here’s what you’re looking for: frank stitely

 

do you know your turnaround time?

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

todd rundgren sang, “i don’t want to work. i just wanna bang on the drum all day.”

i agree with half of that. i don’t want to work. however, i want someone else to bang on the drum all day for me. i’m not that ambitious.

the key to achieving hall of fame-level laziness is delegation.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

if i have no ambition to do anything, but want things to get done, someone else must do them. similarly, effective practice management is putting the right people in the right places accomplishing the right tasks at the right times. that’s a pretty damn good definition of effective laziness as well. there’s a subtle genius in that.
read more →

let color-coded tick marks be your friends.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

one of your roles as ceo is reviewer. there are two types of review: primary and secondary.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

depending on the size of your firm, you may only have primary reviews. if your firm consists of you and a preparer, you won’t have a second level of review. i don’t consider the self-review as a review step. i consider it part of preparation.
read more →

tell quickly when a delay is the client’s fault. plus: 12-step tax return and 8-step writeup workflows.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

let’s play buzzword bingo. i’ll go first: workflow.

workflow is the cpa firm buzzword of the decade. every vendor leech trying to suck the life out of your bank account drops this term, and in so doing, workflow now means everything and nothing at all. marketers have so devalued the term that we shouldn’t be surprised that no one has an effective workflow, because no one knows what it is. let’s flush the confusion.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

workflow is not scanning and import software. workflow is not workpaper binder software. workflow is not a portal or tax return preparation software. workflow is not project management software, much as it pains me to so state. these are no more workflow than a hammer is real estate development. they are tools to accomplish workflow.
read more →

avoid the dreaded “what’s the status of” questions.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

let’s discuss two training issues in detail: teaching time management and teaching review skills.

the biggest training gift that you can give your staff is time management training. you may want to offer formal training, but i have never found one that was really specific to cpa firms and the daily challenges we face.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

two time-management skills are at the heart of what cpa firms do. first, teach your staff task switching. by that i mean they shouldn’t get locked in on one type of task to the exclusion of others.
read more →

software helps, so here are three tips for choosing it.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

let’s talk about assigning staff to projects. understand that this discussion will mean nothing the first two weeks of april, when you may be assigning the family dog to some returns.

and that makes perfect sense in those circumstances. i’ve done worse. who knew that goldfish can’t type?

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

there are two factors to consider in assigning a project to a staff member.

first, does your staff member have the technical capability to complete the project? some people are good at personal tax returns. others are good at business returns. a few rare, wonderful individuals are good at both.
read more →

true tales about the busy season.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

your first role as ceo is chief strategist. that means putting the right people in the right roles with the right resources.

your second role is trainer and coach. this role is closely related to your role as chief strategist. you can’t put the right people in the right positions without the right people. this second role is about creating and keeping the right people.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

unfortunately, few of the people you hire will be the right people immediately. you have to grow them. they aren’t necessarily slackers or stupid. they have never worked in a forward-looking, well organized firm like yours. if you have made it this far through our discussions, you are well on your way to creating an extraordinary firm.
read more →

not this time of year.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a well-known practice management expert, whom i greatly respect, advises cpas to never tell clients that you don’t have time for them. i disagree with the never part. you know how it starts. on march 25th, the call comes in.

“i know you’re busy but …”

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

a request follows that could most certainly wait until after tax season. you are hip deep reviewing all the personal tax returns that got stuck in process while you climbed out of the march 15th corporate tax ditch.

“i need to know if i’m paying unemployment taxes to the right states. i think i should be paying taxes to the people’s republic of california, but i’m not. i’ve been paying unemployment taxes to uzbekistan instead.”
read more →

bonus: it’s cheaper than adding capacity.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

want to increase profitability and client retention? manage projects effectively.

if you don’t have these measures, get them, or turn in your ceo title. if, as a value pricer, you’ve sworn off practice metrics based on productivity, you’ll learn nothing from this article. you just don’t have the numbers. mark cuban is on hold waiting to yell at you.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

there are only three ways to increase client happiness and thus increase retention:

1. lower your prices
2. decrease the turnaround time for client work
3. increase quality

read more →

four best practices.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

managing advanced-level preparers sounds easier than it is. these preparers will all have blind spots that appear at inconvenient times. some won’t be able to adapt to your internal procedures, because they worked at firms without well-defined procedures.

we had one person who insisted on printing out the prior year tax returns and workpapers before beginning a return. she said she just needed the paper in her hands. that didn’t work for us.

more by frank stitely
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

she asked to be paid on a salaried basis. when we agreed, she then demanded to be paid on an hourly basis. we agreed to that as well. then she wanted to go back to a salary. she believed that whatever we agreed to would be bad for her.
read more →