by MHolland | Mar 25, 2021 | Cloud-based Accounting
The last 7 years has seen an explosion in cloud-based software…
Not everyone has fully grasped what this has made available.
What small businesses (and by small I mean up to $100 million in sales) have to choose from now is spectacular.
It is the realization of a dream.
A dream you say? Come on, you are an accountant!
A 1999 Prophesy
Yes, a dream. I will never forget a conversation I had– way back in the old days of 1999. This was when I first had the vision of serving our clients in the cloud.
A man said to me – “Mark, the true power of the emerging internet is not social media. It will be the speed that you can process financial transactions”.
That stuck with me. Well, speed, I have come to learn is not exactly the true breakthrough of the net.
The breakthrough is automation.
Let me explain.
The Evolution
Back in the day (ha-ha) of the 90s, software for small business had evolved to a pretty high level. QuickBooks desktop started as a tool for simple businesses like trade contractors. As it evolved more and more features were added. Businesses with sales volumes of $10-20 million would use QuickBooks.
Even uber-big software programs designed as ERP systems for mega businesses did not have some of the cool features built-in to little, old Quickbooks.
In other words, there was a gap. Boring, featureless software that could handle huge transaction volumes on the one hand. And very inexpensive, feature-rich software that could do lots. The kicker was that they would shake off the rails under higher transaction loads.
Here is what was handicapping software developers…
…the architecture.
A Design Flaw
Let us go back to 1999. You find a good accounting package like QuickBooks. You need a powerful inventory management system. Throw in a super-cool CRM package. Dang, these were not available inside QuickBooks.
So, you shop around for those. Problem number 1 – you would not be able to find a great inventory package that would run independent of QuickBooks.
And here is the kicker…
…no software talked to each other in those days of old just 20 years ago.
Why? Each software company kept their code private and proprietary.
What did you do then? You shopped for an enterprise-level software that did it all. Inventory management. Customer relationship management. Sales order entry.
There is the problem with that. No software can ever be, nor will ever be good at all things. It will have one, maybe two great strengths. Everything else will suck.
Worse, it will be a highly specialized system with less customers and the response time for support will be high.
Customization costs will be astronomical.
The Cloud Breakthrough
Then…along…comes…cloud-based software…
And the dream of software talking to each other beautifully, seamlessly, accurately was born.
This is the current world we live in – a hyper-specialized world where you can buy software that does one tiny function. But here is the cool thing – what happens when you get hyper-specialized?
You get really, really expert at that one thing.
And the proprietary problem mentioned above? Gone. Disappeared. Almost all small accounting packages have open APIs. What is an API? An Application Program Interface.
In simple terms, they let other software programs enter in! Now, software programmers could write a cool, specialized software program and hook into Xero or QuickBooks Online!
The result? It turned basic accounting, although very functional and cool programs like Xero into 800-pound gorillas!
I will illustrate an example of where we are at for a typical small business. This is not exaggerated. It is real.
A Real Life Example
We have clients with 9 separate software programs that together function as a well-oiled machine:
- At the core and heart of it all, a basic online accounting for reporting, accounts payable, accounts receivable
- Online payroll software that connects to (1)
- Inventory management system that tracks unlimited inventory items, in multiple warehouses, in multiple currencies, able to track lot numbers, do drop shipments, cost in real-time, and on and on. This connects seamlessly to (1) above;
- Online order entry system for customers to order products connecting to (3) above;
- Approval software that routes incoming vendor bills to department heads for approval. It too talks politely to number (1);
- Software that chases accounts receivable resulting in fast turnover of accounts receivable. This one connects to (1) above;
- Online bill payment software connecting to (1) above;
- Document extraction software doing basic data entry, connecting to (1) above;
- Finally, stunning month-end reporting package connecting to (1) above. Oh, and it does rolling 3-way, 36-month forecasting. (Message me if you want to know what a 3-way forecast is).
Oh, wait, I can hear your objections! I do not want 9 separate pieces of software! I do not care how nicely they talk to each other! That looks complicated and unwieldy!
Sorry to be blunt. You are wrong. I will tell you why.
What is the Alternative?
The alternative is this. Finding a software vendor – could be cloud-based – that does all of that in one simple package! Be super cool, right?
No. no. no. It is not. It is not because firstly, that software will not do each of those functions well. Number two, it will be way, way more expensive. And number 3 it will become super-expensive as you ask for customizations for things the software above will do. And do much better.
The architecture is all wrong. The thinking is all wrong. It is not where we have evolved to. It is backwards thinking. In the old days – the 1990s – you had to do this. Remember, the software in the pre-cloud days, did not communicate at all, let alone nicely.
If you want a fourth reason, here it is. What happens when that custom, Mr. Big Software Package fails? You have everything in one basket.
However, if one piece of that 9-item software suite fails, you only need to focus on one piece of your business.
Another objection I hear is cost. I hear people say, “I only pay $450 a year for QuickBooks desktop. I do not want to pay for 9 pieces of software!”
The good news is some of the software above is free when you use Xero. That would be the document extraction. Others are super low cost. As in, $25/month. The one doing all the heavy lifting will likely be the inventory management system. That is more expensive, yes. However, compared to a full-blown, all-in-one ERP system it is ultra-low-cost.
What We Do
But here is what you must know. The level of automation, and cost savings are radical. And the 9-suite software system mentioned above becomes very, very inexpensive. There is a catch…
(Warning. Warning. Beep. Beep. Commercial coming. Ok, you have been warned). You need someone who will setup the automation for you in a way that takes advantage of all the features available in the cloud software out there. Someone who will not only impeccably set it up. They will train you and co-manage with you. If needed they will run the whole thing for you. That would be us, at ControllershipPLUS.
Breath. Commercial is over.
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Feb 25, 2021 | Selling Tips
What is the greatest thing in your business? The tools you use?
Nobody Cares What Tools You Use
Imagine you are a home builder. And, you have the absolute best tools in that industry. You have the Triple A, skookum, best-in-class power widget tools out there.
Maybe you have custom tools that no one in your industry even heard of.
Does your customer care?
No.
Sorry. No.
I can prove it. A guru home builder has the ability to make you a stunning home with a hammer, and handsaw. You see where this is going, don’t you?
It is so easy to make this mistake, though.
I do it all the time. When we started our amazing, skookum, best-in-class outsourced, online, fixed-fee accounting service 20 years ago, NO ONE was doing it.
We developed custom scanning/upload software to do it.
We were immensely proud of that, and our custom servers, and dual monitors (at a time when most considered that wasted screen real estate). So…we…talked…about…our Cool Tools.
We signed up clients, but not because of our cool tools.
Nobody Cares How Great Your Team Is
Ok, so you zip your lip on the cool tool topic. Great!
Do you think your customers/prospects want to know how amazing and skilled and peachy your Team is?
I could talk about our amazing Team for hours. Why? Well, they are simply amazing. And I am proud of them.
Prospects do not care. Why not?
They do not know them like you do. You might as well talk about how cute your children are!
They do not care. Sorry.
Nobody Cares About your Systems, Features, Price, How Long You Have Been in Business…
You can tell that headline could be 9 miles long, right?
This blog could have been one sentence long. Nobody cares – gives 2 cents – about you, or your business.
That is really the truth, isn’t it?
Selling is exactly like dating.
The person you are interested in dating is not interested in anything about you. Yet. That will come.
They want to know what difference dating you will make in their life. What experiences you will bring. The fun. The joy. The laughter. The romance. The future. The children. Ok, you get the idea…
Prospects Have One Thing. And They Are Looking to You for One Thing Only
Prospects have a problem. In many cases they do not know they have a problem.
Your job is to uncover it. Your job is to be the solution.
Talking about the tools you use, the Terrific Team you have, or any other feature is of zero interest to them.
They need to hear you say exactly what their problem is. They want you to say it in a way they can hear it. (They may be embarrassed about their “problem”).
You have to find their pain.
Empathetically.
Because emotions are involved. They want to feel great about their decisions.
Great selling can be summed up as:
- Find their problem
- Find their pain
- Be the solution that makes them feel excited
Do you never talk about your great Tools, Team, and Techniques?
If they ask. But keep it short and focused on the results/solution you will bring to resolve their pain and have them feel excited again.
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Feb 18, 2021 | Remote Work
Man ‘o man, I love it when big companies get it right. As in mega-companies. Think “380,000 employees mega”.
Who is the mega-company that just got it right?
Siemens.
And what exactly did they get right?
Two crucially important things “managing” remote workers (I hate that word when used with people).
Here is what they got massively right…
Outcomes versus Hours
Empower people to produce outcomes. Do not pay them by the hour.
Hmmm, been saying that for years and years. Sorry for this…and, oh well, I just have to shout this out – “I TOLD YOU SO!!!”
Trust
Trust that people want to excel. They want to do great work. If not, do you really want them working for you by the hour?
Good point, right?
Let them produce the outcomes with their methods and using flex-time. (With the exception of some remote work that may be “emergency driven”).
Here is the blog:
The Best Two Sentence Remote Policy Ever
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Feb 10, 2021 | Remote Work
This pandemic has forced a lot of people to work from home…but…wait…why…is…this…happening…
I took an in-depth look at recruitment ads over the last few weeks.
There are a lot of companies looking for Controllers, Senior Accountants, and bookkeepers.
The shocking thing is how many want someone to – still, in these days – drive to work.
At best, I have seen the words, “temporarily remote”. Huh?
Is this a control thing? Or “hey we have such an amazing culture; we want you to come to our office and share in the joy” thing?
A lot of work has to be done away from home, at a workplace. I get that.
But accounting?
We have been working for over 20 years, “in the cloud”, virtually, without paper. It works better. It is more effective, and our Team produces better results working in a comfortable home space.
There are so many benefits to working from home. Let us look at 3 types. For the worker. For the business. And for the environment.
Benefits for The At-Home Worker
No commute. This can be a huge amount of extra time for your family or just to get more done.
No dress code. You can work in your housecoat, or whatever you prefer.
No lunches out. This can save a lot of money, time, and eating at home can be much healthier!
No commute means less wear and tear on your car, and no gas. Maybe you now only need one car. Now there is a savings!
Coffee or tea or snacks when you want with no one watching. Coffee is always better when made at home.
Flex-time. Often you can work different hours – sleep in and work late.
You can take your kids to school and pick them up.
Working from home is definitely much better for your kids in every possible way!
Benefits for the Business
Happy workers means less turnover. The savings here are amazing. No re-training costs. No severance pay.
More productive workers. Happy workers, creating their own unique at-home bubble, will get more done.
Giving a benefit that people really want will increase loyalty.
Benefits for the Environment
No driving to work. This clearly is a positive impact on our planet! Less emissions, no clogged roads.
Paperless – at our company, we do not print cheques, or use paper. Everything is online, virtual, and paperless. Less trees to cut down to make paper is a good thing. Ask a tree.
Less chance of bad accidents when weather conditions are grim. Hey, this is Canada, with ice and snow, and it can get slippery out there.
In Summary
Kindly consider your people – who in your business is a knowledge worker? Consider that they will get more done at home, be happier, and stay with you longer. All this is not only good for them, and saves you money, the earth will love you for it!
Thanks for reading…
by MHolland | Feb 3, 2021 | Business Tips
We have all heard the saying, “what you can measure, you can manage?”. It is over-used to the point of being cliché…
Yet, it is true. The challenge is – what to measure?
Start with this – focus on the activities that produce results.
There are two things we must measure – activities and results.
Activities are real-time, happening now, and controllable.
Results are after-the-fact, past based, and non-controllable.
Wayne Gretzky could not control how many goals he got per game. He could, for the most part, control how many shots he took on goal.
You get the difference.
What are Your Business Activities That Lead to Great Results?
What is your strategic purpose?
To grow?
To grow you need a pipeline.
Ok, here is a starting point. Measure your referral rate. Do you know what it is?
Here are some interesting facts –
70% of all new business for service-based businesses comes from referrals…
…and clients are responsible for 30-60% of those referrals.
The simple act of asking for referrals can result in a 9% increase in referrals. Wow!
But do you ask?
Who is Making the Referrals and Why?
Once you know this, you can put a system in place to increase it.
How Much do you Currently Spend on Advertising?
Before you spend another dollar on advertising, find out where your customers are coming from.
How much exactly do you spend?
What is your per client cost of acquisition?
A Few More Probing Questions
What do your clients think of you?
What is your attrition rate?
How frequently do your customers come back to do business with you?
How frequently do you write to your clients – particularly just to say thank you?
What is Your Turnaround Time on Sales Calls and Leads?
Here is an interesting study…
A while ago, a company called Performark mailed in thousands of responses to ads for goods and services costing at least $5,000.
You would think the price tag alone would be enough to trigger a quick response!
Hmmmm, well, not really. It took on average 58 days for a response. 25% of enquiries went unanswered.
Only 1 in 8 requests triggered a follow-up sales call. That call came 89 days – on average – after the initial enquiry.
Two More Activities to Measure
How are we creating new customers?
How do we ensure they keep coming back?
Keep this in mind – a 5% increase in customer retention can cause a 25-85% increase in profitability.
To Summarize
Know your acquisition costs per customer/client.
Know where you are getting quality leads from.
Focus and expand on what is working.
Follow up on enquiries fast.
The old adage “what you can measure you can manage” becomes, “measure the right things to get the results you are seeking”.
Lastly, remember this – you cannot control results, only activities…
What activities will you start tracking?
Thanks for reading…
