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How accountants lose clients

February 4th, 2009 by

Bear with me, this one needs a little bit of background info…

As well as our award winning software for small businesses, we have a product for accountants: the KashFlow Partner Programme.  It offers a whole raft of benefits that I wont go in to here.

When we speak to our SME customers we ask what their accountant thinks of KashFlow. If they don’t have an accountant then we try to match time up with an existing KashFlow Partner accountant. If they have an accountant that isn’t a KashFlow Partner we ask for permission to get in touch with the accountant to introduce them to our Partner Programme.

Usually the accountant is happy to have a free demo of the software. They already know it’s suitable to their client base as one of their clients is already using it and has often said good things about it to the accountant.

Quite often the accountant goes on to join our Partner Programme and everyone is happy. Sometimes they don’t.  Fair enough. Not everyone can see how brilliant the software is and how much use it’d be in their practice.

Occasionally, the accountant gets incredibly snotty, doesn’t even give us the time of day and tells us where to shove it. Again – fair enough. We have no right to take up his time.

So, we’re then back on to the SME who referred the accountant in the first place. “Sorry, he wasn’t interested” we say.

“Oh well,” says Mr Business Owner ” Can you put me in touch with an accountant that is on your Partner Programme?”

The SME wants an accountant that’s familiar with the software they use and sees the mutual benefit in it. Not one that insists on using a product that benefits the accountant but not the SME.

This isn’t a one-off. It happens very often. Simply by not keeping up with their clients needs, the accountant loses a client to a KashFlow Partner accountant.

We recently ran a small survey of our SME customers asking them about what features they’d like added. We asked them what they’d do if they had to choose between KashFlow and their existing accountant

76% of the respondents said they’d leave their accountant and keep KashFlow.

Food for thought?

If you’re interested in how the KashFlow Partner Programme can give you better control over your existing clients + many more benefits, request a free demo here.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Accounting, Technology, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://www.askm.co.uk Emily Coltman

    Hmmm… interesting one.

    When clients choose to leave their accountants because the accountant won’t do KashFlow, how long would you say the client has been with the accountant?

    Because I’m just wondering if clients who have only just started working with a particular accountant will move more readily than those who’ve been with that accountant a few years.

    Just curious.

    M

  • http://www.accountancyextra.co.uk Stuart Ramsay

    I’ve taken on two new clients in the last few months with exactly this scenario. The previous accountant was more interested in seeing how he could extract the data into his software than he was in helping the client reap the benefits of their preferred software.

  • http://www.kashflow.co.uk Duane Jackson

    Hi Emily,

    We don’t usually ask, I don’t think. I’m aware of cases where the client has been with the accountant for years and also other cases where it’s only months. So works both ways I guess.

    I don’t think having a client for a few years makes them less likely to leave. You’d need to be constantly upping your game and making sure you don’t get complacent.

    Duane

  • http://www.askm.co.uk Emily Coltman

    Hi Duane,

    I take your fair point – but it’s all about building a personal relationship with the client as well.

    If the client genuinely likes the accountant as a person (and vice versa) then they are less likely to walk.

    But an accountant with his/her head in the sand over new technology is going to lose clients because there’ll always be the “friend at the pub” who’s on KashFlow and talks about it…

    M

  • http://www.kashflow.co.uk Duane Jackson

    Oi, don’t asscociate KashFlow with the “friend in the pub” !!!

    He’s the guy that tells you you’ll get an HMRC inspection if you take a low wage, etc.

  • http://www.blevinsfranksaccountants.com/blog Phil Richards

    Interesting article thanks. We try and give clients choice and are happy to work with any accounting system. We work more with one piece of software and two online accounting systems, different reasons for different systems. The problem I see for me is that if I want to partner with KashFlow then I need to join the partner programme which has a fee, OK I only need about 8 clients to b/even, but that assumes that I resell at full price which is unlikely, but with such a growing array of different online accounting solutions, I would like to be available to most so client can choose. Although its difficult for us to really know all systems. So, in conclusion I would make it easier for accountants to work with you by having a lower cost accountants programme which you could grown into a partner. Maybe you already have but I am not aware of it….Anyway, some I do think some accountants like us are keen on systems like yours that make it easy for the client to keep good records. Makes our life easier too :-)

  • http://www.mattchedit.com/ Matt Chatterley

    To be fair, if someone who provides you wish a service is not able to flex a bit to provide that service in the way you require (within reason, of course) – then perhaps you should be looking at alternatives anyway..

    Short version of a long opinion!

  • http://www.wiltshireaccountants.co.uk Phil Hendy

    I have found the partner programme to be extremely beneficial to my business. Not only can you sell licences to clients but also non-clients or more importantly bookeepers with which I have affiliations. I am getting ever increasing interest in the software.

    As with anything though you have to be flexible to the clients needs and wants. If someone uses a different system then so be it. The best time to recommend is when they are starting up!


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