Why They Need You (and How to Keep Being Needed)

As more technology comes onto the market, businesses as a whole, and accountants and bookkeepers specifically, are asking a common question - where exactly do accountants and bookkeepers fall in the line of importance for business owners. With all of the conjecture around technology advancements, especially around artificial intelligence and automation, some people conclude that the accounting and bookkeeping space is shrinking. However, we know that is NOT the case. As more industries spawn and more entrepreneurs craft, the need for accounting and bookkeeping professionals will only continue to rise. The truth is - your value will also continue to rise.

Here’s why. 

You are ideally suited to be the hero that businesses need now more than ever. All of the critical knowledge that businesses need to survive are in one place. And accounting professionals are the ones who can open the door to that knowledge at the right time to save thousands of companies across the U.S. from shutting their doors this year. 

Here are the ways you can provide tangible benefits to your clients in this time of uncertainty. 

• You have the knowledge to help business owners succeed, the knowledge that most entrepreneurs don't have and don't have the time to learn. You can help owners understand their businesses and find new opportunities to unlock additional revenue and reach their goals. 
• You have the ability to look beyond the now and look into the future. In doing so, you provide two benefits. First, you can allow businesses to safeguard themselves from issues before they become problems. Second, you can help businesses grow, become more efficient, and/or become more profitable.
• You exist in a position of inherent trust with your clients. Because of this relationship you have with your clients, you can fully support them in a way that an outside consultant couldn't. Clients look to you for help already - you know their business inside out from your tax and compliance work with them. Your clients trust you to look out for their best interests, whether that's helping them avoid a fine or take proactive steps to support them, safeguard them, and improve their business.
• You know your clients’ businesses and you know their systems. Tracking the data in a business is hard work and can be time-consuming. At the end of all that work, all your clients may have without you and your knowledge is last year's numbers! This is something that may not even be useful for anything other than compliance. But you have the knowledge to empower them to build better systems and better processes that improve their data, save them time on management, and deliver value across their whole business.

For each client, you are able to combine your general accounting and bookkeeping knowledge, your ability to forecast, the inherent trust relationship with that client, and your specific knowledge of their business. You are in a unique position to deliver the services that small businesses require now to survive, recover and return to a growth trajectory. However, making the most of the benefits provided by your knowledge may require you to evolve your systems to provide the services your clients need. Modernizing your practice will allow you to become or remain competitive and relevant. 

Most importantly, modernizing your practice will enable you to continually provide more value for your clients, allowing you to build stronger relationships and create more opportunities for revenue for both your client and for your practice.

If you want to learn how Dext helps 50,000 accountants & bookkeepers increase their productivity, click here!