The Clarity Award – What success looks like for you and how you get there, solving cash flow, profit and time restraint issues as a first priority.
Quick read…From gruelling 9-to-5’s, low morale and problematic cash flow, to a flourishing, advisory-based firm (with a deliriously happy team).
Prior to their AVN adventure, work life at CPT had become stale.
“Workflow & cash flow were poor & morale throughout the team was at an all-time low”
As a firm, they were delivering compliance services – making them time-short, and cash-flow poor – doing a disservice to not just their team, but also to their clients. It was only matter of time before the client exodus began.
“The practice was at breaking point”
Brian and his team knew that change was needed – a revolution, not an evolution, yet they lacked any idea as to where to begin.
“We needed the driving force throughout the team”
The CPT AVN journey began with a webinar. In the space of an hour, Brian was captivated. The invitation to the AVN Masterclass was duly accepted, followed quickly by another – this time attended by two more of the team. And with that, the CPT AVN Steering Group was born – two hours every fortnight, spearheaded by the youngest team member, with the sole purpose of setting out bitesize goals for progress.
“The first action was the benchmarking of the practice”
The AVN Roadmaps flagged up multiple red areas – highlighting underperformance, and signalling the need for immediate action. The AVN team encouraged and reassured CPT that a 10% minimum price rise was warranted – to which not a single client objection was made. With their confidence boosted, CPT looked to specific business services – and found that they’d been drastically undercharging.
Regular billing was also a sticky issue. So CPT completely rebuilt their billing procedure – something that was previously clunky, cumbersome and time-sapping for Brian. Now, every team member takes on their own billing. Delays of days have been replaced with first of the month email billing, and work-in-progress is kept down by billing throughout the month where possible.
“Next, we graded our clients based on AVN’s criteria. We believe in the potential of our clients to transform our practice and their business”.
Existing clients now receive an agenda prior to a meeting – so each client now arrives with questions, while CPT can broach subjects such as referrals in advance.
New clients were also put under the spotlight, and are now presented with three clearly defined packages illustrating service levels ranging from 3 to 5 stars.
“A company accounts client paid a fee of £2.5k prior to their review.
They choose the 5-star package – to include management accounts & bookkeeping. The fees rose to £8.5k & the client kindly offered to pay in advance!”
And these aren’t the only changes CPT has made…
- The new phone answering script presents a more polished company image
- The new action planners ensure points are actioned in a timely manner, delighting clients and keeping ‘To Dos’ on track
- Accounts for review are processed within 72 hours, and review points are cleared within a further 24, driving down bottleneck
“This system empowered team members as each took responsibility for their client portfolio, improving morale & making each team member feel like a valued stakeholder”.
Just four months in, a lot has changed for CPT.
- Fees over the course of three months are up 55%, 52% & 85% respectively
- Cash flow has noticeably improved
- Fees for Company Secretarial services are up by 300%, with only 1% of clients opting to do their own
Admin time has been cut away – with the CPT team working more on chargeable work. Brian works ‘on’ the business, rather than simply ‘in’ it.
All in all, CPT have streamlined the practice, demanding less of Brian’s day-to-day time – and creating peace of mind for his future succession.
CPT have a crystal-clear view of where their business is, and where they’re heading. In just four months, they’ve achieved the revolution they set out to. We can’t wait to see what they’ll achieve in the coming year. And that, is why CPT are our clear winners for the Clarity award.
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