Outsourcing rake or 9 mistakes when opening an accounting business that any startup needs to know

When we launched the innovative accounting service , Finguru , our start was not perfect. But we managed to learn from our mistakes and want to share with you information about “how not to start a business”. This is an honest post, not only for other accounting services (which want to develop themselves or express a desire to cooperate with us), but also for all young IT companies.

Mistake 1. “Paper Monster” that eats your time

Working with documents is a responsibility. In our case, in general, the whole business is based on working with clients' documents - bills, invoices, contracts. At first, we kept the client's paper documents as the apple of our eye in our office until it became a serious inconvenience. First, the more papers, the more time is required to search for the necessary information in them. Secondly, we took on an additional function - the function of the archive, which did not bring any additional money. Simply put, the paper ate the main resource of the company - the time of employees.
The lesson we learned: you need to kill the "paper monster." In the XXI century, paper reduces productivity, but the use of electronic document management systems increases your productivity and helps the client.
Example: according to the nature of our activity, we constantly have to request certain documents from a client for a certain period of time. Of course, no one wants to go to an accountant several times a month to take a payment order. But to send it in electronic form is a matter of 2 minutes. Thus, the client does not postpone your requests indefinitely and you do not have to crash. Conclusion: encourage your customers to switch to electronic document management systems!

Mistake 2. “Avian language”, which is understandable only to your circle.

We are all experts in our field. And customers - in his. And just as we do not understand the professional terminology from the production of brass bushings, the same way the client knows most of the terms from the accounting department.
The lesson we learned: Speak in simple human language with the client, explain the processes in understandable words.
Example: when our managers told clients about Z-reports or quarterly VAT, customers began to ... feel uncomfortable)). And this is understandable: they want to do business, and all the “accounting tricks” are transferred to us. Then we began to say more simply: "Our specialist will calculate the amount of cash at your cash desk at the end of the day" or "We will send you the amount of tax you will have to pay this month."
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Error 3. Pathos advertising that does not work

Like many young companies, we burned at the very beginning with expensive and inefficient advertising. We spent a lot of money on billboards, advertising on vehicles and other outdoor advertising. All these "investments" turned into zilch. The best advertising is still a satisfied customer (so do your job well), but in order to get your first customer, choose a non-costly communication channel. Here is what we recommend:
1. Advertise in your region via the Yandex and Google Display Network and get hot clients. Make very clear announcements that explain what you offer.
2. Do not trust social networks too much (direct advertising is expensive there, and contests and practical jokes do not create sales).
3. Look for congenial partners with whom you can exchange information - from business cards and flyers in the office to banners on the site.
4. Write useful articles, press releases, in general - share with other news and knowledge.

Mistake 4. Tone of communication that can set the client against you

Once you have attracted a client, you need to keep him. And no matter how beautiful your service may be, a single word, said in an inappropriate tone, can ruin a relationship.
Example: we chose an open, friendly tone in customer communications. We did not want to be a strict, bureaucratic, conservative company. We communicated in simple language and sent customers polite letters of late payments. But one day we tightened the tone of the letter and even wrote a warning to one of the clients with SUCH LETTERS. As a result, we received an angry letter from him: “Don't shout at me!”. The next time we did not write warnings with “caps”, we still reminded of overdue payments and referred to the clauses of the signed agreement and legislative acts. It was polite and at the same time reasonable, without unnecessary emotions.
The lesson we learned: do not change the tone of communication with the client. Moreover, create a uniform communication tone for your company - it should be the same in the presentation of information on the website, in advertising, in emails, and in communication between the client manager and customers.
The second lesson we learned: find a balance in friendly communication. Make sure that the friendly tone does not turn into a friendly and familiar one. From this - a step to familiar relations that only harm your business.

Error 5. Attempting to solve the problem is not at your level, or give the opportunity to answer the head

Encourage managers to delegate some client problems to a senior. There are cases when the customer turns to the client manager with a seemingly simple question, but he is not ready to answer right now. Or is it generally outside its area of ​​expertise. But driven by the desire to help the client, the employee begins an independent search for this answer in Google, asking the opinions of colleagues instead of directly contacting their manager. As a result, both the client and the manager are wasted, and it’s not a fact that the “googled” answer would be correct.
Another situation where the manager needs to be involved is customer complaints. First, so you will understand where the company “failures”, and secondly, - let me know to the client that it is important to the company. A good algorithm for working with an angry client can be the following:
1. Ask him to state the essence of the claim in writing for the manager. As a rule, 70% of problems are solved at this level, since there is nothing special to write about: in fact, the service was rendered qualitatively.
2. Give the management the claims of those 30% who have found gaps in the work of the company and do not forget to thank them for the “audit”.
3. The response of the manager will show the client that his problem is important, she has been accepted into the work and such-and-such actions have been taken on it.

Error 6. Incomprehensible pricing

In the service, it is not always clear what makes up the price. Your task is to explain to the client as accurately as possible and in more detail what is the cost and why. And even better - to give him the opportunity to calculate the cost.
The lesson we learned: if the customer did not immediately form an unambiguous interpretation of the cost of services, then no matter how well you work, he will sincerely believe that he has been “cheated” somewhere.

Error 7. Uninstalled rules of the game

This item follows from the previous one. Immediately negotiate the list of services included in the tariff. But what to do when the work requires close interaction with the client or his training, and your tariff does not imply this? Answer: give the client the right tools and explain how to use them.
Example: cooperation with us suggests that the client should be able to use our electronic services. We solve this problem simply: send e-mail links to video tutorials, in which all the step-by-step instructions are given, after which we contact him and analyze the moments that he did not understand. Here the rule “it’s better to lose a day, then in 5 minutes we will reach.”

Error 8. Feel free to demand money.

This is a disease of all young companies. The company is so much afraid of losing customers that it allows them a long delay in payments. We were also like that, but at one point, we accumulated too much receivables.
The lesson we learned: if you are not ashamed of the service, why should you be shy to ask for money? In the end, you are not a charitable organization, but a commercial one, and a client who does not pay your bills is hindering your business.
How to solve the problem: after several cases of delay, we introduced a more rigid system of payments, and also stopped being shy to invoice with penalty. The payment situation has improved significantly.

Error 9. Lack of long-term feedback

Check the final result. For example, we submit the tax report of firm “A” to the tax office. But our final result is not reporting to the inspectorate, but informing the client that the documents have been accepted by this authority.
The lesson we learned: do not lose contact with the client, always keep him informed about the work on the project. We had cases where we worked closely on the customers' documents, but did not inform them about the progress of the work (they planned to report on the reports already sent and received), as a result of which customers began to call with the question “Have you forgotten about us”?
Inform your customers about how things are going. And if there are no intermediate results, tell them how your business works from the inside: unobtrusive letters and videos will make it clear that you have not forgotten about anyone.
The Finguru service wishes you to learn from the mistakes of others and less to make your own. Good luck to everyone in business!