Brian O'Connell, President

What does it mean to be “more than” a CPA firm?

It means moving beyond accounting as a commodity. Finding ways to over-deliver. Treating your clients as more than just another job.

A recent article by Nicholas D. Keseric Jr. in WebCPA discusses the need to be more than a CPA firm.

Keseric writes,

“Business prospects, as well as current clients, are looking for ideas, suggestions, information and approaches. How they can better run their business, increase revenues and profits. Get more visibility. Leverage what they are doing to create more opportunities.”

Keseric lists several ways accountants can be “more than.” When reading this list, I noticed that a CPA website from CPA Site Solutions is already offering accountants the ability to put some of these solutions into action.

Solution 1: Relevant Articles

“An article that pertains to their industry.”

Keseric says to reach out to prospects, clients, and centers of influence, or COIs, with a relevant article. (COIs are the bankers, attorneys, insurance agents, and consultants who refer clients to you.)

With our 3,000 pages of Financial Guides, your CPA website has this one covered. Of particular interest to your business clients is the Business Strategies Guide, which provides valuable information on how to nurture a business’s growth through every stage.

Your 35-page services section, too, focuses on what you do for particular industries.

Solution 2: News Updates

“A heads-up to potential changes in tax laws, banking regulations, HR issues, medical and health issues, and how these and other changes could affect their business.”

You deliver this to your clients by way of your Monthly Client Newsletter and Email Marketing System.

• Through the Client Newsletter, your clients get valuable information and tips on all kinds of finance-related issues – from the latest in tax laws to how to save for their children’s education. (For example, the October 2010 newsletter features an article about the 2011 changes to Flexible Spending Arrangements, or FSAs.)
• Through the Email Marketing System, you can send specific and targeted messages to all your clients or to certain segments of your list. Use this for any kind of message, from information on recent changes in tax laws, to the latest on health care legislation, to a plug for your favorite charity.

Solution 3: Cross-Selling

“How other resources within your firm can help them, aka cross-selling.”

Your website gives you numerous ways to offer additional services to clients. Here are just three of them:

• Online Accounting is perfect for your business clients – allowing you to manage their books while keeping their data fully backed up and protected.
• 56 Interactive Financial Calculators allow your clients to make sense of their finances – including the gaps, where they might need more assistance from you.
• When you add the Online Payroll feature to your site, you show your business clients how you can safely and cost-effectively meet their payroll needs.

Remember that your site includes 35 pages of details on the services you offer. Use these pages to remind your clients of all your firm can do  - QuickBooks support, IRS audit representation, elder care, and so on.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Hard…

Being “more than a CPA firm” is a lot easier with a CPA website from CPA Site Solutions.

Your site’s content allows you to add value to the client relationship in so many ways.

Ready to take the plunge? Give us a try for free for 60 days. See how we can help you achieve that coveted “more than” status. In the words of Keseric,

Prospects are telling . . . accountants, “Before we switch to your firm we want more than a firm that provides accounting services. What else can you do for me and my business?”

Let your CPA website be the answer.

Consider having a "business breakfast" with your clients a couple times a year.

Do you want to know the best marketing trick for accountants?

Well, okay, it’s actually not a trick. It takes time, attention, and effort.

But it’s the number one way to retain your clients.

Be a real person, and get to know your clients as real people.

Perform this “trick” on a regular basis and your clients will find it very difficult to leave.

Don’t Sell. Build.

Rather than selling to your clients and potential clients – get to know your clients.

What do they do for work, and how do they like doing it? What’s their family structure? What are their hopes for the future?

Likewise, let them in a little. It doesn’t mean you should be unprofessional – but find common ground with your clients.

This is very powerful and leads to an actual relationship – not just one person delivering a service to another.

Even More Important for CPAs

Certainly all service-based professionals should focus on building relationships with clients. But it’s especially important for CPAs.

Despite the accounting scandals of the last two years, accountants – especially small to medium-sized firms – are one of the the public’s most trusted professionals.

This means your clients are already receptive to you on a more personal level. Use this trust as a starting point.

Strong Relationships Lead to Cross-Selling

Of course, you would never refer to it as “cross-selling” with your clients. But the truth is, if you know your clients well, you have the leverage to offer them your full range of services.

Our CPA websites are an excellent way to meet all your clients’ needs:

• Your clients receive a Monthly Client Newsletter stuffed with tax tips, helpful articles, and even QuickBooks information. The articles remind your clients to get in touch with you for further details – thus driving more business back to your firm.

• Your Online Accounting services help you manage your clients’ books while keeping their data fully backed up and protected.

• 56 Interactive Financial Calculators allow your clients to make sense of their finances – including the gaps, where they might need more assistance from you.

• When you add the Online Payroll feature to your site, you show your business clients how you can safely and cost-effectively meet their payroll needs.

• A 10-page Tax Resource Center – including an Online Tax Organizer – allows clients to work on their taxes 24/7. This effectively tethers them to you and your offerings.

Don’t forget that your site includes 35 pages of details on the services you offer. Once you have a strong relationship in place, and you’ve identified a need of one of your clients, you can professionally “soft-sell” your services.

Start Building Relationships Today

If you have a website with CPA Site Solutions, you’re on your way to building strong client bonds. Consider adding the Online Accounting or Online Payroll modules to your site. And use your website as a meeting ground with clients – a place to connect and establish trust.

If you’re an accountant who needs a website – or thinks your current website could be improved – give us a call at 1-800-896-4500, or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com. You get the first 60 days free!

What methods have you found to be most effective in building strong client relationships? Share your suggestions in the space below, or tweet us at @cpasitesolution.

A new Security Measures page helps clients understand the Web is not the Wild West anymore.

Are your clients afraid of the Internet? Do they mistrust the security of cyberspace? And does this prevent them from taking advantage of all CPA websites have to offer?

The Internet is not the Wild West anymore. Safety measures are now in place – firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software – that make it a much more trustworthy environment.

It might be time to give your clients a little push – to show them how secure the Internet is these days. With a bit of encouragement, clients start to feel comfortable using the Web for more than just contact information.

A great place to start is your secure Client Portal. Once clients see how it improves their financial lives, they’re hooked. They’re more satisfied with your services…

And you reap the reward in higher retention.

Our New Security Page

You have an easier time convincing your skittish clients to use the Client Portal with the new Security Measures page.

Clients get to the new page with a link on the updated Client Portal page.

When clients go to the updated page on your site, they see this:

Your updated Client Portal page includes a link to information on Security Measures. Click on the image to enlarge.

When they click on that last link, they’re sent to a Security Measures page detailing the Portal’s impressive 14 layers of security.

Benefits of the Client Portal

Although they might need some encouragement to try it out, once your clients do take your Client Portal for a spin, they love the benefits.

The Client Portal provides…

• a secure, convenient, and easy way for you and your clients to exchange and share files;

• 24/7/365 access for clients to their tax returns, financial statements, scanned documents like W-2′s, employee data, corporation papers, and legal documents;

• secure access to their tax information – with your Online Tax Organizer – anytime from anywhere, so they no longer need to complete and mail paper organizers;

• a way for them to make entries, print reports, and have full access to QuickBooks, Sage Peachtree, or any accounting software from home, office, or any location in the world (when you add the Online Accounting module); and

• a secure environment to enter their hours and earnings, print detailed reports, print checks, make direct deposits, and file all federal and state payroll taxes (when you add the Online Payroll option).

There’s no question that the Client Portal improves your clients’ financial lives.

And in a way, when you push them to try the Portal, you’re doing your job at a high level – offering information, technology, and support to help your clients stay organized and in control of their finances.

How to Get the New Pages

Let us know if you want the new Security Measures page on your site. It means adding two pages – the updated Client Portal page as well as the Security Measures page.

If you’re at the Silver service level, visit our Help file called “Adding the Updated Client Portal and Security Measures Pages” to learn the steps involved in publishing them.

If you’re a Gold or Platinum client, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to request these pages. We’re happy to add them.

If you’re using QuickBooks to manage your client’s books, you’re tethered to your desk. If you’re home, or at your client’s office and you need access to those files, you’re stuck either going all the way into your office, or leaving your computer running constantly to log in remotely.

With our Online Accounting Module, you can install your full version of QuickBooks on a secure virtual desktop, locked down behind the latest 128-bit SSL Encryption that you can access securely from any computer.  Log in from home, make some adjustments or print a report just as easily as you would if you had QuickBooks installed right there.

The Online Virtual Computer is similar to your existing computer- it’s a fresh new Windows desktop.  With the full Firm Level Online Accounting Module it even includes Microsoft Office, so the only difference is that the virtual computer can be accessed, with your username and password, from any Internet connected computer.

You can even monetize the Online Accounting Module by using it to host your clients’ QuickBooks. It’s just a matter of getting their QuickBooks license number, filling out the Online Accounting form and then billing your clients. It’s that easy to offer a great new service without adding any time to your already busy schedule.

You can see the Virtual Computer Online Accounting System in action by using our Online Demo. Just log in with the username user1 and the password rtdsdemo07.

Visit our Online Accounting page to learn more. To get started adding this service to your website, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the page