If you’re like most accountants and bookkeepers, to get paid more you either must work more hours and/or take on more clients.

This is a trap.

This is a trap because most accountants and bookkeepers already have a full plate.

This is a trap because most accountants and bookkeepers don’t relish the idea of having to work more hours.

This is a trap because, unfortunately, most accountants and bookkeepers cannot raise their fees (because they’re in a commoditized industry where downward price pressure always exists).

So, how do you escape?

There’s one way to escape the trap – provide a service that your clients actually want so that you can earn more without working more.

You see, people will spend more money on products or services that either bring them joy or help them avoid pain.

If you can bring clients joy and/or help them avoid pain, they’ll pay you more. It’s as simple as that. It’s why the same people who price shop groceries will also spend thousands of dollars at Disney World.

Here’s the thing: most accountants and bookkeepers are selling services (tax and bookkeeping) to business owners that neither bring the business owner enjoyment nor help them avoid pain.

Therefore, most accountants and bookkeepers are in the accountant’s trap.

In the minds of most business owners, accounting, tax, and bookkeeping services are a necessary evil. They must be done. And, because most business owners are not financially astute, they think anyone can “do the books”. Therefore, they don’t value the accountant or bookkeeper who does a good job at “doing the books”.

Hence why most accountants and bookkeepers are in a trap. They’re selling something that business owners do not value.

So, again, how do escape the trap? By providing a service that your business clients actually want. Essentially, you need to provide a service that will bring them joy and/or help them avoid pain.

And, what service can you provide that will accomplish this? Advisory services.

Business owners want (not just need) their trusted financial professional (you!), to give them guidance on how to have a growing and successful business.
Essentially, they want you to be their advisor.

Why? Because, for most business owners, their business is not a hobby for them. It must work! And if someone they already trust (you), comes along, and says that you’ll not only “do the books” but also help them have a growing and successful business, they will pay attention to what you have to say.

You see, their business is their livelihood.

It’s the one thing that puts food on their families’ dinner table.

It’s the one thing that’s a source of pride for the owner.

It’s the one thing that the business owner cannot fail at.

In other words, getting guidance on having a growing and successful business will, quite literally, bring them joy and help them avoid pain.

And, if you can do that (bring your client joy and help them avoid pain by being their advisor), you’ll...

• Be able to raise your prices (because you’ll be able to charge for your value, instead of your time, or instead of price matching your competitors).
• Retain your clients longer (because if you’re helping them with the one thing they care about – having a growing and successful business – they’ll retain your services for a long time).
• Be able to get off the marketing roller coaster (because it’s much easier to attract clients by promoting something they want, not just need).

The beauty of offering advisory services is that you can also offer the services that your clients need - namely tax and bookkeeping services.

By offering tax and/or bookkeeping services, along with advisory services, you’ll...

• Be able to be the one-stop financial shop for your clients.
• Know that the books are accurate and timely (because you or your team are doing them).
• Be able to bundle your advisory and accounting services together and earn more per client.

So... how do you do it? How do you successfully escape the accountant’s trap by offering advisory services?

We believe you need three ingredients:

Ingredient #1: Scalability

Essentially, you must be able to earn more without working more. In other words, you must become scalable.

Scalable is defined as the ability to increase revenues without an increase in costs.

So, to earn more without working more, you must be able to increase your revenues while, at the same time, reduce the amount of time involved to service that same revenue.

You see, most accountants and bookkeepers are in the accountant’s trap precisely because what they are offering is not scalable. Every time they take on a new client, the amount of time involved (or payroll involved) to service the client goes up. There’s no scale as the business grows.

This leads to ingredient number two.

Ingredient #2: Systems

To become scalable, you need systems. Specifically, you need systems for providing both advisory services and accounting services that not only get results but gets results without spending a lot of time on each client.

Essentially, having systems to provide both advisory and accounting services are key to escaping the trap of trading time for money.

Systems are the key to allowing you to scale. In other words, a good system will allow you to increase your firm’s revenue (more clients and increased fees) without taking on more costs.

My team and I (at The CFO Project) have spent years testing and teaching various advisory systems so that your clients can get real results in a scalable way.

At the same time, software companies like QuickBooks have spent years developing tools that make accounting and bookkeeping services as efficient as possible. All so that the accountant can spend less time on compliance and transactional work and more time on providing value-added services to their clients.

Ingredient #3: Give your clients want they want (and, later, deliver what they need)

To really escape the accountant’s trap – and truly earn more without having to work more – you must sell a service that your clients want.

We know all business clients need bookkeeping and need tax work. But...that’s not what they really want.

And what does your client want? You, their financial professional, the one person they trust, the one person who understands numbers and financials to also be the one person who gives them guidance on having a growing and successful business.

If you can give them what they want (guidance on having a successful business) then they’ll be more than willing to also allow you to be the one who does their books and taxes. Why? Because they already trust you.

Now you’re the client’s go-to financial guide. Their confidant. Their business financial advisor. You’re not only ensuring that the past is recorded correctly, but you’re also ensuring that their future is more secure.

This is what will bring your clients joy.

This is what will help your clients avoid pain.

This is what will allow you to earn more without working more.

And, this is what will allow you to escape the accountant’s trap.

This post is in partnership with Intuit.