Creating a satisfying work environment involves examining the services that your firm offers. To determine the right blend of service offerings, you can begin by focusing on fundamentals, such as which clients you want to serve and how you want to serve them.
To help meet these needs, the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) offers a toolkit, and experts share insights about right-sizing your client base in a Small Firm Philosophy podcast episode and an on-demand webcast, “Smart Service Strategies: Refining Your Offerings for a Happier Team, Delighted Clients, and Better Profits.”
Right-sizing your client base will benefit your staff.
When you scrutinize your client base, you may find that you are serving clients that are not a good fit.
Common negative indicators include clients who:
Are unpleasant to deal with or that push back on fees
Repeatedly miss firm deadlines or force your team to chase down necessary documents
Fall into a small industry or service area that is not a particularly profitable one for your firm and that is not a strategic priority
Provide limited opportunities for additional services or business referrals
When you “break up” with such clients, you can:
Address staff capacity issues and retention
Reduce workload compression and burnout
Make it possible to maximize advisory opportunities
Enhance profitability
Expand professional growth options
Allow the firm to devote more time and mental energy to its clients
Right-sizing clients is easier when you understand the financial impact.
The PCPS Revenue Modeling Toolkit will help you understand the effect of lost revenues and how best to offset revenue loss with strategies such as raising rates, adding services for clients, and growing your client base. Making big changes can seem scary, but to help your firm move forward in the right direction, answer these questions:
Who is our ideal client?
What services will we provide?
How will we price services?
Are we able to exceed expectations or are we simply delivering services?
Are firm leaders trusted advisers to our clients?
Are we appropriately training staff to be trusted advisers?
Sandy Johns, CPA, founder of Revolution Financial and chair of a PCPS networking group, decided it was time to end relationships with clients when she found herself feeling stretched too thin. In the Small Firm Philosophy podcast episode, "A revolution in 'right-sizing' a client base," Johns described how her four-person firm in Decatur, Georgia, ultimately decided to eliminate one-off tax engagements and switch to a subscription model. She was able to raise rates and establish a floor for fees, making it easier to screen new clients who weren’t right for the firm.
You can set your own pace for small firm transformation.
Johns called her right-sizing effort “the single best decision in my professional life.”
Though sorting through clients can be an emotional task, she urges CPAs not to put it off; because Johns felt like she waited too long to make the change, she was not able to take the proper time to sell the parts of the business.
Johns found great benefit in engaging with her peers. When it came to the stress she was feeling before she transformed her firm, she noted, “They were experiencing the same struggle.” And she advised, “Don’t stay in your silo.”
The good news for small firms is that transformation takes many forms — you can follow whatever pace suits your firm.
You’ll notice benefits once you’ve questioned why things are done a certain way, which clients are best for your practice, and which services your firm will offer.
After her firm’s transformation, Johns noted, “My zest for life returned and my passion for the profession was renewed.”
In the November webcast “Smart Service Strategies: Refining Your Offerings for a Happier Team, Delighted Clients, and Better Profits,” Carrie Steffen, CPA, discussed strategies for driving firm growth, improving employee engagement, and delivering greater value to clients. Firm leaders can emphasize what’s best for their staff by answering questions such as:
What brings us joy?
How can we do less and actually deliver more?
What do we want to do for clients?
In addition to the webcast, explore additional resources to access on-demand:
PCPS Transforming Your Business Model landing page
Engage365, a place to chat with other PCPS members
About AICPA Small Firms and the Private Companies Practice Section
Small firms are an integral part of the accounting profession, and the AICPA is dedicated to providing resources and support to our sole practitioner and small firm members. You can access Small Firm Solutions articles, plus other resources, on the Small Firms Hub, and we welcome your suggestions or feedback for the AICPA Small Firms team.
The Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) is an opportunity to join an exclusive team of AICPA members to share insights and best practices with peers. Contact team PCPS.
Further, you are invited to join a networking group; for more information, please send an email by clicking on the applicable link below:
Small Firm Networking Groups (sole practitioners and firms with up to 10 CPAs)
Medium Firm Networking Groups (11–20 CPAs)
Large Firm Networking Group (more than 20 CPAs)