Accounting firms often strive for efficiency above all else – but when accountants have to complete client projects as quickly as possible, that efficiency can backfire. Clients want friendly service with an accountant that’s happy to answer their questions, so service that’s too abrupt can leave them looking elsewhere. 

When prospects or clients have questions, it’s an opportunity to set your firm apart with a good “bedside manner” (aka affability) that sets clients at ease. Below, we’ll explore why affability is important for accountants, and how you can tweak your firm’s processes to embed affability into everything you do.

Why affability is just as important as technical skills

When you first hear from your clients, they have a problem they’re hoping you can solve. Their taxes have become too complex, they need someone to handle the financial reporting for their newly growing business, or they’re being audited.

Whatever the case, there’s a good chance they’re stressed out about it when they call you. That means the type of response they get can make or break your future work together.

So what is affability? It might be things like:

• Smiling, eye contact, and a friendly tone
• Listening actively, but without interrupting
• Clear, thoughtful responses that don’t use too much jargon

The problem? Each of your employees will come to your firm with a different capacity for affability. In order to nurture this skill on your team, you’ll need to build the potentia; for affability into their workflows.

1. Factor client service into your employees’ utilization rates

You can’t fully control how friendly your employees are – but if you’re optimizing your firm’s capacity, it’s a good idea to take a look at utilization rates and see if there’s wiggle room for more non-billable time with clients, especially if you’re charging per project.

Putting a little less pressure on accountants can help ensure the team maintains a good rapport with clients. When everyone is less stressed out, it’s way easier to deliver client service that goes above and beyond.

2. Keep centralized client notes

Clients expect personalized service; they want an accountant that remembers their details each time. When there’s employee turnover at your firm, handing off clients can get tricky as those details get lost in the shuffle.

Keep client rapport intact with tools like ProCharted where you can leave notes on client profiles and keep the whole team in the loop. You can use client notes to keep track of both the technical details of a client’s account, and their preferences, communication styles, and future goals to help you upsell things like advisory services if they’re the right fit.

You can also use client notes to keep track of important dates beyond the due dates for their projects to guide communication – for example, if the client will be away on certain days, or is planning on making a big financial move in a few months.

3. Have a FAQ for both clients and accountants to refer to

One of the most important parts of affability is one thing that a lot of accountants overlook: being able to explain accounting concepts clearly. When clients have a question, they want it answered in a way that will make sense to them.

But often, the concepts and tax laws that you’re working with are complex and require a lot of background knowledge. So how do you ensure that your team has a way of explaining things in a client-friendly way?

One way to do this is to create a FAQ page on your website, so clients can look up the answer on their own. This page can also serve as a reference for your accounting team; they’ll already know the concepts, but the FAQ can serve as a handy reference for how to explain those concepts in simple terms.

Accuracy is only the baseline for accounting firms

As Accounting Today notes, getting the work done right is table stakes. What will really set your firm apart is client service that makes them want to work with you. Tools like ProCharted can help you embed better client service into your workflows with notes that your whole team can access in a few clicks.

In short, building trust goes hand-in-hand with building client relationships. Having friendly, collaborative accountants on your team will help keep your clients coming back – and even recommending your firm to their network!