You may be surprised that many accountants are not great at communicating. We frequently hear stories about the broken relationship business owners have with their accountants and the root of this relationship break down is poor communication.
They say that assumption is the mother of all Screw-Ups, and that is exactly what happens in many accountant/business owners’ relationships. The accountant assumes the client knows what they are doing to help them.
The two biggest complaints we hear when taking on a client is “I have to ask my accountant for help” & “They are not pro-active in helping me – things just creep up and catch them unawares.”
We have taken this to heart and try to communicate with our clients as often as possible. In as many ways as possible and make it as easy to be available when clients have queries.
Another major cause of the breakdown between clients and accountants is the gap between what clients think an accountant will do for them and the service an accountant provides.
Many accountants do not offer business advice of any sort; they are interested in the numbers, not the business. This comes as a surprise to many clients who seek advice from their accountants when they are met with a wall of silence.
We are different.
- We recognise that behind the accounts, there is a business and behind the business there are people. People who face the same problems as many of our other clients. Problems we have helped resolve in the past.
- We are interested in the day to day reality of the business owners we work with, how they do things in their business, what they are working towards, and what they want to achieve.
How does Xero.com help us?
Xero is by far the best online bookkeeping package on the market but, for us, it’s more than that, it’s a positive enabler, helping us get closer to our clients by giving us insight into the workings of our client’s businesses.
By utilising all the tools at our disposal, we can help businesses become more efficient, freeing up the time of business owners.
Keep an ear out – If you hear of someone moaning that their accountant never calls, doesn’t offer advice or doesn’t support them, then pass on our name – we would be happy to help.
