How Freelance Accountants Can Add Even More To Their Value

April 21, 2021

Understand their business

Now, accountants need to be careful about specializing too much, as generalizing can help them cast a wider net for more clients. However, getting to learn more about your client’s business through the consultation stage and building on your experience to showcase your understanding of specific industries can make you seem like the much better-suited choice in the eyes of many of your clients.

Get to grips with the software

While no software can do the job of an accountant as well as an accountant, it’s important to get to know the tools that your clients have been relying on before you. First of all, the same accounting software tools can help you streamline your own workload. However, it can also help you develop a sense of consistency when you’re working with tools that your clients understand.

An office worker

Keep on learning

The landscape of accounting, especially in how you manage taxes for clients, is not stationary. In fact, it’s likely to change over the years, which is why it’s important to keep up with your training. Look at courses like https://www.tri-merit.com/tax-training-and-cpe/ can help ensure that you stay up to date and refresh your skills. When you start getting complacent, you start falling behind and, what’s more, lose your grasp of the skills and education you already have.

Soft skills matter too

It’s not all about your technical proficiencies. You also have to consider just how easy it is for clients to work with you. Ensuring you have the communication skills to work on their level is important, as is your ability to follow a schedule, keep to appointments, and to actively listen and respond to their needs.

Be a boon to your client

Finally, the level of personal service you can offer alongside your accounting services is going to play a big role in how successful you are. Don’t forget that you’re not just a service, you’re a professional individual that your clients should feel safe in relying on. One of the better ways to do this is to use CRM tools like those shown at https://www.teamoutpost.com/blog/best-accounting-crm-software/ to make sure you’re staying in touch with clients, as well as always working on helping leads get to the next step in the conversion process.

With the tips above, you can stay competitive, relevant, and, most importantly of all, valuable to your clients. That’s the only thing that is going to matter in the end. What you do is important, but you need to make sure you’re able to keep doing it in the most satisfactory way possible.

Mark Asquith

That British podcast guy, Mark is co-founder of Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast host. A Harvard, TEDx, Podcast Movement and Podfest speaker (amongst many more!), he's a wildly approachable Brit and Star Wars/DC Comics geek.

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