PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

If you can properly prune the number of problem clients you have and the number of services you provide, you’ll increase profitability and time off for your entire firm.

Pruning well has the potential to turn your firm into an incredible place to work, where staffing problems aren’t top of mind because you’re not swamped, and you’re only doing the most profitable and easiest work to manage. That’s a work environment employees not only enjoy but tell others about — which, who knows, might bring in high quality staff down the road.

For more help culling your client list, check out “5 reasons you need to let difficult clients go” from the winter 2023 Disclosures issue at vscpa.com/article/5-reasons-you-needlet-difficult-clients-go . You’ll also find a good-bye letter template at poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practiceacademy/resources .

2. INCREASE PRICES.

A lot of firm owners increase prices for their services in hopes of cutting back their client list. We have found that price increases rarely reduce your book of business to the extent you might expect. In the current market, a lot of firms are not accepting new business. The fact of the matter is, your clients are servicesensitive, not fee-sensitive.

Pricing is very much a trial-and-error process. Determining your optimal pricing is going to take researching firms in your market area or other virtual firms offering your niche of services and