The Buck Stops With The Consultant

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• June-July 2008 Issue
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From the June/July 2008 Issue

The Best Consultants Take Control Of The Whole System

In this ever-changing world of technology and solutions in the small business accounting world, it’s natural for consultants to be overwhelmed by all the vendors in the market who claim to have the best solution in their market space. If you’re like most software consultants, you’re constantly flooded with pitches from vendors about their new products and solutions. With all of this “noise,” staying “smart” about what’s best for your clients is a never-ending challenge. But I have some questions for you. When you think about your typical client, considering their staff’s skills in the area of accounting software, systems and technology, how would you answer these questions?

Who is the best person to help make the right technology decisions for the client?

Who knows more about the available solutions in the market?

Who is the best judge of how appropriate each solution is for the client’s business?

Who has the depth of understanding of the functions of your client’s business?

Who knows the most about how their workflows affect and are affected by software solutions?

Who has the most knowledge and skills in accounting, software and the specifics of how those products and any add-ons should be implemented to ensure that the overall system accurately reflects the needs of the business?

The answer to all of the above questions must be you, their accounting software consultant!

The responsibility that comes with being the consultant is huge. You must take charge in such a way as to become the decision maker (or at least have direct influence with the decision makers) for what, how and when products will be used by the client’s business. And I’m not just talking about which version of the accounting product will be used, or which chart of accounts to use. I’m saying the consultant must take responsibility for the ENTIRE system, including all add-ons, the web store interface, the payment gateways, the online payroll, the remote timesheet data entry, and any other LAN or web-based applications that feed data to the accounting system.