Practice Opportunities in
Training & Consulting
Presented by:
MB (Mary Beth) Raimondi, CPA,
CITP, MS Taxation
Instructor Bio
MB (Mary Beth) Raimondi, CPA,
CITP, MS Taxation
http://mbraimondicpa.com/
MB (Mary Beth) Raimondi is an
Advanced QuickBooks Certified
ProAdvisor as well as an Intuit Solution
Provider. She holds certifications in
Enterprise and POS and is a Sleeter
Group Certified Consultant and a
member/instructor of the National
Advisor Network. She is also a charter
member of the Intuit Training/Writing
Network. She has used QuickBooks
since the DOS version and has been
teaching QuickBooks nationally to both
end users and accountants/consultants
since 1999. The focus of her practice in
Trumbull, CT has migrated from a full
time tax and accounting practice to
mainly QuickBooks consulting, 3rd
party integration and training.
Agenda
• How training & consulting engagements can
help you grow your practice
• How to create a successful engagement
• Types of QuickBooks engagements
• Resources available to you
• Pricing and promoting QuickBooks training &
consulting engagements
Grow Your Practice With
Training & Consulting
Market
QuickBooks
Implementation
QuickBooks
Support
Services
QuickBooks Training
Business Consulting
4 Million
QuickBooks
Users
Reviews and Audits
Accountant
Services
Tax Planning
Tax Preparation
Market Your Practice
• Offer an array of services to clients who own
QuickBooks
• Use training to build your brand
• Provide a turnkey accounting solution including:
• Implement QuickBooks
• Monthly review to correct errors
• Provide additional training for new concepts
• Assist clients to define and refine their process
• Uncover other revenue opportunities
• “Foot in the Door” opportunity at a lower price
point so client builds a comfort level with you
• For the love of it!
Promote Yourself and Your Services
• Become a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
• QuickBooks ProAdvisor referral database
• Begin with your existing clients
• Offer low-cost QuickBooks classes
• Send newsletters
• Ask for referrals
• Develop strategic partnerships
• Local Chamber of Commerce
• Other business professionals such as IT consultants,
insurance brokers
• Non-competing QuickBooks ProAdvisors or CPAs
Reach Out and Be Seen
• Become active on social media sites
• Create Facebook page to include tips and tricks
• Use Twitter to:
• Link to interesting articles
• Send tips and tricks
• Write articles for business journals and
community periodicals and blogs
• Visit the 'Practice Resources' section of the
ProAdvisor member website for additional
marketing tools and resources
Create a Self Assessment
Determine the
services you
provide
Determine the
types of work
you want to do
Determine the
types of work
you can do
Training can
open the door
for ongoing
engagements
What are you
passionate
about?
What
additional
training do you
need?
Or add training
to your current
repertoire of
services
What makes
you ‘light-up’
when you talk
about it?
What do you
excel in?
Create a Successful
Engagement
Successful Training & Consulting
Follow the
steps to
create a
successful
training &
consulting
engagement
• Client interview
• Data file analysis
• Determine scope of
engagement
• Create an engagement letter
• Implementation, training and
consulting
• Post engagement
Client Interview
• Interview the client to assess skill level
QuickBooks need
• You may need to assess the condition of
QuickBooks file
• You may need to re-visit the interview regularly
• Initial meetings with a prospective client are bidirectional
• They are also evaluating you including your
knowledge, experience, reputation and
communication skills
• Make sure the organization is one that you want
to do business with
• Do you see integrity and honesty?
Client Interview
• Determine the following:
• Overall strength of the company
• QuickBooks needs
• Implementation
• Ongoing support
• Use an “interview guideline” during initial
conversations with the client
• Most valuable when used as a “guide” when
conducting pre-engagement meetings
• You fill out the interview form
• Not the client
Client Interview
• Use the interview form to determine:
• Contact & company information
• Previous consulting data
• Income tax return history
• QuickBooks goals
• Licenses, users & networks
• Computer hardware & IT setup
• Payroll needs and history
• Sales/customer information
• Sales tax, inventory & other needs
• Gain insight into data file setup
Data File Analysis
• Conduct an analysis of the client’s existing
accounting software before you begin providing
consulting services
• This provides:
• A look at the client’s financial stability
• The cleanliness of their accounting information
• The complexity of the accounting data they track
• A time estimate to clean up existing data or set up
and start new data file
• This analysis also provides value for the client
and can become a billable “pre-engagement”
Data File Analysis
Key indicators for you as a consultant are:
Cash Flow
Payment history for
professional services
Wages paid to
bookkeeping staff
Overall
profitability/current
ratio
• Client’s ability to pay for services in a
timely manner
• Client’s value of professional
services/consulting
• Client’s value of financial reporting &
accurate QuickBooks data
• Survivability of client and your potential
long-term relationship with client
Determine Scope of Engagement
• Use the client interview to determine the scope
of the engagement
• The process is deferent depending on…
• Is this an implementation from scratch?
• Is this a clean-up project?
• What is the skill level of the client?
• How much training will be needed?
• What is the opportunity for ongoing consulting?
• Clearly discuss the scope with the client and
come to an agreement on the goals
Engagement Letters
• Clearly communicate expectations with the
client
• Avoid misunderstandings and protect yourself
• CPA’s can be held to higher standard
• Check the rules and regulations as they may
change
• The AICPA website is a good source of information
• Even if you are not a CPA, engagement letters
are an important part of your business
• Create a written agreement for every consulting
service you perform
The Engagement Letter Confirms:
• Terms & objectives of engagement
• Nature & limitations of the services
provided
• Time frame of engagement
• Fees and billing information
• Licensing, permissions & third party
disclosures
• Approval for credit card payment (if
you accept credit card payments)
• Agreements and signatures
Creating the Right Engagement Letter
• Sample engagement letters can be found in the
Practice Resources section of the ProAdvisor
member website
• Practice Resources includes samples for
• QuickBooks setup
• QuickBooks diagnostics
• Ongoing QuickBooks services
• QuickBooks training
• QuickBooks tune-ups
• Technology consulting
Implementation, Training, Consulting
• Perform the work as outlined in the engagement
letter
• If you discover additional issues outside the
scope, discuss with client and get written
approval for additional work
• Consistently provide feedback to the client on
process, timeline and achieved goals
• Make sure to include the owner or manager in
this communications
• Don’t limit yourself to only the bookkeeper
Post Engagement
• Look for ongoing consulting opportunities
• During the engagement, track the scope of work
and make note of additional needs that will need
to be addressed
• Let the client know about other services you
provide
• Measure client’s interest in additional ongoing
consulting and training
• Revisit your clients regularly
• Do they need help with a new version?
• Do they know about all the new features?
• Do they have additional training needs?
• Do they know to call you if they hire a new
bookkeeper?
Types of QuickBooks
Engagements
Types of Engagements
Implementation
Data File
Analysis
Most
Common
Consulting
Engagements
Local
Support
Training
Remote
Support
Maximizing Productivity
• QuickBooks implementation is
usually a one-time event
• Except for some residual
support services
• As a result, you have to
accurately estimate the
amount of time required to
complete the engagement
Issues to Consider for Implementation
• The number of QuickBooks users in the company
• Number of users needing training
• Number of computers that need installation
• Complexity of the client’s data entry
• Condition of current accounting data
• Determine what features the client will need
• Assess the level of bookkeeping & accounting
software experience?
• Verify the time frame for setup
• At beginning or in the middle of a fiscal year
• Quantity of open transactions to manage
Data File Setup
• Implementation becomes the foundation for
support services
• Performed at the beginning to set the standard
• Can help create other non-QuickBooks
engagements:
• Tax returns
• Income tax planning
• Financial analysis
• Is the most difficult to budget
• High level of complication and unforeseen issues
Simple Setup
• A simple implementation may be warranted
• Clearly define the scope of the engagement for
this implementation and data file set-up
• Make the scope as narrow as possible
• Define financial information needed
• Compile the information
• Refer the client to a bookkeeping service
• Setup QuickBooks with essential balances only
• Use the Tax Return
• You may need to consider refusing the
engagement
Comprehensive Implementation
• Use these strategies when performing a
comprehensive data file setup:
• Use a checklist
• Determine the availability of information needed
• Year-to-date information, trial balance, bank
reconciliations, past tax returns
• Chart of Accounts, Item List, Customer List, Vendor
List
• Determine reporting intentions of management
• Define user access privileges
• Conduct the data file setup in phases
Multiple Phase Setup
Advantages of the multiple phase setup:
• Client understands responsibilities
• Fewer data entry errors
• Establishes a long term relationship
• Engagement produces 3 months to 1 year of
consulting work
• Clients pay more over longer periods of time than at
any single point in time
Implementation
• Sample date file multiple phase setup
• Level 1 – COA, Customers and Vendors Only
• Level 2 – Add A/R and A/P
• Level 3 - Add payroll, sales tax and or inventory
• Level 4 - Add customized reports & forms,
industry specific configuration
• Level 5 – Add integration with other solutions
Data File Analysis
• Data file analysis allows for ongoing consulting
• Regularly analyze your client QuickBooks data
• Check for data entry errors and modifications
• Help the client see the value of using
QuickBooks as a management tool, not just a
check writing program
• Provide reasonable confidence when making key
financial decisions
• Educate the client regarding the value of financial
information for purposes other than tax return
preparation
• Helps you to produce a tax return with greater
efficiency
Strategies for Data File Analysis Report
• Develop standardized procedures for use with
all clients
• Produce a written report of your findings
• Defer as many corrections as possible to the
client
• Help the client learn how not to make the same
mistakes
• Use error corrections as a training opportunity
QuickBooks Support Services
• Offer monthly or quarterly analysis services as a
follow-up to the setup engagement
• Establish recurring QuickBooks support services
• Build a stronger relationship with client
• Catch data entry errors and setup errors
throughout the year
• Increases productivity for tax preparers
• Can lead to repair engagements or additional
training opportunities
• Increase your non-seasonal billings
Remote Support
• Provide ongoing remote support
• Use web-based conferencing
• Sell pre-paid blocks of time or
monthly support plans
• No collections issues or bad debt
• Benefit from the time value of
money
• Businesses use 60-70% of the
support pre-purchased
Training
• From your client interview determine:
• Training goals and number of trainees
• Determine need for onsite or remote training
• Implementation is not the same as training
• Difficult to train while you set up
• Include budget for training as part of the
implementation engagement
• Provide ‘homework’ for clients to start data
input
• Review data input regularly to make sure your
client is on the right track
• Offer training in blocks of time
• Not by training objective
The Problem with Troubleshooting
• Troubleshooting is an excellent foot-in-the-door
opportunity
• But it can also slam the door shut
• Troubleshooting can kill ongoing consulting
• Once you fix the problem, how can you turn it
into more work?
• Always use troubleshooting as an opportunity to
find out more about the client’s needs
• See if there are additional areas of training
needed
• Suggest additional features that the client may
not currently be using
Additional Support Services
• Telephone and/or email support
• Remote access for
• Journal entries and adjustments
• Shared bookkeeping responsibilities
• Limited training objectives
• Troubleshooting objectives
• Report customization
Resources Available
Acquiring Necessary Skills & Knowledge
• Be sure to visit the ProAdvisor Member Website for
more information
• ProAdvisor Certification and Advanced Certification
• Training to assist in preparation for exams
• “Train Your Clients” material
• Trainings include presentations and student materials in
module form
• Utilize modules based on your client needs
• Intuit Academy
• Webinars, other live and virtual events
Other Training Resources
• Self-study materials
• QuickBooks on-line help
• Intuit self-paced learning
• Third-party reference books
• Conferences and trade shows
• Training seminars from Intuit – Intuit Academy
• The Sleeter Group, Scaling New Heights
• State CPA Associations
• Additional Intuit-endorsed training
• By Real World Training: www.quickbookstraining.com
Pricing and Promoting
QuickBooks Training and
Consulting Services
Pricing QuickBooks Services
• One on one hourly training rates range based on
experience, certifications, geographic area, etc.
• Consider…
• Different billing rates for remote services vs.
onsite services
• Fixed fee engagements – as long as the scope of
work is well established
• Pre-paid support plans for onsite or remote
support
• Intuit conducts yearly rate survey
• Check out ProAdvisor website for latest
information
Building an Ongoing Engagement
• Many ProAdvisors ignore existing clients while
seeking new clients
• Look for new ways to train your existing clients
• If you offer troubleshooting, make sure to use it as
a jumping off point for additional services
• Remind your clients of the other services you offer
• Teaching your clients to be independent doesn’t
mean they won’t need you anymore
• Help your clients determine what they should do
vs. what you can do for them
Thanks for Participating!