{"id":6655,"date":"2019-09-30T18:31:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T17:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=6655"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:21:42","slug":"modern-accounting-traditional-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/modern-accounting-traditional-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"How to help traditional clients see the benefits of modern accounting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to help traditional clients see the benefits of modern accounting\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tKeir Thomas-Bryant<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have you got a group of clients who are failing to see how modern accounting can benefit them and their businesses?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the perfect client does indeed exist, most accountants wisely anticipate some complications when serving the needs of any business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether that\u2019s poor communication, or a general inability of the client to understand accounting principles, accountants are always prepared to share their wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, many accountants dread what we might call the \u201ctraditional client\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They come in a variety of forms but most often cited is the individual who turns up a day before the year-end tax deadline with a box full of receipts and invoices<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, it\u2019s the client who relies totally on their accountant, and does little to no accounting work themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This puts them in a precarious situation \u2013 and it isn\u2019t too good for the accountant, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problems the traditional client presents to the accountant go deeper than just last-minute work. The traditional client is incompatible with the efficient way of working used by numerous accountants today, who have switched to cloud-based solutions for their practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These clients all usually have one thing in common: their resistance to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if it means the way they handle their accounting hampers their effectiveness and that of their business, or days are lost to inefficient administrative processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they don\u2019t realise any of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you mention a new way of accounting to the traditional client \u2013 one that\u2019s enabled by technology \u2013 you might get a negative response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll take a look at some of the more commonly cited examples and look at how you can help your traditional clients<\/a> overcome their tech fears and move to modern accounting \u2013 to the benefit of their business and your firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just not tech-savvy\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To this kind of traditional client, technology feels more like a burden than a benefit. They might even claim they\u2019re luddites \u2013 and they like things that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, they\u2019ll have attempted to embrace a more up-to-date technological solution but failed in some way, which only served to harden their attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a reality here that they\u2019re ignoring because they can\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People might claim not to be technologically literate but nowadays, tech is such a staple of our lives that we\u2019re all more able with it than we realise or like to admit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In western Europe, for example, 93% of households have mobile phone access, according to a European Commission report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, there\u2019s a very strong chance that even the self-confessed luddite traditional client will probably be using a mobile phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, there are more than four billion email users worldwide, and 2.41 billion Facebook users<\/a>. The chances of your traditional client not being among those numbers are slim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, most of us are accidental technological geniuses in ways that would befuddle our ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you can help \u2013 support them in their move to modern accounting <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This provides a starting point for any discussion of modern accounting from both a philosophical as well as practical point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your traditional client is already involved with technology and it brings so many benefits \u2013 so why not just take it one step further and switch their business accounting to the same kind of technologies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your traditional client can make the move simply by downloading an app on their phone, and even sign up to a free trial without paying anything upfront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don\u2019t even need a desktop or laptop computer any longer. They can work on their accounting using their mobile phone, which is perfect for when they’re out of the office or even queuing up for a coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with smart assistant technologies, they can even use Facebook Messenger to chat to their accounting software<\/a> using everyday language (\u201cI\u2019ve spent \u00a375 on train tickets \u2013 how much does that make my expenses this month?\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more on modernising your practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n