SMEs Need Advisory now more than ever
People often jump straight to consulting when they think of business advisory. Especially small business owner’s, who find their management accounts hard to compute, let alone other key financial metrics of their business. But the reality is, SMEs NEED business advisory – particularly in this CV-19 world. Accountants are able to offer 100% of their client base an appropriate level of business advisory by using both the Clarity and Futrli platforms. It’s not rocket science; comparing clients’ budgets to actual and holding them accountable is business advisory. Pretty simple but hugely valuable.
To help demystify some of the myths around business advisory, Kelly Hurst (Clarity) and Sam Skae (Futrli) pulled together five reasons why SMEs need business advisory, and recorded these myth busters on Facebook Live. You can see the recording here:
SMEs need advisory
Business advisory is a buzz word – but what does it really mean? Businesses are leaning on their accountants more and more at the moment, and they are looking for more than just tax and pension advice. Small businesses particularly need to know they realities of where their business is now, where they can get to, and how they can bridge that gap. Many small business owner’s are venturing out into new channels and are looking for advice on how to grow their business, increase their revenue and decrease their outgoing costs. With a lot of heavy lifting of compliance work now being automated, accountants are able to use this additional time to start having the right conversations with their clients.
Client doesn’t want to grow
Even if your clients say that they are happy with their revenue, and they’re not looking to grow, there is still an opportunity to advise the client. Every business has a reason for being in business. Talking to these clients and finding out why they went into business in the first place often helps uncover their real goals. Do you know what their non-revenue goals are? They may want more time, freedom and flexibility to spend with their family and friends? Do they have efficient processes? Are they utilising technology efficiently for their business, or are they wasting time chasing payments or planning their days. It’s important to remember that ‘advisory’ isn’t a one size fits all package and it looks different for every client.
There is a new wave coming
Despite the global pandemic, people are starting new businesses. Many aspiring entrepreneurs have lost their jobs, been furloughed or discovered a gap in the market to start the business they have always dreamed of. These new businesses will pay for valuable advice on top of the traditional compliance work.
We are in the middle of an advisory storm
Many businesses have had to rethink the way their business model works due to CV-19. For example, restaurants who have had to adapt and branch out to delivery services will need different advice today than they did at the beginning of the year. Accountants need to react to the current climate, reach out and ask the right questions.
Now is the time to become their trusted advisor
Small businesses count for 99.9% of all private sector businesses (5.7million in the UK and 30.2 million in the US). Put simply, the economy needs them to survive. Small business owners trust their accountants with their livelihoods and the next level of support is needed now more than ever.
#leavenobusinessbehind
Looking to introduce more business advisory services in your accounting firm? Understand that your SME clients need this more than ever? Use our calculator to see how much the opportunity could mean to you https://clarity-hq.com/calculator/.
Get this right and you will truly help to #leavenobusinessbehind. Join the campaign: https://vimeo.com/438876796
