Accounting Practice Startup – Help Me

[Soilder1122]

Up

0

::

Hi All,

I am thinking of starting my own accounting practice (sole practitioner) as a part-time home business whilst working full time (Sydney East). I have already registered a business name with ASIC (not a Pty Ltd) and in the process of developing a marketing and website plan for the business.

My qualifications are CA, MBA, BCompSci, PMP, Tax Agent. I started my career in a small tax practice in the Sydney CBD, then to a larger 2nd tier audit firm and most recently at an international bank doing portfolio risk management (debt/growth products).

I am in my early 30’s. I am eager to start a business and hence I will need your help in the following:

1. Marketing strategy – I am unsure to how get customers. What method do I use? I am unable to approach clients I already look after in my current bank job.
2. Marketing: What method of marketing is most successful for accountants? I know referrals are the ultimate method, but this method won’t be much use to me at this stage. I also heard putting ads on local newspapers are not very effective as people usually like to stick to their old accountants.
3. Website Design: What kind of website should I be looking to design? I’ve had a look at other competitors websites such as: legallybas.com.au, walshs.com.au, etc
4. Website pictures, etc: Should I be putting my picture, qualifications, home address on the website – is this a good idea? If you were a customer would you like it?
5. Softwares: I am also looking at purchasing an accounting GL & Tax software for this business. I have looked at MYOB And Elite Tax from Reckon. What do you think of these? At the moment, I do not have any customers.
6. Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates.

7. Revenue Forecast: To all the self-employed accountants out there. How many can I expect to make in the 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year……. And please share your secret to success and things I should be looking to do and things I should not be doing. Please help this poor accountant.
8. Business Product Offerings: Tax Returns (all kinds), BAS/GST, Bookeeping, Preparation of financial statements, etc. Majority of income is to be derived from preparation of tax returns, statutory accounts, BAS/GST lodgements, etc.

Any guidance from anyone who has started an accounting practice in the past, obstacles faced, lessons learnt, etc. – all comments/advice are welcome.

[SBMW]

Up

0

::

Soilder1122, post: 145871 wrote:

Hi All,

I am thinking of starting my own accounting practice (sole practitioner) as a part-time home business whilst working full time (Sydney East). I have already registered a business name with ASIC (not a Pty Ltd) and in the process of developing a marketing and website plan for the business.

My qualifications are CA, MBA, BCompSci, PMP, Tax Agent. I started my career in a small tax practice in the Sydney CBD, then to a larger 2nd tier audit firm and most recently at an international bank doing portfolio risk management (debt/growth products).

I am in my early 30’s. I am eager to start a business and hence I will need your help in the following:

1. Marketing strategy – I am unsure to how get customers. What method do I use? I am unable to approach clients I already look after in my current bank job.
2. Marketing: What method of marketing is most successful for accountants? I know referrals are the ultimate method, but this method won’t be much use to me at this stage. I also heard putting ads on local newspapers are not very effective as people usually like to stick to their old accountants.
3. Website Design: What kind of website should I be looking to design? I’ve had a look at other competitors websites such as: legallybas.com.au, walshs.com.au, etc
4. Website pictures, etc: Should I be putting my picture, qualifications, home address on the website – is this a good idea? If you were a customer would you like it?
5. Softwares: I am also looking at purchasing an accounting GL & Tax software for this business. I have looked at MYOB And Elite Tax from Reckon. What do you think of these? At the moment, I do not have any customers.
6. Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates.

7. Revenue Forecast: To all the self-employed accountants out there. How many can I expect to make in the 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year……. And please share your secret to success and things I should be looking to do and things I should not be doing. Please help this poor accountant.
8. Business Product Offerings: Tax Returns (all kinds), BAS/GST, Bookeeping, Preparation of financial statements, etc. Majority of income is to be derived from preparation of tax returns, statutory accounts, BAS/GST lodgements, etc.

Any guidance from anyone who has started an accounting practice in the past, obstacles faced, lessons learnt, etc. – all comments/advice are welcome.

Hi,

The best advice I can give you is to determine your services and then learn to sell. Without customers, you don’t need to worry about anything else as it simply won’t matter. Once you have determined your services, you will need to look at who your ideal customer is. Once you know that, you need to find where they are. Once you know that you need to contact them, talk to them, find out what keeps them up at night, what frustrates them, what help they need. Once you know this, you need to make sure your services solve these problems. If they don’t then you need to change it so they do. Once you have that match, you are good to go and sell who you are and how you can deliver that result better than anyone else.

No point selling what people aren’t looking to buy.

Good Luck

SBMW

[Past-Member]

Up

0

::

Congratulations on your decision and planning to start your business.

Just a note re logos (Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates.)

If you have drawn a logo from scratch (an original), that’s ok. But if you have used Clipart elements to create it in Word, then it is against copyright. The Clipart that comes with MS is for personal use only and can’t be used for business purposes.

All the best for your success.

.

[Soilder1122]

Up

0

::

KarenC, post: 145881 wrote:

[/I]If you have drawn a logo from scratch (an original), that’s ok. But if you have used Clipart elements to create it in Word, then it is against copyright. The Clipart that comes with MS is for personal use only and can’t be used for business purposes. .
[/I]

Thanks. I have actually drew using Microsoft Word.

I am looking for anyone on here who has started their own accounting practice and who share provide me some guidance…

[Anonymous]

Up

0

::

Hi Soilder1122,

Welcome to the forums, and thanks for joining in.

It’s a bit quiet around here this week, but we do have some very experienced accountants and bookkeepers who frequent the forum, and I’m sure they’ll have some advice to share with you soon, so please hang tight for a few days.

In the meantime, we’d love it if you’d let us know your name so that we can give you a more personal welcome.

All the best,
Jayne

[Marc D]

Up

0

::

Soilder1122, post: 145871 wrote:

Hi All,

1. Marketing strategy – I am unsure to how get customers. What method do I use? I am unable to approach clients I already look after in my current bank job.
2. Marketing: What method of marketing is most successful for accountants? I know referrals are the ultimate method, but this method won’t be much use to me at this stage. I also heard putting ads on local newspapers are not very effective as people usually like to stick to their old accountants.
3. Website Design: What kind of website should I be looking to design? I’ve had a look at other competitors websites such as: legallybas.com.au, walshs.com.au, etc
4. Website pictures, etc: Should I be putting my picture, qualifications, home address on the website – is this a good idea? If you were a customer would you like it?
5. Softwares: I am also looking at purchasing an accounting GL & Tax software for this business. I have looked at MYOB And Elite Tax from Reckon. What do you think of these? At the moment, I do not have any customers.
6. Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates.

7. Revenue Forecast: To all the self-employed accountants out there. How many can I expect to make in the 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year……. And please share your secret to success and things I should be looking to do and things I should not be doing. Please help this poor accountant.
8. Business Product Offerings: Tax Returns (all kinds), BAS/GST, Bookeeping, Preparation of financial statements, etc. Majority of income is to be derived from preparation of tax returns, statutory accounts, BAS/GST lodgements, etc.

As an accountant myself I find it odd that these are the questions you are asking as these are the questions my customers walk through my door and pay me to answer. No offence intended. I second the excellent post by SMBW above. That’s certainly the process you need to go through.

Cheers

Marc

[Soilder1122]

Up

0

::

Marc D, post: 145962 wrote:

As an accountant myself I find it odd that these are the questions you are asking as these are the questions my customers walk through my door and pay me to answer. No offence intended. I second the excellent post by SMBW above. That’s certainly the process you need to go through.
Marc

Marc, thanks for your response. I was wondering how long have been running Acclaim bookkeeping business? And if you don’t mind, how did it take you to start decent money? What kind of income did you make after 3, 6, 9, 12 moths to 5 years. etc.? What were the main things that made you were able to lure customers? Any lessons learnt? Please guide me.

SMBW’s post was excellent, it talks about differentiation and ability to find your niche target market. Thanks.

Also, another question – do you put your qualifications on a business card?

Many Thanks.

Bill

[Rob Perkovic]

Up

0

::

Marketing and falling in-love with your market is what is important.

Once you have these identified, do some market research to determine those” problems and issues” they have in their businesses that you and your company can solve.

That should be encompassed in your USP.

There’s more to the strategy of rolling out your business, but these items should see you off to a great start.

Wishing you success in 2013

[Marc D]

Up

0

::

Hi Again. If you are looking to replace a corporate salary you will be disappointed with the money unless you have multiple staff members working for you and all the stresses that that entails. My decision to work for myself was driven by the desire to have a happy life surrounded by positive, happy people. I get to choose who I work with and what work load I wish to take on. To earn a decent amount of money would require me to again be working 60 hours weeks in a concrete bunker which puts me right back where I started (2006). So the money is important but doesn’t drive me.
It took quite a while to generate a customer base and stop losing money but that is purely because of decisions I made. If I had gone gungho, advertised and didn’t have a nice office with leather furniture, break even would have been quicker.
The main lure for customers, I believe, has been reputation and referrals which takes time to build up. Everything depends on your business models and how much risk you want to take on. Given your questions, I wonder if a franchise model may not suit you.
My main lesson was to learn to say No. Not every customer is a good customer.
I put all qualifications on my business card and rarely anywhere else. I have degrees in business (acct) and operations management in addition to accounting and I think it good for my clients to know that I am qualified to do what I say I can do. But used elsewhere it often looks wrong

Good luck with it

Marc

[CindyK]

Up

0

::

Hi,

I would have to agree with everything that has been said so far. Before you go any further I think you need to pinpoint what it is your practice will do and stand for. What are you selling for example? You might provide tax returns but you are selling piece of mind..

As a sole-practicioner I can honestly say it would be near impossible to have more than a hand full of clients and provide full services. I quickly realised that I would need more staff to provide quality service – and we only work up to the EOY Trial Balance stage (as I am a BAS Agent rather than a Tax Agent).

Have you registered with the appropriate bodies – such as the Tax Practicioners Baord? You must have done this in order to legally provide services related to Tax and Bas preparation and lodgement.

In regard to your questions on Marketing etc – it is always great to ask and have assistance, but as Marc D said, a large component of being a financial advisor – whether its a Tax Agent or Bas Agent is aiding the client to understand their business and its market. The best place to start gaining experience in helping your future clients is to learn how to do basic market research etc yourself. Your questions seemed to indicate that you have not done much research. Perhaps that is incorrect though and you were merely looking for any sort of help to add to your current understandning.

If your current understanding is quite limited, then you will find it hard to get started on your own. Not impossible, but it is by no means and instant money maker. Have you considered approaching Tax Agents and BAS Agents in your area for work? On the cards for us in 2013 is finding a Tax Agent to add to our practice. Often clients have an Accountant and then find a bookkeeper – but our niche at this point is start ups who have no regular Accountant. Perhaps you could find work that way.

Do you have current experience on the format, regulations, guidelines etc of lodging business compliance documents? How long since you were involved in the BAS, income tax, payroll etc for clients? What niche were you in then? Which will you be in for the future? Will you only do EOY’s or will you try the whole lot? Will you be there for advice or documentation only? Clients rely on you to know your stuff and not knowing would hinder your start up and possible word-of-mouth referrals.

Until you indentify what you are selling – there isn’t much point in producing a website of much more than a home page. Our website needs a major re-haul now that our focus has been honed over the last 6 months. Your original website should probably be basic until you identify your target market and what you are selling.

I would probably do more research before purchasing software. Also consider becoming a professional partner to the organisations like MYOB etc. Clients usually have their software already – so you could purchase MYOB and only have Reckon clients and vice versa. Or you could focus on clients with sketchy software and move them to online platforms like Xero.

There’s alot for you still to think about but I am certain that if you have a passion for helping people to understand their business, you are ready for the hard yards and you don’t need a corporate salary you can definitely be up and running in 2013.

Good Luck!

[expertagent]

Up

0

::

Two massive mistakes business owners make when starting out:

1) Thinking they can manage/do all the functions of their business themselves to the degree necessary in order to flourish

2) Not mastering sales and marketing

You have expertise in the field of Accounting. The best advice I can give you is to find experts in the areas in which you are weak.

Play to your strengths, never relinquish control of your strategy and overall company direction, but get the experts in as early as possible.

The strength of your marketing plan and ability to convert to sales is of course what will make or break your business.

Invest: in your own education to become a master marketer and sales person, and in finding experts to help you grow strong, fast.

More than happy to chat further if you’d like.

V
[email protected]

[WiseUp]

Up

0

::

Hi Bill,

Congratulations on planning to take the first step in to being a small business owner, it is exciting and confusing at the same time!

I am a Marketing Specialist, but also spent some of my life as an accountant and have worked in businesses where financial acumen has been critical, so I like to market myself as a Marketing Specialist who is margin driven.

The steps I think you need to take are
– Profile you Market – Who are you targeting? What problems do they need solved? What do the existing offers look like?
– Carve out a USP – How are you going to solve those problems? How are you going to be different? How will you stand out?
– Connect – What tools online and offline can you use to communicate your USP to your target market.

Bill I am happy to have some more in depth conversations, just shoot me an email,

Good luck!
Mary-Anne

[Daniel Oyston]

Up

0

::

Marketing strategy – I am unsure to how get customers. What method do I use? I am unable to approach clients I already look after in my current bank job.

Marketing: What method of marketing is most successful for accountants? I know referrals are the ultimate method, but this method won’t be much use to me at this stage. I also heard putting ads on local newspapers are not very effective as people usually like to stick to their old accountants.

I’m passionate about Content Marketing as a strategy – creating useful content that answers people’s questions, solves their problems or just makes their life easier. It can include a lot of different vehicles such as blogs, videos, podcasts, eBooks and even offline things like events etc.

Think about the sorts of questions clients ask you in your current job or typical questions you would get asked by future clients. Then turn these into blog posts that live on a blog on your website. The blog posts don’t need to be long -300-500 words, once or twice a week.

You need a method for capturing questions so you don’t sit down to blog and have nothing as a topic. You will go nuts.

Then, whenever anyone goes online to search for answers to their problems e.g. how to keep track of receipts (I just made that up), then your blog and site, over time, will appear on the first page of Google.

This is not a quick strategy – there are no quick ones unless you have more money than the Beatles. This type of approach is cheap in terms of cash but takes time, your time. It is like a garden – you have to plant seeds and care for it and over time, with persistent effort, you’ll create a great garden that produces great fruit n veg

You can also use Google keyword analysis to look for the types of keywords are being searched for by people who are looking for your services. This also helps identify topics for blogs.

I would also target local search terms rather than casting your net too wide i.e. Darlinghurst accountants as opposed to Sydney accountants.

That should get you started. But start you must. Don’t wait for ‘perfect’. Just start writing. I look back at some of my earlier work and cringe – but I learnt along the way. Every day you put it off is another day people aren’t finding you online.
Social Media is a great way to expand your reach and word of mouth. The content you produce as per above comments should then be pushed through SM channels. If you do it right, then the content will hit the mark in terms of peoples problems/needs etc and they will share it, like it, comment etc when then expands your reach.

Website Design: What kind of website should I be looking to design? I’ve had a look at other competitors websites such as: legallybas.com.au, walshs.com.au, etc

You should be building a website that very quickly and clearly positions what you do. It should be clean and attractive and not cluttered.

It should include a blog as per above comments as search engines love regularly updated keyword rich content.

Every page should have a clear goal and a call to action (what do you want the reader to do?).

I’m also a big believer in putting pricing on your site. Don’t take the approach of trying to hook them then show them the price. People aren’t dumb – they won’t trust you. Plus, if people want/need to know how much then give them what they want. If someone decide it is too expensive then no amount of ‘marketing’ will change that in 99% of cases.

Of course, sometimes pricing can be hard to figure out because it ‘all depends’ on what someone wants. If your services are straight forward then put the pricing on.

There are lots of other little things that need to be done but any designer will cover hose.

VERY IMPORTANT – Don’t get locked into a web designer who doesn’t provide you with a platform that allows you to easily manage/update/own the website and/or locks you into only approaching them to do work on it (when needed).

I would recommend something like Adobe Business Catalyst. Shy away from free and cheap website software and do it yourself. It’s pretty clear one of your two examples (Legally BAS and Walsh’s) went the cheap option and one went the more professional. It is pretty clear to me which one looks more professional.

They can also be hacked (although no site is 100% safe). I have a friend who works for a Law Firm, a good one, and one of the Partners who local business woman of the year. Press releases, blogs etc on their site ensued but just that night it got hacked. And has been hacked again. They use WordPress.

Remember, people will, in 99% of occasions, check you out online before making contact. Don’t let good word of mouth or other supporting marketing go to waste with a poor website.

A simple, 5 page website, using Adobe Business Catalyst will give you a robust and secure site, complete ownership and something you can build on easily yourself or take it to any other site designer who works with BC.

That should cost about $3k

Website pictures, etc: Should I be putting my picture, qualifications, home address on the website – is this a good idea? If you were a customer would you like it?

I would put your home address on the site if you expect people to come there for services to be delivered? People will sue your site to look up contact information etc.

I’d put your picture up, but a get a good on taken. However, put it under the About Us page and really focus the words on the site about how you help people.

People want to know about how you solve their problems, not what Uni you went to when and how many jobs you’ve had. Put that at the end of the page.

Also, build testimonials in wherever you can. It adds social proof to your claims.
Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates.

As with the website, don’t skimp on this. Having not seen yours, I can’t comment but think carefully about ‘what’ you want a logo to convey. A dodgy looking logo that doesn’t convey the right message.

As a potential client, if I see you can’t put enough attention to detail and love into your own pide and joy (your business) then what makes me think the work you do for me will be any different?

You can get a very good looking logo for about $600.

Hope this all helps!

Feel free to email me using daniel.oyston @ contentgrasshopper.com.au or call 0411 377 725 for a chat (no cost, I just love talking marketing

[That Guy]

Up

0

::

1. Marketing strategy – I am unsure to how get customers. What method do I use? I am unable to approach clients I already look after in my current bank job. – Online Advertising, search engine listings, word of mouth.
2. Marketing: What method of marketing is most successful for accountants? I know referrals are the ultimate method, but this method won’t be much use to me at this stage. I also heard putting ads on local newspapers are not very effective as people usually like to stick to their old accountants.
3. Website Design: What kind of website should I be looking to design? I’ve had a look at other competitors websites such as: legallybas.com.au, walshs.com.au, etc– Don’t go overkill especially when you start out, but you do want something that is professional looking, has information and is optimized to increase your page ranking on google (search engine optimization) You’ll likely be quoted between 400-2000 for websites. You can even find sites that do it for less (though obviously you get less and the quality might not be up to scratch.) When looking at website designs you want something that is simple, effective, and has a responsive design (formats correctly on mobile devices.
4. Website pictures, etc: Should I be putting my picture, qualifications, home address on the website – is this a good idea? If you were a customer would you like it? Are you aiming to have a very personal service or do you want to look professional. Perhaps ask friends, pictures of you is not generally recommended, even if you are a one man business.
5. Softwares: I am also looking at purchasing an accounting GL & Tax software for this business. I have looked at MYOB And Elite Tax from Reckon. What do you think of these? At the moment, I do not have any customers.
6. Logo: I have already designed my company logo myself using Microsoft Word. I have started a facebook page & started preparing marketing flyers using Microsoft Word templates. Make sure you have a quality logo, an unprofessional logo is a sure way to turn off customers, if you have designed it on word generally the simpler the better, stick to text and maybe a basic shape, complicated logos made on word are unlikly to come out at a high standard.

7. Revenue Forecast: To all the self-employed accountants out there. How many can I expect to make in the 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year……. And please share your secret to success and things I should be looking to do and things I should not be doing. Please help this poor accountant.
8. Business Product Offerings: Tax Returns (all kinds), BAS/GST, Bookeeping, Preparation of financial statements, etc. Majority of income is to be derived from preparation of tax returns, statutory accounts, BAS/GST lodgements, etc.

on the matter of web hosting, make sure not to get ripped off. Go with a company who has their data centers located in australia, get a .com.au domain name, and look for sites that have at least a 99.9% uptime rate. Quality web hosting can be had for less than $15 a month easy, which is well worth it.

[44317#deleted]

Up

0

::

Hi there,

I started my sole practitioner accounting business 6 months ago. Prior to that I had been working full time for an accounting practice, and had a few (private) clients that I did BAS work for for about 12 months before. I gave up my full time job in public practice to go it alone and honestly, I know I would not have been able to do both jobs and give them the full attention they need. You may be able to manage for a short time, but you will struggle to make deadlines and build relationships if you are committed to a full-time job.

Almost all of my work has come from referrals. My primary goal is to build relationships with my clients, and I know that it is working well for me. Since July, I have been earning only a little short of what I was earning before, but I am spending money on my branding, and software. When I was employed, I was using Handisoft, but made the decision to switch. I use Software Assistant (tax and ledger) and BGL for SMSFs (SMSFs are my passion). I have strong relationships with other service providers and am clear about the services I do and do not provide. Where I don’t provide a service (R&D, EMDG, auditing) I have a strong network of business I refer to (including my former employer).

The best help I had when starting out was from my professional body, and from the contacts I made when I attended my public practice course. In addition to your Tax Agent Licence and professional indemnity insurance, as a CA, you will need a public practice certificate, or at least a limited practice certificate. You also need to make sure that you have very strict quality control procedures in place. For my own practice management I use Xero, and I also subscribe to MYOB professional partners. I don’t touch Quickbooks although I have had alot of experience with it in the past.

I had my logo, website, business brochures and business cards professionally designed (with the help of a web designer, graphic designer and copywriter) and printed on good quality medium. It was money well spent I think.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask away.

Donna

[Author]

Posts