Innovation: Beach Series 2

Innovation in the bookkeeping industry is coming down the pipe. What bots can do is going to revolutionize the industry in the next six months.

[1:20] If you’re prepared, that can be a good thing for your business. If you took away everything you did day to day right now, how would you still serve your clients?

[1:50] We have to start thinking about the differences between what our clients need and want. People need to have their tax returns prepared, but they want to save as much money on their taxes as possible. Bookkeeping clients need to have clean books, but they want to have more profitability in their business.

[2:55] As you start to innovate, ask yourself, “If everything I did today went away except for the human interaction I have with my clients and my team, what would I do?” Then ask yourself what your clients want, not just what they need.

[3:20] You will not be laughing when bots are able to provide perfect financial statements, but instead of working against the bots and technology, we can work with them instead. They should complement the human interactions in your business.

[4:10] Artificial intelligence will take a lot of the mundane tasks off your hands, which will free up your time to develop new skills. That could include budgeting, forecasting, or financial ratios, anything that your clients truly want and not just things that they need.

[5:10] Go to Google Trends and type in bookkeeping. Set up an alert to stay in touch with what is happening in our industry and be proactive.

[6:05] Another benefit of getting away to a mastermind is that you get away from your routine and your environment. Just make sure that you prepare your team and your clients and that you’re actually unplugged. There is no such thing as a bookkeeping emergency.