One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job is meeting with our clients. Even though we might be reviewing our clients’ data on a weekly, monthly, or even quarterly basis, we often discover new things when speaking with them. It really makes my day when I can share with a client something that is new to them or something that can benefit them. As a business owner, why is it important to meet with your bookkeeper regularly?
Do we need to meet in person?
There are many tools available that make meeting together so much more convenient than ever before. Often we use Zoom for our meetings with our clients. With Zoom, you can either call in by phone or connect using your computer, tablet, phone or any other connected device.
What is especially nice when using a tool like Zoom, is that it is easy to share either our screen to present reports or other items or for our clients to share their screen. It is nice to be able to use the video feature too so that we can all see each other. This helps both us and our clients to feel connected, even if we have not yet met in person.
What will we talk about?
Usually, we begin the conversation asking if there is anything that our client would like us to be sure and discuss. We add those items to the agenda.
Then we generally will go over the latest reports together. Since we review the reports beforehand, most times we have a handful of questions that we either want to ask about or some items that we want to bring to our client’s attention. Some examples could be any out of the ordinary transactions, any new types of expenses, and if there are large changes in the activity.
As we go over the reports we will also discuss any items that were mentioned at the onset of the meeting. Sometimes these mentioned items were already on our agenda but other times it might be about something we were not aware of.
Why do I need to meet with my bookkeeper more than once a year?
We structure our ongoing clients’ engagements to include client meetings on either a monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually schedule. We have found that meeting together more than once a year is very important. Things in life and business are always changing.
By meeting more often we have the opportunity to discuss what has changed in the business and oftentimes brainstorm together to find ways to improve processes, reporting, and even how certain things are being done.
Numbers tell a story about your business. But numbers are only telling part of the story. Is your revenue up or down per the reports? If so, is there a reason why? Are your expenses higher than normal? If so, is there a reason why? The numbers should align with the whole picture of what has been going on with the business. If the numbers do not seem to align with what our client believes has been going on with the business we investigate together why that might be.
We hope that you will look forward to your next meeting with your bookkeeper. These meetings are really all about you and your business. Are you looking for a new bookkeeping firm to partner with? If so, reach out to let us know that you would like to explore working with us.