What Covid 19 and JobKeeper taught me about my practice, my clients and the Bookkeeping Industry 

The past 9 weeks has been a hard climb.

I love a challenge but this pre end of financial year workout has tested the waters - uncharted waters of survival in both business and practice. A marathon I was not trained up for …

The learnings have been deep and will propel the practice to the next level.

I’d love to share them with you in the hope they resonate and have value to you.

Its times like these you need a plan…..

When CoVid 19 struck - like many, we faced some challenges.

• Staff were deployed to work from all manner of offices and home offices
• Data and equipment was moved and accessed differently
• Staff working hours were altered
• Self Isolation became a real prospect
• Client pulled their work overnight as they were forced to close

We had no disaster plan for this particular situation

Luckily all our systems are online and secured by a secure portal for access

but we had to re write the rough plan - overnight

The lesson learnt is a Disaster plan is/should be a requirement for all businesses .

On the back of CoVid 19 - our business will brainstorm what events we could likely face - anything from a power blackout, internet downtime to a pandemic like CoVid 19 and put some structure in place to deal with the situation.

Like many businesses - I am the key office bearer and I realised pretty quickly that this made me the Drill Sergeant Major and general Fire Warden. At one stage I was wearing so many hats and juggling so many balls I felt like some sort of circus act! Not a good one!

Lesson learnt : Make a plan - even if the event surpasses anything in the plan - have some guides as to :

• Staff working hours
• Staff working outside the workplace
• Opening Hours
• Phone and email diversions
• Return to work guides
• There are so many more,,, gather the team and make a list!

In times like these the plan needs to sometimes change…..

No one foresaw the actual strictness of the restrictions placed on business or the personal mental health impact of isolation and change in our business and our clients.

The financial stress on clients was real!

Every good plan requires an ability to be adaptable and change as circumstances shift.

Case in point - Job Keeper - this subsidy program caused an initial 2 weeks of unfettered phone calls full of panicked and often excited clients all the while KRS undertaking hours of Webinars to get the details right and advise clients correctly. Even at times we were educating accountants and even the ATO on HOW their own system worked! Never mind the poor clients trying to wrack their brains around fortnights!

Half way through the “Job keeper apocalypse” as I have termed it - I threw the rule book out the window.

I was trying to communicate with as many clients as possible and ensure they received much needed Job Keeper funds and my usual methods and planned excel tracker just wasn’t working !

I reverted to the old fashioned notebook - pen and paper and I flew through the applications.

OK OK - there was a sexy spreadsheet behind it - but that came later - after the dust had settled.

I had to react quickly and accurately and my handy dandy notebook was a saviour.

I had a plan - but it wasn’t working - bulk emails to clients was not helping them understand the ATO rhetoric. So I reverted to 1 on 1 phone calls - yes this was super draining (hence the long days in the office ) but it was what my clients needed - they needed me to explain it.

Lesson learnt? Have a plan but be prepared to throw it away and pivot to another plan

In times like these you learn which team you are playing on

CoVid 19 brought with it - uncertainty and change - this perpetuated fear - both in staff and clients.

The past 9 weeks I have had many roles :

• Counsellor
• Defender
• Protagonist
• Guide

I have had to bark, cry, whinge, push and shove to get what staff, clients and the Practice needed.

I drew on some deep down resilience I thought I had lost over the past 2 years.

I also drew on my team.

I raised the bar of expectations and they met it

I dumped on them new concepts and they learnt it (JOB Keeper apocalypse anyone ?)

I also expected a lot of my clients

No more face to face meeting - learn Zoom - book online on Calendly.

There were some pretty steep learning curves for some and I am proud at the new way of working we have perfected. Ok - not all clients handled it well - but most gave it their best shot!

(I have some pretty cool shots on Zoom of people’s foreheads!)

I also discovered who really didn’t want to work with us

Those who saw us as an annoyance and a cost.

While on the most part - team and client relations were enhanced - there has been a revelation of who just isn’t the right fit for us.

CoVid 19 enabled us to say nicely “ Perhaps we are just not for you’

Lesson learnt - gather the team, don’t go it alone , if you work alone join a network or Facebook industry group so you have a virtual team.

In times like these you discover who barracks for the team

Job Keeper subsidy has assisted many businesses to survive CoVid 19. Throughout this journey of putting into practice a system the ATO designed overnight - we leaned on some incredible accountants who supported and actively cheered for us.

Never have we felt more in tune with what we offer business and where we sit in the Financial Industry Food Chain (and no - it is not at the bottom ! )

Often we are made to feel like ‘bottom feeders’ - as an industry that we are irrelevant as clients can ‘do it themselves’ or the software will. Certainly this profession has had its challenges for relevancy and worth over the journey.

I once sat next to a fellow Financial Industry Professional (not a bookkeeper) at a conference and he said “Hello, accountant or bookkeeper?” And I said “Bookkeeper” and he said “Not sure why you are here, your profession will be redundant in the next 5 years” Nice! Way to make friends! The rest of the story is interesting but I can’t repeat my response here (LOL) . Anyway…..that was 3 years ago so I guess I have 2 years left ?????

What CoVid 19 Stimulus measures and Job Keeper in particular did was re establish to clients and other industry professionals (read accountants) where we sit, what our skill set is and MOST importantly how we can compliment each others’ services to serve the clients better.

It’s important to have Cheerleaders in your business. People willing to back you up and spur you on.

Lesson learnt - never underestimate the cheerleaders - be that your bookkeeper, accountant, business network group or family.

So where to now ?

I am - guess what - currently devising a return to work plan.

We are embracing the new normal.

There will be changes afoot - some welcomed - some despised but it is what it is.

My Practice has changed forever - welcome to the new normal.

This time is is on MY terms!