Communicating Client Roles & Responsibilities

There are many business owners who like to delegate their bookkeeping by abdication.  They think that as long as there is someone else handling the books, they don’t have to think or do anything to assist in the process.  If not corrected, this attitude will result in major frustration for you which is definitely something we want to avoid!

As you begin working with new clients, it is very important to let those clients know what their role and responsibilities are in your working relationship.  Again, I will refer back to the payroll processing companies.  When you sign up with them, the sales rep tells you:

□ what information is needed to get you started on their system;
□ what information you will need to supply for each payroll, and;
□ how to supply that information.

If the client doesn’t comply with any of these steps, the service cannot and is not provided!

Create a standard “Getting Started Guide” where you begin to communicate your process to the client and what happens if they do not provide you with the information that is needed.  Bookkeeping is a little more complex than payroll processing because we work with the uniqueness of each business.  So while the debits and credits are the same from client to client, the execution (frequency, who prints the checks, etc.) will vary.

Stating it boldly lets the client know you are serious and gives them the opportunity to decide if working with you and your firm is a fit for them or not. (Remember, you only want to work with businesses who take bookkeeping seriously.)  Here is a sample of the language I use:

Your Role and Responsibilities in Our Working Relationship
The success of our working relationship lies in both my team and your team knowing what is expected and when.  It is our highest priority to provide you and your business with the best financial expertise and information that we can, which is why we need your assistance in:

□ Providing us with the requested information when due.
□ Being available for questions and occasional meetings.
□ Understanding that we work with other clients in addition to working with you.

You, doing your part, is crucial to the success of our working relationship and if you or someone on your staff cannot:

□ Routinely set aside time in your schedule to gather and submit to us the information that we need when due;
□ Be available to answer questions and occasionally meet, and;
□ Have emergency requests be the exception and not the rule,

I regret to inform you, we are not the bookkeeping service for you. 

We routinely set aside time in our schedule to specifically work on your account and give you our undivided attention.  When your information is expected and not received, or we cannot obtain answers to our questions it affects the quality of the work we are providing and creates a lot of frustration for both you and us.

We keep our requests simple and are very respectful of your time and expect the same treatment back.

The language I use clearly tells the client our expectations of them in our working relationship.  I am teaching the client how we like to be treated.  As they read this paragraph they know whether or not they can comply with the requests.  The really nice thing is that once people know what is expected of them, they will rise to meet and exceed that expectation.

Want to know more?  Click here to see all of the resources for freelance bookkeepers.  Don’t forget to sign-up for my f^ree webinar “Lead Generating Strategies That Keep Your Pipeline Full”

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