How firms can create capacity to benefit from adding new clients

Adding new clients is a solid growth strategy—if it's done smartly. It's also a popular choice for tax and accounting firms of all sizes.  

According to a 2021 survey performed by Accounting Today for Wolters Kluwer, 61% of firms surveyed plan to focus on recruiting new business clients, and 39% plan to recruit new individual clients to grow their firm over the next three to five years.  

But what's the right mix for your firm's recruiting goals? And what makes business clients so much more attractive?  

Adding new business clients creates two opportunities: complexity and cross-selling.

Complexity 

Business returns are typically more complex—and more lucrative—than standard individual returns. Plus, with the accounting industry's focus on higher-value advisory services, it makes sense that recruiting new business clients is a more appealing growth strategy.  

Cross-selling

Business clients need your help at tax time, but they also are likely to take advantage of additional services, such as fractional CFO, business forecasting, or bookkeeping services, which offer your firm the advantage or year-round income smoothing. 

Individual clients who are onboarded using a comprehensive and supportive approach are likely to be open to cross-selling additional services too. 

Adding either business or individual clients also can create a big challenge: capacity. 

Capacity

Complex engagements take longer to complete, which means your staff will need to work faster and smarter—or it might simply mean you need to add or outsource staff. However, we all know that hiring has never been more difficult or expensive, so that may not be the most cost-effective tactic to try.  

Instead, consider increasing your current staff's capacity by rethinking your processes and leveraging technology to make sure you've automated, optimized, and streamlined your workflow and project management tracking. 

Although this is especially helpful for business clients, large firms that optimize their processes for individual clients also can take advantage of economies of scale. Maybe that's why 53% of large firms are counting on adding individual clients to help them grow, versus 39% of firms overall. Large firms can increase capacity by relying on a combination of automation, emerging technologies such as RPA and AI, and SMEs to streamline operations and increase capacity.

Find out more ways firms are setting and meeting strategic growth goals. Download the "Deep Dive Into the Strategic Goals of Today's Accounting Firms" ebook today.