Petra Davis IS IN THE BUSINESS OF KNOWING HER CLIENTS BUSINESS.

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1 Accountant Petra Davis IS IN THE BUSINESS OF KNOWING HER CLIENTS BUSINESS. Find out why this experienced accountant asks questions first and gives advice about working online second. I actually know my clients business as well as I know my business. 1

2 I walk in and people are upset, they re just frazzled and by the time I leave they re smiling from ear to ear, and it s like, Oh my God, you made a difference! Petra meets with client Sarah Zebb, Owner, Therapy Salon Los Altos, CA Meet Petra. As someone who started out developing and installing financial reporting systems, Petra Davis has a unique perspective on the world of accounting solutions. I come from a very IT-type interface background, she says. I seem to have an affinity or likeness for software. She also has an affinity for spotting and resolving inefficiencies. Recently, she decided to combine these two skills her technical know-how and her financial savvy by setting up her own consulting business. And how s that going? It s a blast! she says of her relatively new career decision. I walk in and people are upset, they re just frazzled and by the time I leave they re smiling from ear to ear, and it s like, Oh my God, you made a difference! Who are these clients who find themselves lucky enough to work with Petra? Half of them are difficult to define because they run the gamut of business types, from an ice cream shop to a beauty parlor, property managers, startups you name it. In fact, this eclectic mix of clients makes up about half of her business. The other half? Construction companies. They seem to flock in my direction, says the successful accountant, who knows her way around the construction industry because of a family tie. They start talking to me and they realize that I actually know their business as well as I know my business that s huge to them. Half contractors, half other business types how did Petra build such a diverse clientele? She says it s partly thanks to word of mouth, particularly where her contracting clients are concerned. She also gives credit to Intuit s Find-a-ProAdvisor online directory. That has been an absolutely fascinating and fantastic way of advertising, she says. It s wonderful. I get a lot of clients off of it. They start talking to me and they realize that I actually know their business as well as I know my business that s huge to them. 2

3 Finding the right accounting solution. The result of gaining all of those new clients was the urge to uncover better ways of helping them. As she searched, it wasn t long before Petra noticed the rising popularity of working online. What did she do to learn more about it? Well, she went online herself. I sat down and Googled it, Petra says. I read blogs. I read reviews. All of that research was useful, but for an accountant accustomed to hands-on experience, there was only one way to know for sure if working online was for her and for her clients. I tried [QuickBooks Online], she says. You have to not be afraid you ll break things. I m lucky in that I m able to offer different products to different people. Petra visits with client Dave Somasunderam, Owner, Scoop Microcreamery Palo Alto, CA What was her reason for choosing QuickBooks as the subject of her first online road test? The fact that QuickBooks has been around a little big longer, she says. It s better known. This confidence in the QuickBooks brand soon became confidence in working online, and Petra began recommending it to some clients. I m lucky in that I m able to offer different products to different people, she explains. Learning about QuickBooks Online by rolling up her sleeves and experimenting with it gave her another solution to put in her back pocket, and she quickly learned that even some contractors like working online because of its convenience. Like a plumber, she says. They want to be able to see that your toilet backed up two years ago What did I charge last time? So, in that case, [working online] is really nice. Still, Petra knows that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Sometimes you re stuck on desktop, she says, thinking of some of her construction clients who deal with financial complexities like workers comp. But some people are very insistent on online. The key to making the right recommendation? It all circles back to knowing her clients. I understand their business. Because you can t go in and be a technical wizard if you don t understand their business. Once she knows what her clients need, she can recommend the solution best suited to their business. 3

4 What Petra discovered about working online. The benefits of working online, as Petra found out, outweigh its risks and make it a very attractive option for more than half of her clientele. One such benefit is portability. For Petra s clients, this is a major bonus. Take the ice cream shop, for example. Their CPA is in another part of the country but because they work with QuickBooks Online, that s never a problem. They re just thrilled with it They can log in from anywhere. They don t have to be at home to go in, says Petra. The beauty salon is the same thing. They need to be portable. They can t be tied to a desktop. That s where QuickBooks Online really comes into play when you want your numbers with you. Her clients aren t the only ones who benefit from this freedom. Petra herself loves the flexibility of working from anywhere, for many business-related reasons as well as personal ones. I can actually start working from home, she says. When [clients data] is online, I can pull it myself otherwise, I d have to be in their office a lot of the time. There are so many nice options, being able to stay at home. You can get your housework and accounting work done all at once! Efficient housework might be a nice bonus, but for Petra and her online clients, the most significant gains in efficiency happen during day-to-day transactions. I can go to a customer s site and immediately send them an invoice, she says. I don t need paperwork. Having less paperwork translates to greater productivity and more savings. That s because she sometimes meets with desktop clients who have unwittingly left key documents behind, making another appointment necessary and, as a result, another invoice. It s very frustrating for you and them, she says. Working online eliminates that frustration. She and her clients are always in sync, sharing one set of books between them. I can actually just run two monitors, with their bank statement in one. I don t need paperwork I can get their supporting documentation online. And voila. Time saved. Money saved. Everything in sync. In short, it s a win-win for everyone. It s also why Petra doesn t hesitate to recommend working online to her peers. You can t live without QuickBooks Online Accountant, she says. To make the most of working online, she also recommends membership in the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. I m at the diamond level, she explains. I can get in and get really good tech support. And that s been incredible for me I can call them about anything. Having Intuit s experts to help her resolve complex issues means she can plunge into the online workspace with confidence, leveraging all of its benefits to help her and her clients work efficiently. I can actually start working from home. When [clients data] is online, I can pull it myself otherwise, I d have to be in their office a lot of the time. 4

5 How working online has changed Petra s business. All of these benefits, and all of her experimentation with working online, have empowered Petra to offer her clients an elevated level of support. There have been times when I go check on their database real quick and run a couple of numbers. Then I may call them and say, Hey, I was in and I looked, and something is a little wrong. And then they thank me for noticing, she says. This real-time, proactive approach to offering strategic advice has led to deeper and more rewarding partnerships with her clients. If you re giving them honest feedback, that s helpful. They re going to value your relationship with them. And here we have arrived at the real core of Petra s online experience. Convenience, portability, flexibility, support and efficiency sure, she s excited about all those day-to-day benefits. But having what she needs to help her clients run their business at a higher level that s what she values most about working online. It all comes back to her love of helping the frazzled small business owner find peace of mind via the right accounting solution. By working online, Petra s able to experience this job satisfaction often. You come in and you have this invisible tool bag, she says, describing what it s like to help a client transition to online. You start pulling out tools and they re just like, Wow, I didn t even think of that! You come in and you have this invisible tool bag. You start pulling out tools and they re just like, Wow, I didn t even think of that! 5