Issue #47 - Let's give 'em something to talk about
How about love (or at least something other than taxes)
Welcome to “Get Work Done,” where we discuss the complexities of efficiently running accounting and bookkeeping firms. This newsletter is brought to you by Financial Cents and delivered to your inbox every 2 weeks.
Small Change, Big Results
You made it. April is officially in the rearview, you have a reasonable number of unread emails, and you’ve finally remembered what your family looks like in daylight.
But before you slide into full-on summer mode, ask yourself:
Will all those tax clients be back next season?
The easiest client you’ll ever get is the one you’ve already got, and the easiest way to keep them is to actually talk to them between filings.
Turns out, people really appreciate it when you acknowledge their, you know, existence (especially when that outreach happens consistently and isn’t always attached to some kind of sales pitch or action item).
CPA Michelle Arnason hears this feedback constantly from new clients walking in her door. When she asks why they decided to leave their previous accountant, a lot of them point to lack of communication—not price or work quality.
Curious what other “client tea” Michelle has picked up over the years? Well, you’re in luck, because we’re hosting her later today—Thursday, May 14, at 1:00pm ET—for a free 1-hour webinar:
5 Things New Clients Wish Their Accountant Did Differently
Here’s a sampling of what Michelle will dish on:
What really matters to clients (beyond all the accounting stuff)
Small touch points between filings that can turn a one-time engagement into a long-term one
How to make your firm feel less transactional without adding hours to your week
The trust-building moments most firms accidentally skip—and how to build them into your workflow
It’s free, it’s 100% virtual, and it’s happening in a few hours. If you’re reading this with your morning coffee, you’ve still got time to save your seat! (And even if you can’t make it, go ahead and sign up anyway to get the recording. 😉)
Community 🫶
Evolve Boldly with Thriveal
Thriveal is a leadership-driven community for ambitious accounting firm owners committed to intentional growth, accountability, and redefining the future of the profession. Built around values like evolving boldly, leading with empathy, showing up transparently, and disrupting traditional best practices together, Thriveal helps firm owners scale through deep collaboration, mastermind programs, coaching, and entrepreneurial support rooted in confidence over competition.
Get Meaningful Peer Support with The Collaboration Room
The Collaboration Room is a collaborative community for accounting, bookkeeping, and tax professionals focused on practical growth, peer support, and real-world problem solving. Built around the needs of firm owners, the community offers hands-on coaching, live discussions, and actionable resources across topics like tax, bookkeeping, referrals, automation, AI, software, and client management—creating a space where members openly share expertise, tools, and support to help one another grow.
H🔥t today
The Big Four are Making a Fantastic Case for Why Not to Work for Them
KPMG just announced layoffs of 10% of its U.S. audit partners after voluntary retirements fell short. Pension freezes, halved family leave, and gutted family-planning benefits are showing up across the Big Four—all while those same firms have spent at least $9 billion on AI development.
New-grad accounting hiring is reportedly down as much as 29% in recent years. The opportunity here? Smaller firms can offer something the Big Four are shying away from: actual stability, real benefits, and a tech stack that respects your team. The next generation of accountants is paying attention.
Small Business Owners are Confident, but They’re Not Spending Like It
The U.S. Chamber’s Q1 2026 Small Business Index slipped to 67.0, with only 28% of owners saying the national economy is in good health (down 10 points). 53% now name inflation as their top challenge—the 17th straight quarter it’s ranked #1. The split is fascinating: 69% rate their own business as healthy, but they’re hesitant to hire or invest.
For your clients, this means more questions about cash flow, tighter margins, and a real appetite for advisory conversations. If you’ve been thinking about expanding your consulting service line, now might be a good time to test the waters.
Swipe this workflow template
Swipe this Bookkeeping Client Offboarding Template from Taylor Ammons
Get more templates from firm owners like you in our community template library.
Meme
Relatable? 😆 (Even after last week’s Tax Wrap Palooza, we are STILL celebrating, and we hope you are too! 🥂)
Firm Spotl💡ght
How Numbers Matter LLC Cut Month-End Close Time in Half with Financial Cents
Steve Libhart has spent his career at the intersection of accounting and the legal industry—running his own law-focused firm in Colorado, teaching law firm accounting for the state bar association, and co-hosting the Accountants Law Pod.
His clients are attorneys who bill in tenths of an hour and have absolutely no patience for administrative drag, which made his old patchwork of Word docs, spreadsheets, ClickUp, and Notion a real liability. Financial reports were going out in week three of every month when they could’ve gone out in week two.
After implementing Financial Cents—and especially after rolling out the new Month-End Close feature—Steve’s firm cut close time in half, compressed 1099 season from a month to a single week, and finally killed the email-chain chaos that was eating his team alive.
Events
📍 5 Things New Clients Wish Their Accountant Did Differently — Thursday, May 14 (Virtual Webinar, 1:00–2:00 PM ET)
A free 1-hour webinar with CPA Michelle Arnason on the five things new clients say they wish their last accountant had done differently—and how to build those small moments into your firm without adding hours to your week. Happening today at 1pm ET!
📍 Operational Disorder Creates Security Risks — Thursday, May 21 (Virtual Webinar, 2:00–3:00 PM ET)
Join Jatin Narang, CEO of Verito, and firm owner Steven Moos for a practical conversation on how small accounting firms can turn organization, security, and workflow into a true competitive advantage. In this free virtual session, you’ll walk away with the EDGE Framework, a practical FTC-worthy WISP checklist, and real strategies firms are using to strengthen operations, improve security posture, and move into higher-value advisory work.
📍 AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE — June 8–11 (Las Vegas)
The largest annual event for CPAs and finance pros, with sessions across tax, A&A, advisory, technology, and practice management. Strong CPE opportunity and one of the best networking weeks of the year for firm owners thinking about what’s next!
📍 Scaling New Heights 2026 — June 15–17 (Orlando)
Woodard’s flagship conference for accounting and bookkeeping professionals—heavy on practical workflow, technology, and firm-growth content. Especially good for owners building or scaling QuickBooks-centric firms, with deep tracks on advisory and team development.
Noteworthy
About That Client Disengagement You’ve Been Avoiding…
Every firm has that one client. The chronic late-payer. The scope-creeper. The one whose name in your inbox triggers a small dread response before you’ve even read the email. And every firm has, at some point, hesitated to send the disengagement letter—because what if they push back? What if you do it wrong? What if it all blows up in your face?
Our newest guide walks through the eight elements every accounting client termination letter needs, the four scenarios you’re most likely to face (non-payment, non-cooperation, restructuring, and ethical), and the legal traps that can turn clean breakups into liability problems. Free Word and Google Docs templates included! Save it now; thank yourself later.
What’s New in Accounting? Episode 1: AI on Tax Returns, 40 Under 40, and What CFOs are Betting on for 2026
We launched a hot new video series, and the first episode is out! In it, our very own Matt Draper walks you through three timely stories:
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s 2026 tax-filing poll (where 19% of taxpayers reported using AI to help prep their return, and another 34% said they’d consider it),
CPA Practice Advisor’s just-released 40 Under 40 and 20 Under 40 awards, and
A Deloitte/Journal of Accountancy survey of 200 CFOs that pegs AI, cash management, and M&A as the three biggest bets for the rest of 2026.
Plus: A fun fact about 7000 BC accounting that we promise you didn’t know!
Tired of Delivering Walls of Numbers that Clients Ignore?
What if every client report you sent looked like it came from a $500/hour advisory firm?
Model Wiz is an Excel plugin that connects to QBO and generates beautiful financial dashboards with one click. Cash flow. KPIs. Trend analysis. Comparisons. Anything you need.
The firms running this are delivering in 30 seconds what used to take a week. They’re offering advisory packages they couldn’t offer before. And they’re growing their revenue per client without growing their team.
No more spreadsheet errors, no more hours of formatting, no more clients who see you as a cost center.
You have the expertise. This gives you the presentation layer to match it.
Book a free breakthrough session (only if you use QBO) →
That’s it for now. See you in two weeks. 💚