Ed Mendlowitz

Clients who demand a lot of time with constant calls about proposed transactions may need a special way to handle the billing for them.

For a practice to be elevated into a business, it needs someone at the helm to steer that ship.

Even with no desire to sell or end the business, planning can present a way the owner could exit on their own terms.

Having a plan can help direct you toward the future you want, rather than leaving it to chance.

Expectations are usually bright and cheery. Results are the blunt reality.

There are two kinds of staff: those who listen to you and those who do not.

Don’t just settle for anybody to fill an open position at a firm when they don’t have long-term growth potential.

Become adept at using your time effectively and profitably at your firm.

If any three are present, it is unlikely someone would leave. If all four are present, then anyone who would leave is not someone you should want to stay.

If you own or partner in an accounting firm, what are the big issues you need to confront as you try to grow?

Sometimes things need to be freshened up, renamed or dressed a little differently. That is what is happening somewhat in accounting.

Some recent virtual retreats for sole practitioners and for two- and three-partner firms yielded insights into how to improve practice management.

Ed Mendlowitz marks 400 consecutive weeks of practice management columns.

Dropping clients is reducing cash inflow without an offsetting reduction in costs.

Our currency is what we know, along with our ability to use it to help our clients.

Some people might have ulterior or selfish reasons for doing something, but that doesn’t negate what you can learn from them.

There are many qualities that make a partner and many times it is not one big thing but many small things.

Coaching and mentoring are less immediately results-oriented and more for fine-tuning, so you can be in a more pleasant place at your current stage of life while preparing for the next stage.

Staff should have well-rounded experience for their first three or four years and then should look for an area to specialize in.

Most small firm owners who are considering retirement are not familiar with how selling a practice works and how to get started.