What's Beyond The Books?

Is it just me or does it feel like we went to sleep in 1997 with Aqua's Barbie Girl stuck in our head and suddenly woken up in 2024?!

It only feels like we were celebrating the turn of the millennium last month, yet suddenly we're almost quarter of the way through the next century - how did that happen?!

It's no wonder that I've barely blinked and suddenly Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping was over 3 months ago and not the 3 weeks ago that it feels!

I know lots of you unfortunately couldn't attend FAB and have been eager to hear all about the talk I did about "What's Beyond The Books"; apologies it's taken me so long to share - that's life for you! - but better late than never so they say!

We all have that one thing that even our friends and family all know we will never ever agree to do – for me, it’s public speaking! …or so I thought..!

After a brief chat with Mike Goldsmith from Sift / AccountingWEB.co.uk at the ICB Summit last November, Mike contacted me to ask if I’d throw myself out of my comfort zone and deliver a talk at the Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping (fondly known as FAB!)

I must have had a scoop too much of ice cream that day, as despite being terrified of speaking, I crazily agreed to join the line up! 

The Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping wasn’t until March 2024 and so I had plenty of time to get over my fear – or so I thought! I’m not quite sure what happened but I blinked and suddenly it was 12:40pm on Day Two of the Festival of Accounting and Bookkeeping and I was standing in front of quadruple the amount of bookkeepers (and accountants) that I had envisaged!

Unfortunately, my time calming my nerves before stepping on the stage was typically met with a slight disaster –  15 mins before I stepped onto stage, the AV technician advised that they didn’t have access to the event organisers Google Drive, meaning I couldn’t access my slide pack and so I had to run around Birmingham NEC in a flap to retrieve my laptop from my suitcase stored in the cloakroom!

I’m not sure whether it was this or just the adrenaline from actually overcoming my biggest fear and standing in front of the crowd, but the nerves really skyrocketed and there I was – about to deliver my inspiring talk on What’s Beyond The Books, and I couldn’t even recall my own name never mind what I wanted to say!

A deep breath, a look at my first slide, and I asked the audience my first question…

What does your dream summer look like?

In the blink of an eye, the host of the Bookkeepers Retreat stage was jumping up and down at the back of the audience frantically moving her hand back and forward over her throat in a cut-throat gesture and at first I panicked thinking it had gone so badly she was pulling the plug, but a quick glance at the time and I realised she was signaling to me to wrap up as the time had flown and it was the end of my session!

Thankfully I’d managed to reach the end of my talk and there was a sea of phones eagerly scanning my QR code to download the “Conversation Starters” guide I’d gifted, to help them get started on releasing the magic Beyond The Books (you can grab a copy too here: https://shop.morethanbookkeeping.support/b/conversationstarters)

Despite this and all the fantastic feedback I received from the audience, I was worried that my nerves had got the better of me and I’d not quite delivered the message I’d intended to throughout my talk.

Thankfully (unbeknown to me at the time) a lovely member of the audience, Rachael Cavanagh , had used Chat GPT’s AI note taker – Plaud AI – to take notes during my talk. Whilst Plaud AI has renamed me Myra (I told you I forgot my own name…! Joking aside, I really should work on pronouncing my own name!); the summary it captured of my talk was phenomenal!

I’m not sure if I was more shocked at how well it had captured all the key aspects of my talk, or at how well I’d done to get everything I wanted to say across despite my nerves!

For those of you who weren’t able to attend FAB (or missed my talk), here is Plaud AI’s (courtesy of Rachael) summary…

What’s Beyond the Books – AI Summary

Value-Driven Bookkeeping: Beyond Traditional Services

Summary

This lecture emphasizes the importance of bookkeepers providing value beyond traditional bookkeeping by engaging in conversations with clients to understand and support their personal and business goals, thereby becoming indispensable assets and growing their own business. It highlights the significance of client support, revenue and profit increase, and actionable plans. The speaker, Myra (that should be me, Laura!), encourages immediate action by reaching out to clients with engaging questions and provides a downloadable resource with 50 questions to help bookkeepers engage with their clients.

Knowledge Points

1. The central theme of the lecture is the critical role of bookkeeping in the accounting industry and the various ways in which bookkeepers can provide layered value to their clients, from basic services to strategic guidance.

Importance of Bookkeeping – Bookkeeping is emphasized as a fundamental and powerful component in the accounting industry, crucial for the success of financial processes and services.

Data Underpins Accounting Services – The data derived from bookkeeping is the foundation for all accounting services provided to clients.

Value Beyond Bookkeeping – The lecturer encourages exploring additional value that can be provided to clients beyond basic bookkeeping tasks.

Layered Approach to Value – Value to clients is described as a layered map, with each layer representing a deeper level of service and insight.

Wisdom as Guidance – The top layer of value is using wisdom to guide clients in strategic directions for their business.

Speaker’s Discomfort with Public Speaking – The lecturer admits to a personal discomfort with public speaking, indicating vulnerability but a willingness to provide value. (Discomfort is putting it politely! But it was worth every sweat of fear given how inspired people were and the fantastic achievements some of the audience have made since in providing their client’s with additional services!)

Multiple Paths to Value – There are various paths to providing value to clients, analogous to different routes one can take to climb a mountain. (I love being able to include my passions in my presentations – any excuse to talk about Mount Snowdon!)

Importance of Choosing the Right Path – It’s important to choose a path that is challenging but not overwhelming, both in mountain climbing and in providing client services.

Advanced vs. Leisurely Services – The lecturer contrasts advanced services like tax advice with more ‘leisurely’ services such as management reporting, both providing value. (Not quite sure I called Management Reporting leisurely(!), but was saying that yes, there is by all means significant value that can be provided by providing advanced services such as tax advice, business valuations, R&D claims etc, but  these are all like scrambling up Crib Goch or The Watkin Path at Snowdon – great if your expertise enables this, but you can still provide so much value (arguably even more so!) by taking one of the many easier paths that are aligned to your expertise, skills and passions!)

Basic Services as Significant Value – Basic services, often considered common knowledge, are highlighted as significantly valuable to clients. (It’s often the most basic of suggestions or advice – such as increase your prices by 5% – that is the most valuable!)

Tangible Service Impact – Services that have a direct impact on a client’s business, like improving cash flow or profit, are seen as providing tangible value. (It is this tangible benefit that makes a client unable to say no to the service – who wouldn’t want to generate an extra £30k of cash or profit!)

Client Satisfaction and Profit – Helping clients increase revenue and profits leads to their satisfaction and is beneficial for the service provider as well.

2. The lecture emphasizes the importance of bookkeepers providing value beyond traditional bookkeeping by engaging in conversations with clients to understand and support their personal and business goals, thereby becoming indispensable assets and growing their own business.

Value of Conversations – The importance of having conversations with clients to understand their business and personal goals.

Beyond Bookkeeping – Bookkeepers should offer services that go beyond traditional bookkeeping to help clients grow their business.

Client Support – Providing support and a fantastic experience to clients is crucial for setting oneself apart in the industry.

Revenue and Profit Increase – Offering valuable services can increase a bookkeeper’s revenue, profit, and create a more enjoyable life for them and their clients.

Indispensable Asset – By helping clients achieve their goals, bookkeepers can become an indispensable asset to the business.

Understanding Client Dreams – Bookkeepers should find out what their clients’ dream goals are, such as their dream summer or retirement plans.

Actionable Plans – Helping clients create actionable plans to achieve their personal and business goals.

Financial Decision Involvement – Clients should involve bookkeepers in financial decisions since they manage the books and can align decisions with goals.

Visualization Tools – Using graphs and tables to help clients visualize their business’s financial trajectory and goals.

Future-Focused Reporting – Shifting the focus of reports from past performance to future planning and forecasting.

Accountability Through Reporting – Using reports to hold clients accountable to their business plans and goals.

Engaging Questions – Asking clients engaging questions about their business and personal goals to facilitate conversation and planning.

Immediate Action – Encouraging attendees to take immediate action by reaching out to clients with questions during the lecture.

Resource Availability – Providing a downloadable resource with 50 questions to help bookkeepers engage with their clients.

Personal Connection – Building a personal connection with clients by discussing their personal, not just business, goals.

Client Investment – Discussing goals and plans with clients encourages them to invest in the bookkeeper’s services.

Assignments

1. [ ] Reach out to clients with engaging questions to understand their goals.

2. [ ] Download the resource with 50 questions to engage clients.

3. [ ] Connect with the speaker, Myra (again, that should be me, Laura Day-Henderson !), on LinkedIn and other social platforms.

Either the AI note taker is absolutely incredible at reading my mind, or I actually delivered an engaging, inspiring and useful (hopefully!) talk at Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping !

Grab your copy of the 50 FAB(!) Conversation Starters to instantly sell services Beyond The Books here - https://shop.morethanbookkeeping.support/b/conversationstarters

(Please note there are provided to you an a 'Pay As You Feel' basis - simply override the amount to what you wish to pay whether that be £0, £2, £5 or £20!)

Share your favourite conversation starters in the comments!