As accountants, your job is far more than number crunching. Accountants are also advisors and not just on tax liabilities and expenses but also on wider business concerns and current events.
Some here may find that they’re already working with clients who are not up to date with things like Making Tax Digital and need a bit more help.
In order to make life easier for accountants and their clients is to anticipate the kinds of questions clients are going to have and create resources to explain them. This is why most websites will have a FAQs section. It saves time on both sides.
Many new accountancy websites create a site which acts like a shopfront, it functions well and advertises your services but there’s not much else to it. If you want to go one step further you might want to take a look at how your website is currently serving your clients and how you can expand on that.
If you want to build your website with a focus on helping clients then turn it into a place that they want to keep coming back to. Creating a resource section with guides, tips and industry news will turn your website into an invaluable resource rather than just a shopfront.
Making Tax Digital guide
This is going to be one of the most popular causes for concern among businesses and sole traders. It may have quietened down a bit since the delay was announced but soon enough it’ll come up again and clients will want to know if it applies to them and what they have to do about it.
Creating a guide on what MTD is, what clients will have to do and sending it out to them or referring clients to it will help inform them and also save your accountants some time in explaining it.
IR35 guide
This piece of legislation and the recent reforms have been a great source of confusion and upset for contractors and businesses that hire them. Having a guide will help people stay informed about whether they’re under IR35 or not. Some people should be but aren’t, others are but don’t want to be so any information to steer people through the confusion would be welcome.
The different types of company
When it comes to setting up a company, there are so many options so it’s difficult to tell which the best option for you is. A good thing to have on your website is a resource that explains the difference between sole traders, limited companies and limited liability partnerships.
Be prepared for questions too, but hopefully a resource like this will cut down some of that and let clients learn about the differences in their own time.
Directors’ salary and dividends
Paying yourself as the director of a company is more complicated than a lot of newbie entrepreneurs might think. So a guide on the most tax efficient way of doing this would be a great help. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to discuss it with the client separately, but the more informed clients are when you come to speak to them, the better.
How to use bookkeeping software
If you’ve got your own software then you’re probably going to need an extensive section of resources to help people use it effectively. Video tutorials, FAQs or a forum could all be helpful for clients to learn from and accountants to refer them to.
Relevant links and forms
Featuring important links and forms that all business owners will need helps to keep everything in one place for clients and make their lives easier. So think about creating a page on your website for links to HMRC and Companies House and forms for registering for self-assessment and VAT.
Blog
Another way you can provide your clients with useful information is to create and regularly contribute to a blog on your website. A blog is a good place to feature news and stories in the industry to keep people up to date on the latest.
A blog also allows you to build up your brand, drive traffic to the rest of your website and show people that you’re an expert in the accounting industry.
Anything you can do to make life easier for your clients is going to be much welcomed. An accountant is supposed to make things easier.
There are also benefits for you as a firm. Creating a website that isn’t just a way to show off your services but a place that clients can come to enrich their business knowledge will do wonders for your brand. This will put you ahead of the competition and make you stand out.
When potential clients come across your website they are more likely to trust your judgement and ability to help them through running a business so this could help with getting new clients too.
