5 essential steps for scaling your firm

July 14, 2023 11:45 AM

Scaling any business can be challenging. In fact, only 22% of companies launched within the last decade have managed to successfully scale their operations. For service-based companies like accounting firms, scaling is even more difficult.

You can't just ramp up production and negotiate lower material costs like you can with a physical product.

To scale a firm, you have to rethink the way you offer your services. I'm going to share some essential steps that every accountant should consider when scaling their firms to make the process as stress-free as possible.

1. Assess your current and future goals

Before looking at your offerings and how to make them scalable, assess your current and future goals:

Get clear on where you're at right now.
Figure out where you want to go.

Once you have a better idea of where you are and where you want to go, you can map out how you'll get there.

What will it take for you to reach your goals? Will you need to hire more staff? Will you need more clients or to take on certain types of clients?

Assessing your goals is an important first step because they will serve as guides for the decisions you make when creating scalable packages and pricing.

2. Create scalable packages and pricing

Once you clearly understand your goals, you can begin defining your packages and pricing.

Start by asking yourself, "How can I transform my current offerings into scalable packages?"

In other words, how can you productize your services? And how can you price these packages in a way that's both scalable and profitable?

Products are much easier to market and communicate to clients. They're clearly defined, so clients know exactly what they're getting and what to expect. And when they're well-defined, clients can easily identify which product will best meet their needs.

Bespoke services may work for some firms, but scaling can be challenging. Productizing helps eliminate this problem.

But where do you start? Here are some tips:

First, identify a problem. Look at your current clients and offerings to identify common client problems.
Next, identify solutions. What are the most effective solutions for the problems you've identified? Do they match your firm's skill sets? If so, then identify them as standardized solutions for your firm.
Identify what you'll need for your standardized solutions. Which tasks and resources will your firm need to get the job done?
Source what you'll need for your solutions and test them out. When a client comes around with a problem that fits into your new "product," offer it. Doing so will allow you to take your package for a test drive.

From here, you can pilot your productized offerings, develop marketing plans for them, assess their performance and make changes along the way.

3. Embrace technology to streamline processes

Creating scalable packages is just one piece of the puzzle when scaling your firm. Improving efficiency with technology will free up valuable time and resources to support your scaling efforts.

Start by reviewing your current processes.

Do you have the proper standard operating procedures in place?
Where can you use technology or automation to improve them?

If your team is still stuck doing redundant and mundane tasks, you'll struggle to scale, even if you productize your offerings. Find ways to automate or streamline these tasks so that your team can focus on high-value tasks.

4. Invest in talent

You've packaged your services and streamlined tasks, but you're not quite ready to start scaling your firm. Even with improved efficiency and neatly packaged offerings, you still need to ensure you have the bandwidth to take on more clients. The last thing you want is to overburden your team and cause burnout.

Investing in talent will help you meet client needs and expectations without overworking your team.

5. Expand your service offerings to meet client needs

Last, but certainly not least, over time you can find ways to expand your packages to meet your clients' needs. Your clients have lots of needs, but are you meeting all of them?

How can you expand your services to provide solutions to their unsolved problems?

For example, there's a good chance your clients will need financial planning. You can offer these services internally by expanding your team or partnering with a firm that provides these services.

Or maybe your firm focuses just on taxes, and your clients need help with accounting. Rather than offering accounting internally, you could look to partner with another firm that can provide accounting services to your client.

Partnering with a firm will eliminate the time and monetary costs of hiring, allowing you to start scaling right away.

Scaling a firm takes time and effort, but the reward is a more profitable and efficient firm. It all starts with identifying your current and future goals. From there, you can productize your offerings, streamline tasks, invest in new talent and expand your services. Partnering with a firm that offers the services your clients are looking for is a convenient, cost-effective way to expand your offerings.