Becoming a successful accounting firm A survey from Xero of over 700 accountants and bookkeepers shows that cloud-based firms add five times the number of clients than traditional accounting companies...
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hose accountants who are already consistently using cloud software may not quite know the extent to which they are tracking in terms of growth in comparison to non-cloud accountants. For those who are still using desktop software, this could be the wake up call as to their potential.
more per client than others, earning $7,070 compared to $4,476 average annual revenue per client in traditional firms.
Firms with a higher proportion of clients using cloud accounting software, such as Xero, have greater year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth. They show no sign of slowing down in this.
This just goes to show once again that those who are flexible and adapt to new technological advances benefit far more than those who are stubborn to change.
Companies with almost all clients using cloud accounting had 15.5% more YoY revenue, where those using traditional practices had only 3.9% increase.
Switching it up Cloud practices and traditional firms compared The faster data entry and the automation of otherwise manual processes that cloud accounting allows, gives back valuable time to accountants and bookkeepers. This means they can focus on the bigger picture of their company, add more clients and better advise them. These consequently increase return from each client. The survey that Xero carried out found cloud practices took home
If you’re reading this and you are an accountant or bookkeeper still using traditional methods and want to take full advantage of all that cloud accounting has to offer, you may see the transition as a mammoth task. It’s not necessarily a quick process, but an organised and committed firm can make the journey smoother by having a plan in place, including key milestones. Appointing staff specifically to convert clients to the cloud and to look after the day-to-day, and by
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prioritising your cloud strategy in the short-term over adding new clients, the process will be eased. Setting the expectation for this right from the outset shifts vision to developing a new way firm infrastructure and way of working. Accounting firms who embrace diversity are most successful. Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce and their technological proficiency is key to smoothing the bumps in the journey to cloud accounting. As more and more clients shift to the cloud, it is necessary to reevaluate billing. With many of the time-consuming daily tasks now automated, value pricing, as opposed to hourly billing, increasingly mirrors actual work being done. The expectation is set for clients as to how much they will be billed each month. Although there is an overwhelming wealth of information to consider in moving to the cloud, having the steps in place specific to your firm will ease the journey and you will soon see the benefits to your business.
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29/08/2017 11:33 PM XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com
