Sterck Kulik O’Neill accounting group invites prospective clients to a free introductory meeting in our office. Why?
Lots of professionals charge the first time you meet them because they think their time is so valuable that they never want to give it away. If you go to talk to a surgeon, they will ask you to pay for your first appointment, even if you decide you don’t like them and don’t want them touching your body! These professionals don’t want to waste time on non-revenue producing activities.
But, we think you should be able to meet us and see if you’re comfortable with our knowledge, personalities, way of talking, and our procedures before you engage us. So, we ask that you come in, explain to us what services you’re looking for, and see if you like interacting with us. For free!
Do we understand the problem you’re bringing to us? Do we talk so you understand us? Do you like our ideas?
So you can find out the answers to these questions, we offer prospective clients a free introductory meeting with one of our partners. Usually the first meeting lasts between a half hour and a full hour. You and the partner will talk about your overall financial situation and the pressing issue that made you decide to talk to a CPA.
We’ll ask you to bring in copies of your most recently filed Federal tax return, if you’re looking for tax help. Or, copies of the business financial statements you’re getting now, if that’s the work you want us to do. Basically, the partner is looking for information that will let him estimate how many hours it will take us to do what you want. Then by the end of the meeting he will give you an estimate for the engagement.
We want you to know the cost of the work you need before you spend any money.
Oh, yeah. The free meeting is not a free hour of accounting services! It’s an opportunity for you to decide if you want us to be your ongoing CPA. Sometimes I have to disappoint people who tell me that they want their free hour of asking a CPA questions about their taxes and financial life.
Your time is worth a lot, so we understand that by coming to an introductory meeting you’re risking your time. We appreciate that. But, we won’t charge you while you decide if we are the accounting firm for you.
Plus, we will talk to you about your accounting needs before we set up the in-person meeting. In our phone conversation we will confirm that we do the work you’re looking for and think we might be a good fit. If you’re looking for a tax preparer, but your only income is W2 salary income, we will tell you we probably aren’t a good choice, and we’ll suggest some more cost effective alternatives. Or, if you really want to engage a specialist accountant who only handles art supply businesses (or whatever), we’ll tell you up front that we don’t meet your qualifications. We will try not to waste your time, if we aren’t the accountants for you!
So if you are considering establishing a relationship with an accounting professional, give us a chance. We think we give you a low-risk way of seeing if we are the right CPA firm for you.