New Age Accountant – the Financial Advisor SMEs Need

According to the 2019 Small Business Finance and HR Report, small business owners who have the most faith in their accountants are more likely to see a significant increase in revenue. 86% of small business owners agree their accountant is a trusted advisor they can turn to for a range of business advice going beyond booking keeping, tax prep and compliance.

In fact, accountants offering strategic advisory services to small business clients including funding advice is just what the need of the hour is and a win-win for everyone. While it allows accounting professionals to deepen their relationships with current and existing clients, it can help clients make intelligent financial decisions and improve their business results while setting themselves up for growth.

But we get it; accountants are busy and do not have the resources, tools or simply the time to offer advisory services to their clients. So, what does the blueprint look like to add funding advisory services to your accounting armory?

Thanks to the recent rise of the digital marketplaces and online lending platforms, accountants can help business clients seeking a business loan in various ways, irrespective of what stage of development the business is in. Start with leveraging the benefits of this ever-growing financial consulting and advisory industry. Using an online lending marketplace like Swoop, you can now access tailored funding options and savings solutions for your clients’ businesses, all in one place As a result, all accountants now can offer businesses a better funding solution and use it to build relationships and boost revenue.

Tip – Understand your clients’ funding needs

The first step in providing this value-added service to your clients is to help them qualify their needs. Take your time to understand the unique financial needs of your clients, so you can help choose the best lending options available in the market. It’s a great idea to ask them to clearly state the purpose and amount of the loan and try to find out if the desired loan is essential for your client’s business or not.

Tip – Understand different funding resources available to you

Talk to a business funding specialist in your company and ask them what you can do to make financing easy and fast for small businesses. Or partner with a reliable lending marketplace like Swoop that can help assist your accounting firm in obtaining various types of financing for your clients. Swoop is a one stop shop where you can get your clients’ funding and savings sorted in one fell swoop. And that’s not all. A team of experienced financial professionals is available to support and guide your clients throughout their funding journey.

Tip – Develop funding advisory culture in your company

Building a funding advisory culture is essential to accomplish the overall small business financing goals and objectives. If you want to nurture the culture of funding in your organization, it needs to be communicated to clients at all levels. From the first interactions with your clients to the way you attend to their accounting. Make sure you communicate your advisory role to create awareness of your funding solutions and boost the trust among your prospective clients.

Final thoughts

By adding funding advisory services to your offering, you will not only help business clients create a strong financial foundation but provide yourself an amazing opportunity to build a successful career as an accountant. Make the most of the technology and tools available to expand your footprint into the growing financial advisory.

Start your advisor journey with Swoop today and discover funding options across loans, equity and grants for your clients.