3 Common Client Management Mistakes That Bookkeepers and Accountants Make (and how to fix them!)
Heads up: I use affiliate links for my fave products. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
There are 3 common client management mistakes that I see bookkeepers and accountants make time and time again!
Having been a bookkeeper myself in addition to working with hundreds of other ambitious bookkeepers and accountants, I have seen three common client management mistakes come up ALL the time. Tell me if you can relate–
You are either managing your own bookkeeping or accounting practice and becoming quickly overwhelmed as you’re beginning to grow
OR
You are just starting out and the thought of not having a solid structure in place for your practice is enough to make you want to puke.
First of all, let me say if you are in either of these positions, you are not alone! I have made the mistakes I’m about to share with you myself, and I have hundreds of students who have been in the same position that you are in right now!
Luckily, today I will be going over each of the three common client management mistakes that I see AND the solutions that will help you to fix them!
Ready? Let’s dive in!
Client Management Mistake #1– You are constantly dropping the ball on tasks, deadlines and due dates
This one honestly makes me laugh because I can still vividly recall when this was 110% me. I went through a phase in my practice where I literally missed deadlines EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Not a highlight of my journey, but a necessary learning experience that I can now utilize to help you avoid ending up in the same place!
WHY you are making this mistake:
You rely on your memory to keep you on track, resulting in forgetting important deadlines and due dates
You haven’t clearly defined what needs to be done every day in order to complete the work
You overpromise, spread yourself too thin, and aren't clear on what actually needs to be done (aka not knowing your priorities)
You don’t know what needs to happen each day, so you just say yes to everything
Here’s how utilizing Asana can help!
Asana helps you to NEVER miss a deadline
You’ll wake up knowing EXACTLY what you need to be doing each day
You will feel in control and able to bring on staff to help you
You can easily access all important information about your clients
If you’ve never used Asana before, I actually have an entire blog dedicated to How to Setup Asana for Bookkeepers and Accountants! When you set it up correctly, this mistake will be one of the past!
Client Management Mistake #2– You’re reinventing the wheel everyday instead of creating structure within a system to drive things forward
There are times to try to be innovative and think outside of the box, and there are times to save that energy and creativity for other projects. This is one of those times where you’ll save yourself a lot of headache by taking advantage of a proven system that WORKS and has been proven again and again by hundreds of other bookkeepers and accountants!
WHY you are making this mistake:
You don’t have time to implement a sustainable system, and it’s easier to just wing it everyday
You’re unsure how a system can serve you, and even knowing that it could be helpful, you have no idea where to really start with one
You don’t really know how to setup a project management system like Asana to efficiently organize and tackle your tasks
You’re trying to organize yourself based on videos you found on YouTube that aren’t even tailored to the bookkeeping and accounting industry
Okay, first of all before we go any further, if you’re making this mistake I think you’ll find LOADS of value in my free guide (which IS tailored to bookkeepers and accountants BTW!) called 10 Simple Steps to Manage Your Practice with Asana. I’m dropping the sign up here for you so that it’ll be in your inbox and ready to go for you once you finish reading this blog!
Here’s how utilizing Asana can help!
Asana helps you keep all of your tasks and client information organized and in order
You have the ability to view your projects and workload in different ways in order to get it all done efficiently
You can build easy to use workflows that are easily duplicated and reused
After you set it all up once, all you need to do is maintain it and get to work!
Client Management Mistake #3– You lack clarity around your big goals and how they tie into the bigger picture of things
I talk a LOT about setting goals for your bookkeeping or accounting practice! In fact, I have an ENTIRE FREAKING BLOG POST around this topic! Check it out here!
Goals are critical in order for you to be able to set benchmarks for yourself in addition to keeping yourself motivated!
WHY you are making this mistake:
You’re not even sure what your goals should be or what can be done to drive your practice forward
You don’t even know where to list your goals or how to stay on top of them
You’re not even sure whom you want to serve and why
You’re stuck on how to tie your goals into the daily work
I used to be the person who didn’t set clear goals. Want to know how that turned out for me?
I had no clear direction. I was constantly feeling confused and overwhelmed.
I had no idea what services to offer or what services would make me the most money.
I didn’t know who I wanted to serve. I took on anyone just to make money without realizing the power of niching down.
I had no idea how to find clients.I had no plan and often just winged it.
So let’s take a look at the difference between setting CLEAR goals and just winging it.
WINGING IT
Filling your day with random tasks, just to keep busy
Wasting your time trying to figure out the next step that'll lead you in the right direction
Feeling like you're not working towards anything and not seeing any results
SETTING CLEAR GOALS
Clear end goal in mind
Your daily tasks align with what you're actually working towards
You have a clear action plan of what needs to be done on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis to drive your practice forward
You'll always know when you need to "push harder" or network more when you're not hitting your goals
See the difference? Setting goals is CRUCIAL to growing your practice and achieving the lifestyle you desire! Asana can easily help you to track your progress toward your goals and create a plan to make sure everything gets done that will help you to move the needle forward in your practice!
Inside of our signature program, Kickoff With Asana for Bookkeepers and Accountants, we have an entire section dedicated to goal setting and how to track and achieve your goals using Asana! Not to mention, you’ll join an entire community of ambitious bookkeepers and accountants who will help you to stay accountable! Hope to see you inside!
