Get Work Done - Issue #6
Why you need to revisit your goals today plus the client onboarding process a CAS Advisory firm uses to get things going smoothly
Welcome to "Get Work Done," where we dive into the nitty-gritty of running accounting and bookkeeping firms efficiently. This isn't your average newsletter – we're all about down-to-earth tips and insights that cut through the complexities, helping you streamline processes, embrace practical tech solutions, and boost your team's productivity.
Brought to you by Financial Cents and delivered to your inbox every 2 weeks.
Small change, big difference
Setting goals is easy but staying motivated to achieve them is HARD.
Agree?
If you’re feeling unfocused and unmotivated as a firm owner or manager, it’s only a matter of time before it spreads to the last person on your team. Maybe you’ve lost track of what motivated you to start your firm or forgotten those 2-10-year goals that gave you a sense of purpose and direction.
One small change you can make is to revisit your goals.
According to Kelly Rohrs's recent LinkedIn post, revisiting your goals will get you focused and motivated again. And you’ll be surprised how much progress you’ve already made towards them.
Firm spotl💡ght
Momentum Accounting, Inc. is a fully remote CAS Advisory firm serving businesses making one to ten million in revenue. They have a distributed team across the US, the Philippines, and El Salvador. Working like a fractional accounting department, they also offer technology implementations to businesses.
The firm is very specific about its target market, and it plays into all its processes, especially onboarding. CEO & Founder, Nikole Mackenzie shares the strategic client onboarding process that helps her team:
Prioritize work and have access to everything they need to get work done
Quickly make a positive impact on client’s businesses
Build long-term client relationships
Take a listen below:
Excerpts below:
Roman Villard (Host):
What makes a good onboarding process?
Nikole Mackenzie:
Part of what I think makes a good onboarding process is having a good sales process. And what I do is, during the sales process, I take time to really understand what the client needs, and then what’s hot, what’s burning for them so we can prioritize certain things. Then I’ll put together an entire, two to three-month project plan for the client. This helps them understand the order of operations, whether that be also like handoff and accountability, right? So we’re taking over payroll, and there’s training that needs to be done. Week one is us getting access to everything; week two is us getting training, and week three is us taking over full accountability.
After the client signs everything that’s on our proposal that we’ve agreed to do, our admin uploads it into our project management system, so the team knows exactly what they need to do on an ongoing basis and then also what’s a priority during onboarding.
H🔥t topics
U.S. productivity is popping. And it’s not because of AI
A new in-depth analysis of government data finds that worker productivity has been growing at the fastest pace since the decade-long surge of the 1990s — which is still the highest productivity growth rate in 50 years.
Interestingly, the current upswing is not driven by dominating headline trends such as generative AI. In fact, only a small subset of businesses currently use AI to produce goods and services.
One shift that is likely driving America’s productivity surge is the increase in new business creation across the country. It’s been proven over and again that entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of productivity growth because new companies bring innovations to the market and drive competition, which in turn forces larger, incumbent companies to become more productive or lose market share. Continue reading.
Culled from Luke Pardue’s article for The Washington Post…
A 4-point road map for transitioning to manager
Transitioning from being a solo firm owner or an individual contributor to managing one, two, or ten people is no small feat. Also, starting a firm or being fantastic at accounting and bookkeeping doesn’t automatically make you a leader.
The ability to be a great leader doesn’t fall on anyone; it takes intentionality, learning, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes. A great leader sets the vision, leads by example, and rallies the team around set goals and objectives. A great leader is empathetic, kind yet firm, emotionally intelligent, and visionary.
In an article for Fast Company, Matthew C. Meade shares four steps you can take to successfully navigate the transition from an individual contributor to a high-performing manager:
Train yourself
Be visionary
Train teammates and delegate effectively
Identify and empower your successor
Swipe this workflow template
Get the Step-by-Step Client Questionnaire Checklist template for requesting accurate information from new clients so you have all you need to get started with their work.
Meme
Happy pay-rolling 😝
FOMO events
MAY 7
Making Your Workflows Work For You
MAY 9
How to Set up Accounting Workflow Automation Using Financial Cents and Zapier
PS: If you’d like us to spotlight your event in the next issue, send an email to marketing@financial-cents.com
Noteworthy
5 Simple Time-Saving Tips for Managing Uncategorized Transactions: We all know the famous expression, “Time is money.” This is doubly true for accountants and bookkeepers. Every minute spent manually resolving uncategorized transactions is a minute taken away from other high-value tasks that could be done. The challenge of uncategorized transactions is real, and the time they steal can add up quickly. In this article, you’ll find five practical tips for managing uncategorized transactions and streamlining your workflow. By implementing these tips, you can free up valuable hours and focus on what matters most—serving your clients strategically and growing your firm.
Nominations open for Women Who Count Awards: The Women Who Count Awards will be presented to those nominees who stand out in their careers and exemplify empowerment, leadership, integrity, and passion. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 1, and winners will be announced at the Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance's annual Women Who Count conference.
Small things to show clients some love by Kyle Walters for Accounting Today: Kyle Walters, a CPA firm Partner, shares how firm owners can appreciate clients in personable ways without breaking the bank. Quote from the article: “You're all smart people reading this article. I'm not going to tell you exactly how to create branded client appreciation cards, but if you've read this far, you get the idea. The most important point to remember is to ensure the gesture is coming from you or another team member — not the firm itself. Clients don't have a relationship with your firm. The relationship is with you.”
The Financial Cents team spent a few days in Spain for our first-ever company retreat. CEO, Shahram Zarshenas shares why this was absolutely essential. Also, see the faces behind your favorite accounting workflow software and newsletter 😍.
Until next time,
