Accounting and Bookkeeping Articles

In this economic climate, it’s important to maintain you competitive advantage in order to enjoy job security or, if you’re in business for yourself, attract more clients.  One way to do that is to by enhancing your skill set and knowledge base with additional schooling and/or training.

Depending on your objectives, there are many benefits to continuing education.  And regardless of your plans, there’s really no down-side to learning more about financial management, the best way to market those skills, and the software that will help you accomplish your professional goals.  Here’s just a sampling of how continuing education could benefit you:

Better Trained Staff with Greater Employee Retention

If you’re running an accounting practice with a staff of employees, offering them complementary training will accomplish three things.  One, your clients will be working with better-trained staff.  This improves your business’s credibility and appeal.  Second, it demonstrates your dedication to the excellence of your accounting practice and the services your offer.  And third, when you provide employees with educational benefits, retention increases.

Promotional Opportunities

If you’re not self-employed, acquiring new skills will increase your value with a current employer while increasing your appeal to prospective employers.  Acquiring new skills is a personal investment that will produce big returns in your career.  It also displays a continual interest in self-improvement for yourself and your employer.  What boss wouldn’t be impressed by the proactive employee improving his/her skill set?

Industry Updates

This is one industry where being uninformed is detrimental to your career. For example, if you offer tax services, tax laws are continually changing.  Training enables you to stay abreast of these changes, safeguarding clients from potential audits while maintaining confidence in your own expertise.

CPE Credits

Depending on your occupation, you may be required to earn CPE credits in order to maintain your professional legitimacy.  In this case, continuing education becomes a necessity rather than a nicety.  Looking for programs that will help you develop the skills and expertise you’re seeking, in addition to earning the credits you need, is extremely important.

With an abundance of training programs available, it can be overwhelming to find the one that will help you accomplish your objectives.  You should look for a program with longevity that offers professional certification and has an abundance of satisfied graduates.  Then if the program specifications meet your needs, you’ve found the right one for you.

Look to UAC for All Your Training Needs

From accounting to tax to QuickBooks software, Universal Accounting offers training that’s guaranteed to help you improve your career.  Universal has been training professionals like you for 30 years, and we have hundreds of satisfied graduates who have used that training to catapult their careers.  Take a minute to peruse Universal Accounting Center’s catalogue to see which of our products can best benefit you.  From training materials to business books to manuals to informative DVDs, we have something that will satisfy your professional needs.  Visit Universal Accounting today!

Take Our Quiz to See if You Might be Sabotaging Your Own Success

You’re thinking, Are you crazy?  Why would I be afraid of success? Silly as it may sound, some of us have difficulty realizing our goals simply because there’s some subconscious fear of what might happen once we become successful.  Maybe we’re afraid that success will change our lives more than we’d like, alter fulfilling relationships, or introduce new difficulties we’d rather avoid.  Could this fear be what’s preventing us from moving forward?

Take this short quiz to see if you might be sabotaging your own success.

Are you easily distracted from projects that would help you become more successful?

You have a handful of potential clients who would improve your roster and your bottom line.  But of course you need to take some kind of action first; potential clients don’t usually burst through your door, begging for your time and attention – typically they require some coaxing.  So what’s holding you back?

When you become easily distracted from tasks that could make you more successful, chances are you’re avoiding potential success or maybe even potential failure.  Regardless of the reason, the behavior is holding you back.  The best course of action would be to, cliché we know, feel the fear and do it anyway.

Do you feel you’ve lost somehow when someone you know achieves success?

Intellectually you know it’s not a contest; someone else’s success doesn’t lessen your potential to succeed.  But knowing that doesn’t eliminate those envious feelings you might have when you see someone else moving ahead, realizing their dreams.

If you have the tendency to feel threatened by someone else’s success, you should go out of your way to congratulate that person, even if you have to feign happiness for them.  Then take some action to move forward on your own dreams.  After some practice those congratulatory comments will become more genuine and you’ll find yourself celebrating the successes of others while taking action to advance your own success.

Do you feel uncomfortable when someone compliments you?

In Japan it’s customary to wave away compliments, saying things like “it’s not true,” or “I’m not really smart/pretty/talented…”  This is their way of showing humility.  And while we may not have that custom in the states, we do have a tendency to either verbally disregard complements (“…it was nothing” or “…it wasn’t that hard”) or to mentally disregard them (“…they didn’t mean that” or “…it wasn’t a big deal”).  But can you imagine Donald Trump or Oprah Winfrey responding that way?  No.

We do ourselves an incredible disservice when we don’t just smile and say “thank you” when complimented.  And if you catch yourself doing any negative self-talk, make a conscious effort to stop it.  Most successful people are comfortable with their achievements and can gracefully accept compliments.  Begin practicing today!

Do you procrastinate moving forward because you believe there’s more you can do to prepare?

I have a friend who won’t go to graduate school until she’s better “prepared.”  What that requires, I’m not sure.  Chances are she’s not even sure.  Unfortunately, she’ll probably never feel “ready” for graduate school and consequently will never realize that dream of earning her master’s degree.

There’s always more you can do to prepare for success, and that’s what makes this obstacle so sinister, because you can forever prepare and never more forward.  Make a deal with yourself and continue to prepare as you take the necessary action to accomplish your dreams.

Do you jump into projects without doing any research or preparation?

This is the opposite from the above, but equaling damaging.  Sometimes we sabotage our efforts by jumping into a project without doing any preparation, often dooming ourselves to failure.  Move forward with caution.  Do the necessary research and determine crucial tasks that must be completed in order to succeed.

Do you avoid opportunities to advance?

Sounds crazy but there are individuals who fear promotional opportunities and subconsciously avoid the chance to advance.  This can manifest itself in different ways.  Perhaps you haven’t gotten that certification you’ve considered.  Perhaps you’ve been missing key conferences and workshops that would give you more tools of the trade.  Or perhaps you’ve avoided enrolling in programs that will help you become even better at what you do.  These things can be just as damaging to your career as looking a boss in the eye and saying “No thanks” to a raise accompanied by an increase in responsibility.

Sit down and list those things you’ve considered doing to advance your career.  Then pick just one, resolve to start working on it this week, and get busy!

UAC’s Training Programs Can Help You Succeed

If you’ve been avoiding the opportunity to expand your business, here’s one simple thing you can do to stop sabotaging your success and move forward in your resolve to fulfill your dreams.  Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper Program can help you master small-business accounting.  Regardless of your current skill level, this course can help you learn everything you need to know to set-up, manage and analyze a small business’s accounting system.

Add to that the Universal Practice Builder Program and you’re on the fast track to success.  This program is a turn-key marketing solution which will enable you to grow your new business with our proven system.   You could work for years on a marketing plan, hitting and missing, only to find your business growing at a snail’s pace.  Imagine learning 12 plus marketing strategies proven to reach your niche market.  That includes helping you secure 15-25 qualified leads per month and earn $30,000 more in annualized billings in just one year!  The Universal Practice Builder Program is designed to teach you the art and science of getting clients.

Stop sabotaging your efforts to achieve success by enrolling in these two training programs today!

Join just next week when we discuss “Happiness, Success and Business: How to Have it All.”

There can be a lot of perks in working from home.  In fact, many business owners may have launched their startups based on all the advantages they perceived in being self-employed.  But for those who are considering the transition, it’s important to have a reality check before giving your two-week’s notice.  Here are five things you should be aware of before you start working from home.

1. The self-employed are self-disciplined. Howard Hook, a certified financial planner and public accountant in Roseland, N.J. says, “If you are not disciplined enough, you can be much more inefficient than if you were at work.”  When preparing to work from home, consider that there will probably be more distractions there than there ever could be in a cubicle.  Many want to work from home because they love the idea of logging billable hours in their pajamas.  Unfortunately, many do not possess the self-discipline require to actually work when they could be surfing the internet or watching day-time television.  There are plenty of interruptions you’ll have to manage in your home office.

2. The watercooler is gone. The social interaction found in a traditional work environment can be gratifying for many.  However, when working from home, that adult interaction is reduced to a minimum, and while you will interact with clients, those relationships may not be as personal or extensive as you would like.  For those that thrive on social interaction, this will be something to consider before taking the leap.

3. There’s no paid vacation or personal days.  While on an extended family vacation to the Oregon coast, I awoke at 5am every week day in order to get some work done.  My family balked at my version of “vacation.”  Unfortunately, because I am self-employed with deadlines to meet, I did not have the luxury of getting paid time-off, a detail many of those eyeing self employment will want to consider.

4. Beware of the tax requirements. Claiming a home office is not a red flag for the IRS like it once was.  It’s more common for individuals to claim a home office these days, especially since nearly half of small businesses are operated from owners’ homes. So when working from home it’s important to take advantage of home office tax breaks.   However, qualifying can be tricky if you’re unaware of the IRS’s requirements.  This one phrase, “regular and exclusive use,” is the requirement to which you must pay particular attention.  The area in which you conduct business must only be used for business purposes.  And the IRS is serious about this detail.  In an article on SmartMoney.com, Martin Nissenbaum, National Director of Personal Income Tax Planning at Ernst & Young, is quoted as saying, “Exclusively really does mean exclusively.  The rule is clear. You can use the space only for your trade or business. If you happen to have a TV set in there and you watch it while you’re working, fine. But if your kids play there and you use it as a den, you cannot take a home office deduction.”

5. Professionalism is still required. While your home environment may feel more relaxed, you are still required to act professionally.  And if clients are invited to your home office, it’s important that it provide a business atmosphere.  While it’s true that looks can be deceiving, many clients will judge your professional capability on the image your project.

We’re not trying to scare you away from self-employment with this reality check.  We are, however, helping you fully prepare to work from home.  When you’re able to clearly recognize both the pros and the cons, you’re better equipped for success.

Preparing to Launch Your Startup

It’s important to have all your ducks in a row before launching your home business.  Mastering software and honing your skills will enable you to be ready for whatever comes your way.

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks will enable you to master this software program that over 80% of small businesses use to manage their accounting.  Once you do, you will be able to work more efficiently as you use all the features, functions, and shortcuts QuickBooks offers.  Not only will the PBG enable you to manage your own books more efficiently, but it can increase your bottom line as you add QuickBooks consultation, help and setup services to your menu.  With hands-on training you can earn a professional designation as a QuickBooks Specialist that will give you the creditability you need to convince prospective clients that you are an outstanding bookkeeper!

With just one small initial investment, you can increase your income and your clientele.  Order now!

We welcome and encourage your questions and comments!  Please let us know what you think of this article.

Resources

McCuan, Jess.  “Setting up a Home Office that Qualifies for Tax Breaks.” 6 June 2007.  SmartMoney.com.

Mueller, Karin Price.  “How to Create a Productive Home Office Space.” 2 April 2010  Entrepreneur.com

You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety. – Abraham Maslow

Inside of you is a business tycoon waiting to break free.  Do you believe it?  If not, your business may be struggling because you don’t yet believe in your own ability to succeed, and success stems largely from what we belief about ourselves.  When your beliefs are limiting, you become trapped in a drab existence where you barely eke out a living.  Until you change that believe, you’re unlikely to experience substantial growth and profitability come two, five, or even twenty years.  However, if you believe that your business is a raving success in work clothes, then you’re on the right track.

Once you establish that core believe, you can easily grow your business by adding complementary services to your offerings.

Offer Complementary Services

If you intend to continue your business only offering accounting services, then to grow that business you must draw more clients who need those services.  That’s doable, but there are other, more effective ways to build your business.  Consider this; if you were to add complementary services, like tax preparation, QuickBooks consulting, loan application services, and business turnaround help, your current clients are likely to request some of those services as well.  Without sending out fliers, postcards, or doing one radio commercial, you could increase your billable hours simply by informing current clients of your expanded offerings.

Tax Preparation and Planning

Many tax preparers make more money in the months leading up to the April 15 tax deadline than others do all year long!  Not only that, but tax preparation is another financial skill in high demand since all individuals and businesses alike, small or large, are required to file taxes. And many of your accounting clients would be happy to have you file their taxes as well.

QuickBooks Consulting

QuickBooks is, by far, the most popular accounting software on the market.  More than 80% of small businesses use it to manage their accounting.  However, these same businesses often need help setting up their companies and managing various tasks.  A QuickBooks Specialist can provide the assistance they need in optimizing this accounting software and all its features. When you consider that Intuit, the makers of QuicksBooks, charges $75 an incident and $349-$600 per year for support, you can see how easy it would be to offer your services for a more reasonable fee in order to serve clients in need of QuickBooks help. 

Loan Application Services

Business owners are often intimidated by the process of completing a loan application package.  There are a lot of required components and many would feel more comfortable if they could enlist the help of a financial professional before submitting their application.  You could add loan application services to your offerings as yet another complementary service that would appeal to your target market.

Business Turnaround Services

The survival rate of small businesses is low even in an ideal market; imagine what it’s like now?  Many small businesses are struggling and owners often need help in moving those businesses from the red into the black.  Offering turnaround services will enable you to become a valuable resource to many current and prospective clients.

David Sherwood, Universal Practice Development coach and motivational speaker, will be presenting on this same topic at the Universal Accounting Conference in Salt Lake City, UT over September 20^th-21^st.  In addition to Sherwood’s presentation, you can select from the following valuable topics:

• Getting Started with Office Technology
• Networking and Relationship Strategies
• Planning Practice Growth
• The Power of Presence: Your Ultimate Marketing Channel
• Becoming a Profit Expert with Business Benchmarking Reports
• Technology Strategies for the Growing Office
• Working through Resistance
• Phenomenal Women in Business
• Smart Staffing Strategies to Work Less and Make More
• How to Find and Create Expanded Service Opportunities
• Tax Practice Administration
• Introduction to Social Media
• How the Right Client Feedback will Perfect Your Practice
• Future of the Accounting/Financial Services Industry
• From Friend to Fortunate: Making Social Media Pay

If you need help injecting growth and profitability into your business, this conference is just what you require.  In two short days you will have everything you need to advance your business to the next level.  Not only that, but you will be able to network with other financial professionals who understand your concerns better than anyone.  Invest in yourself and your business, and register for the Universal Accounting Conference today! Early birds receive a discount of more than $100!

For the past few years the economy has felt like a slalom run in an Olympic event.  If you’re like most, you’ve felt ill trained to tackle this obstacle course with your savings account intact.  For these bad times, most businesses rely on their contingency plans.  But do you have a plan that helps you prepare for the good times?  In a recent Entrepreneur.com article, author JK Harris shared “9 Ways to Prepare for Growth and Success.”  We’ve selected 5 of his tips that we think best apply to our readership:

1. Define growth for your company. First you must establish a target before you can aim for it.  The same philosophy applies to success.  What does that look like for your company?  How many clients will you have?  Where will you be located?  What area will you serve?  Clearly defining what growth means for your company will help you better focus your efforts on accomplishing it.

2. Prepare for the limelight. We know very well that most accountants don’t feel comfortable with lots of attention.  The nickname “bean counter” is not synonymous with attention hog.  But in order to prepare for success, you must prepare, at times, to be placed in the spotlight.  According to Harris, “Successful owners of growing companies are almost always in the spotlight to some degree—maybe not always to the general public but certainly within your industry and with your employees.”

3.  Stay close to your customers. Unless you take the time to regularly converse with your clients, you won’t know what they most need from you.  Not only that, but the more you communicate, the better your customer service, and the better your customer service, the more satisfied your clients.  And, quite frankly, nothing will forecast business longevity like a client roster full of satisfied clients.

4.  Take care of your employees.  Next to your customers, your employees are your greatest asset.  When you’re able to reward their efforts with appropriate recognition, challenging projects and promotional opportunities, you increase employee retention and build a staff of satisfied employees.

5.  Focus on your core business.  We will always recommend that you enhance your service offerings with complementary services.  However, some become far too distracted by this idea and expand their businesses in ways that tax their personal lives and their professional expertise.  Make sure that each addition is closely aligned with financial services and doesn’t overburden your growing practice.

Don’t just prepare for success but expect it.  And when you set in motion a plan that anticipates more growth, you’re more prepared to take advantage of success when it comes.

Take the First Step

You will be best prepared for success when you increase your hone your skills and increase your service offerings!  You do that when you master small-business accounting with the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) program.  You will study four modules entitled Accounting Made Easy, Practical Small Business Applications, Advancing Your “Account-ability,” and Building a Successful Accounting Practice.  Once you complete the course, which can be done in less than 60 hours, you will have the confidence and know-how to start books from scratch and manage a variety of client accounts.

In addition to accounting, you can learn how to prepare individual and business returns with the Professional Tax Preparer (PTP) program.  The four modules in this course include Establishing the Tax Foundation, Becoming the 1040 Expert, Profitable Business Returns, and Building Your Successful Tax Practice.  This program will enable you to make additional money during tax season and attract more clients with your diverse service offerings.

Both programs provide the following:

• Practical and extensive training
• Marketing training that will help you effectively promote your new skills
• The opportunity to earn valuable certification as a Professional Bookkeeper and a Professional Tax Preparer
• DVD training materials you can review again and again
• Hands-on instruction that will provide you with experience managing accounts and filing returns
• Flexible training that you can master on your own time and at your own pace
• 6 months of follow-up support provided by knowledgeable financial professionals
• A customized website for your business
• An iron-clad guarantee

Round out your training by becoming a QuickBooks consultant. You probably already know that 85% of small businesses use Intuit’s QuickBooks accounting software.  This means that your target market could use a QuickBooks consultant to help them set up their books, use the program more effectively, and/or answer important questions.  Not to mention, the Professional Bookkeepers Guide to QuickBooks (PBG) can also save you considerable time and energy managing accounts yourself!  And who do you think these new clients will come to for their accounting needs?  YOU, of course!

Plan for success today and enroll in these three Universal programs now!

Resource

Harris, JK.  “9 Ways to Prepare for Growth and Success: The Economy Taught You to Expect the Worst, but Have You Ever Prepared for the Best?” 19 March 2010   Entrepreneur.com

“More sales calls?  New marketing strategies?  Sure.  But for some of you, that won’t be enough.  I’m talking about refining or expanding the lineup of products or services you offer, or changing the way you sell them.” – Randy Myers, “How to Boost Sales in a Deflated Economy”

Randy Myers of Entrepreneur.com recommends that you consider expanding your service offerings in order to increase your profitability.  Doing so will enable you to achieve geometric growth which is accomplished by increasing revenue from multiple sources: revenue from existing clients interested in new services as well as revenue from new clients interested in both new and existing services.

Luckily, there are a lot of services that complement accounting, making them the perfect addition to your service offerings.  Here are just a few:

Tax Preparation

When you start a tax practice, you are well on your way to personal and professional success. Every business and individual must prepare and file taxes. It’s the law. And as you become the “tax expert” for your clients, you will find more and more opportunities to impact the profitability and health of their businesses.  Not only that, but tax preparation can be extremely lucrative.  Consider that first-time preparers submit tax forms for 50 clients, charging an average of $150 each.  They make, roughly, $7500 working the 45 days before April 15^th, and that’s before they have had much time to build a solid clientele.  For many people, this represents 3 months of salary.  That’s an appealing consideration when thinking about increasing your services.

Becoming a Professional Tax Preparer is easier than you might imagine.  With Universal Accounting’s self-paced training program, you can learn everything you need to know about filing both personal and business returns for your clients.  A year from now, you could be enjoying a busy and profitable tax season.

QuickBooks Consulting

In becoming a QuickBooks Specialist, you would have numerous opportunities to bring in more business, increase your income, and make your job easier.  You can start small by offering QuickBooks set-up and consultation services for $65-$95 per hour. You’ll find companies who want to perform accounting tasks themselves, but need help configuring QuickBooks to meet their needs.  With QuickBooks expertise, YOU can provide that help.

You can compliment your QuickBooks services by offering QuickBooks support.  Consider this: Intuit charges $75 an incident and $349-$600 per year for support.  That’s too pricey for most small business owners.  You could offer QuickBooks support for a more reasonable fee and draw in more clients in need of a little QuickBooks help.

Universal Accounting Center’s self-paced program, the Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks, enables you to complete the parts that interest you and skip over the parts that don’t. Even if you have used the software for years, this program teaches you shortcuts and methods you may not have previously known. You will be impressed by the simple flow and completeness of this program.  For a small price you can purchase the PBG, enabling you to earn that valuable QuickBooks Specialist designation.

Financial Consulting

Help clients prepare those formidable small business loan packages as a financial consultant.  Our manual, Financing a Small Business, is packed with clear-cut instructions and terrific resource materials that will simplify the creation of a loan application package.  Using the sample loan package included as a model, you can easily help clients apply for a valuable business loan.  Within hours you can begin offering your services as a financial consultant.  Increase your value and achieve balance.  Order your copy now!

Adding services that complement your current offerings is easier than you might have imagined.  By enrolling in any of the above programs, you’ll find that you can achieve geometric growth by year’s end.

Resource

Myers, Randy.  “How to Boost Sales in a Deflated Economy.” 18 January 2010  Entrepreneur.com

Many accountants also offer tax preparation services.  Now that tax season is over, you may be experiencing some downtime.  While we encourage you to take a must-deserved break, you may also want to fill your time with some tasks designed to build your client roster.  Here are three you might consider:

1. Issue a Press Release

Writing a press release that’s published in your local paper is a great way to get free publicity.  Fairly easy to write and straight forward, a press release will expose local business owners to your name and the valuable services you offer.  But do a little research before you write — you want your press release to multitask; it should be newsworthy and generate good PR.

2. Network

This powerful marketing strategy shouldn’t be ignored.  Anyone can be a potential client; anyone can refer your services to friends and family.  Anywhere you go, including the grocery store and the local daycare, can be a networking location. Ask your clients to refer their family and friends.  Just don’t be too pushy and remember to return the favor when possible.  And always carry plenty of business cards.

3. Build a Website

If you’re a technical guru, then this should be easy.  If you’re not, it can still be easy.  There are plenty of reasonably-priced services designed to help you create a professional website that will drive potential clients your way.  Once you have a website you can advertise promotional offers, events, and an ezine, all of which can promote more business for you.  Just be sure that whoever creates your site knows how build in the key words that will enable web browsers display your site when internet users are searching for accounting and tax help.

Now back to that vacation.  What good is it to have your own business and work hard to bring in more income if you don’t occasionally enjoy it?  While this won’t build your client roster, it will enable you to enjoy the relaxation necessary to be at your best when you do return to work.  To truly refresh yourself and spend quality time with your family, you need to take a regular vacation and enjoy one another’s company.  Whether you cruise the Caribbean or go camping, it’s important that you spend dedicated time away from work.  In fact, a good time to plan for that vacation is right now.  Get out your calendar and schedule a celebratory summer getaway!

If you’d like to read more about ways to build your clientele now that tax season is over, read a recent article posted to WebCPA written by our very own Allen Bostrom, President and CEO of Universal Accounting Center.  Read “Tax Season is Over—Now What?” today.

Your practice’s survival depends upon your ability to effectively promote your services.  But often, financial professionals are uncomfortable marketing themselves and are unaware of the best strategies in securing and retaining new clients.  In fact, many do not know how to differentiate between advertising and marketing—a simple distinction that could help many build better promotional campaigns.

Marketing consultant and strategist Laura Lake’s explains the difference in her About.com article entitled “Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference?”

“The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is to think of marketing as a pie, inside that pie you have slices of advertising, market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, consumer support, sales strategy, and community involvement.  Advertising only equals one piece of the pie in the strategy.  All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goals.  Marketing is a process that takes time and can involve hours of research for a marketing plan to be effective.  Think of marketing as everything that an organization does to facilitate an exchange between company and consumer.”

Your Marketing Plan

In order to develop that big promotional picture, you must develop a marketing plan which includes the following elements:

• Marketing Goals and Objectives
• Pricing of Products/Service
• Key Marketing Strategies
• Implementation of Your Marketing Plan

Your Marketing Plan establishes what you hope to accomplish through your overall marketing efforts and includes key strategies your plan to implement.  This may require you to do significant research in order to determine the realistic expectations for growth in a successful accounting practice.

Advertising

Advertising, then, is just part of the entire marketing process, or the big promotional picture.   Mary Cruse, in her AllBusiness.com article, defines it as “a persuasive, action-oriented message to convince consumers to buy a product or service.  Advertising is shorting in duration than a marketing campaign, which in part, may contain advertising components.”  Here’s a sampling of different advertising techniques: direct mailings (brochures, postcards, flyers, etc.), television advertisements, radio advertisements, print advertisements (in magazines, newspapers, local publications, the phone book, etc.), and website promotions.

Putting it All Together

But as a financial professional, how do you create the perfect marketing plan for your business, employing the right strategies for your field and target market?  Allow Universal Accounting to help with the Universal Practice Builder (UPB) Program.

For 30 years, Universal Accounting Center has been training professionals like you how to promote their businesses.  The UPB program will train you in the following (and much more):

• Creating your own customized marketing plan
• Increasing your annualized billings by $30,000 within the next 12 months
• 12 proven marketing strategies that will increase your client base
• Techniques that can generate 15 to 25 qualified leads per month
• Effective phone marketing techniques

In a matter of hours, you will know exactly what you need to do to grow your business.  Advance your accounting practice to the next level and become the premier firm in your area.  To learn more, visit our website and listen to testimonials of our very own graduates, sharing what they found most valuable in this program.  Build your business.  Enroll in the Universal Practice Builder Program today!

Resources

Cruse, Mary.  “The Reel Story.” 13 February 2010  AllBusiness.com

Lake, Laura.  “Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference?” About.com

For each entrepreneur that sees his/her dream come true, there are probably 100 that never even try.  What’s the difference between those that follow their aspirations and those that don’t?  In order to determine what that might be, we’ve gathered advice given by entrepreneurs whose dreams withstood the test of time.

You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. – Henry Ford

A few years ago I remember watching an Oprah episode where fulfilling one’s dreams was the topic of discussion.  She made a comment then that I’ve never forgotten.  She said that if it feels like you’re swimming against the current, maybe it’s time you turned around.  Her point was that when deciding where to focus your career efforts, the determining factor should always be your passion.  Moving your dream forward should be enjoyable and the effort you exert should propel you forward, not back.

Do not fear mistakes.  You will know failure.  Continue to reach out. – Ben Franklin

The idea that you can learn from your mistakes is not a new one.  However, when you’re in the middle of a business venture and are experiencing the painful consequences of your mistakes, the value of that concept can be more difficult to appreciate.   No one said that running your own business would be trouble-free.  Everyone is bound to make his/her fair share of mistakes.  But the true marker is in how you perceive them.  Are they burdensome obstacles or powerful learning experiences?  We’ll let you decide what successful entrepreneurs believe.

When you expect things to happen – strangely enough – they happen. – JP Morgan

The Law of Attraction is a concept that’s been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  Like the Law of Gravity, it influences your life whether or not you believe in it.  Plainly stated it goes something like this: your life is a reflection of what you think, what you focus on, and what you expect to happen.  If you’re unsatisfied with your life and the success of your business, then your thoughts have been of an unsatisfying life and an unsuccessful business.  To see greater success, you must expect greater success.

If you don’t sell, it’s not the product that’s wrong, it’s you.— Estee Lauder

Or at least your approach.  This is one principle that can make your business more profitable: nothing happens until you make a sale! This concept is critical to the success of any business. What do you have to sell? How does that product or service meet your customers’ needs? How do you get customers to your door so you can show them your product or service? If you do not have a method to sell, then there is no need to have a business. Everything starts with the sale.

It can be done, but you have to make it happen. – Chris Gardner

Building a business takes hard work, and unless you’re willing to invest some blood, sweat and, yes, tears, you should probably stick with your day job.

Are you ready to change the course of your life and launch your own accounting practice?  You must bring the determination, drive and dedication, and we’ll provide the know-how.  Enroll in Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program and Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks in order to secure the skills and expertise necessary to serve your every client’s need.

Accounting Training

Our Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program will help prepare you to be a proactive and profitable account.  Here are just a few things the PB course will provide:

• Practical and extensive training in small business accounting
• The skills necessary to become a small business’s Profit Expert
• Marketing training that will help you effectively promote your new skills
• The opportunity to earn valuable certification as a Professional Bookkeeper
• DVD training materials you can review again and again
• Hands-on instruction that will provide you with experience setting up and managing small business accounts from scratch
• Flexible training that you can master on your own time and at your own pace
• 6 months of follow-up support provided by knowledgeable accounting professionals
• An iron-clad guarantee

The Professional Bookkeeper course will teach you all you need to know in order to start and/or grow your own accounting practice.

QuickBooks Training

You probably already know that 85% of small businesses use Intuit’s QuickBooks accounting software.  This means that your target market could use a QuickBooks consultant to help them set up their books, use the program more effectively, and/or answer important questions.  Not to mention, the Professional Bookkeepers Guide to QuickBooks (PBG) can also save you considerable time and energy managing accounts yourself!  And who do you think these new clients will come to for their accounting needs?  YOU, of course!

The PBG can help you do all that and more.  Benefits include:

• The ability to accomplish more in less time
• The opportunity to earn certification as a QuickBooks Specialist
• Practical and efficient QuickBooks training
• Instruction specifically designed for the small business accountant
• Hands-on training in which you enter account information and learn QuickBooks by experiencing QuickBooks
• A valuable reference to add to your accounting library
• An iron-clad guarantee

As Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”  That can only happen when you take that first step towards launching your own accounting practice.  Don’t procrastinate your success!  Enroll in these two programs today!

Resource

–. “Famous Entrepreneur Advice.” EvanCarmichael.com

It seems we’ve unintentionally caused a stir.  In an offer sent out recently, we suggested that you don’t need to spend four years in a university setting to enjoy a lucrative career as a small-business accountant.  While we stand by that claim, this post is intended to clarify a few things we said.

First of all, if you dedicated time and energy to receiving a university degree, you should be proud of that accomplishment.  It represents personal achievement and priceless experience.  And if your intention was to establish a career as a corporate accountant, even better; your accounting degree will definitely work to that end.

Unfortunately, less than 10% of accounting opportunities reside in the corporate sector.  You’ll find more prospects in small business which employ nearly half of the workforce and comprise approximately 99% of total US businesses.  Our purpose in that email was to say that depending on your intended career path, Universal Accounting is not only a sound alternative to a university degree, but it’s a more practical choice for those who want to focus on small-business accounting.

We maintain that those who are interested in working as small-business accountants, either for themselves or an employer, will find Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program well worth the time and effort.  Not only is it reputable, but it’s also self-paced, enabling busy professionals like you to complete the program in less than 60 hours.

This is all about redirecting your efforts to align with your desired professional path.  If you went to school for 9 years to become a doctor, and then later decided you wanted to work as an architect instead, your medical degree would not help you accomplish that; you would need to retrain. That doesn’t mean the previous schooling would not prove beneficial in some ways, but it wouldn’t be sufficient. The same applies to those who were trained in corporate accounting.  If they decide to focus on small-business accounting instead, they need to retrain.  UA’s PB program is the perfect vehicle to help those individuals launch themselves forward on this new career path.

For 30 years, Universal Accounting Center has been training professionals in small-business accounting.  We recognize that this is a valuable niche market where specialized instruction is crucial to your success.  In addition to being able to complete the program in a matter of months, but you will have access to the following:

• Rich and engaging training DVDs you can view again and again
• Hands-on instruction through which you gain much-needed experience
• Training in building and marketing your new practice
• 6 months of valuable follow-up support
• The opportunity to earn professional certification
• Our iron-clad risk-free guarantee

We hope this clears things up a bit.  As always, we appreciate the feedback and hope you will not only rate this post, but also leave any comments you may have on the subject of retraining.  For more information on the Professional Bookkeeper Program, visit Universal Accounting Center today.