Hey, it’s Tailor - Happy Friday!!
Let’s jump right into newsletter #4 talking about why slower financials and reactive firms are being left behind.
Table of Contents
Reactive Firms = Replaceable Firms
Have you ever gone to start a client’s month-end hoping to complete it smoothly and then… boom!
You notice they bought a new asset or took out a new loan…
It slows your whole process down, right? And we look silly reaching out weeks after they purchased or did something.
This can 100% be avoided and I’m going to tell you why it’s a symptom of reactive client service.
Most firms are stuck in reactive mode and truly I think it might end in disruption for them if they don't adapt.
The Cost of Being Reactive:
Reactive firms….
Get held up by client communication & questions because they're communicating with them less often.
Clients get data way too late to actually use.
Are less of a sticky partner to their clients, and more of a "check it off the list" type service provider.
Opportunities to upsell or add value to clients are missed.
When you're doing reactive accounting, you're simply more replaceable.
Luckily, reactive firms can become proactive relatively easily these days by leveraging existing technologies.
What proactive looks like:
Okay, so the good news? It’s not that hard to level up.
Here are a few good examples of how it benefits clients.
Type of Work: | Reactive | Proactive |
|---|---|---|
Cash Flow | Balance sheet amounts. Useless for planning. | Weekly or real-time cash updates with low-balance alerts. Payroll never surprises you. |
Sales Data | 15+ days after month-end you see results. | Daily, automated sales data. Always current. |
Credit Card Fraud | Fraud spotted next month.. maybe? | Weekly reviews or instant alerts for unusual charges. |
Overspending | Noticed weeks or a month later. Hard to address. | Ramp alerts same day. You call the client right away to add value. |
Tax Hits | Big check in April for taxes. | Rolling profit alerts & updated estimates. No surprises. |
Simple add-ons like bank rules, live dashboards, and client notifications so you can cover them truly matter to clients.
It's become easier to do our work, so why not pass that additional value down to the client too?
The Payoff for Your Firm:
Proactive isn’t just good for the clients, it’s also good for us.
Cleaner data means faster Month-end closes and fewer headaches.
Alerts stop fire drills before they start. Your staff stays happier and less stressed.
Clients share more context during the month, so you aren’t scrambling later.
The shift to proactive makes your firm smoother, more profitable, and way less stressful for your staff.
The Reality:
Proactive firms are winning right now. Period.
They charge higher fees because clients see the value.
They retain longer because clients feel understood and like you're a part of their team.
They get referrals because this additional value add is still pretty rare.
Historical data is getting cheaper every day. Any accountant can tell you what already happened.
The firms that scale are the ones who sell clarity about what’s happening now + what's coming next.
Are you supporting your clients reactively or proactively?
P.S. You can hire people to help with this by the way. Shoot me an email if and I can make an intro.
Technology for Proactive Firms
Okay, here are some tech suggestions I have for being a bit more proactive.
Booker/Accruer - Automates recurring entries and accruals so clients see real numbers during the month, not surprises later.
Findaily - This is recurring bank/QBO data emails directly to you or your clients weekly. Super powerful for those hands off clients.
Herv AI - This one is so cool, it will regularly check QBO files for changes that you might want to be notified about (new accounts, unusual activity, etc).
None of these are referral links***
Question for you
If you closed shop tomorrow, would your clients miss you or just your reports?
Upcoming
Intuit Connect Oct 27-29 - I’ll be speaking there on this exact topic, who else is going?
Thanks for reading and have a great long weekend! See you in two weeks.
Tailor