The Access Group has worked with accounting firms looking to choose the right software for accountants to manage their clients better, automate their work tasks, maintain their internal workflows, and use data in their decision-making, all contributing to accounting firm growth.
In this article, we'll unlock the secrets of how to grow an accounting firm. We will look at different accounting firm growth tactics you can adopt to yield exciting results for your business.
Identifying your clients
Identifying your clients will be essential to any accounting firm growth strategy that should be initiated when you start an accounting practice.
Any savvy accountant knows it's not just about finding new clients—it's essential to evaluate their potential for ongoing support and identify what specific market segment makes the most sense for the firm to target.
Our recent study surveying other firms in Australia highlighted that approximately 1 in 5 (22 per cent) of surveyed accounting practices in Australia had a completely defined client profile. A client profile could mean segmenting by geography, industry sector or business size; the key is to identify the best clients that are most likely to contribute to your firm's success in terms of revenue and long-term growth.
By taking the time to understand their target audience correctly, accounting firms can ensure that their resources are being used efficiently and that their services are appropriately tailored to their client needs.
For more information on client profiles and growth, check out our article: How to grow your accounting practice.
Building a solid brand and reputation
A well-established brand and a positive reputation should form part of your accounting firm's growth strategy because it will help you stand out from the competition and acquire new clients.
Developing a solid brand will aid your accounting firm's growth strategy by giving your firm a consistent message, clear values, and a professional image.
You may consider how your company logo, website, and social media presence can help your accounting firm's growth strategy by creating a consistent brand message that potential and existing clients can identify. These elements can also communicate the firm's values and mission and demonstrate professional expertise.
Reputation is also vital to a successful accounting firm's growth strategy and includes demonstrating your firm's reliability, integrity, and expertise. A good reputation can be earned from word-of-mouth testimonials, positive media coverage, and awards.
Adopting a proactive growth mindset and creating an accounting firm strategy that builds a strong reputation for your firm is essential. You may consider making a community outreach program or coordinating events to promote the firm's services.
Building a strong brand and reputation is an integral part of accounting firm growth strategies and will help the firm gain the trust of potential clients and stay ahead of the competition.
Developing specialised service offerings
As accounting firms strive to remain competitive and stand out in a crowded marketplace, developing specialised services may be worth considering as part of key growth strategies for accounting firms.
Whether providing specialist expertise in areas such as tax planning, business advisory services, industry-specific tax guidance, or something else, many firms that capitalise on their clients' specific needs will help differentiate themselves from competitors and increase profits.
Moreover, specialising in your accounting services can help grow your accounting firm by bringing team members together to collaborate and develop meaningful long-term accountant-client relationships, maximising the potential for referral business.
Managing your client relationships
Client relationship management and retention are vital to the success of an accounting firm's growth strategy.
Fostering strong relationships with existing clients, building new relationships and retaining clients are all essential aspects of accounting firm growth strategies.
Building trust with clients is crucial and should be a priority in your accounting firm's growth strategy to ensure they stay with the firm and continue recommending them to others.
Keeping in touch with clients through client management software can help build on the relationship and show clients that they are valued.
The ultimate growth strategy will ensure your clients have a positive experience, and they will stay with the business for the long term.
For more on this topic, check out mastering client relationships for accounting practices.
Rethinking your marketing strategies
With the growth of the accounting industry, accounting firms must focus on effective marketing to ensure continued success.
While some accountants and bookkeepers opt for traditional marketing and advertising techniques, many are now adopting more modern approaches, such as content marketing. This can include creating a website and social media accounts, creating content on industry developments and trends, and even using digital advertising such as Google Ads to reach a wider audience.
Building relationships with potential clients through networking events, education seminars, and online forums also provides an extended reach of the business's offerings.
Furthermore, you should consider implementing lead nurturing programs as part of firm strategies to keep contacts in sales pipelines up to date and ensure that potential clients are aware of the services offered by the accounting firm.
Check out Marketing for Accountants, our guide to improving brand recognition and reaching prospective clients.
Think through your talent acquisition strategy
For any accounting firm looking to expand its operations or increase its service offering, recruiting talented staff is vital to an accounting firm's growth strategy.
Talented accounting professionals can be hard to find, causing accounting firm growth challenges for those looking to recruit from a limited area or pool of potential candidates. Several factors have caused recruitment challenges for accounting businesses, including:
- Unemployment rates in Australia have been trending lower since the downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A highly competitive market – an oversaturation of roles compared to the number of accounting job applications.
- Rising inflation and cost of living affect candidates' salary expectations.
- Visa changes and a shortage of skilled accounting professional migrants.
- There is an increasing demand for flexible working arrangements, including working from home.
- A lack of accounting tools and technology to retain top accounting candidates, such as accounting practice management software.
- The reluctance for accounting practices to hire inexperienced but educated candidates.
With a shrinking pool of qualified talent at their disposal, working out an accounting firm growth strategy will include ways you can attract and retain the best accounting job talent, including competitive salary packages and working towards a positive working environment. Gaining a reputation in the field as a desirable workplace can result in a steady pipeline of talented and enthusiastic accounting professionals looking to join the business.
To read more about talent acquisition, check out our article: overcoming recruitment challenges for your accounting firm.
Investing in learning and development for practice staff
At an accounting firm, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) enables accountants to stay updated with the latest changes in the industry, build their knowledge, develop their professional skills, and help market penetration.
As an accountancy firm grows, so does the need for ongoing learning and development that provides accountants with the support and resources they need to keep pace with the market.
Investing in CPD activities will help an accounting firm's growth strategy indirectly by ensuring that the firm is always maintaining top-notch standards and staying ahead of the competition.
Accountants must complete a minimum of 20 CPD points each year, with 120 required over three years. For more on CPD requirements, please read the best free CPD resources for accountants.
Focus on hiring an experienced workforce
Hiring experienced accountants will maximise the efficiency of your accounting firm's growth strategy as they will be used to handling complex tasks efficiently and accurately. With improved productivity in your accounting firm, you'll be enhancing chances for your accounting firm to grow and succeed.
Investing in an experienced workforce may include outsourcing your accounting services to stay ahead of the competition. To learn more about accounting outsourcing, read our article: accounting outsourcing vs. hiring an accountant.
Diversifying your offering
In the current competitive landscape for many accounting firms in Australia and New Zealand, you must do market research on your offerings and innovate if necessary. This is essential to the most effective strategies for accounting firm growth.
Branching out into related areas of expertise in the future is an accounting firm growth strategy that can help widen your client base and increase your exposure to a whole new market.
Not only can you develop new client relationships, but you can also appeal to your current customers by offering additional services to meet their needs. With this approach, the scope of the accounting business can be broadened, and your firm can become more attractive to new markets.
Embracing technology and automation
Technology and automation have been integral parts of accounting firm growth strategies since the dawn of the digital age. With ever-changing tax codes and legislation, automation through accounting practice management software can help save clients' money and accounting firms' time.
Embracing accounting practice management software will help scale your operations and contribute to accounting firm growth. Best-in-class practice management solution directly feeds into your accounting firm productivity and profitability. For example, it will include workflow management software that ensures your team is aligned to the same goals, client management software that will help you take your accountant-client relationships to a new level, time and billing software that enables you to plan your team's capacity and reporting and insights that will give you new opportunities to be proactive in your decision-making.
Accounting automation means accounting teams can focus on more valuable work to create trust and loyalty between firms and clients. As accounting firms strive to increase efficiency and provide better service to their clients, automation can help them maximise their resources and improve their bottom line.
Here are just a few ways accounting automation is currently utilised within accounting practice software:
- Online calendar and appointments
- Text message reminders
- General ledger
- Marketing automation
- Automating workflows
- Invoicing and billing
To learn more about practice management software and how it can help grow your accounting firm, look at our article: Why do you need accounting practice management software?
Your accounting firm growth strategy starts here
We hope our article has provided you with ideas for ultimate growth strategies for your accounting firm.
Remember that your accounting firm's growth strategy should be well-planned and aligned with your firm's vision and resources if it wants to survive in a competitive industry. Successful accounting firms will need to regularly review and evaluate their accounting firm growth strategy to ensure it speaks to current market trends, customer feedback, and performance.
The Access Group provides smart and scalable solutions that can help accelerate accounting firm growth. With a cloud-enabled accounting practice management software solution, staff can work from anywhere, which means you can scale as you grow by hiring new staff from interstate or even abroad.
Talk to a specialist about how to grow your accounting practice with best-in-class, powerful accounting practice management software.