My website guy, Steve, asked recently about frequently asked questions (FAQ); things prospective clients want to know. That got me thinking: What about the questions that people don’t ask, but should; the frequently unasked questions so to speak (unfortunately that spells FUQ). And the first two at least will probably be relevant to your business too.
Frequently asked questions vs Frequently unasked questions
FAQ: How much do you charge?
FUQ: How much value can you add to my business?
This doesn’t just have to be money, peace of mind knowing the returns have been filed is important to so many people especially in the light of new tax rules, and changes to payroll and pensions reporting. Extra money could come from tax saved or (more importantly to my mind) from money made by growing your business.
FAQ: What is your hourly rate?
FUQ: How much value can you add to my business?
Yes I know I’ve just said that but it bears repeating. Hourly rates make people focus on time spent and not on developing a relationship with their client. If you have a question you should be able to ask it and not worry about being charged extra. Having said that you will need to appreciate that anyone (not just an accountant) will need to set a charge that will enable them to work with you on your business to help it prosper.
FAQ: How much tax can you save me?
FUQ: How much money can you make for me?
The least tax you can pay is £0, but the sky is the limit when it comes to making money. People like to save tax and reduce expenses (mainly because they have already made the money and they want to keep it, we have that “preservation” instinct left over from our early days chasing zebras and trying to avoid starving.
But what if you put that effort into making money instead of saving it? So many people don’t get this, not really.
FAQ: Can you do this business plan for my bank?
FUQ: Can you look at this business idea and see if it works.
You should want to know what the business could really make, if you can expand it, how sensitive are the numbers in the plan to change (no one gets the estimates right first time), will it be saleable in the medium / long term?
In short, how big a risk is it honestly? And what sort of reward will you get over what timescale with what input (both money and time)?
Also apologies to anyone who tried emailing after last weeks request for feedback. Rather than replying to this email you can email me at paul@pgsaccountancy.co.uk (and please put the blog title in so that I know it’s not spam)
Have a great weekend
Paul