Recently, Deutch announced that Roni Deutch Tax Center entered into a partnership with OSI Business Services to provide access to bookkeeping services at her national franchise locations, now elevating Roni Deutch Tax Center franchises to tax preparation and business centers.

“This new venture is the start of something special,” said Roni Deutch, CEO and Founder of Roni Deutch Tax Center, noting that she plans to strike new partnerships with many other business services. “Offering additional business services to our customers truly differentiates this franchise brand, and gives access to a year-round business model that’s sustainable, profitable, and relationship-building for our franchise owners.”

Through the relationship, Roni Deutch Tax Center developed a competitive referral program for OSI Business Services, where franchisees are given a monthly commission based on the referred services. As a result, franchisees encourage their customers to utilize OSI Business Services for its bookkeeping needs and reporting programs, allowing Roni Deutch Tax Center franchise owners to enjoy more revenue, while providing more service and value to its customers year-round. At the same time, OSI Business Services gain access to a new customer base.

“Cementing our business with a solid, respected brand like Roni Deutch Tax Center was an ideal way to introduce our services to new clients across the country,” said Bill Gerber, Managing Member of OSI Business Services, LLC. “While all business owners and management personnel need trusted tax preparation, they also need timely and accurate financial data in order to make informed business decisions. We are a natural fit to compliment Roni Deutch Tax Center, and we look forward to many years of success together.”

In this current economic climate, the year-round model allows franchises to become the business resource center of their community. In addition to offering tax preparation services and bookkeeping services, Roni Deutch Tax Center plans to announce partnerships with other business services, such as debt settlement, payroll services, healthcare, and business entity formation.

“Giving the franchise owners access to year-round revenue streams is a vital strategy as we continue to distinguish our business model within this industry,” said Deutch. “Our customers trust us. We are now able to be a business hub for the community under one roof, while our customers are introduced to OSI as a proven leader in the bookkeeping industry that can develop policies and procedures to streamline accounting.”

Three years from its initial launch, Roni Deutch Tax Center has opened 72 franchise owned tax centers operating in 22 states.  The company is anticipating explosive growth in 2010, and plans to have 150 tax centers operating for the 2011 tax season.

ABOUT OSI
OSI Business Services was started to provide an outsourced accounting department for small, mid-size and fast growing businesses.  OSI becomes the virtual accounting department for your business. We will develop policies and procedures to streamline your accounting process. This will increase the overall efficiency of your business operations and give you up-to-date financial information on a daily basis.

For more information, visit www.OSIBusinessServices.com, email info@OSIBusinessServices.com or call 888.858.9919 ext 202.

ABOUT RONI DEUTCH TAX CENTER
Roni Deutch has built her reputation as one of the most successful tax lawyers through hard work and dedication to the needs of taxpayers. Her competitive spirit and insatiable work ethic have made her a household name with nearly half of all American adults. Through her years of practice, she saw that many of her clients’ tax problems were caused by sloppy and unprofessional tax return preparation. Ms. Deutch decided it was time to put her experience to work for taxpayers across the country. Roni Deutch Tax Center is now filling the need for competent tax return preparation. In the February 2009 edition of the Entrepreneur Magazine, Roni Deutch Tax Center is in the top 2% of the fastest-growing franchises out of over 3,000 franchise concepts in the country, and was recently ranked fourth overall on the 2010 Franchise Times ‘Fast 55’ list for its high average unit growth. An affordable franchise opportunity, a Roni Deutch Tax Center franchisee can expect to invest between $30,633 (tax preparation business conversion) and $119,950 to open a tax center with the average investment being about $85,000 for one location. For more information, visit www.rdtc.com, or call 866-RDTC-BUY [(866)-738-2289.]

1. Invest time prospecting for NEW business every week. Most salespeople rely on existing clients to generate their sales. Allot a specific amount of time to look for new business opportunities whether it’s within a current account or a completely new company. How much time are you prepared to commit to prospecting for new business?

2. Expand your reach. I know a VP of Sales who regularly gets his team together to brainstorm new industries they can target for their products. This helps his company consistently exceed their sales goals. What new industries or vertical markets can you target?

3. Improve your value proposition. Forget the tired approach of “Here’s what we do and here’s the awards we’ve won.” What RESULTS do you help companies achieve? Focus on developing a 30 second pitch on this and make sure it is focused on your prospect, not your company. How can you improve your value proposition?

4. Improve your questioning skills. Most sales people think they ask good questions but in fact, they don’t. Learn how to ask high-value, high-impact questions that make your prospects think and that differentiate you from your competitors. It may sound easy but it isn’t. It requires forethought and courage to ask. What new questions can you start asking?

5. Ask for referrals. I know, I know. You’ve heard this before. So have I. But I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t execute consistently even though I know better. And the fact of the matter is referrals have a shorter sales cycle not to mention a higher closing ratio. What will you do to ensure that you ask for referrals more consistently?

6. Perfect your presentations. I’m not talking about memorizing your sales pitch. Instead, this is about adapting each sales presentation so that it addresses the specific needs of each prospect or customer. It also means investing time to rehearse every sales presentation before you meet with your prospect. What do you need to do to improve your sales presentations?

7. Gain agreement. This may sound obvious buy many sales people fail to ask for some type of commitment when they meet with, or talk to, prospects and customers. Asking for some form of commitment at each stage of the process increases your opportunity to close the deal. This can be as simple as asking, “What are the best next steps?” or “Are you prepared to move forward?”

8. Keep your name in your prospect’s mind. A call or two is not enough. You need to find creative ways to keep your name in your prospect’s mind. This can include snail mail, email, networking, drop-by calls, etc. and make sure that every contact offers some type of value to your customer and prospect. What can you do to keep your name in your prospect’s mind?

9. Improve your selling skills. The business world has changed in the last 12-24 months. If you have not adapted your adapted your approach you run the risk of being ousted by the competition. This means you need to read a book, listen to a podcast, take a training program, get some coaching, or join a Mastermind group. And don’t just listen to what being said; work at applying the concepts into your business. How can you improve your sales skills?

10. Show customers why they should keep doing business with you. Just because someone has bought from you in the past does not mean they will continue to do so in the future. In today’s business climate you need to constantly prove to your existing customers why it makes sense to continue buying your product/service. What can you do to reinforce this to your customers?

Although the recession is officially over, it will take time for businesses to recover. Modify your approach now and apply the concepts in this article to make 2010 your best year ever!

Add an OSI Virtual Accounting Department to Your Team

There has been a breathtaking amount of development in the field of information technology over the last decade or so. New technologies have opened possibilities for business operations that would have been impossible in previous generations.

The combination of widespread fast internet connections and effectively unbreakable encryption has made is possible to outsource critical functions such as accounting services. OSI has built a business around the idea of creating virtual accounting departments for our clients. Your organization has full access to all your financial data as easily or even more easily than if you had internal accountants. Authorized individuals in your company have access to comprehensive financial information, allowing them to make plans using your organization’s latest figures. No more will your executives have to make critical decisions using outdated information.

Plan for the Future

With the easy access to up-to-date information you get from an OSI virtual accounting department, top level managers can plan for the future with more confidence. However the data is only useful to your organization if you use it.

Using our virtual accounting department you can easily generate comprehensive financial reports every quarter, every month, even every day if you really want to. Rather than simply filing these reports away, take time to examine them carefully. These analyses do more than show where your company is right now. They illustrate important trends within your company. By comparing these trends to competitors and the economy in general, you get a good idea of where your organization is headed.

If you find revenues dropping or expenses climbing, deal with these issues before they become serious. Early detection and resolution keeps small downturns from becoming major catastrophes. Look for positive trends as well so you can take advantage of them and improve your business’s success.

Improve Your Record Keeping

An OSI virtual accounting department provides your company with skilled, professional accounting services but for the partnership to work, we have to get the best information possible from your organization.

We update your information daily and we strongly encourage our clients to submit receipts equally often. We streamline the process as much as possible so you can easily send us information every day. This makes it easier for our staff to keep your books up to date and you will have access to current financial information.

If you have taken the opportunity to categorize receipts before we receive them, we can generate more accurate reports for your organization. This also ensures you get every deduction and credit when we file your tax returns.

Get this year off to a great start by adding an OSI virtual accounting department to your team.

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Fantastic OSI Fan Page Giveaway!

We’re kicking off our fan page launch with a Fan Giveaway! Facebook for Business consultation with Hazel Grace Dirksen, founder of Socialbees, the company that built our fan page.

You Should Know: A Facebook fan page for business is an invaluable tool that you can use to grow your own business. If you haven’t yet set up a fan page, here’s a quick how-to to get you started;

We contracted with Socialbees- a Facebook approved provider of Fan Pages and Social Ads that is dedicated

The Parallel with Outsourced Payroll

Virtual accounting departments have their roots in outsourced payroll functions. Years ago, most companies would never have considered moving payroll functions outside the company. Payroll involves sensitive company data. They feared a payroll service would steal vital company information and sell it to their competitors. Third-party payroll services fought against myth and misinformation for years.

The gloomy predictions never came true. Payroll offices maintained strict confidentiality and payroll security. The data was never compromised and sensitive financial information was protected. Once organizations saw past the illusion of insecurity, they realized outsourcing payroll functions saved them money and allowed them to operate more efficiently. Today, payroll is commonly handled by third-party vendors and few organizations consider privacy breaches to be a possibility.

Virtual Accounting Departments Face the Same Challenges

The business of outsourced accounting is going through the same evolution in customer perception. Executives are reluctant to give up control of daily financial functions and worried about the possibility of security breaches. With the increased public attention to data theft, businesses are concerned with the safety of financial statements handled by a virtual accounting department.

Yet there is no evidence that virtual accounting departments are less secure than internal ones. In fact they are often more secure as the encrypted transmissions, protected servers and regular data backups provide more data protection than the average business has. Client trust is vital to a virtual accounting department. While a data security breach might hurt the client, it would devastate the accounting provider as they lose clients who no longer believed their data was safe.

Finding the Right Accounting Services Provider

As modern business sees the overwhelming advantages of using a virtual accounting department, the number of accounting providers is growing. In order to find the best provider, examine the qualifications of prospective vendors carefully.

A good virtual accounting department should employ experienced bookkeepers and accountants. All transactions should be overseen by an accountant — not just a head bookkeeper. Accounting and bookkeeping services are different and clients should get both. The provider should practice Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

Although accounting experience is important, the provider should have experience with accessible and secure online transactions. Clients need access to their data 24/7 but only authorized personnel should be able to connect and only through secure channels. Data must be backed up regularly. Servers need not only data protection such as firewalls or virus scanners but must also guard against physical intrusions or natural disasters.

Once an organization finds the right accounting services provider, they have the satisfaction of knowing their books are handled by professionals and their data is safe from theft or corruption.

How’s it work?

You create a professional landing page that’s designed to capture leads.

Next you establish a never-ending follow-up sequence where no lead is allowed to slip through the cracks.

So let’s say you get a lead on Monday, Flowtown sends an email with the information your lead signed-up for.

On Tuesday it sends an email explaining how to get more out of the previously sent information after which it puts them on a Follow-up sequence that continues to follow up for the next three months.

Six weeks later they become a customer. Flowtown automatically removes them from Follow-up Sequence A and puts them on new Follow-up Sequence B; which takes them through the steps of being a new customer.

It also puts them on an upsell sequence that gives them more opportunities to do business with you.

That’s marketing automation made easy with Flowtown.

Now the most important thing is Flowtown uniquely caters to the needs of small businesses and there’s a story behind that.

Flowtown was built by small business owners who understand what it’s like to get so caught up in running a day-to-day marathon that you never take the time to put a system in place. Instead you work harder, longer and loose potential sales due to mistakes.

Fueled with a passion to help small business owners DOMINATE their market, MOVE the needle and become MORE successful they created Flowtown.

So stop “Doing Ok” and starting dominating your market.

OSI Business Services can help with the financial information necessary to write a good business plan. Using our accounting services removes much of the difficulty in creating a good document and makes it easier for your business to be successful.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Any business, even a one-person home business, benefits from a formal business plan.

The most common reason organizations put together a plan is when they need to apply for financing, either as a loan or by attracting investors. No one is going to put money into your business until they have clear evidence that the money will be used wisely and they will see a good return on investment. These people are most interested in the financials which is why it is a good idea to hire the best outsourced bookkeeping services you can find.

Even businesses that aren’t seeking funding benefit from writing a plan. By writing marketing and management strategies down, owners are able to work out the details and create better defined approaches to their business. They may come up with new ideas for products or marketing once everything is on paper.

Entrepreneurs use these plans to ensure their business ideas are profitable. If the numbers show that they can’t run the business at a profit, they may be able to retool the plan to turn the idea into a good one. Worst case, they may abandon the project before they have wasted time and money on a project doomed to failure.

Getting the Financials Right

The financial section is the one area most people have trouble with, and yet it is arguably the most important section in the plan. The numbers provide a clear, objective prediction of the future of the business.

If your business is looking for funding, the financials are going to be studied carefully. Hiring accounting services ensures you get experienced help when preparing these critical reports. Accounting is more than just adding and subtracting and the finance professional brings the experience necessary to put your data in the right form.

OSI Accounting Services are Here to Help

Our experienced accounting and bookkeeping professionals are ready to get your books into shape. Organized financial data makes it easier to write a clear and comprehensive business plan.

Once your financial information is organized, we can continue to keep the financials running smoothly so that you can focus on other aspects of your business. Our online bookkeeping services mean you have full and secure access to all of your data any time you want it without all the headaches of keeping the books yourself.

Outsiders Provide Objectivity

One of many advantages of working with a virtual accounting department is the perspective they bring. If there is a sense of panic in an organization, it will infiltrate all departments. Internal accountants and bookkeepers may become so focused on an organization’s woes that they lose sight of the bigger economic picture.

A virtual accounting department has a larger view of the local, national or global financial picture. Because they work with many organizations across a wide segment of the economy, they can see strengths in your company that you might not. While most businesses are hurting right now, many are still financially healthy. If your business is suffering fewer losses than others in the industry and has the resources to ride out the hard times, you are positioned to recover quickly when things turn around.

Professionals Manage your Money Better

This is the time to squeeze every advantage out of your organization. It’s not enough just to monitor your money. You have to manage it efficiently. An experienced virtual accounting department can help find ways to make your money work harder for you. They provide a level of analysis you wouldn’t have if your company’s finances are being managed by bookkeepers who simply enter numbers without examination.

Putting your books in the hands of professionals gives you peace of mind. You no longer have to face the demoralizing effect of daily bad news. The knowledge that a skilled virtual accounting department is overseeing financial operations allows you to relax and turn your attention to forming strategies to deal with the problems and strengthen the organization.

Virtual Accounting Departments are Cost Effective

Outsourced accounting services provide the benefits of an internal operation without the expense of office space, employee benefits, equipment and more. They run leaner and that means your accounting dollar goes farther, an important strategy during this difficult period. You retain full control of your books, but don’t have to interview, hire and manage the financial professionals needed.

Using virtual accounting departments allows companies to remain flexible. As demand fluctuates so do staffing needs. The need to layoff then rehire people in response to changing market conditions is hard on a company. The cost of hiring and training is wasted if those people have to be let go in a few months. External accounting services easily adjust to your organization’s changing finances. When the economy turns around, you can quickly expand to meet increased business.

1. Mistake #1: Neglecting Your Continuing Education

You are the only renewable resource, besides your employees, your business has. You may be a master at getting the most out of your other resources, but how are you doing with you?

Today’s world is characterized by rapid change. Keeping up on innovations in your business and new business strategies is crucial for long-term success. However, most small business owners do not invest any time or money into developing themselves. The less you know, the more time, money and energy you will waste in the future.

Do not be satisfied to be “functional” in the software programs you use to run your business. There may be many time saving options in those programs if you take time to find them. Here’s an easy strategy that will take about fifteen minutes a day. Take your favorite software program (accounting, planning, contact manager, or marketing) and access the “help” menu. Now learn one new function of that software program per day. Fifteen minutes of your time may yield big returns in the future!

2. Mistake #2: Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail

Many small business owners avoid planning at all costs. The old adage, “Failing to plan is planning to fail”, is true. Without a well-thought out plan for establishing your business, running your business, and marketing your business, you will waste a lot of time. Time you don’t have.

So, how do we find time to plan while we’re trying to run a business? Do the work in small increments. Keep a notebook handy throughout your day. Have sections designated for “Operations”, “Finance”, and “Marketing”. Make notes as random thoughts appear to you during a day. At the end of each week, take an hour or so and summarize the ideas into a plan. Place the actions that will yield the highest potential return at the top of the list. Start Monday of the next week by tackling the items at the top of your list.

3. Mistake #3: All Work and No Play

Running your own business is hard work. There is no doubt about that. However, without proper relaxation, you will become increasingly less productive. It isn’t the hours you spend at work but the productivity of the hours you spend there. Become a student of your own business. When do most customers access your business? When is the slow time of the day or week? If you are available for an entire hour that may only yield one small sale, you would be better off out of the office.

Take a walk. Talk to people along the way. They could be future customers. Join a gym and work out during a half of that slow hour. This kills two birds with one stone. You get healthier with better endurance and again, you can network with people who might be future customers. Join that Chamber of Commerce and attend those meetings! Join the Rotary or Lion’s Club! Not everything you do to successfully advance your business will occur at your business.

4. Mistake #4: Take Your Existing Customers For Granted

Remember the first customer you ever had? Remember the appreciation you had for them? Remember the little things you did for them? When did you stop and WHY?

Avoid looking after your existing customers and they will go elsewhere. Customers have more options today then they ever had before. If they don’t find your competitor locally, they will find him/her on the Internet. Ignore customers at your own peril.

The fact is without them you wouldn’t be in business. It’s time to make certain they understand how much you really appreciate them. How about having a special reception or buffet on site for your customers? What about a special appreciation day? When was the last time you contacted customers just to tell them how much you appreciate their business? A happy customer is a valuable business asset, now and in the future.

5. Mistake #5: Never Ask For Referrals

As stated above, your existing, happy customers are a major business asset. That asset can yield benefits in many ways. But you have to ask. Instead of spending a lot of money on your advertising, why not ask customers for referrals? Referral sales are the cheapest and easiest way to grow your business. “Two Men and a Truck”, a moving business, generated $150 million dollars in revenue from 95% referrals sales. That is a target we should all shoot to match!

6. Mistake #6: One-Stop Shop Mentality

Many business owners fail to achieve their true potential because they try to be all things to all people. You need to target your ideal customers. Look at your product. Ask yourself who would benefit most from your product. Once you have selected a targeted group, learn everything you can about them.

Change your store or website to reflect that targeted customer’s needs or desires. Speak their language. Find out where they hang out and what they read or listen to. Understand their concerns. Sell them solutions, not products, and you will excel!

7. Mistake #7: Neglecting Marketing

It is so easy for a business owner to get caught up in the daily operations of a business. The inventory ordering, order processing, data input, and more, can become all consuming. Then one day you look up and wonder what happened to the business.

Marketing is all about future sales. You plant the seed today to reap the benefits tomorrow. If you want a long-term successful business you can hand off to the children, don’t neglect marketing. Every month, set aside at least 20% of your time dedicated to marketing activities.

Marketing activities include deciding to expand an existing product line, dumping unprofitable products or adding new products, determining where your advertising can generate the biggest return for the investment, and planning your marketing materials. These are crucial functions for your success. Neglect them at your own peril!

Accounting Is Harder Than It Looks

It is common for businesses to think that accounting is a simple matter of entering receipts, writing checks, and filling out tax forms once a year. It seems like an almost trivial task and often the owner decides to take on the duties. However other issues continue to take priority and even basic bookkeeping tasks keep getting put off.

Sometimes the financial duties get passed around to whoever has the time or become the thankless job that goes to the new kid. It is never made the core of anybody’s job description and records become confused. Transactions might get entered wrong, entered twice or not entered at all. Very quickly the company’s books become a disorganized mess.

A Bookkeeper Is Not An Accountant

Now the organization realizes that they need a dedicated financial person but doesn’t know how to hire one. They don’t know how to evaluate applicants or judge their abilities. Some hire outsourced accounting services, figuring the firm will have the expertise to give the work to the right people.

This is a good idea in principle, but many business owners think they are hiring an accountant and actually get a bookkeeper. Bookkeepers handle day-to-day tasks but are not qualified to make policies. Much of the burden is still on the owner, who is frequently making financial decisions without appreciating their impact.

Most businesses don’t need a bookkeeper or even an accountant. They need a full-service virtual accounting department like OSI.

OSI As Your Financial Partner

So what is a virtual accounting department? It is a comprehensive solution to your company’s financial operations needs. You get a bookkeeper who handles the routine aspects of your accounts including bank reconciliations, report generation and data entry. You also get a controller who provides management and analysis skills to ensure you know about any problems before they become problems.

You decide how much authority you hand over to us. We can handle all of the routine operations, allowing you to focus on what you do best. If you want to be more involved, you have full access to your records online at all times. We can provide guidance through the complicated maze of accounting principles, or we can back off and let you handle it.

OSI’s virtual accounting department concept gives you as much or as little help as you need to keep your business going strong.