It’s no secret that these first few years of the 2020s have brought forth seismic change in business; however, there’s one change you might not be aware of yet: the rapidly growing shortage of accounting professionals. In December 2022, the Wall Street Journal summarized the situation: “More than 300,000 U.S. accountants and auditors have left their jobs in the past two years, a 17% decline, and the dwindling number of college students coming into the field can’t fill the gap.” 

Such a shortage could create burdensome circumstances for business owners. So, exploring ways to build a more synergistic relationship with your accountant now can make for a better future for both of you. 

Tip 1: Reduce your accountant’s administrative time.

One of the easiest ways to improve your working relationship with your accountant is to reduce the amount of administrative work required to manage your account! Here are a couple of tips to get you started: 

• When gathering paper information for your accountant, scan and convert it to PDF. Then upload it to their secure portal.
• Many accountants use software that includes optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which helps automate the categorization of transactions. PDF files are typically easier for this technology to read than image files, so save your files accordingly.
• For multi-page documents, combine all pages into one PDF file. Conversely, avoid consolidating separate documents into one PDF.
• Use your customer portal instead of email if one has been provided to upload documents. 

Tip 2: Be mindful in communications. 

Good communication is an essential part of the accountant-customer relationship. A great customer will take the time to read any emails or correspondence and answer all the questions in the email (not just the first one!). They’ll also keep their accountant informed as they prepare to make financial decisions, like hiring a new employee, making a capital investment, or moving their money to a new bank. Proactive communication can help your accountant provide timely information so you can make intelligent business decisions. It can also help both of you avoid messy (and costly) cleanups.

Both you and your accountant may have preferred ways of communicating, among the choices of text, voice, and email. Keep in mind your accountant has a higher duty to protect your private information. Text and unencrypted email can be problematic for them, particularly when sensitive information is being conveyed.

You can make your communication more efficient by saving non-urgent questions for your next meeting together. As a result, you’ll be able to cover much more ground in your sessions, and your accountant will appreciate fewer emails in their inbox.  

Tip 3: Vet any advice you hear first before contacting your accountant.

Be wary of unsolicited advice and tips you might see on social media. They can be uneducated at best and downright fraudulent at worst. One of the most prominent examples we’ve seen involves ERC mills. These companies have sprung up to “help” small businesses claim the Employee Retention Credit from 2020 and 2021. Unfortunately, most of these companies are not following IRS guidelines and do not have the credentials to evaluate the tax law properly. And if you’ve been working with an accountant the entire time, chances are high that they’ve already helped you acquire any ERC funds your organization is eligible for.

Lastly, social media sources can be chock full of unreliable information. For example, TikTok and Instagram have some outrageous financial claims going around. If it sounds too good to be true, or you suspect the video was created by someone who is not a qualified or licensed accounting professional, take the information with a large grain of salt and speak with YOUR accounting or tax professional before acting on any advice you hear.

Improving the way you work with your accountant ultimately benefits everyone involved. By reducing your accountant’s need for administrative work, being mindful in your communication, and vetting advice you hear first, you can create a mutually beneficial relationship with your accountant that ensures a lasting, productive relationship. Remember, as your accounting professionals, we want to support your business goals and help you succeed! 

As the days start to grow longer and new growth arrives, it’s time to think about refreshing your products, services, and marketing campaigns for the new season! Spring is the perfect time to boost your business by taking advantage of the renewed energy in the air. 

There are plenty of ways to keep your customers engaged this spring. So let’s take a look at five ways you can take advantage of this vibrant new season and allow customers to see your products and services in a different light.

1. Add a holiday twist.

With various spring holidays to choose from, consider those that most closely align with your organization’s identity and consider building a sale or promotion around them! Here are a few key holidays to get you started:

• Easter
• May Day
• Mother’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Flag Day
• Father’s Day

Memorial Day is the biggest shopping holiday of the season; it ushers in warmer weather and signals the end of school for kids and teachers. Plus, customers are used to seeing sales during this long weekend. Mother’s Day can be a revenue booster for many businesses as well.

Which one of these holidays can you best connect your products and services? That’s your answer for an effective spring sale. For an egg farmer, incorporating the tradition of decorating Easter eggs is a no-brainer. So figure out what your business’s Easter egg is and go from there!

You could also consider other lesser-known holidays that align with your brand’s identity, products, or services. For example, National Plant a Flower Day on March 12th would be an excellent opportunity for a nursery to promote a free potted flower plant with a purchase. Websites like NationalDayCalendar.com can be a good way to help you get started.

2. Temporarily switch to spring packaging.

If you sell products with physical packaging, add some color to help your product stand out! Traditional spring colors include green, yellow, pink, orange, baby blue, and pastels. Consider adding flowers, new growth, or other spring motifs where it makes sense, too.

The same can be done with any digital marketing collateral, too. For example, do you provide prospective customers with a service menu they can choose from? Try incorporating springy accent colors that complement your brand colors, or infuse your copywriting with language that reflects optimism, growth, and new beginnings. 

3. Host an open house.

If you have a brick-and-mortar location for your business, an open house could be a wonderful option for building trust with prospective customers. Invite your prospect list and current clients – you can even ask them to bring a friend – and offer refreshments with a spring theme. Plan an agenda with a speaker on a topic adjacent to your offerings and allow time for guests to mingle and network.

Work remotely? If you have a local customer base, host your open house at a coworking space or similar venue. If your customers are more spread out, invite prospects to an information-rich (but not salesy) webinar instead.

4. Free spring gift with purchase.

While providing a free gift is already standard practice in the cosmetics industry, you can likely apply the concept to your business, too. Consider a freebie that complements your offering, aligns with your brand identity, and, most importantly, adds value for your customer. And if possible, consider how you can align it with the season!

5. Graduation

Graduation season can be the perfect time to promote your services or products, as it marks the start of a new chapter in life for many. It’s an excellent opportunity to remind people how your offerings can help them take the next step in their career or tackle their next big goal.

Additionally, you can use this time to tap into the sense of excitement and optimism many graduates feel and create an emotional connection with your target audience.

Spring is a great time to think about how you can bring fresh ideas into your business’s offerings and marketing strategies. Whether that’s simply adding spring imagery to your branding or something more complex like creating a new campaign with a bonus gift, consider how you can leverage the new season to stand out and reach a broader audience.

With some creativity, you can make the most of the season and give your revenue the boost it needs to stay ahead of the curve!

If you have accumulated more money in your business checking account than you need for daily operating expenses, congratulations! That is an excellent “problem” to have! It could be time to consider putting that money to work for you. A business savings account can help small business owners plan for the future and ensure financial security. It can provide a protected place to set aside funds, allowing you to save for a rainy day, prepare for less prosperous seasons, invest in new equipment, or take advantage of opportunities that may arise.

A business savings account can also provide you peace of mind, knowing that money is available when needed. In addition, access to higher interest rates and the ability to transfer funds quickly is a great way to help ensure greater financial security for the business.

Every banking institution is different when it comes to the features and benefits of its business savings offerings. We’ve assembled a list of common questions you may want to consider asking your banker before opening a savings account:

1. Is your checking account interest-bearing, and if so, how does the interest rate compare to that of a business savings account?
2. Is there an initial minimum deposit to open the savings account?
3. What are the monthly fees for each type of account?
4. What minimum balances are required in both checking and savings accounts so that fees are waived? And, would it be worth it to keep minimum balances?
5. Are there withdrawal limits?
6. What are the other benefits of having a business savings account with your institution?
7. Is my money FDIC-insured, and if so, what is the cap?

Often, a bank will tie the checking and savings accounts together, and there will be a combined minimum balance that is lower than if either account was separate. For that reason, having your checking and savings accounts in the same bank might be more effective. Other common benefits include waiving overdraft fees, wire transfer fees, and NSF charges.

There are other types of interest-bearing accounts besides savings accounts, including money market accounts and certificates of deposits (CDs). 

A money market account is a type of savings account that allows you to earn a higher rate of interest than a traditional savings account while also providing you with access to your funds. It may have check-writing privileges, but the withdrawals may be limited. Certificates of deposits, or CDs, typically pay higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts. Still, they tie up your money for a specified period, and steep early-withdrawal penalties exist. 

Many institutions besides your primary bank are focused on savings accounts and will pay much higher interest rates. For example, online banks and credit unions typically pay a higher interest rate than a brick-and-mortar bank; however, the money may not be FDIC-insured, so be sure to read the fine print.

An additional benefit of keeping money in a separate savings account is that you can save for many things:

• A cushion for emergencies.
• Lump sum tax payments.
• Future capital expenditures.

Once you’ve set up your new savings account, consider scheduling recurring transfers to it so that you build up your savings balance.

A business savings account is a great way to ensure your business is prepared for unexpected costs, expenses, or growth opportunities. With a business savings account, you can put your unused funds to work, earning you higher interest than a checking account could. By incorporating a savings account that works for your business’s needs, you can feel more secure about the financial future of your business. 

As business owners, we’d like to think that we make rational, logical decisions regarding our business finances. However, scientists have discovered hardwired biases in our minds and thought processes, one of which is the sunk cost bias, also known as sunk cost fallacy.

A sunk cost is simply money, time, or resources you have already spent and can’t recuperate. Another word for them is retrospective costs. The bias comes into the picture when we consider those costs in future decisions.

The sunk cost fallacy, first hypothesized by Richard Thaler in 1980, is a cognitive bias where people overestimate the importance of sunk costs in their decision-making. He wrote, “Paying for the right to use a good or service will increase the rate at which the good will be utilized.”

In a 1985 paper by Hal Richard Arkes and Catherine Blumer titled “The Psychology of Sunk Cost,” the authors found evidence that this tendency is “predicated on the desire not to appear wasteful.” Furthermore, “those who had incurred a sunk cost inflated their estimate of how likely a project was to succeed compared to the estimates of the same project by those who had not incurred a sunk cost.”

Essentially, instead of making a decision that’s right for themselves and their future based on current circumstances, people will make a decision heavily informed by the action already taken, even when it isn’t relevant to current circumstances. It doesn’t sound very productive, does it?

Let’s discuss two examples of the bias in action. First, let’s say you have spent a lot on car repairs. You continue to repair the car, digging a deeper and deeper hole. Making a $3,000 downpayment toward purchasing another vehicle is likely a better decision than sinking the same amount of money into another round of repairs. However, you are still emotionally (and irrationally) attached to all the money you spent on the clunker.

Now say you have an employee that is a borderline performer. You keep investing in them, thinking you can “fix” them. However, they don’t improve. Regardless of whether the employee is insubordinate or simply not the right fit for the role, letting them go was likely the right move to make some time ago. 

So, now that you know about the sunk cost bias, how can you avoid falling into it in your business? Here are some ideas:

1. Increase your mindfulness when making decisions that involve costs already incurred. Ask yourself, “what decision would I be making if I hadn’t already invested the time/money/resources into this project?”
2. Since the bias can often come as the result of not wanting to experience negative emotions like feelings of failure, irresponsibility, or loss, try to remove your emotions from the equation altogether. Instead, examine the business project at hand from a facts-only perspective. Ask yourself, “What does the data show me?” Then do the math. 
3. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) regularly to see whether you’re on or off track and assess whether it’s worth continuing the project sooner.
4. Like setting a budget for holiday shopping, establish goals and milestones for future projects, and have a “walk away” plan if things spiral out of control.
5. Stay future-focused.

Ultimately, it will be up to you to ensure that sunk cost bias doesn’t affect your decision-making in the future. Hopefully, this information and the five tips we provided will help you orient yourself to make business decisions that benefit current and future you, rather than past you.

If you’d like to learn more about cognitive bias, including the sunk cost bias, check out the works of two additional scientists, Daniel Kahnerman and Amos Tversky (the former of whom won the Nobel prize for his work!).