Time and again I hear people saying they can’t get hold of their accountant. Or they email them and don’t hear back from them for over 2 weeks. Does this sound familiar to you?
I’m not saying it’s true in all cases, but I wanted to try to give some background as to why this might be.
Accountants are business owners who have to bid for business as you do too. It’s hard…the whole sales process is hard…I’m not keen on the hard sell at all. The way I see it, an accountant isn’t selling services to you…they’re selling you peace of mind. With the expectation that you will receive a reply to your email within a couple of days at the most. Yes, we all trip up sometimes or miss an email coming in, or just life gets in the way and we forget. But I like to think that is the exception in our case, not the rule.
So our focus is on helping you. We provide the services you need to remain compliant and help you in your business, at a cost where we can deliver that to you. And this includes timely communication.
And that’s where a lot of accountants fall down. They’ve priced their services too low in order to get the business. Then because they have lots of low-paying clients, they can’t deliver effectively. And that’s why you rarely get a quick response from them.
So let’s get down to basics…what exactly is communication?
The simplest definition is the transmission of information, but I think there’s a lot more to it than that within a business relationship.
We exchange information every day of our lives, whether it’s ordering something online, sending a text message, or actually picking up the phone and talking to someone.
But in a long-term business relationship, communication must be more than just a ‘transmission of information’.
So here are a few points that need to be considered:
- The How
The method of communication needs to work for both parties…my preferred method is via email at Revive, because it gives my clients a record of communications that they can look back on if they need to. But if WhatsApp or Messenger is your thing, then go for it.
- The When
Don’t feel you have to respond to a message outside of your working hours. Switch off notifications to help with this. I’ve never come across an accounting situation that is a real emergency, so neither you nor your accountant needs to drop everything and respond asap. However, it’s vital that responses are given timely. You should not have to wait a week for a reply, nor should you put up with no response at all!
- The Why
You need answers to questions…you need to know that you have a trusted advisor in your accountant who knows you and your business and will be able to give you this. And if you don’t look at your accountant as a trusted advisor, then you might as well just ask Google!
Clients at Revive are often surprised by the level of communication we provide. Because it’s not something they’ve been used to, and it can actually feel overwhelming at first. But that’s in the early stages when we are gathering information from you.
When you ask us questions (and you will!), we won’t leave you hanging….urgh…nothing worse than firing an email off to someone and never hearing back!
We’ll communicate with you…we’ll work with you…we’ll be your trusted advisor.
Just head on over to our website and complete our Get Moving form to take the first step.