How I Keep Accountancy Costs Low!

You'd think that being an envelope wouldn't give me much sway when it comes to pricing decisions, but you'd be wrong! Yep, us envelopes are in fact the very reason that we keep all the accounting costs low.

Now, it's not just because we are so efficient that we can do this, and it's not just because we are so marvellously clever either (although that does help). The main reason is.....

We're not greedy!

The sad fact is that lots of accountants have been charging far too much for their services for years, and because people tend not to question their accountants (they're super clever, right?), or shop around for another one (why bother, they're all the same....), they never realise that they are being seriously over charged!

I met a man recently who came to me for a quote, which I gladly gave him and he was very pleased with the saving he'd make. However, he said that he'd been with his accountant for nearly 20 years and wanted to see if they could provide him with a similar quote. As it goes, they did, but this didn't make him happy at all. They matched my quote by more than halving theirs, which rather than make the man happy, just made him wonder why they had been charging him so much for all these years. I'm pleased to say that he's now a very happy client of mine, as are some of his friends, although it would seem that his old accountant isn't too eager to be my friend himself!

Want to know a secret? Many medium sized accountancy firms deliberately charge small businesses too much to put them off using their services! They don't do it because they are mean, they do it because small businesses aren't their target market and so they can't afford to do it for less. Now this might not make them mean, but I think it does make them a little bit greedy! They should just make a good arrangement with some smaller accountancy firms who cater for the market they don't want, rather than charge their smaller customers high fees! I may only be a stationery item, but I can see the value of a good strategic partnership, so why can't they?!

We only do work for the market we love - small businesses! That is how us envelopes keep the accountancy costs so low for you, by not being greedy. Clever eh? (Well, it's actually just common sense....)

It's a bold thing for me to say, not many have had the courage to say it before me and I hope that me revealing this doesn't land me in the nearest shredder! I'm willing to take the risk though. If it means that just one small business questions why their fees are high, or more importantly, what they actually get for their money and if it's right for their business, then I'm a happy envelope!

Right, I'm off to organise my paperclips; every time I turn my back the little blighters leap from the holder and scatter themselves across my desk!

Mr P
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