As a trained accountant, you should know that there is no such thing as “the perfect client.” That’s why you are always ready to anticipate complications while serving the needs of your clients. Now, it can be due to improper communication, or just a general inability of the individual to understand the principles associated with accounting. Then again, you’re always willing to share your wisdom. So, how can you convince a traditional client that he/she must use modern accounting systems today?
Do you have one or a group of clients who can’t see how modern accounting systems can benefit their companies? As an accountant, you know that no client is “perfect.” Despite this fact, you always anticipate the complications that you have to face while catering to the needs of any business. Whether it’s about inept communication, or a general inability of the client to contemplate the principles of accounting, specialists like you are always willing to share their knowledge. Then again, the so-called “traditional client” often intimidates hundreds of accountants from all over the world. These specialists know that their conventional patrons don’t use an online invoicing application that can solve multiple problems.
Traditional clients come in a variety of forms, apart from the ones who abhor the online invoicing application and other similar systems. Some of these clients appear right before the year-end tax deadline with a carton full of paper invoices and receipts. These business owners rely on their accountant entirely. They do little to no accounting work themselves. The situation is a precarious one, and it can jeopardize both the business owner and the accountant’s position. After all, the problems presented by these traditional clients go deeper than just last-minute work. These people aren’t compatible with the efficient ways of working used by most accountants of today who rely on cloud-based solutions for their practice.
The main problem with having a traditional client is that he/she would resist embracing any form of technology. In short, they don’t want to change their processes. They won’t do it even if they know that their processes hamper the effectiveness of accounting, or that they’re wasting time due to inefficient administrative methods. The worst part is that you may have to handle someone who doesn’t even realize these problems.
However, accountants are willing to share their wisdom with their clients, as already mentioned earlier. So, here are a few things that you can do to usher your traditional client into the modernized world of accounting.
#1. Those who aren’t tech-savvy:
Indeed, some of your clients will whine and complain that they aren’t tech-savvy even if they use a smartphone and have social media accounts on almost every social media platform. According to researchers[1], around 93% of households in Western Europe have access to smartphones. Also, your client is one of those 2.41 billion Facebook users[2]. Now, using a smartphone or operating a social media profile isn’t challenging as operating an invoice app. The best way to introduce such a system to your client is to provide an initiation point for any discussion of modern accounting from both practical and philosophical viewpoints. Since your client is already using technology, he/she should be able to contemplate the benefits that it will bring. Why shouldn’t the individual step things up a bit and utilize technology for business accounting? Your client can simply download an app and sign up for a free trial without paying anything.
#2. Those who underestimate their company:
Some of those traditional clients have no idea what cloud accounting systems are how they can be useful. As a result, they believe that their company isn’t compatible with it. If you have to help such a client, then you have to understand and even respect the person’s existing solution during the early steps. Only then you can negotiate the terms of embracing technological enhancements with the client. You are aware of the fact that a spreadsheet has always been effective in ingenuously implementing double-entry bookkeeping with clever tax calculation formulae added in. However, it isn’t the best solution, especially after the government made it mandatory for businesses to pay taxes digitally. An excellent way to kick-start a meaningful discussion would be to focus on the way modern technology builds upon age-old tactics while improving and refining all the processes instead of replacing them.
#3. Those who believe that their methods are good enough:
You’ll face the most number of challenges when you have to woo a client who says that his/her tactics have always been effective. You won’t be able to put a sound argument forward because their point is just too good. Then again, there are ways to help these people understand and acknowledge the benefits of using an invoice app. For that purpose, you need to be patient and take a step-by-step approach with such a person. Let them explain all the tasks they do. Your job would be to figure out why they want to stick with their methods. As you dig into the history, you can showcase your empathy and understanding while explaining why these tactics don’t work anymore. If your client has employees, then you must include them in the discussion. Find out everything about their pain points and ascertain what they need.
Final words
Of course, you’ll need a bit of Lady Luck’s favor even if you resort to the strategies given here. A negligible amount of good fortune would go a long way in helping your clients realize the necessity of modernizing their business companies by using technology, especially if they want to stay in the game in today’s competitive world.
