Growing Your Firm | Strategies for Accountants, CPA's, Bookkeepers , and Tax Professionals

In this episode of the Grow Your Firm Podcast, David Cristello and Steve Major dive right into: The "myth" that timesheets show productivity [Steve debunks the myth] The problem most firms experience that cripple them when they on-board a new client The exact timeline for how fast you can implement value pricing in your firm On Steve Major: I work with accountants, bookkeepers and advisory businesses to transform their firm and guide small business owners on a journey of transformation. Technology is totally transforming the accounting industry and has allowed a fantastic opportunity for accounting professionals to help small business owners. Small & medium business owners are desperate for help in making informed decisions to grow their business. Accounting professionals can help them make sense of the numbers, achieve free cashflow, understand the story of the numbers, make informed decisions. I also work with accounting professionals to transform their firm by narrowing the focus, designing a suite of products / services, understanding and communicating value you are able to unleash the power of value pricing to command the price you deserve. Check out the Free 7 part email course - http://pricingcrashcourse.com Pricing is both an art and science. Value pricing is not just about fixed prices of menu pricing. Value pricing means you have to truly care for your customers. (Yes customers not clients). A True Professional is one who cares for their customers and their people. Also I help professionals and consultants Kill the Timesheet. The timesheet is at the centre of lot of problems that professionals endure. The timesheet measures the wrong thing. It assumes that all time is equal (which just does not make sense). The timesheet creates a focus on efficiency ( but it even does not deliver on that) yet it totally avoids the question of effectiveness. With over 25 years experience in various aspect of business and finance Steve assists knowledge businesses, professional services firms, consultants, coaches and other service businesses to achieve Pricing Power. If you have any questions, thoughts or want more information - steve@pricingpower.net

Meryl is the co-founder of BeanNinjas, which: Focus on growing your business. We'll count the beans! Cloud-based, fixed fee bookkeeping and support with the beautiful XERO software. Our specialty is online businesses including, e-commerce, SaaS, bloggers, coaches and digital agencies that operate in more than one country/currency. Currently operating in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, and United Kingdom. We also lodge GST (Australia, NZ and Canada), sales tax (US), and VAT (UK). Bean Ninjas material on this page has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, or other professional advice. Please refer to our advisors for specific advice.

Shelley Johnson Bio: An avid puzzle solver, be it jigsaw, family logistics, or the tax code, thinking through the solution gives Shelley great satisfaction. Hailing from a long line of "number crunchers," Shelley's grandmothers and mother had long careers in banking. Figuring year-end dividend earnings was a steady job during her teen years. As owner of the Indianapolis-based accounting firm, Allman Johnson CPAs & Advisors, Shelley is focused on helping business owners and individuals seeking sophisticated, yet logical tax planning with an emphasis on cash flow and profitability. Shelley is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in business and farm management. Her association with professional and service organizations over the last 25 years includes membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Shelley is the past chapter president of the American Society of Women Accountants (now known as The Accounting and Financial Women's Alliance) and the past president of the Indiana Board of Accountancy. She has also held committee positions on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. In the community, Shelley is active as a board member of the Methodist Foundation of Indiana, Inc., and she is involved in the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (past treasurer), and numerous church activities as well as family related volunteer events from cats to Scouts.

QuickBooks and Mobile App Guru, Technology Addict and public speaker - where she has the privilege of offering insight, information and best practices in a completely unscripted, entertaining and sometimes irreverent way. With nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting and payroll industry, she specializes in educating small businesses about embracing mobile and online solutions to increase their bottom line. She was the very first QuickBooks ProAdvisor to get her QuickBooks Online certification, and is recognized globally as the foremost expert on the product. She is the original author of a number of www.IntuitAcademy.com training courses, Intuit's QuickBooks Online training material for US, Singapore, Canadian, Australian & UK versions, as well as the QuickBooks ProAdvisor QuickBooks Online Certification Course & Exam. Often called "The QBO Queen" (although she prefers Supreme Global Empress…), she is passionate about encouraging any small business to embrace the interwebs to work better, faster and to do it ANYWHERE. Stacy teaches regular QuickBooks and technology workshops through the local county SBTDC, as well as the local community college and continuing education classes for various school districts. Her speaking engagements include RadioFreeQB.com live every Wednesday night, RFQTv.com, 2012 & 2013 Spark & Hustle Tour, the Sleeter Group's 2012 Small Business Technology Road show, many industry trade shows and training sessions for conferences like Scaling New Heights, Accounting Solutions Conference, as well as national events for Wells Fargo and the Int'l Association of Administrative Professionals. Most recently, Intuit sent her to Australia to do live events teaching accountants & bookkeepers QBO & how to move their practices online. Specialties: Internationally recognized expert in QuickBooks Online & Intuit Appcenter QuickBooks Pro, Premier, Mac & Enterprise Solutions QuickBooks Payroll - All Versions

Ingrid is a bookkeeping nerd and CEO of Polymath. She loves taking a topic that most small business owners put on a scale from boring to terrifying and turning it into a fun and rewarding part of entrepreneurship. Ingrid is the creator of the Ask A Bookkeeper puppet show, founder of the Southern Oregon Bookkeepers Association, and leader of the Southern Oregon Woodard Group. Ingrid started Polymath in 2008, and jumped right into being a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor at that time. Since then she has taken "bookkeeping nerd" to the next level, by always staying on the cutting edge of the industry and teaching our accounting colleagues how to do the same. Ingrid always enjoys taking on big projects, learning new things, and helping others get organized and on the road to success… especially when it involves puppets. (If you don't enjoy it, what's the point!) Ingrid has experience as treasurer for non-profit organizations, and she is a founding member of the Southern Oregon Bookkeepers Association, an organization dedicated to enhancing the education and network resources of local bookkeepers and their clients. When Ingrid is not playing her favorite video game (QuickBooks), she is usually playing Irish music or frolicking with her goats. Ingrid also enjoys singing, dancing, gardening, and adventuring around the world with friends and family. She lives on a small farm with her goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, kitties, and snakes. She and her husband Jeffrey play Irish music in an Ashland, Oregon band, The Feckin' Tinkers, and you can see them each Tuesday night playing at Oberon's Tavern for "Tinker Tuesday."

Debbie is the owner of Behind the Scenes Financial Services, consultant to the sleeter group and a Quickbooks Proadvisor. In this latest Grow Your Firm podcast, Debbie shares what she believes are the keys to your success that leads to your clients' success: Thinking proactively and not reactively A guide to profitability How time is a profit center Improving the client relationship …and so much more!

Chad Ridner is the President of TwoRoads, a bookkeeping and tax company that relieves the burden and mystery of bookkeeping and tax, empowering business owners to clearly focus on what they're most passionate about and what they do best.

Quick question... if you were to count up the number of services you provide, how many could you list? Many firm owners get stuck in the trap offering "me too" services that end up costing a significant amount time, only to find out that the profit margin is never increasing ... Today's guest found a different way, which was to also introduce CFO level services for many of their clients. In this exclusive interview, we sat down with Steven Byler & Dan Gertudes, Partners at GrowthLab, where we discussed How To Ditch The Basic Accounting Services And Become An Outsourced CFO Firm.

Chet is the Managing Partner at Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk& Loyd, LLC (SJHL), a full-service accounting firm inMcPherson, Hutchinson, and Wichita KS. We work with individuals andbusinesses in industries such as manufacturing, agriculture,medical practitioners, school districts, cities & counties,among others. We are told by our clients that they prefer to workwith us because we genuinely care about their success and see thebig picture. SJHL was established in 1936 and I joined in 2006 as an accountant,was admitted as partner in 2011 and became Managing Partner in2014. My primary responsibilities include performing businessadvisory services, business valuations, individual & corporateincome tax, and working with closely held businesses to help themget where they want to be.

At GMLCPA, I'm helping businesses like yours make better decisions and move ahead faster. You see, competing in a global marketplace isn't easy. It takes expertise and in-depth analysis to ensure you're making the most of every opportunity. And that's just the beginning. If you're wearing the hat of a CFO, you know how quickly it can take you out of your leadership role. That's why, here at GMLCPA you can benefit from our Part-time or Virtual CFO services. That's right. Whether you are a small or mid-sized business, you can bundle CFO Services into a monthly package or as stand-alone consulting services. Imagine having a C-Level executive without the added payroll costs. You'd receive the feedback and guidance you need on your terms. This means, help navigating complex business systems and practices. But that's not all. GMLCPA offers you outsourced accounting and business consulting. Now, you can get the help you need, when you want it. It really is the answer you've been looking for. Here's the kicker. Our transparent cloud based systems mean you're free to monitor your financial statements in real time, any time. You're always in control. GMLCPA is helping businesses like yours, create stronger cash flows and improve the bottom-line. All with transparency and clear guidance. No more fears of hidden problems. Think about it. Now, you can have trusted professionals who will take an active interest in your business. You'll experience break-throughs, make better decisions and move ahead faster. The solution is all right here. Let's get started. Discover how easy real growth can be.