Stepping into the role of Business Advisor

Although I now work for the accounting industry, I once owned and managed my own business.  I was good at what I did, but when it came to managing the back end, tax and finances, I struggled.  When I had lots of money I had no one to guide me. When I identified my weaknesses, even mentioned them to my accountant, they did not offer a service to help me (which I might add I could have paid for).

My business created and implemented systems and ideas and the only time I gained any good advice from my accountant was when I went to sell an idea. The initial sum on the table was too low, I called my accountant and offered a percentage of the sale if he could get the price up.  He turned up to the meeting, we sat down with the potential buyers, the accountant negotiated and I walked away with a 350% higher price than initially offered and the accountant walked away with $2000 for a one hour meeting.

This is only a small rant on what an accountant can offer a client, don't be afraid, we look up to you as experts in all those areas we can't do or do not want to do.  Don't just nudge your clients about possibly helping them more, get excited about it, get them energised about it, paint a picture or share a vision.

This is why I am excited to part of a creating a programme that helps accountants to step into this type of role.  Any investment made will be well worth it.

Check it out here.

Cheers

Pippa

The E-commerce Process

Our Knowledge Centre is now open and we guarantee the Knowledge will just keep growing.  

For sometime now I have understood the basics of e-commerce, the theory, the whys and how to, but nothing really gets the brain going and the knowledge rising until you experience the practicality and implementation of it. 

Using off the shelf apps or add-ons like Shopify are an excellent base to begin with, but as you work your way through needs and expectations of a system you quickly begin to realise that the ability to think laterally, to push boundaries of what you have, all assist in achieving what is your end product.  There is no one size fits all.  

My advice is to fully understand your clients business and processes and take the time to map out what is required. Things to include are branding, types of products, freight or how the products will be delivered,  who looks after the accounts, who looks after distribution, who is in charge of new clients and developing relationships and not to forget who will maintain the e-commerce platform. These are all key areas that alter how your on-line e-commerce system works and looks. Most of all have patience and good communication skills as most of the time you will be dealing with people online from somewhere over there. 

As The Accountants' RePublic are here to help educate you the Public Accountant, I am more than happy to assist with any queries you may have on setting up your clients on e-commerce platforms such as this. 

Until then, take a look around our Knowledge Centre.  To access free content you have to be a fully published member of The Accountants' RePublic, to become a member check out details here.

cheers Pippa