The business world is constantly changing. While that brings challenges, there’s also plenty of opportunity to branch out and offer new services to clients. If you’re a payroll professional or accountant, now could be the perfect time to broaden your offerings from transactional to advisory.
Learn why and how you should leverage your accounting or payroll knowledge and expertise to position yourself as a payroll advisor, and successfully offer trusted advisory services.
Why should you become an advisor?
Studies have shown that clients require more support from their accountants than ever. According to our State of Accounting Report, 82% of accountants surveyed found that their clients’ needs have dramatically increased in the past two years.
Similarly, in our State of Outsourced Payroll in the UK Report, 81% of accountants, bookkeepers, business leaders and payroll specialists in the United Kingdom agreed that clients’ expectations have changed in different ways over the past year.
These clients are looking to future-proof their business, prepare for upcoming changes in an evolving environment and have a better overall picture of their operations. They want to find market opportunities and be kept in the know about the evolution of AI and legislation changes. And they want to do that without hiring multiple agencies.
There’s a huge opportunity for accountants and payroll professionals to broaden their offerings to cover advisory services, so that they can become a one-stop shop for clients. Versatility is the name of the game when it comes to supporting clients effectively.
This may sound daunting, especially if you’ve specialised in one discipline and don’t feel like you’re quite ready to specialise in another. We’re here to tell you that it doesn’t need to be that hard. With the right approach and a savvy technology partner, you can become an invaluable advisor to your clients for years to come.
Why adopt value-added services?
Adding additional value-services are one of the key ways you can move from purely running payroll, to offering strategic insights to your clients. It’s a big step but an exciting one, particularly if you’re looking to grow your practice and increase your revenue. Let’s have a look at how your offerings can benefit you, as well as your clients.
To embrace market opportunities
Payroll is an essential part of running a business and as a result, can just become part of a monthly routine. However, what if those numbers that get filed away could lead to genuine insight for the future of the business? There’s a massive opportunity for advisory payroll, where that monthly process turns into something truly valuable for the company.
Effective payroll specialists who also offer advisory services tend to support clients in two additional ways, on top of traditional payroll processing. That’s through compliance support and assessing payroll systems.
Compliance is a huge concern for business owners, and understandably so. With the increase of flexible employment and evolving legislation, it’s a significant challenge for busy employers to stay up to date. That’s where payroll specialists can step in, using their knowledge to identify important changes and ensuring their clients are ready.
Have you considered what you can and should be doing to ensure client retention and expansion? Check out our guide for helpful tips.
Payroll systems are another way that business owners can really transform their operations. Don’t worry, we’re not expecting payroll specialists to build systems. Instead, you can connect existing payroll software providers with clients. As the trusted mediary, you can be the source of the latest and greatest business technology.
To drive revenue and new client growth
As any accountant or payroll specialist knows, more clients equals more work, but also more revenue. Expanding beyond your existing services and branching into advisory offerings can dramatically increase the amount of work you win. It can also increase the number of clients you have.
Expanding your service offerings can set you above the competition. You’re opening yourself up to a wider pool of prospective clients too, with more options that may align better with their needs.
If you can price your packages effectively too, you’ll have a really competitive offering which can drive new client acquisition.
Struggling to stand out in the competitive payroll services market? Discover key strategies and actionable tips to stay ahead of the game.
We’ve rounded up our top strategies for success so you can future-proof your accounting firm now, and well into the future.
How to shift your mindset from transactional to advisory
If gaining a competitive edge and making additional revenue sounds appealing (of course it does!), we’ve got the roadmap ready. Here’s how you should start creating new services for clients.
Look at the broader picture
Start by assessing your current set up. What are your clients’ pain points? If you see opportunities in their business or issues with their current technology stack, that’s a chance to help. They may also be struggling with the rising costs that come with the current economy, and looking for advice on how to manage it.
Also consider the overall pay cycle. If you’re focused on getting the routine tasks out of the way every month, consider where you have space to speed up the process or analyse potential opportunities.
Assess your abilities and capacity
You can’t support your client without a strong knowledge base of your own. Assess what you’re starting with and identify your own skills gaps. Also remember that with a constantly changing business landscape, your own education will be an ongoing task. Research how you will keep yourself knowledgeable and how you will upskill when required.
We know that accountants and payroll professionals are often time poor, and spending time building knowledge can be seen as time away from paying work. However, think of it like an investment in the future of your practice – you’ll be reaping the rewards further down the line.
Uncover the benefits of cloud payroll and learn how you can support your clients in streamlining their payroll processes.
Equip yourself with knowledge
There are some great organisations in Australia that can help with education. The Australia Payroll Association has a certification process which is renewed each year. It is an effective way to keep your knowledge current.
Fair Work also offers tools and resources to align with their latest legislation changes, and private sector organisations can offer accounting advisory and resources for accountants and advisors. Have a look around and see what’s out there – you might be surprised.
Regardless of whether you’re looking for new revenue streams or cost-effective solutions, learn how to maximise profits and market payroll as a service.
Ways to add value through additional advisory services
There are plenty of ways that you can support clients through advisory services. Here are a few ideas to get started.
Integrations
Integrating software is a crucial way to get the best out of multiple platforms. If your clients are bogged down with different types of tech, and having to spend loads of time transferring data manually, connecting them with versatile software will make a huge difference.
With an integration-friendly platform like Employment Hero, you can offer them software that will work with their existing accounting, payroll and HR software to add extra value. From timesheets to payments to invoice management, you can add to your advisory services by providing access to powerful integrations.
Reporting
If your clients are too busy with the day-to-day running of the business to take a step back and assess the big stuff, that’s where you can step in to offer reporting as a value-added service. You can offer insights on how money flows through the business, from expenses and holiday pay to wage costs.
Those insights can also be turned into recommendations that you can offer, whether that’s ways to trim the budget or key market opportunities.
Compliance as a service
Payroll, no matter where you are in the world, can be really complex and overwhelming for business owners. Payroll professionals and accountants can be counted on to get the routine tasks done but savvy advisors will also be across payroll legislation to bring extra value to their clients.
Client work that supports compliance could be as simple as answering queries, or you could offer services such as payroll transfers and payroll auditing for further peace of mind.
Direct HR
Offering HR services in conjunction with payroll management and processing is a significant opportunity for payroll professionals and accountants. All businesses need a HR function after all, and HR admin often coincides with payroll.
This leads to a lot of client work, whether that’s in supporting onboarding or bringing in HR software as a referral partner. As businesses grow, HR only gets more time-consuming so offering to take some of that admin off your client’s plate can be a much-needed support.
Take the first step towards becoming a payroll advisor
Expanding your client services beyond payroll and accounting and branching into advisory can make a huge difference for your business. Not only are you providing additional support for your clients, but you’re making yourself an invaluable resource for their businesses.
Make the shift from transactional to advisory by facilitating the adoption of forward-thinking software or solutions. Employment Hero works with accountants and payroll professionals who are ready to broaden their offerings and become reseller or referral partners.
Through becoming a technology partner, you have access to powerful integrations and insightful reporting – both of which you can use to support your clients. With our HR features, you can also offer direct HR services with ease.
Find out more about the Partner Network today.
Disclaimer: The information in this guide is current as at 30 October 2023, and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd (ABN 11 160 047 709) and its related bodies corporate (Employment Hero). The views expressed in this guide are general information only, are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees, and should not be relied on as professional advice. The information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising either directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this guide. You should undertake your own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions or relying on the information in this guide.
