Category Archives: Accounting

Marketing Accountant Services

Posted on by
Reply

In today’s competitive world it’s very difficult for any service or product to survive and achieve success, without using any form of marketing. It is important to get the word out!

A good and a successful marketing firm is one which has a better edge over its competitors by bringing about better success strategies for its clients business and to maintain a long lasting relationship with them.

Well the best marketing could be done by the accountant himself, though as it is a well known fact that accountants are very poor in their marketing skills, which can be owed to the business school teaching methodology which only focussed on the technical skill aspects of accounting, but eventually over the years accountants have changed their methods of public practise and their services towards their clients are not just restricted to the auditing and financial report aspects, but rather toward the overall development of their business by acting in as the financial advisor as and when required, meeting the requirements of the client and keeping him happy and satisfied with their services. The best form of marketing for an accountancy firm is believed to be “word of mouth”. Asking for referrals is a good start and being courteous and giving out a satisfactory result for one client results in recommendation of your work to new people by old clients… etc

Some people lack any sort of marketing skills, they could manage by hiring a marketing expert who is well trained in marketing activities and will use it to promote the practise and showcase the employer’s abilities to prospective clients. Good products deserve good marketing. The best of clients like to choose their accountancy firm based on the portrayed services and the knowhow of the accountancy professional.

There are a lot of firms which provide services for accountant marketing, they help in bridging the gap between the accountant and the client since the accountant is an expert in matters of accounting and finance whereas the client is an expert in manufacturing and servicing of their goods. But the important thing they lack is financial skills which are possessed by the accountant, so these marketing services help to create a communication between the accountant and the client so they can be an exchange of financial ideas which help the client to improve his business strategies and form a better relationship between the two.

This is a preview of Marketing Accountant Services. Read the full post (450 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Reasons To Set Low Cost Price Of Different Products

Posted on by
Reply

There are various instances where you will find that the companies declare very low prices for their products. It may seem that with such a low price they can hardly achieve any profit; but it is actually not the case. Low prices are mainly set for the purpose of achieving more profit.

These companies very well understand what the customers want and so they set a suitably low rate to force the buyers to reject the high priced product and select the low priced ones. Most of us love to shop around for items that come with heavy discounts no matter what the quality is.

But there should be a certain level of lowering the prices so that it reasonably covers the cost that has been spent in the maintenance, manufacturing and administration of the concerned product. To determine this aspect a calculation is done that is based on the total marginal costing.

It means that the company has already saved itself from going on a loss as it has set the set the price of the item on the basis of an extra unit that actually does not exist. This cost influences only the variable cost. This way one a small profit can add up gradually to help the company to gain more business. From the point of view of economics, marginal cost can be declared as the cost price of producing an extra unit.

There are various resources that the company make use of to help the business to gain worthy capital at the end of the year. But too much of lowering the prices have certain disadvantages too. More profit will result in more demand and it will prompt the business house to utilize the profit money to manufacturer more products. An intention of maintaining profit level will lead to low quality and simultaneously lower demand. So the cost price has to be lowered by maintain a certain level which will make earning profit easier.

Permanent link to this post (330 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Accountant Marketing

Posted on by
Reply

An accountant is a professional person who maintains and checks the business records of an individual or organisation and also maintains auditing records and prepares financial reports. The general consensus is that they have a very fixed, routine existence and outlook towards life, based on the belief that they are aversive to any kind of change in their working environment.

Another popular consensus is that they score extremely low in their social skills and lack any experience in any marketing method, thus this alleged inability makes it extremely difficult for them to grow in their work related areas.

The most important criteria in a professional practise is time management, since the kind of work an accountant has to perform involves both extensive time consumption and a lot of used resources, on many occasions the account done by more than one individual, however there is still never usually much time for marketing activities

Account marketing is very important for the individual and also the growth of the accountancy firm. Every accountant decides on a business plan before starting a firm, but most of them can never plan a good marketing strategy. The reason being that in business schools they are not taught anything on developing their entrepreneurial skills which is very important in today’s public or private practise.

However out of necessity, accountants now need to reinvent themselves and start getting involved in advising their clients on various aspects to help them run and operate their business wisely rather than just managing the year end financial accounts.

An organisation should do everything in its power to build a successful practise and should at the end of the day achieve its goal which would be to make a profit. There are now various resources available to help accountants and accounting firms who thoroughly lack marketing knowledge, first off, they could opt to hire a marketing expert

A simple yet effective marketing strategy is to maintain a good relationship with each client and the rule is to provide a good service to maintain client satisfaction. In addition, ensure that you are always accessible, and supportive of every client’s needs and issues. In this way you can get referrals from your clients without asking for it. However if you maintain a really good rapport you can subtly request referrals by handing them a few business cards to give to their friends.

This is a preview of Accountant Marketing. Read the full post (457 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Choosing an Accountant – From Poodles to Pugs

Posted on by
Reply

From Poodles to Pugs and Basset Hounds to Bulldogs, Crufts is a world famous dog show that isn’t for the fainted hearted.

Standards are high and judges are strict.

Nearly 200 breeds take part in the show which can send a dog’s career through the (kennel) roof.

But to the untrained eye one pampered pooch is much the same as the next.

And it’s a similar picture for accountants. Take a walk down any high street and you’ll see at least half a dozen accountancy firms offering services that range from annual tax returns to performance management.

So how can you tell if an accountancy firm is the Best of Breed?

Well, irrespective of their qualifications, accountants perform one of two tasks:

- Compliance work, which generally means tax returns and annual accounts. Companies are legally required to do this and using an accountant can free you from the administrative burden.

- Value-added services, these are the services which will help your business grow.

Compliance work is crucial. Businesses would swiftly be brought to a halt by the powers-that-be if their tax returns and Companies House submissions weren’t completed accurately and on time.

Historically, compliance work has been the ‘bread and butter’ for many accountancy practices. But it can lead to an accountant focusing less on client relationships and more on getting the paperwork done. This is why some people only hear from their accountant once a year.

The compliance accountant focuses on:

- Bookkeeping

- Completing quarterly VAT returns and annual tax returns

- Payroll

That’s where firms providing value-added services distinguish themselves. By working closely with clients management accountants help businesses improve performance.

They work with clients to understand both the financial consequences of past decisions and ensure they make the best decisions for the future to keep growth on an upward trajectory.

Permanent link to this post (306 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

What Is an Accrued Expense – Accounting?

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever been baffled by accounting types telling you that a certain expense has been accrued? Some time ago I told someone about accrual of her expenses, and she was offended. I had to tell l her that to accrue something was not a horrible thing… Basically, to accrue an expense is to recognize a transaction before it has been paid or entered in the accounts payable system. In order to be accrued, an expense must have occurred during this period. If you used a service or purchased goods to be used now, then you recognize that expense now.

Accruals are usually made when books at closed, sometimes every month and for sure at year-end. Examples of accrued expenses could be:

* Payroll for work performed this period, but paid in the future — VERY COMMON

* Commission for sales that happened now, but will be paid in the future

* Utilities used this period, but paid in a following period

* Purchases for paper to be used this period, but paid in the future

* Expenses for an event that happened this period, but paid in the future

The point is to recognize the expense in the income statement, matching it with revenue for the same time period.

Oftentimes accountants estimate accrued expenses. This may happen when they don’t know how much these expenses will cost. Accountants usually look at accrued expenses of a prior period to make sure they don’t forget any transactions. If they notice expense accruals for insurance, for instance, then they know that they may have insurance expenses out there to be accrued.

Sometimes business people get confused between budget numbers and accruals. You do NOT accrue an expense just because you budgeted for it. You accrue an expense because the transaction actually happened during the period. This means that budget versus actual expenses variances may be explained by accrued expenses.

Technical Details

For the technically minded, below is the journal entry to book an accrued expense:

Debit – Different types of expenses reporting in the income statement

Credit — Liability accrued expense account, reporting in the balance sheet

When the accrued expense is paid, the journal entry is:

Debit — Liability account

Credit — Cash

This is a preview of What Is an Accrued Expense – Accounting?. Read the full post (431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)