Marketing Ideas for Accounting Firms - Accounting services remain in demand regardless of economic downturns and booms. At the same time, small and medium-sized businesses often attract outsourcing specialists. Keeping a full-time employee is unprofitable, it is much easier and more rational to pay for the services of an incoming accountant who periodically balances and submits reports to the tax office.
Many specialists work in the specialized market - such a business idea is attractive for an accountant. It does not require special investments to start, so it is possible to start a business with minimal investment. Let's take a closer look at how to open your business to an accountant from scratch.
marketing ideas for accounting firms
Business prospects
In many countries, this business model has been used for a long time. It allows you to reduce running costs. We have not yet mastered this direction sufficiently. As practice shows, turning business owners to outsourcing accounting services makes it possible to cut staff costs in half.
According to the most conservative estimates, the profitability of an outsourcing company for the owner can reach 40%. In parallel, there is an annual increase of 20%. This is perhaps one of the few businesses that have benefited from the restrictions associated with the pandemic. Many small and medium-sized business owners cut their jobs as much as possible. For this reason, accounting is outsourced to freelancers.
Accounting outsourcing as a business can be implemented in almost all areas, including industry, trade, utilities, and the manufacturing sector.
Types of accounting business
What accounting services entrepreneurs may need:
- Consulting. Sometimes problems arise that cannot be solved without the involvement of a specialist from outside. Experts will answer some controversial questions, monitor the activities of staff members.
- Selective accounting. The business owner outsource only part of the accounting. This allows managers to have complete control over the financial affairs of the organization.
- Full outsourcing. All accounting and tax accounting, documentation is delegated to a specialized firm. Thanks to this, it is possible to completely abandon the specialized personnel in the company.
- Functions of the chief accountant. A freelance worker is delegated the authority of a chief accountant. He maintains the entire document flow for the Federal Tax Service, and permanent employees are engaged in current affairs.
The popularity of freelance workers is only growing. Company owners prefer to hire a third-party specialist who guarantees the quality of the work. But at the same time, you do not need to pay taxes for a staff unit, pay for vacations, sick leaves.
How to start
You have decided to outsource accounting services, but how do you organize your business? First, you need to clarify a few important questions:
- the level of competition in your area;
- what businesses you will serve;
- the categories of services provided;
- what you can afford for a successful start.
Please note that not only experienced accountants start their own business in this niche, but also people who have nothing to do with it. With good organizational skills, you can assemble a team of specialists and open your own company.
Determine your direction
The market for such services is vast and diverse. To successfully start accounting outsourcing as a business, try to articulate your goals precisely. This is impossible without the final choice of the direction of activity.
Stop at an audit, consulting, tax filing, business analysis, or other types of services. A detailed study of one specialization will help you quickly stand out from the general background.
Choose a strategy for entering the accounting services market
You can organize your own business and hire employees who will handle clients' affairs. But for this you need to immediately invest in office rent, purchase of equipment, personnel search and advertising.
There is also another way. You offer your services to small firms as an individual entrepreneur. Having gathered a circle of regular customers, you can expand, mastering new directions and gradually attracting assistants.
Create a business plan for your accounting practice
The implementation of any business idea for an accountant should begin with drawing up a business plan. This document necessarily includes the following items:
- market analysis;
- registration of activities;
- expenses necessary for the start;
- staff recruitment;
- advertising and promotion.
If you are going to start a business on your own, you do not need to rent a separate space. You can work from home or go to the office to clients as needed.
A business plan allows you to estimate how much money is needed to start your business, how quickly the investment will pay off.
Company formation and market entry
To work legally, you need to register a company. An individual entrepreneur is enough to start, but if you want to expand in the future and hire different specialists, it is worth registering an LLC. Registration of a legal entity will allow taking orders from large enterprises, participating in government tenders.
Do you doubt your own abilities or do not want to waste time on registration, obtaining permits and other paperwork? You can buy a ready-made business that provides outsourced accounting. This way you will not only save time and effort, but also get:
- valid permits;
- a ready-made client base;
- the well-known name of the organization.
Where can an accountant find outsourcing clients?
Launching accounting outsourcing as a business is only half the battle. We also need to attract customers. For this it is worth using any advertising channels. Create a business card site so that you can be found online. You don't have to hire developers to do this - just use one of the free platforms.
Other possible options for promotion are contextual advertising, social networks, ads on electronic boards and sites like Avito. Classic advertising channels are also suitable: radio, television, newspapers.
Take care of personnel
Most often, accounting outsourcing as a business is tried by professional accountants who have lost their jobs for some reason. In such a situation, at first, one person is enough.
If the business starts to develop successfully, you can expand and hire employees. Please note that the number of employees depends on which tax regime you chose when registering:
- patent tax system - up to 15 people;
- simplified taxation - up to 100 employees;
- OSNO - there are no restrictions on the number of employees.
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Business promotion
While the company is small and has only a few people, it makes no sense to invest a lot of money in website development and promotion in search engines. A resource with minimal functionality and a page in social networks are enough.
But if the business starts to grow, you need a full-fledged portal that will allow customers to find you for different requests. At this stage, it is worth ordering SEO promotion and investing in website development. Alternatively, create your own smartphone app.
Accounting outsourcing as a business is a promising and profitable business. The main thing is to find your own niche!