When acquiring an Accounting practice, one of the highest priorities for Buyers is ensuring that the practice’s key assets—its staff and clients—are looked after during the transition and into the future. These long-standing relationships are crucial to the practice’s ongoing success, and maintaining trust and continuity with both clients and staff is key to achieving … Read more
At Abacus, we take a different approach to connecting Buyers and Sellers of Accounting practices. Unlike others that may simply advertise practices for sale or send out opportunities to a database, we believe in a more tailored and thoughtful process. Let me give you an example. A couple of months ago, we advised on the … Read more
As you consider the future of your Accounting practice, finding the right Buyer is likely at the forefront of your mind. You’ve spent years building strong relationships, nurturing your clients, and growing your business. When the time comes to sell, it’s important that your practice ends up in the right hands—someone who will value what … Read more
Remember Retiring Roger? He’s been contemplating retirement but found himself uncertain about the timing and process of selling his practice. Deciding when to sell your Accounting practice is a significant decision that can impact your financial future and personal well-being. Timing the sale correctly can maximise your returns and ensure a smooth transition. Knowing when … Read more
Recapping Roger’s Situation We’re revisiting Retiring Roger, now in his late 60s, who has been contemplating retirement. In our last update, we saw Roger longing for a lengthy holiday with his wife but struggling to find time to take even a few days off from the office, let alone a month. With an annual turnover … Read more
Over the last 18 months, we have advised on the sale of several Accounting firms in regional areas. Our direct approach to interested parties has been successful in every case, but we believe that metropolitan firms looking to expand through acquisition are missing opportunities. This blog explores why. Let’s explore why you should consider acquiring … Read more
Meet “Retiring Roger”. Now in his sixties, Roger stands at a pivotal moment contemplating retirement. Despite his longing for a substantial holiday with his wife, his demanding schedule makes it challenging to step out of the office, even for a brief respite. With an annual turnover of around $500k and a dedicated team, Roger encountered … Read more
Since our last update the Mergers & Acquisitions market for Accountants around Australia, we have assisted a number of firms in both selling their practice or acquiring/merging with firms that are a natural fit with their existing culture. At the outset, we would like to highlight that the market is buoyant, primarily led by the … Read more
Just over a year ago, we wrote a blog piece alerting that staff were a critical issue post-pandemic. We were aware of the increasing demand for quality staff and higher salaries, and some Practitioners we had spoken to were quite nervous. Fast forward 15 months, and what a time it has been! Now it’s rare … Read more
July 22 Its been quite an extraordinary past few years with Accountants as they, by and large, were: The result: M&A related decision-making has been put on hold….until now. Market Update – The short story: Given Accountants are time poor we thought we would give you the short story. On the one hand, Accountants are … Read more
We provide advice to Accountants on all areas of their Practice, but if there is one key element that has the biggest impact on Practices at the moment, it’s your staff! Staff can make or break a business. Great staff will not only change your Practice, but can also change your life – giving you … Read more
Its that time of year to be talking to your clients. You will probably need to talk to most of them at some stage in the near future and we see this as a great opportunity to really understand the status of their business based on what happened last year as well as what is … Read more
As we highlighted in our last blog, delegation is a powerful tool in making your practice more efficient and giving you more freedom in your work/life balance. Staff have a huge impact on the value of your practice in many ways and in this issue we explore the areas & effect they have. The Practice’s … Read more
Over the next few weeks, we are looking at staff & their impact on you and your practice. In our first part we look at delegation. Delegation is critical to scaling your practice. You, as one person, only have a limited number of hours in the day. The ONLY way to grow beyond your personal … Read more
We provide advice to Accountants on all areas of their Practice, but if there is one key that has the biggest impact on loving your work, it’s your staff! Staff can make or break a business. Great staff will not only change your Practice, but can also change your life – giving you more time … Read more
The basic service for almost all Accounting firms is compliance work. Isn’t that how the profession came about: making sure their numbers are right? Compliance is essential, it’s basic, and most Accountants want to offer more than just the basics. Offering additional financial services gives you numerous advantages; more capacity as work is shared across … Read more
Merry Christmas from the team at Abacus! We hope you will find some time to relax and recharge over the holiday break. Our festive wish is for you to love your work in 2021! Not currently in love with your business? We can help you get there. Abacus provides support in three key areas to … Read more
Do you love your business? Getting it to a place where you truly love running it might seem impossible, but it’s not. Our mission is to help Practice owners, like yourself, achieve that sweet spot. Our Practice Valuation Reports delve deep into the workings of each unique Accounting business. You’d be amazed at the differences we see … Read more
Marketing for Accountants 101 Growing your business doesn’t just mean getting new clients. You can also grow your income by expanding the services you offer current clients and ‘upgrading’ them. Email marketing is an efficient and meaningful way to connect clients with service upgrades. Understand your Services Firstly, It’s a great idea to review how you … Read more
In the Accounting world, client referrals make up the majority of new business, so they are an important part of business growth. Here we explore how to get referrals from existing clients without feeling awkward. We hear some Accountants who say they are too busy to take on new clients but guarantee in most cases … Read more
Does your website contain these five essential elements? Here are a few key features to keep in mind when creating websites for Accountants. Use this list as a starting point for your next website upgrade. 1. Points of Difference The most important objective of your website is to differentiate you from your competition. I constantly … Read more
Unfortunately, many Practice owners leave their exit plans until it is too late to make real ‘plans’. When they keep putting it off, they eventually make a rushed decision to sell, without comparing alternatives. Exiting doesn’t mean ‘Let’s just sell my accounting practice’, there are other options if you plan early enough. While a sale may … Read more
Now is the time of year that clients expect changes to take place in the level and structure of their Accountant’s fees. According to Good Bad Ugly Insights, the average charge rate or fee increase for this year is 2.3%. Our mission, however, is for you to get the most value out of your business, … Read more
Often, businesses will look at their competitors in envy, wondering why they are growing so much faster or appearing so much more successful. While this can come down to a number of factors including reputation, clear communication, or leading business practices, one factor that can have a major impact is marketing spend. You’ll never know … Read more
The value of a Practice is the price a buyer is prepared to pay for it. Although you may not be looking to exit the industry for some time, highly valued practices are very profitable and attract clients who not only appreciate the advice that they receive from their Accountant, but are also prepared to … Read more
Many clients rely completely on their Accountant to assist them with finances. The most helpful advice will come from knowing the business’ real-time situation and from meaningful discussions with the client on a regular basis. This year it’s more important than ever to talk to your clients about their business situation and help them put … Read more
At Abacus we understand the demands that Accountants are facing and are always looking at how best to manage these pressures. With client needs at the highest levels for some time, our conversations with Accountants have revealed some great initiatives and inspiration for getting through this challenging season. We understand you have lots of government initiatives that clients need … Read more
On Monday I spoke to Joss Milner, one of the founders of Cash Flow Story. Cash Flow Story is an easy and practical tool for helping you & your clients gain an insight into how they can manage their cash flow. Given what is happening in the world, Cash Flow Story have just released a … Read more
We met with a client two weeks ago who, late last year, suddenly lost his business partner. It was a sad and unfortunate situation. To make matters more complicated their Shareholders Agreement wasn’t signed. The verbal agreement was long-established and the paperwork had been prepared but they never actually got around to signing it. Now … Read more
For many Accountants, their primary source of marketing for all clients and potential clients is their website. From your website people get a sense of the type of firm you are and how you compare to others. The problem of relying on nothing but a website becomes twofold when the website its significantly outdated. We … Read more