MFA: What did you do to make yourself different from all the other local firms?

ES: As you can imagine, when I gave up my full time job as an employed Management Accountant, I was more than a little nervous about taking those first steps in self-employment. I had many years’ experience in Management Accounting roles, so I was confident of my ability to do the job, but when you start a new business, there is so much more to learn. You need to get on top of marketing, advertising, preparing a business plan, understanding the numbers, finding new clients and setting up a new website. The list is endless. So I joined the local Entrepreneur’s Circle and quickly realised that if I was
going to succeed, I needed to be and do things that were typical of an accountancy firm.

For example, I created a flyer in the form of a Wild West ‘WANTED’ poster giving details of a special offer for new clients and a list of the services I provided. It worked and made me hungry for other things that would give me an edge over other accountants. I was like a sponge, absorbing as much as I could, attending seminars and conferences, and implementing as much as I could. So when I went to the annual CIMA MiP (Members in Practice) conference and heard the presentation from MyFirmsApp about your Apps for accountants, I knew I wanted one!

MFA: And has it worked for you?

ES: Oh yes! As soon as my App was ready, I showed it to everyone at the next Entrepreneur’s Circle meeting. They were very complimentary and everyone downloaded it immediately! I’m sure that helped me win the Entrepreneur of the Month Award.

I have been delighted at the reaction people have to my App, too. Whether they are friends, family or potential clients, I only have to say ‘Oh, and I’ve just launched my own App’ and you can see they are impressed. That recognition that I’m doing something out of the ordinary is so exciting and rewarding.

The other thing I really like about the App is that it has features that help me as much as they help my clients. For example the Receipts Management feature helps my clients keep track of their expense receipts and, in turn, that means I don’t have to spend time sifting through bags of receipts.

The mileage calculator too is proving to be a very helpful tool for me and my clients. Like the Receipts Management tool, it provides a Win-Win for both sides.

MFA: And how do you see the App working for you in
the future?

ES: To be perfectly honest, I’m sure I have only scratched the surface of what the App can do for my practice, so far. I know I can use it in lots of other ways – Push Notifications for example will help me keep in touch with my clients better. But as a new business, it’s one step at a time.

All accountants say they are ‘different’, but often find it difficult to explain what the difference is. Having an App has given me something tangible that clearly demonstrates I’m different. As my Business Growth Advisor at the Entrepreneur’s Circle said “Elizabeth is a Management Accountant and if you can imagine your typical stereotype for this profession, Elizabeth is the polar opposite of this!” Praise indeed!

Request your free App demo today

Your free telephone demo will enable you to see the App live without any obligation at all.

Discover how an App will:

• Be customised exclusively for your firm
• Immediately and effortlessly differentiate you
• Rapidly pay for itself many times over
• Save you hours of operational time
• Become a tool that your clients and prospects will love
• Win you new customers
• Be constantly updated and managed by us

demo@myfirmsapp.co.uk 01325 469603

We spoke to David Houston about their experiences and, more importantly, how they now value the App as a working tool.

MFA: Do you see your firm as ‘technologically advanced’? What was the principal reason behind your investment in an App?

DH: As accountants with an entrepreneurial focus, I guess we are perhaps a little more open minded than many accountants. Our experience has not been solely in ‘the profession’ – we’ve run our own businesses and gained a lot of experiences from that. We are open to marketing ideas too, so when we first ‘discovered’ the concept of Apps for accountants we readily accepted it. It was then a question of ‘how much’ and ‘how soon’. We don’t see ourselves as technologically advanced, but it’s not difficult to see that if all our clients and prospects use Smartphones and tablets in their businesses, then we would be foolish to ignore them. Using an App to do so seemed to be the logical next step.

MFA: Why did you choose MyFirmsApp?

DH: Once we started gathering information about Apps, MFA quickly came to the top of our attention. They were being endorsed by ICAS so we went along to a 1:1 demonstration at the ICAS offices last year. They explained everything clearly and gave us many great reasons to go ahead. Once we had made the decision, it all happened surprisingly quickly and we soon had our App available for free download in the Apple and Google stores. We saw it as a low cost way to be ‘different’.

MFA: And since you have had your App, how effective has it been?

DH: Let me give you 2 specific events that have driven home the very real benefits of having our own App. The first was at a regular BNI Chapter meeting in Glasgow, shortly after we took delivery of our App. I gave a 10 minute presentation

about the App; how it worked and what we hoped to achieve with it. There were 70 business owners in the audience and my presentation was assessed as ‘the best they had ever seen’! What’s more, every one of those 70 business owners downloaded the App right there! Talk about being highly targeted… we couldn’t have wished for a better response and, better still, it has resulted in a number of new clients.

The second case is a little less focused – but equally effective. One of our clients met a friend – let’s call him John – in the pub on a Friday night and after the usual ‘how’s business?’ chat, the talk turned to accountants. John was clearly dissatisfied with his firm so our client showed him our App on his iPhone. John was very impressed and immediately downloaded our App.

We all know that talk about accountants in a pub on a Friday night is usually wiped from the memory by Saturday morning, so we were very pleasantly surprised to receive a call from John on Monday morning asking to meet us for a chat. He is now a client.

All accountants say they are ‘different’, but it’s hard to explain why they are any different from the rest. Yet having an App has given us something tangible that clearly demonstrates we are different. There’s no hard sell, no sales or marketing spiel, just an App that can be quickly and easily downloaded onto their Smartphone or tablet and immediately opens communication between us and the potential client. It’s very simple, but highly effective!

We spoke to Fooks & Co senior partner, Dave Collins about their experiences in acquiring their App and how it has impacted their relationships with their clients.

MFA: John, you have recently upgraded your App from the Gold version to Platinum. That suggests you are happy with how the App is working for your firm. Can you explain the biggest benefit you’ve noticed?

DH: Of course. I have to say that having an App is one of the best decisions we have ever made as a practice. It has completely changed the way in which we interact with our clients. In the past, it was always difficult to find time to communicate with clients – apart from the time of year when accounts were due – so there was nothing that could be considered to be a ‘relationship’. And in my mind, running a relationship-based business without having any relationships was disturbing. We tried, of course, but sending newsletters and the like in the mail is hard work, expensive – and one-sided!

With the App in place we can now communicate with our clients quickly, efficiently and cheaply. And it’s no longer one way! Our clients are frequent users of the App and many have phoned to congratulate us on having the initiative to create it. One of our clients – a technology company, no less – was so taken with the concept that they asked us if we could create an App for them!

So the App has created exactly what I wanted – the ability to expand the practice using technology with the added benefit of stimulating better two-way communication between us and our clients and prospects. The bonus is that it’s all happened quickly and efficiently and at such low cost.

Absolutely brilliant!

When I reviewed the MyFirmsApp solution it looked good but to be perfectly honest, I said yes simply because and I thought it might be a nice ‘gimmick’ or ‘freebie’ for clients and a powerful, differentiating marketing tool.

When I looked at our App on my iPhone it was well designed, heavily customised to our firm and our image, had fantastic integration with our blog and so was an effective, automated communication tool but beyond that it was, well, ‘basic’.

That’s not to say I was disappointed; after all there’s a limit to how sexy a calculator or a fact sheet can be. But personally I didn’t actually think or believe clients would download it, let alone use it. But like I say that was not my goal for the App, it was specifically to help differentiate us.

It worked
I was right, it did differentiate us. What I underestimated was by how much and in how many different ways. We have had PR articles in important local publications like Cotswold Life and Business & Professional life, and we have had people sharing feedback with us on the App stores.

It’s strengthened our message of being proactive, forward thinking innovators – focused on entrepreneurs and helped us become even more visibly different than our competitors and all for such a small investment of money.

But I was still wrong
It didn’t stop there though. Before this project I didn’t expect our clients to really engage with our App; that was until we started getting feedback from clients. They were loving

it; I mean not just downloading it or using it once or twice. They are engaging with it, some of them multiple times each day. And each time they did, our branding and name was in front of them. And, well, am I glad it’s not a competitors!

I underestimated the desire for our clients to interact, communicate and get content via their smartphones.

A talking point
It’s been a big talking point for clients and prospects. A very nice, professional way to share what we do differently without ‘selling’. We just give them a link to the App store, they get the App and we can then communicate with them.

And what I said at the start about it being basic; we were one of the first 5 firms to use the solution. Since then its come on leaps and bounds, and as the team at MyFirmsApp continue to innovate, they are innovating for my clients and prospects. We have upgraded to platinum and are looking forward to the future.

Whatever happens, we will continue to try and prepare our
clients for the future, today.

“We are delighted with our App, which was designed by the team at MyFirmsApp. The process was simple and the cost extremely competitive. It gives us great content in two sections – first the tax tables and really helpful calculators, and second the content we can update ourselves, helping us keep clients and potential clients updated with news and events at Alexander & Co and different ways we have helped clients. It’s a fantastic marketing tool with links to our blog, website and social media.”

Richard Alexander | Senior Partner | Alexander & Co Accountants

A great new App free from Alexander & Co here in North Cornwall
Managing Director Richard Alexander says “The App has been carefully designed in response to the growing use of smart phones and mobile devices used by our clients across Cornwall. We wanted to develop a way to keep them up to date with the very latest news, views and tips, as well as providing them with key accounting data, in real time, at their fingertips.”

What will the Alexander & Co App do for you?
The good news is that the Alexander & Co App is not exclusive to their clients and you too will be able to use the APP. For example you will be able to calculate the tax on certain company cars, keep a record of company mileage or check the amount of tax you might be paying. It will give you the power to check Stamp Duty costs or see how you might increase your profits as a business. You can also browse the library of tax tables, giving you the very latest tax rates 24/7 whenever you need them. From National Insurance and Inheritance Tax to Income Tax and Tax Credits – it’s there for you.

Client Manger Paul Reynold’s, who is a keen APP user, says “Developing an App is, we believe, a proactive way to help individuals across Cornwall to become more successful and more profitable and ultimately helping businesses to be more enjoyable to run. The Alexander & Co App gives everyone fantastic content plus it makes it really easy to keep in touch. It has a simple ‘arrange to meet’ page along with all our contact information as well as links to our social media pages.”

Alexander & Co is one of the very first accountancy firms in Cornwall to launch a free mobile App. The great news is this App is now available and can be downloaded onto your iPhone, iPad or Android phones. It’s packed full of some really useful Tax Tables, Calculators and important dates. All of which you will be able to access for free, anywhere you have internet connection on your device. It is certainly refreshing to hear from a proactive firm who are technologically advanced.

Why did Alexander & Co develop its own App?
“We like to think that we are a proactive, forward thinking and refreshingly different firm of accountants.” says Client Manager Stephanie Stock, “For example, we already embrace an electronic filing system so that everyone at Alexander & Co can always lay their hands on your records and correspondence; even those persons who are not working on your affairs. We also take our green credentials seriously by using solar power and by being committed to recycling. Both of which make sound business sense too.”