The modern practice: Four software mistakes to avoid Jackeline Velez, Senior Account Manager Houston Beautiful accounting software

Jackeline Velez Beautiful accounting software Senior Account Manager, Houston Beautiful accounting software

practices participated 2017-2018 Xero Partner Benchmarking Series ANIMATION HAPPENS AUTOMATICALLY AFTER TRANSITION 17-18 - 5500 - lose the other numbers add a star or Xero dot for the locations 5500 practices participated

90% of Xero subscribers are connected to an advisor Connecting equals success 23% net profit increase when a business is connected to an accountant Xero’s mmission is so to Small businesses accountants 90% of Xero subscribers are connected to an advisor

NURY SAENZ – H&R Block Franchisee, Enrolled Agent “Adding advocacy to my practice has had a big impact on client retention…and, I’m getting paid for the value of my knowledge. Advisory services is the true definition of value: where knowledge meets technology.” NURY SAENZ – H&R Block Franchisee, Enrolled Agent

“Things like royalties can get really complicated for musicians “Things like royalties can get really complicated for musicians. I like to be able to take a really complex problem and to be able to boil it down, and explain it to the client so they understand it - and they’re able to make good business decisions based on that.” TATE HENSHAW - Xero Gold Partner

“I would rather face root canal surgery with no anesthetic than do bank reconciliations…” DEVAN SABARATNAM

Accountants have learned through experience that the easy and intuitive choice is very often the wrong choice

Mistake one: We will try online with a couple of clients, then decide if online works for us

Impact on revenue growth 10.6% 8.3% 13.4% 15.1% 4.8% 0-5 6-35 36-99 100-299 300+ clients online

small businesses switched accountants in 2017 ANIMATION AUTOMATICALLY HAPPENS AFTER TRANSITION 390,000 in 2017 full year 390,000 small businesses switched accountants in 2017

Number one reason clients leave: We signed on with an accountant who is an expert with online accounting and apps, and terminated our old accountant because they had fallen behind on technology.

Cost of not moving clients online Regretted client terminations 9-7% 3% 1.1% New clients 9.8 28.5 54.9 Revenue growth 4.8% 10.6% 15.1% Pay raises 0.6% 5.5% 2.8%

Mistake two: The talk about advisory services is over-hyped

Full advisory services What is the opportunity? ANIMATION STARTS ON CLICK $6450 Full advisory services Basic services $1875

Average revenue per client +$1800 $6450 ANIMATION WILL HAPPEN AFTER TRANSITION WITH A 2 sec DELAY BETWEEN EACH COLUMN Virtual CFO +$1250 Payroll +$1525 Full Advisory & Compliance Bookkeeping $1875 Accountancy $1875 $3400 $4650 $6450 $6450

Mistake three: Focusing first on easy to implement software versus strategic foundational software

The not-so-good firms start with ‘popular’ apps that avoid touching their core systems Project tracking Realtime messaging Task tracking CRM Social marketing

The best performing accounting firms start with practice apps that deliver efficiencies Automated data extraction Online practice management Online compliance workflow Automated payables Automated client comms Financial analysis and forecasting

Mistake four: We let our clients choose and therefore support many online platforms

Multiple systems escalate costs

ANIMATION STARTS AFTER TRANSITION, CLICKING IS REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH SPEECH BUBBLES I keep my receipts in shoeboxes I use spreadsheets to do my figures I use a desktop accounting platform I like using invoicing apps I prefer online accounting

Mistake Four: The best performing firms define their client engagement models and then fit clients to their design Innovators Early adopters Early majority Early majority Late majority Laggards

Four mistakes Four solutions Stick to desktop, try 3 clients Be strategic, ensure scale Stay with compliance for now Build a plan, it takes time Adopting low hanging fruit Tackle the core functional apps first Supporting everything Stick to 3, max

Single ledger, data & docs Different by design Born in the cloud, seamless app integration, unlimited users, customized reporting Xero Xero HQ Single ledger, data & docs Connected apps Xero HQ apps

Firms are moving online quickly ANIMATION STARTS ON CLICK 2017 2015 Optional Essential 2019

Actions It’s easy to start Join the Xero community. We will share the best way to get started. It’s easy to start Let Xero help, call us anytime…

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