Every month, we see a consistent inflow of recurring revenue which usually arrives a few days into the new month. Approximately half of our clients opt for credit card payments, while the remaining half who choose direct debit usually process their payments around the fourth or fifth day of the month.

This approach directs our team’s efforts towards enhancing our monthly recurring revenue, effectively curbing the effects of seasonality. While our revenue experiences fluctuations, this is partly due to the fact that 40% of our total earnings come from project-based sources, with the remaining 60% attributed to our dependable monthly recurring revenue.

Although some seasonality persists, it’s far from the intense lows witnessed in the past during the busy holiday months of December, January, and February.

We’ve adopted a policy where we request full payment upfront before starting any project, whether it’s catching up on taxes or setting up a monthly recurring service. The great thing about this policy is that it eliminates any outstanding debts or unpaid invoices. In fact, it has become such a natural part of our workflow with Ignition that we sometimes forget it was once an issue before we implemented this process.

By receiving payment upfront, we maintain a zero or even negative WIP (work in process). This means that we don’t begin work until the proposals are accepted and the payment is secured.

 Initially, we thought this might be a potential challenge, but surprisingly, it hasn’t been an issue for years. In the rare instances where some individuals had concerns about this policy, they turned out to be unreasonable. So, if you’re worried about it, just treat it as a normal procedure, and chances are things will go smoothly.

We believe it’s important to maintain fair pricing and treat people with respect. While we do have some leverage in the market, it doesn’t justify taking advantage of others or engaging in dishonest practices.

Currently, our industry, like many others, is facing capacity challenges. Therefore, we need to be selective about the clients we work with and ensure that we charge appropriately for our services.

At Inspire, we prioritise fairness in our pricing. We invest a significant amount of time internally, including coaching sessions, to help our team navigate these conversations and truly understand the value we provide. Even before meeting with a client, we reflect on the key moments we have been there for them in the past few years. This ensures that the price we propose is reasonable and aligned with the value we bring.

If a client doesn’t accept our price, we are okay with that. We strive to detach ourselves from the outcome and respect their decision. On the other hand, if they do accept it, we are equally content. Most of the conversations our team has had with their clients result in a simple and unexpected agreement, which feels like a normal, friendly exchange.

Overall, our approach is centered around fairness, understanding, and maintaining positive relationships with our clients.

We’ve never taken repricing for our clients so seriously this year. 

There’s a big reason for that. Our costs have been skyrocketing due to increasing wages, fluctuating exchange rates, and rising subscription fees over the past few years. Not only that, but we’ve noticed a few others in the industry raising their prices too

If we don’t adjust our prices for that, we will be taking a pay cut. 

If we stick to our current prices while our costs keep going up, our profit margin will either vanish or turn into losses, which we don’t think any of us would want at all.

B1G1 is a global giving initiative by Paul Dunn. There’s a way in ignition that allows us to incorporate various actions into our business operations.

For example, when a client accepts a proposal through Ignition, we can use Zapier to connect and integrate different giving impacts. We have decided that each time an Ignition proposal is accepted, we contribute a day’s worth of access to education, shelter, and a school meal for a child in need in Kenya. The cost for this impactful  is just 0.95 USD.

The best part is that the automation takes care of all the calculations and tallying for us, thanks to the Zapier integration.  It’s a cool addition to our giving process, making it effortless and meaningful at the same time.

We’ve heard a lot of people who’ve used Ignition or are considering it, have concerns with the merchant fees. We’ve been told within the next four months, ignition will be introducing a convenient button that allows you to pass on those merchant fees with just a simple click.

Ignition is also scalable with the team. It takes them a couple of minutes to set up and send a proposal. You could actually send the proposal in less than 60 seconds if you’re logged in. 

If we’ve got a fixed price for a service, you can set up your library. For example, we have a “Look Under The Hood Service”, which is the second opinion on their tax. We just select that service, pop the email, the client name, hit send and it’s done and out. Off the back of that, it does all the engagement letters. If they accept it, it takes payment and raises the invoice. Even in our Xero file, it marks that Xero invoice as paid once the payment clears. 

From the moment you provide that initial 60-second input, Ignition does a lot of the admin and heavy lifting. While bigger proposals may take a little longer, the overall experience of having Ignition as part of your business is fantastic. It’s an awesome feature and platform that effortlessly streamlines your workflow. 

One of our secret weapons for our growth is none other than workshops and webinars! 🚀

These interactive online and in-person sessions have been an absolute game-changer for us.

Our clients have gained invaluable knowledge, profound insights, and essential skills through these sessions, resulting in an organic boost to our growth.

From 2020 to 2022, we have successfully delivered 76 sessions with over 2000 attendees.

If you’re looking for a turbo boost in your growth and sales, we highly recommend giving virtual engagements a try. 🙌 

One of the big lessons Ben learned was after 9 months of running Inspire. 

He made the decision to sign a lease on a massive space in Newstead.  

Because it was a big cafe space, Ben ended up getting a liquor licence and even having a bar. 

Although it was initially enjoyable, the upfront capital costs were overwhelming…

The motivation behind Ben’s decision was because of the remarkable growth he experienced in the first 8 to 9 months of running Inspire. 

However, he didn’t realise that the growth would stop.

Ben found that he extinguished his network.

And before he had realised that,  he had signed a big lease. 

In that process, he tried to find some more team members to help with the growth. 

It was a rude awakening.

With Ben’s guidance and coaching, three partners are now leading their own business units within Inspire. 

The goal is to expand and establish three business units, each with a target revenue of approximately $4,500,000. This is all by using the same strategies and rhythms that have brought them this far.

While continuing to work with a select group of clients, Ben remains dedicated to mentoring other accounting firm owners and supporting their growth.

• To help a thousand firm owners create a high-performance accounting firm.
• To have a ripple effect on thousands of small businesses in Australia.
• To create firms where the founder loves coming to work – and joining their teams to create outcomes for their clients.
• The families and their communities work reasonably hours.
  – This might be relative to the hours you want to work at different stages in your life.
• Pulling out significant profits to provide lifestyle choices for your own families where the team loves what they do.
• And is passionate about creating a great place to work for everyone. 
• Where clients find an accountant that they enjoy meeting with
  – Often they do that, they’ll get value each time they catch up