The Smartphone and The CPA: It’s Not a Joke!

If you have have a website for your accounting firm you’re doing something right. It will be many years before we discover a better instrument in the unremitting battle for increasing efficiency than your website.

But you can’t just stop there. To really succeed you need to look at a lot of other strategies. Most of these strategies are traditional and well known, but every now and then something new comes along, and the firm that spots and acts on these new trends fastest will benefit from them the most.

There’s a change going on, and CPA’s ought to embrace it: the smartphone.

A lot of people think of smart phones as some kind of fad or toy. They’re a status symbol for kids, and these young people often spend hours a day texting and playing video games on them.  It’s understandable that they are earning a reputation as “time sinks”, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the hands of a responsible adult a smartphone becomes a powerful business tool.

Once you join the “smartphone revolution,” you’ll see why they’re taking over. With this tool, your productivity soars – and you even strengthen your relationship with clients.

Smartphones Increase Efficiency

Work from Anywhere. It’s especially true during tax season – but this applies anytime of year: accountants are spending more time outside the office.

Whether it’s visiting clients in their office, taking an afternoon to go to their daughter’s ball game, or just working from home after hours, CPAs find plenty of reasons to leave the desk behind.

Smartphones make it much easier to do business away from your office. You can access to phone numbers, addresses, your calendar, and your email – all while getting your life done.

Not Ready to Start Hiring Again? When the recession hit, many accounting firms had to lay off staff – and they’re not yet confident enough in the economic recovery to rehire.

Smartphones give partners a way to conduct the business of the office with fewer admins and assistants.

The smartphone’s primary benefit is it’s ability to radically improve your office’s efficiency, but the marketing benefits of smartphones are becoming more pronounced every day. This brings us to my next important point…

Smartphones Strengthen Client Relationships

Increasingly, accountants find that their clients expect a return phone call right away. When a client calls in with a question, it’s not acceptable to wait until you’re back in the office to call them back.

A smartphone is critical for keeping that client relationship as healthy as you can. With a smartphone, the client’s phone number and address is right at your fingertips, wherever you are.

And because you can sync a smartphone with your email, you’re able to access lots of relevant information about your client, too.

50 Million Users Can’t Be Wrong

There’s no denying the popularity of smartphones. Here’s a breakdown of the most popluar brands’ market shares:

Blackberry – 41.7%

iPhone – 24.4%

Microsoft – 13.2%

Google – 13% (the Android operating system)

All told, nearly 50 million people in the United States use this technology, an 8.1% increase from earlier this year.

That’s a lot of smartphones.

Take Advantage of the Experts

There’s only one catch: if you’re not technically savvy, it can be a bit tricky to set up your phone to sync with your email.

But do not fear. Providers of websites for accountants do this all the time – and they can help. Let your Webmaster handle all the techie details.

Whether you choose a Blackberry, iPhone, or the up-and-coming Droid – join the smartphone revolution today. Your accounting or CPA firm will benefit.