Who needs an accountant first
- New businesses and new owners. Entity choice, registrations and a clean set of books are decisions they want help with.
- Businesses with sales tax in more than one place, like shops selling online.
- Cash-heavy businesses, where records and reporting carry more risk.
- Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, with license renewals and their own tax filings.
- Growing businesses: several locations, a staff on payroll, or a medical practice dealing with insurance billing.
Prospect around tax season, not during it
Your busy months are the worst time to win new clients: you have no time, and most owners have already handed their return to someone. The better windows are after the spring deadlines, through the summer, and in the fall when owners start thinking about year-end planning and next year’s return. New businesses can start any month, so keep an eye on openings all year.
Build your list
- Referrals from bankers, attorneys, insurance agents and bookkeepers who serve the same owners.
- New business filings and grand openings in your area.
- Your chamber of commerce and local trade groups.
- Google Maps, searched by category and town.
- A prospecting map like Canvas Scout, which puts every local business on one map with new owners, online sellers, cash-heavy shops and multi-location businesses first.
What to say
Lead with the owner’s situation, not your list of services. Before you start, check your state board of accountancy’s rules on advertising and solicitation so your outreach fits them.
“Hi, I’m Priya with Lakeview Accounting. We work with a lot of restaurants in this area. When your return gets done each year, do you also get a sit-down on what to plan for next year? … If not, I’d be glad to look at last year’s return with you and point out anything worth asking about.”
A free look at last year’s return is a low-risk offer for the owner and shows you what kind of client they would be.
Scope the work in an engagement letter
Put every new client on a written engagement letter: the services you’ll provide, what you need from them and when, your fees, and what is not included. It protects both sides, and it sets expectations before the first deadline. If monthly bookkeeping, payroll or planning meetings are part of the deal, list them so extra work becomes a conversation, not a surprise.
Follow up through the year
Most owners won’t switch accountants in the middle of a tax year. Keep in touch with a short note before key dates, invite them to a year-end planning meeting in the fall, and check in again after filing season. Keep notes on every owner: their entity, their current preparer and what frustrated them. When the moment comes, you are the name they remember.
Where Canvas Scout fits
Canvas Scout maps every local business in your territory and puts new owners, online sellers, cash-heavy shops, growing staffs and multi-location businesses first, with the reason on every card. See Canvas Scout for accountants and cpa firms, or look up how many businesses are in your territory.
