ESS BIZTOOLS Podcast (Accountant's Minute)

Buying a business can be one of the biggest financial decisions an SME client will make — and accountants, bookkeepers and business advisors can play an important role in helping them make an informed decision. In the latest episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, we explore how you can guide clients through the buying process, including due diligence, debtors and suppliers, working capital, business planning, financial forecasts, premises, employees, competitors and other important considerations before a contract is signed. Discover how a structured Buying a Business Advisory Service can help your clients do their homework while creating an opportunity for your firm to deliver valuable, chargeable Business Advisory Services. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Are your tradie clients charging enough? In this episode, Peter Towers explores how accountants, bookkeepers and business advisors can help tradie clients establish the right charge-out rates to achieve their targeted profit. Discover the key factors that influence charge-out rates, including labour on-costs, productivity, overheads, material markups and profit targets — and why these figures should be regularly reviewed against actual business performance. Learn how this can become a valuable advisory service that helps your tradie clients improve pricing, profitability and financial decision-making. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Making the sale is only the beginning. The sale isn't complete until the business gets paid. In this ESS BIZTOOLS podcast, Peter Towers discusses how accountants, bookkeepers and business advisors can help SME clients establish an effective Debtors Management System. Discover the importance of credit assessment, Debtors Days Outstanding (DSO), payment terms, debtor follow-up and structured credit management. Learn more about ESS BIZTOOLS and the SME Debtors Management System: www.essbiztools.com.au You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Are accounting firms doing enough to support SME clients beyond tax compliance? In this episode, Peter Towers explores why accountants, bookkeepers, and business advisors need to embrace advisory services, predictive accounting, business planning, cash flow forecasting, KPI monitoring, and capital raising support. Discover how firms can strengthen client relationships, create new revenue opportunities, retain talented team members, and help SMEs survive and thrive in challenging economic conditions. You can also access our podcast on:

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers explores why accounting firms, bookkeepers and business advisory firms are at a critical crossroads: remain focused on compliance or begin building structured advisory and Virtual CFO Services . Peter reflects on the original FMRC vision for accountants to become trusted business advisors to SMEs, then compares that ambition with today's reality — where only 15% of SMEs identify their accountant as a Key Strategic Partner . This episode highlights the opportunity for firms to move beyond tax returns and annual accounts by delivering practical advisory support, including business planning, budgets, cash flow forecasting, KPI analysis, debtor management, costing reviews and 52-week business performance systems. For firms ready to take the first step, Peter explains how ESS BIZTOOLS helps accountants and bookkeepers build repeatable advisory services, develop internal champions, and support SME clients with the guidance they need to survive, grow and succeed. You can also access our podcast on:

Why are so many firms struggling to attract and retain accountants? In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers explores the talent challenges facing accounting firms in Australia, and why younger accountants are looking for more meaningful, advisory-driven work. He discusses how broadening your services beyond compliance can help your firm build stronger teams, deliver greater value to SME clients, and position itself as a true Key Strategic Partner . You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Discover why only 15% of SMEs see their accountant or bookkeeper as a Key Strategic Partner, while many firms believe they are already delivering that level of service. In this episode, Peter Towers explores the disconnect, the missed advisory opportunities, and the practical questions firms need to start raising to become more valuable to their SME clients. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

How do you start offering advisory services without disrupting your firm? In this episode, Peter Towers explains why advisory services are too important to ignore – and how accounting firms, bookkeepers, and business advisory firms can begin with a simple, practical step-by-step approach. Discover how to start small, deepen client relationships, and position your firm as a true Key Strategic Partner with the support of proven tools, training, and client communication resources from ESS BIZTOOLS . You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Advisory services can create significant value for clients, but they do not sell themselves. In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers of ESS BIZTOOLS explains why accounting firms, bookkeepers and business advisors need to actively position, communicate and sell advisory services if they want to be seen as true Key Strategic Partners . Featuring insights from the Intuit QuickBooks SMB 2025 Survey and The Boss Factor Library , this discussion highlights how firms can strengthen client relationships, build new revenue opportunities and deliver the forward-looking advice SMEs need. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers of ESS BIZTOOLS and Darren Gleeson of TaxFitness discuss the growing need for accounting firms to move beyond compliance and deliver real advisory services. They explore benchmarking, business improvement opportunities, and practical ways accountants, bookkeepers and advisory firms can strengthen client value and work towards becoming a true Key Strategic Partner . You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers (ESS BIZTOOLS) and Darren Gleeson (TaxFitness) explore how benchmarking transforms client conversations, drives behavioural change, and unlocks measurable profit growth. Discover why comparing clients to the top 20% in their industry provides the clarity, context, and commercial focus that traditional financial reports often miss. If you want to increase client profitability, strengthen advisory revenue, and reposition your firm as a forward-looking strategic partner — this discussion will show you where to start. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Only 15% of SMEs rate their accountant as a Key Strategic Partner . Why is that – and how do we change it? In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers (ESS BIZTOOLS) and Trevor Marchant (The Boss Factor Library) unpack what it truly means to move beyond compliance and become your client's go-to advisor for growth, strategy and innovation. From debtors management and cash flow forecasting, to R&D Tax Incentives and capital raising, this episode explores the missed opportunities sitting inside most accounting firms – and how to confidently communicate, package and deliver them. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Only 15% of Aussie SMEs see their accountant as a Key Strategic Partner — the go-to advisor driving growth and success. In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers, Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS , is joined by Darren Gleeson (Founder, Tax Fitness ) to show how top 20% benchmarking turns "advisory" into a repeatable system – fast, evidence-based, and built for quarterly client conversations that improve profit and performance. SPECIAL OFFER : Use code ESS100 to get Tax Fitness for $1,000 + GST (save $200) plus 12 months FREE access to the ESS BIZTOOLS Starter Package . You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this final Accountants Minute Podcast episode for 2025, Peter Towers is joined by Darren Gleeson , Managing Director of TaxFitness , to explore how benchmarking and virtual CFO services can transform struggling SMEs into top-performing businesses. They discuss why benchmarking against the top 20% (not the average) is critical, how to turn profit gaps into advisory opportunities, and why accountants and bookkeepers must move beyond compliance if they want to stay relevant in an AI-driven world. Perfect for firms ready to lead clients—and their own team—into 2026 with stronger profitability and sharper advisory services. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of the Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers explores how predictive accounting reports turn a business plan into a live early-warning radar for SMEs — with budgets by operation, key drivers, cashflow forecasts, projected balance sheets and KPIs all working together. You'll hear real stories of how weak communication, poor debtor and creditor management, and hidden inventory or capex blowouts can quietly destroy cash flow — and how accountants, acting as Virtual CFOs, can step in, monitor the numbers weekly, and protect profitability. Peter also highlights the role of benchmarking with the top 20% of performers and best-practice Trades Charge-Out Rate Calculators as powerful tools to help your clients scale with confidence. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers introduces Stage One of the Innovation Journey — where every breakthrough begins with a simple idea. You'll discover how accountants and bookkeepers can guide SMEs from that first spark through R&D eligibility, record-keeping, prototype development and commercial planning. This is your roadmap to becoming the internal auditor, advisor and strategic navigator SMEs desperately need as they innovate, experiment and build new intellectual property. If your firm wants to lead clients through real innovation (and unlock new advisory revenue along the way), this episode is your starting point. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Transforming from "tax technician" to true key strategic partner is no longer optional. In this episode of the Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers unpacks the uncomfortable gap between what 75% of accountants think they deliver and what SMEs actually say in the Intuit QuickBooks SMB Navigator Report . You'll explore why so many firms are still seen as "transactional", how to test your own client perception with a simple three-option survey, and the practical steps to deepen Financial / Commercial / Management Accounting services so clients genuinely see you as their go-to advisor. Tune in and start shifting your firm's vote to "Key Strategic Partner". You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers unpacks why only 15% of SMEs currently see their accountant as a true Key Strategic Partner – and what you can do to change that. You'll discover how to reposition your firm from "tax return provider" to virtual CFO , delivering Financial / Commercial / Management Accounting advisory services that help SMEs survive, thrive, and scale up. Peter also shares practical insights on debtor management, cash flow, the innovation journey, and capital raising – and outlines how the ESS BIZTOOLS product packages (including a limited-time 75% Black Friday discount ) can fast-track your road to advisory excellence. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

In this episode of the Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers explores why so many SMEs are still failing – and how accountants, bookkeepers and advisors can change that story. Drawing on Michael Gerber's "Dreaming Room" concept, real client case studies and the ESS BIZTOOLS Starter Package , Peter shows you how to build systems, introduce virtual CFO-style support, and position your firm as the strategic partner SMEs desperately need to survive and grow. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube

Turn "it's a buyer's market" on its head. In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast , Peter Towers shows how advisors can double an SME's sale value by planning early – embedding systems, documenting IP, driving weekly performance, building real business plans, and running annual valuations – so the multiple moves from "average" to outstanding. If you help clients prepare like a listed company, you don't just tidy up before sale – you create the premium. Listen now and learn how to lead, lift the multiple, and help your clients cash out stronger. You can also access our podcast on: Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Audible Spotify YouTube