to €10k and beyond in the mean time? Would the people you deal with already refer you to others? Are there any untapped friends? Are you involved in sporting clubs or other organisations in the local community?

Have you considered a course on the practicalities of this? I'm ACA myself and they do a very useful going into practice course - not sure if the other bodies do the same.

Just some thoughts.
 
Purple said:
I find it strange that whenever a sector is criticised those within it always jump to its defence.
Click to expand...

Please show me where in this thread I have jumped to anyone's defence. I just sought to clarify a few aspects of your posts that I thought might give rise to, or perhaps indicate, misunderstanding. If you don't consider my contributions to be constructive, apologies.
 
T McGibney said:
Please show me where in this thread I have jumped to anyone's defence. I just sought to clarify a few aspects of your posts that I thought might give rise to, or perhaps indicate, misunderstanding. If you don't consider my contributions to be constructive, apologies.
Click to expand...

At the danger of turning this into a love-in I didn’t mean to be critical of you to apologies right back at ya’. :D
You are better positioned to comment so here’s a question for you as a practicing accountant who , based on the posts you make on AAM, is competent and good at their job. Do you think that there is a substantial number of (at best) mediocre accountants out there selling their services?
 
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