Accounting and Bookkeeping Articles

McDonald’s is one of the few chains that has continued to thrive despite the economic recession.  While other big corporations have lost their handle on success, McDonald’s has supersized theirs with what they call a “Plan to Win” strategy that has helped them experience continued growth for a number of years.  In his article on Bnet, Stuart Cross reveals three factors that help McDonalds achieve what has been impossible for many other big businesses during this economic downturn: supersized success.  Many small businesses could learn from their McExample by ensuring their practices have the following three characteristics:

1. Operating Excellence

Who hasn’t experienced lunch hour at McDonalds?  My family’s most recent trip found us in a line that seemed to promise an especially long wait considering the three hungry children bouncing around my back seat.  But it wasn’t long before that long line split into two, and at the start of line #2 I was met by a happy employee, outfitted with a simple walkie talkie, ready to take my order.  This particular McDonalds wasn’t equipped with two ordering kiosks like some you may find in bigger cities, but that didn’t stop management from minimizing our wait with this backup plan.

While once a jingle for a commercial, McDonalds maintains operational excellence by “keeping their eyes on the fries.”  From the CEO, to franchise owners, to suppliers, to employees, everyone member of the McDonalds team is programmed to function at top efficiency and effectiveness.  And while other franchises may lack this characteristic, most consumers think first of McDonalds when they think of “fast” food.

2. Distinctiveness

Speaking of those same three children bouncing in my back seat, they each recognized those golden arches from a very young age.   We didn’t frequent McDonalds very often, but I quickly realized that their branding efforts-from TV commercials to billboards to jingles aired on the radio-had already made quite the impression on these toddlers.  Years in business has taught McDonalds how to market their services to the right demographic, maintaining a solid brand that appeals to just the right consumers.

3. Agility

You can always order the old standbys: Big Mac, Filet O’ Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries.  But McDonalds realized that as times changed, their menu would have to change as well.  Not only have they added a latte line that rivals Starbucks, but their menu also includes specialty salads and sandwiches that appeal to a wider consumer base.  This agility has enabled them to broaden their appeal while still servicing those that prefer the options that first launched McDonalds to success in 1940.

So how does your business measure up?  While you may not be running a fast food franchise, could your practice benefit by improving operational excellence, distinctiveness and agility?  Learn from McDonalds and supersize your success by making these three characteristics your new “Plan to Win” strategy.

Improve Your Agility by Adding Tax Preparation to Your Menu!

Practically every adult and small business in the nation is required by law to submit a tax return.  And the growing complexity of tax laws drives many of them to professional tax preparers who are better equipped to complete these returns.  You increase the agility of your accounting practice by adding this lucrative service to your offerings.  Not only will it enhance your appeal to current and prospective clients, but it will significantly increase your profitability as you will be able to charge $100/hour preparing tax returns.

UAC’s Professional Tax Preparer (PTP) Program will teach you how to prepare practically every type of individual and business return you may encounter.  These hands-on training materials are loaded with valuable and varied examples of real tax issues, and in each of the 32 training sessions you will prepare at least one tax return.  You need not wait to retain your first client before accumulating real-life experience in tax preparation.  Increase your agility by enrolling in the Professional Tax Preparer Program today!

Resource

Cross, Stuart.  “The McSecrets of their McSuccess.” 11 August 2009.  Bnet.com

How Saying Less Could Lead to More Sales

Do you spend much of your marketing efforts composing countless pitches that you disperse to current and prospective clients?  While you may find this enables you to attract business here and there, a more efficient approach may be found in composing the pithy pitch-a promotional piece designed to break marketing conventions by driving to the point more quickly while demonstrating your professional value.  In his article entitled “Ditch Your Desperate Marketing,” David Seaman gives a few pointers in creating the perfect pitch:

1.   Stop groveling

Please!  Stop begging for business.  You may think it earns you sympathy while creating a small-town image of another business suffering from the recession.  It just makes your business look pathetic.  No one’s going to retain your services simply because you’re down and out, needy, or on the brink.  They’re going to retain your services because you’re good at what you do and you do it often.

 2.   Exude confidence

Akin to number one, when you believe that your services enhance a client’s business you’re able to promote your practice without begging or apologizing.  Recognize that you offer incredible value to each and every prospect you encounter.  Knowing that will enable you to exude confidence, thus convincing your contacts that they can trust you with their finances.

 3.   Change your purpose

Consider changing your focus from closing the sale to providing indispensible information.  Seaman explains, “…rather than send needy static pitches, send out carefully written pieces of advice that are likely to be circulated forever… Instead of writing primarily to close the sale…, write primarily to impress and excite the reader.”  While his focus here may be on promotional newsletters, it’s a tip that could be applied to practically any marketing technique.  Also, when you’re able to share practical information with a prospect, your professional value increases.

 4.   Eliminate wordiness

We’ve all encountered sales pitches that go on and on and on.  We’ve also read promotions that say the same thing two, three and even four times.  Trust your readers to be smarter than the average consumer; compose pointed and concise pitches.

 5.   Take your time

It’s okay to take time to craft a thoughtful and well-rehearsed sales pitch.  In fact, you may consider sharing your pitch with experienced consumers-your family and friends.  They can provide helpful feedback that will enable you to revise and hone your promotion until it’s pitch-perfect.

While your sales pitch shouldn’t fit inside a fortune cookie, you may find that a more pithy approach is a much more effective use of your time.  By applying the above tips, you’ll quickly discover how less can indeed mean more.

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks

Sometimes enhancing your sales pitch can be as simple as enhancing your service offerings.  We’re guessing you’re already aware that nearly 80% of small businesses use Intuit’s Quickbooks software.  While other programs may be useful, Quickbooks has definitely captured the small business market.  Learning Quickbooks will not only help you keep more efficient records, but it enables you to teach your clients how to use the software so that you can get the information you need, making your job much easier.  UAC’s Professional Bookkeepers Guide to Quickbooks will enable you to work more efficiently by using all the features and shortcuts this software offers.  Add to that your ability to add QuickBooks consulting, setup, and help services to your menu, and you have a risk-free venture.

Take advantage of this opportunity to increase your efficiency, your bottom line, and your sales pitch by enrolling the in the Professional Bookkeepers Guide to QuickBooks today!

Resources

Seaman, David.  “Ditch Your Desperate Marketing.”  22 July 2009  Entrepreneur.com

In a recent post to his BussinessWeek blog, Carmine Gallo sat down with Steuart Martens, a regional training instructor for Sonic Automotive who believes active listening is the best way to secure new customers.  Martens began by explaining, “You sell the person first, the car second.”  This is his foundation to four sales tips that have one thing in common: active listening.

First, what is active listening?  It’s when your main objective throughout the course of a conversation is to attend to the speaker.  What is he/she truly saying?  What motivates him/her to say those things?  What is his/her body language revealing about their thoughts and feelings?  Once you’re able to truly listen to a prospective client, what you say becomes much more powerful.  With that in mind, here are Martens’ four sales tips:

1. Paraphrase your prospective client

Not only does this indicate to the speaker that you are listening, but it also helps you know that you have understood what has been said. This one step alone can eliminate much misunderstanding and help you to appreciate the speaker’s greatest concerns, interests and needs.

2. Ask discovery questions

In order for a prospective client to become a client, you must understand their situation, which requires you to ask the right questions at the right time.  A prospective client may think they only need payroll services, but upon asking the right questions, you may discover that they are experiencing financial difficulty because they have cash-flow problems.  However, in order to earn the right to ask certain questions you must secure the prospect’s trust.  Martens explains, “When asking discovery questions, it’s important to start with ‘low-trust’ questions before moving to ‘high-trust’.”  ‘What accounting services are you most interested in?’ would be an example of a low-trust question while ‘What kinds of financial struggles are you experiencing in your business?’ is a high-trust question.

3. Watch body language

Is your prospect antsy and agitated or still and thoughtful?  Watching their body language can often be more informative than listening to what’s being said.

4. Take notes

While it would be nice to secure a prospect as a client in your first meeting, odds are that won’t happen very often.  It’s important that you take notes during your conversation so that you can remember key points the next time you meet.  This will build a prospect’s trust and enable you to move your relationship forward more quickly.

Active listening is a simple skill that enables you to focus your attention on a prospect by communicating a genuine concern for their needs.  The more you practice this skill, the more quickly you will secure a prospect’s trust.  And the more quickly you secure a prospect’s trust, the more quickly that prospect will become a client.

Let Universal Inspire Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

If you need a little inspiration to kick your entrepreneurial spirit into high gear, we suggest you consider working with UAC’s motivation speakers.  Universal Accounting Center has some exceptional speakers on staff who can motivate you and your team to excel.  With a number of individuals experienced in a variety of topics, they can help you better serve your clients, better market your practice, and better grow your wealth.  Learn more about Universal Accounting Center’s speaker and book one for your next event!

Resource

Gallo, Carmine.  “The Basics: Four Sales Tips.” 21 July 2009.  BusinessWeek.com

Most of us assume that we can increase our energy levels by getting the proper amount of rest, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly.  Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and author, would argue that’s only partially correct.  While that may help increase our physical energy, we also need to attend to our mental and emotional energy levels, which can be easily depleted.

Mental Energy

Tracy claims that mental energy is what powers your ability to be creative, solve problems and make decisions.  You draw from this energy as your manage your clients’ accounts, accruing those all-important billable hours.  The more efficient your use of this energy, the more productive, and ultimately, the more profitable you will be.

Emotional Energy

This is where you will find your enthusiasm and passion for what your do.  Not only does this energy power your business, but it’s also what makes your personal life enjoyable as well.  You can power-up your emotional energy by ensuring that you spend quality time with those you care about, doing the things your love.

The Connection

Physical energy, mental energy and emotional energy all power your business.  And a reduction in any of these energy levels affects the others.  It’s important that you recognize this connection and conserve energy when possible.  We can quickly burn through emotional energy by expressing negative emotions.   Of those who do this, Tracy explains, “Negative emotions are like a fire that burns up their energy so quickly they have very little left with which to think positively and constructively.  In fact, one five-minute uncontrolled outburst of anger can burn up as much energy as an average person would use in eight hours of work.”

He offers three tips in ensuring that you have a healthy supply of these interconnected energy types:

1. It’s an old standby because it’s true: the better you attend to your physical needs, the more energy you’ll enjoy.  While it may sound redundant, getting the proper amount of rest, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly will power your throughout the day and enable you to feel equal to the challenge of your daily To-Do lists.
2. Recognize how you’re depleting your energy levels and which type of energy-physical, mental, emotional-you rely on most.  Consider ways you can better balance your energy levels and recharge and conserve when possible.
3. Plug up those energy leaks by better managing your stress.  You will also build your energy levels when you practice positive thinking and focus on living a more relaxed and optimistic life.

When you make a conscious effort to increase your energy, you’ll find that your business responds in kind.  Take measures today to ensure that you recharge your battery and your business.

Universal Accounting Center (UAC) Makes It Easy

Confidence is a key energizer.  It can increase your energy levels more than just about any other emotion.  And if it’s confidence you’re looking for, UAC can help.  Our graduates leave our programs with the confidence necessary to start and/or grow their own businesses.  Read what they’re saying about our Professional Bookkeeper Program:

This course has literally changed my life. When I started I hardly knew the difference between a debit and a credit. Now I have the confidence to tackle almost any type of business and do their books.-A. Moody

Great practical course providing you with the skills and self-confidence to go out and build your own bookkeeping/accounting service.-B. Pace

The subject matter covered in your course has been invaluable. I have worked in the accounting field for the past six years; your course gave me the training and confidence I needed to advance in this area.-G. Morton

This course is definitely NOT just an introductory course, although it is wonderful even for beginners. It is a comprehensive accounting and bookkeeping course that truly taught me everything I would need to know to start my own accounting business, and gain clients with confidence.-J. Young

What makes this program so special?  Taught by seasoned professionals who understand the unique demand for small-business accountants, this self-paced program will train you using a hands-on instructional approach designed to give you the experience necessary to start a business’s books from scratch.  Whether you’ve been working in the accounting profession for years or have little experience at all, this course will help you gain the knowledge and confidence necessary to start and/or grow your own accounting practice.

The Professional Bookkeeper Program

This course is comprised of four modules contained on DVD so you can view them again and again.

• Module 1-Accounting Made Easy
• Module 2-Practical Small Business Applications
• Module 3-Advancing your “Account-Ability”
• Module 4-Building a Successful Accounting Service

Each one comes with its own manual where you are expected to practice the concepts and skills you learn.  Upon completion, you will take an exam through which you can earn professional certification, demonstrating your expertise to prospective clients.

In addition to all that you will also receive two additional months of follow-up support, your own customize business website, and two additional practice sets.

Get the training necessary to boost your emotional energy by developing greater confidence-your accounting practice depends upon it.  Order today!

Resource

Tracy, Brian.  “Increase Your Three Types of Energy.” 30 June 2008.  Brian Tracy International

Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so. — Marcia Wieder

The term “overachiever” generally has a negative connotation.  Some talk of overachievers as workaholics with no personal lives to speak of, while others imagine annoying professionals that are somewhat arrogant and a little too full of their own accomplishments.  However, Webster defines “overachiever” as “one who achieves success over and above the standard or expected level especially at an early age.”  If that’s the case, I’m guessing most of us wouldn’t mind becoming overachievers, again and again and again.  But what does it take?

1. Recognize your passion

Truly successful athletes can practice their sport for hours because they become lost in the game.  Some describe it as finding their groove, getting in the zone, or achieving “flow.”  This is a somewhat magical experience where skills are heightened and physical limitations cease to exist, as does time.  This same thing can be experienced by professionals who truly find their passion; they can achieve “flow” by working optimally while losing track of time because they simply enjoy what they’re doing.  If this is a common occurrence at your practice, then you’re on your way to becoming a true overachiever.

2. Recognize the tedium

It’s common to experience boredom every now and then, regardless of how passionate you may be about your work.  There’s always paperwork to be filed, reports to be run, and tasks on your To-Do list that don’t inspire.  However, that tedium should not consume your day.  If that boredom causes you to dread going to work each day, it may be time to reevaluate your career choice and point yourself in another professional direction.

3. Stay a little longer

In his Entrepreneur.com post entitled “5 Tips to Become a High-Achiever,” Scott Halford  shares this tip in outlasting, outsmarting and overachieving the competition.  He explains that in 1984, when Peter Vidmar led the US men’s Olympic gymnastics team to gold, the one thing Vidmar did differently from everyone else was stay and practice a little longer.  In order to become the premier accountant in your area you must do the equivalent.  Read that extra article, participate in that specialized training, call that one last client.

4. Focus your energy

As a child you may have focused the sun’s energy through a magnifying glass in order to start a small flame.  When you focus your own energy in the same way, you can accomplish great things in your professional life.  Try not to get bogged down by the tedious and unnecessary.  That’s distracting and will limit your potential.  Continually focus your energy on the big picture and where you want your business to go.  You’ll be amazed at how this alone will magnify your practice’s success.

5. Take action

You’ll never accomplish anything if you spend all your time just thinking about it.  Overachievers act again and again.  In fact, after a time it becomes a habit-creating business strategies and then acting on them.

6. Continually improve

The truly successful recognize the need to continually improve their skills which enables them to maintain that competitive advantage.  Seek opportunities to become the expert in your field.  It’s impossible to have too much expertise.

UAC’s Training Can Help

The Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program is just the course you need to hone your skills and become specialized in small-business accounting, the most lucrative market for contract accountants.  In less than 60 hours you can learn everything you need to know to start your own accounting practice or improve the one you’re currently running.  The time is right to overachieve.  Take action today and enroll in UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program.

Resources

Halford, Scott.  “5 Tips to Become a High-Achiever.” 29 June 2009  Entrepreneur.com