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#THE BEANCOUNTER SOUTH AFRICA SOFTWARE#
Yet, when it comes to accounting, many practitioners still use legacy desktop software and transport data from and back to their clients on a flash drive, sometimes interrupting business for days. These days we shop, bank, socialise and even hail taxis online. Then spend more time on the 20% that brings in 80% of your sales. Do yourself a favour: run a Pareto analysis on your debtors, identify the 20% that causes 80% of your problems, and cut them loose. Or they’re just never happy, even with quality everyone else raves about.
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They demand the best service at a discount, but their account is always in 60 days. But not all clients are right for you and those who aren’t will quickly suck the energy and fortunes from your business. Keeping customers happy is worth every effort most of the time. Rather than worrying about how much income you’ll lose, think of how many grateful customers you’ll gain. Now it’s becoming the standard and your only option is to follow suit, so start switching over now. Some forward-thinking firms saw an opportunity early on and introduced fixed fees as their competitive advantage. They like knowing what they’ll pay upfront because nobody enjoys a bill loaded with unexpected charges. You can kick against it all you want but clients who have tasted fixed fee services won’t be coming back. If you haven’t heard, hourly billing is dead. Research those certainties and decide how you can start preparing for them today. Instead of fretting over what might happen in the unforeseeable future, I suggest that you rather focus on imminent changes we can expect over the next three years, by which time they’ll be considered the new normal. What’s different now? Sure, we know these developments will be disruptive, but we don’t even know when or to what extent. Some of you have weathered radical changes in the business environment for decades. Too many accountants worry about maturing technologies like Blockchain, AI and robotics stealing away their income. Here’s my advice for staying ahead of the curve. But I can say with great certainty that how you approach business this year will determine how successful you are. I can’t tell you exactly what 2018 has in store for you as a professional accountant.
#THE BEANCOUNTER SOUTH AFRICA HOW TO#
By : Marnus Broodryk, Founder of The Beancounter accounting firmĪbout the author : In addition to being a Professional Accountant (SA) and a member of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants, Marnus was asked in 2016 to participate in M-Net’s reality series Shark Tank South Africa and he hosts a weekly insert on kykNET’s Winslyn, where he shares advice and tips with aspiring and established entrepreneurs on how to start, manage and grow a business.
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