Safeguarding the future of your practice.In February thoughts are now turning to how every practice can achieve its goals this year and maintain their position in an increasingly competitive marketplace. By definition this means you are looking to safeguard your business whilst securing, if not increasing, profit margins. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure your practice continues to operate successfully into the future. 3 key things will safeguard the future of your business- client base, staff and cash flow. Know your client base Make sure your master database is kept up to date with the following information;
Knowing the above and keeping it up to date in real time means you can track and focus on the type of work and client which makes your firm most successful. Your marketing and business development plan will focus on winning more of those clients to secure your future. Staff- your main cost and key resource Without staff you can’t service clients. Without clients you don’t need staff. They are co-dependent and key underlying success drivers in your business. Finding the right staff takes time and money. Losing great staff to competitor firms is disruptive and expensive- it also impacts morale hugely and can have a domino effect where other staff look to leave too. Ignore this at your peril. Make sure you have systems in place to train, develop and nurture your staff. Work on communication systems and making them feel involved in the business. What do you offer as an employer to make them want to stay with your firm in the years ahead? What makes you an exceptional employer? The more progressive and successful firms often offer staff the following as standard practice;
Even the smallest of practices are offering the above. The above systems don’t cost most in terms of time or money and give a significant return on investment to safeguard the future of any business. Cash flow- practice management Without cash your practice can’t survive or grow. You also want to be able to draw the rewards of your labours and not end up with a capital/loan account of undrawn profits which will be difficult to realise in the future and hinder succession plans. Make sure your practice management sees the following as priority;
Conclusion February 2016 Copyright - Finola McManus, Practice PerfectHelping accountancy firms to make their clients successful |