Some interesting thoughts from Debbie Mirisch, founder of Australian firm Biz Synergy about the way that the bookkeeping industry is changing and the importance of empathy with our clients, something that has always been central to the service we offer at Yours 4 A Day.

I was recently asked, ‘What makes a good bookkeeper?’ And while many answers came to mind, at the top of the list was empathy. I definitely wouldn’t have said that 25 years ago when I started out as an accountant – or even five years ago when I switched to bookkeeping.

The rise in how much human values matter runs concurrent with the degree of in-depth data that’s available to us on cloud accounting platforms like Xero.

Data not only tells us the story of our clients’ needs and challenges, it tells stories we previously couldn’t access as bookkeepers – at least not without a lot of time and hard work.

Having insight into a deeper picture demands we have a higher degree of emotional intelligence as bookkeepers. I believe our greatest opportunity as bookkeepers now is to empathise with our clients and their very real human needs. And then provide a bespoke business solution.

As bookkeepers, it’s highly likely that we are one of the most frequent daily contacts in our clients’ lives. They don’t just get in touch with us when the accounts don’t reconcile. We’re often the first to be called when a cash flow crisis hits, or the first to be contacted when a personal crisis weighs heavily on family’s finances. And through the power of the cloud, we can look into the accounts and uncover what’s going on quickly and responsively – ready to offer a calm solution.

Please contact us to discuss the possible benefits of cloud accounting to your business.