Overcoming Workflow Bottlenecks
Traffic Jams Can running the right reports improve workflow bottlenecks in Dr. Ben’s practice? “Mrs. Wilson!” Pam said, looking up as Carmen came through the door. “Did I hear you talking about me?” Carmen asked her husband playfully. “I was hoping you could come to lunch with me.” “Dr. Ben was talking about our workflow bottlenecks,” Pam put in. “Workflow matters,” Carmen said. “And I think you also should be talking about scalability. Naturally you pay full attention to one patient at a time, but for the sake of the practice you have to be able to look at the big picture and identify the bottlenecks in your workflow.” Pam was silent. “We’re speechless,” Ben said. “I’m glad to see you, of course, but I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.” Pam darted a glance at the patients around them and welcomed a new patient. “Should we be discussing these things in front of them?” she asked quietly when she was free again. “It’s business,” Carmen shrugged. “Your practice is growing because you give your patients excellent care. So you want to continue doing that. How could they object?” She stepped behind the desk and looked over Pam’s shoulder. “For example, can you run a report that shows all the tasks that are coming up tomorrow and who is assigned to do them, and what tasks are still left from today?” “Honey, I don’t think you should be–” Ben began, but Pam stopped him. “I’ll just pull up the list of reports I can run,” she offered. “There’s no sensitive information there.” “There sure are a lot of reports!” Carmen said, her eyes widening. “New Patients, No Shows, No Future Appointments–” “There are lots of patient reports,” Pam agreed, scrolling down the page, “and then we also have things like Inventory, Billing, Patient Balances, Third Party Vendors…” Ben joined them in staring at the screen. “Is that going to help us identify bottlenecks in our workflow?” “I only run a few of them,” Pam admitted. “Mostly, I don’t really know how to set them up the way I want or how to use them once I run them. I think they’re open to interpretation, too, because sometimes they make me think we should do something but the partners don’t agree — sorry, Dr. Ben!” “That’s okay,” he said. “I know what you mean. Often we partners don’t agree with each other, either. It’s like we’re all looking at different information.” “Reports like these are for analysts,” Carmen said firmly, “not for doctors and nurses. You can’t expect to look at a couple hundred lines of a Tasks and Events report and see what you need to do next.” “Plus,” Pam added, “it’s hard for me even to figure out which report to look at. If we’re talking about how smoothly the work goes, I know that a lot of the tasks we do involve multiple aspects of the practice, not just one of the things listed on those pre-made reports.” Ben took his wife’s arm. “We’ll get out of your way now, Pam,” he said, “but thank you for your help.” “How much time do you spend on those reports?” Carmen asked her husband as they walked. “Hardly any,” Ben shrugged. “As Pam said, I don’t really understand how to use them. Plus, I don’t exactly have lots of free time — and I’d rather have lunch with you.” Can running the right reports improve workflow bottlenecks in Dr. Ben’s practice? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chiropractic Business and Tax Tips
In The Waning Days of 2014, This May Be The Most Valuable Tax Savings Tip You’ll Read Anywhere By Garrett B. Gunderson This is the perfect time of year to be looking ahead and working in partnership with your accounting advocate to review your tax strategy and be certain you are on course to keep your tax bill in check – for 2015. Yes, you read that correctly. 2015. The 2014 calendar year is almost history, and while many business and practice owners awaken each November and December to go hunting for year-end tax savings ideas, they are approximately 12 months too late to truly maximize the potential advantages of well-thought and executed tax planning. You may have noticed that in the opening sentence of this article I referred to your “accounting advocate.” Most people describe this under-utilized and under-appreciated professional as an “accountant” – which technically is correct. But too often the images we have of our accountant – whom we meet with maybe once or twice a year, usually between January 2nd and April 15th – is of a cyborg-like records processor – part human, part machine – who ingests our bank statements, credit card logs, cash receipts and other documents and then, voilà, spits out our business and personal returns like a can dispensed from a soda machine. I refer to my accountant as my “accounting advocate,” because a quality, properly utilized accountant is really a tax-planning and savings partner. I speak with or meet with my accountant throughout the year, to review our tax philosophy (more on this in a minute), monitor my financial performance to date, telescope any IRS rule changes that might be on the horizon, and embrace tax savings strategies that will accelerate both my income and my deductions. Here’s another unusual aspect of my relationship with my accounting advocate: I pay him richly. When small business owners commoditize their accountants, assigning their tax preparation to the lowest-priced bidder, what they typically get is qualified performance, but not quality. Would you select your family physician, dentist, or chiropractor primarily on the basis of the lowest available hourly rate? Likely, not. Then why subject the health of your business and finances to low-cost operators? I find that the added value my well-paid accounting advocate brings to me and my businesses is an investment whose returns far offset any savings I might realize by scrimping on my choice of CPAs. Selecting and working closely with an accounting advocate who will help you develop and implement a long-term tax philosophy is one of the “New Rules of Business Success™” that sets Freedom FastTrack members apart – and ahead – of so many other business owners. There is a sharp distinction between tax preparation and savings tips, and a financially rewarding tax philosophy. Most people can sum up their current philosophy as it pertains to taxes in just three words: “I’m against them.” A bona fide, Freedom FastTrack-style tax philosophy is a little more sophisticated than that. It begins, as Brett Sellers so articulately details in this edition’s Monthly Spotlight, with the conviction that how you pay and avoid taxes must support your primary business goals and strategies. Falling over backwards – in the business sense – to cut your tax burden is a rookie mistake. Each business and practice is unique, so it requires an individualized tax philosophy that supports the business owner’s unique objectives and Soul Purpose. All of the false financial idols that I topple in my bestselling book, Killing Sacred Cows, must be expunged from your tax planning: So long 401(k)s; adios scarcity mindset; ta ta to cash flow corks. In their place, you and your accounting advocate want a flexible approach that provides for long-term wealth generation, married to an abundance ethos, and the pursuit of your life’s calling. I liken a good tax philosophy to a speedboat – sleek, powerful, capable of fast acceleration and easily maneuvered. By comparison, Uncle Sam and the IRS are co-captains on a massive cruise ship. In the time that it takes the U.S.S. Taxman to turn and displace one of my tax philosophy components, my accounting helmsman and I have prepared for the contingency with multiple other well-plotted courses. At the moment, I personally am working with my accounting advocate set up a tax-advantaged trust for my two boys – consistent with my life’s Sole Purpose which includes providing well for them. As art lovers, my wife Carrie and I have also been taken by the prospect of purchasing photographs that we love, enjoying them and displaying them for colleagues and clients, then donating them down the road in return for a deduction of the then-appraised value. What excellent examples of a tax philosophy – tied to my family and my business – in ways that my accounting advocate can suggest because he and I have taken the time to look at tax strategy through the prism of the Gunderson Family’s lives. A robotic, cyborg accountant – if he or she would offer any advice whatsoever – would likely trot out the go-to mantra of all board-certified CPA lemmings: “Why not start a tax-qualified, employer matching, defined contribution pension plan – typically a 401(k) – for your employees?” (I could write a book about why that’s not a good idea. Oh, yeah. I did write a book explaining why.*) A savvy accounting advocate can contribute in innumerable ways. He or she can help determine if you’re paying yourself properly; whether you’ve set up the right legal structures to insulate you from unnecessary tax obligations; if cost segregation of your office space is being handled well; if it’s really wise to defer this year’s taxes to future years; what role charitable trusts might play for you; how to minimize or avoid capital gains taxes, etc. One Freedom FastTrack member recently saved roughly $250,000 in the first year alone by moving from a cash to an accrual accounting method. So, indeed, pick up the phone when
Focus, Identify, Create Value and Repeat
Your recipe for working with people you enjoy, know you can help, and making more money. by Garrett B. Gunderson To be as productive as possible it is essential to be crystal clear about what your business is specifically designed to do, and who you are ideally positioned to serve. This means identifying your best existing patients and figuring out who they really are as people. If you can understand what age group, gender, education level, what they do for hobbies, what books they read, where they hang out, how much money they make, etc. then you can make it a point to go out and find more people who are just like your best patients/customers. To do this make a conscious choice to determine who is already existing and “Ideal”, and build a relationship with them. Have appreciation dinners, invite them out to hike or snowshoe, or share experiences with them. Let them become more than just clients or patients – build a relationship. In this process you will not only learn how to serve them better, you’ll understand how to attract more people just like them. This leads to a business full of people that you love to see and who love to come see you. Once this happens the profits are an inevitable result of serving those that appreciate your value the most. They key is to overcome the concern that is you focus or get to narrow that you will miss out on others you could have otherwise have worked with. Here are some questions and considerations to help address and overcome this objection. If you were to look at your top 20 percent of people you work with what percentage of your revenue are they responsible for? How many people have they referred versus the bottom 20 percent? What percentage of your time is used for addressing people that do not pay on time, do not refer people and do not appreciate your service? What impact does that have on your energy, confidence and ultimately the bottom-line? Do you think there are plenty of people in your community or even your state that fit the “ideal” profile? What would your life look like if that was who you spent your time and focus on? What level of value could you create for them? How would it allow you to focus more on value creation and less on appeasing people that do not appreciate who you are, what you do or that simply are not compliant with implementing your recommendations and getting the full value you offer? So, find the best people that you enjoy working with the most. That gets the best results and refer the most people. Focus on building those relationships, cultivating those relationships, and asking them how you can create the most value for them. To discover other overlooked opportunities most business owners miss and to gain more freedom in your business as we expose models most didn’t think was possible, yet are achievable in a short period of time, check out www.freedomfasttrack.com/cfw as I interview business strategist Brandon Allen. Brandon opened up and built Wells Fargo branches for a decade before becoming the COO of my firm, Freedom FastTrack. In order to more fully express his expertise and purpose he now shares his insights and discoveries through business expansion and management with Freedom FastTrack members. In a bottom-line, no fluff interview he will be sharing how to: integrate metrics and numbers to improve business unveil the biggest mistakes business owners make in managing their business (he exposed this for me and transformed my INC 500 business) how can you create and leverage your authority in your market how to address and confront employee behavior in the business time management the key habits to run a successful business and more
What Business Owners Should Prepare for in the Current Political Environment
Do Business Owners overpay taxes? by Brett Sellers, CPA with Garrett Gunderson We find that 93 percent of business owners are overpaying on their taxes, yet 100 percent say they don’t prefer overpaying them. Plus many are concerned or even afraid about the changes and current tax environment. So with so much talk now about an impending “financial eclipse.” I’m no prophet, but it doesn’t take divine revelation to know that our current situation is tough for business owners, and it will likely get worse. President Obama has defined the wealthy individuals with incomes over $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. Although he campaigned on not raising taxes on middle class, he wants to increase the taxes on taxpayers earning above those amounts. He wants to reinstate the 36 and 39.6 income tax rates on high-income earners. He is also pushing to increase the capital gains tax rate from 15 percent to 20 percent, and a dividend rate raise from 15 percent to at least 36 percent. So what can you do about it? The best advice I could give any business owner isn’t technical or legal—it’s mental and philosophical. Your decision to increase your productivity will impact your business and net worth far more than any technical advice I could give you. Tax rates will likely go up. Nothing we can do about that. What we can do is increase our production to offset the tax increase. The antidote of a 5 percent tax increase is to increase production by 10 percent. Someone once wisely said, “You’ll never go broke paying taxes.” If you’re not paying taxes, it means you’re not making any money. If you pay more in taxes, it means you’re making more money. So don’t let your attitude and actions be dictated by doomsayers. Don’t be frozen in fear or frustration. Be proactive and productive. Concern yourself less with technical tax code and more with growing your business. Having said that, I’ll also stress that the current environment makes tax planning even more important than ever. If your car insurance rates go up, it becomes important to consider your policies. Likewise, if your tax rates go up, the benefit of tax planning is exponentially higher than it was before. More diligent planning is a vital strategy for dealing with increased tax rates. If your tax rate goes up by 5 percent but you can find 5 percent more in deductions by better planning, you’d be in about the same place. Truthfully, there are no real opportunities to be harnessed now. The best you can do is to mitigate damage by hiring a good tax planner. But, while you’re working on finding more reductions, remember that your best bet is to increase your production. If this philosophy is congruent and you want to know specific strategies, check out the upcoming Curriculum for Wealth where Garrett will interview Brett and get straight to strategy to put money in your pocket. Don’t be part of the 93 percent overpaying tax, find money without having to work harder, hire more people or lose any more sleep. http://www.freedomfasttrack.com/cfw Brett Sellers is a licensed CPA at Stewart, Archibald, and Barney, LLP in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has worked with business owners for more than twenty years. Brett feels strongly that a business cannot achieve long-term success without accurate financial data and a constant measuring of the key activities of the business.
