Category: Baton Rouge LA Dental Accountant

You spent years as a dentist, gaining education and experience to open your own practice. If you pursued conventional methods of education and training, you probably did not acquire skills in bookkeeping, much less accounting. Most likely, you focused your dental practice on the areas where you were trained and knowledgeable, which included patient care and relations, administrative duties, payroll, and possibly some basic marketing. No doubt, you’ve had to expand your repertoire as your practice evolved.

Perhaps you have neglected your bookkeeping and accounting over the years. Instead of struggling with your finances, why not hire an accounting or bookkeeping service? 

Why should you hire a professional bookkeeper?

Despite your competence in running your dental practice, you may not possess the skills and expertise required to manage your books as effectively and accurately as a professional agency. Just as bookkeepers and accountants do not perform their own dental care, you would be better off placing your bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities in the hands of a professional.

A bookkeeper will manage some of the financial aspects of your practice that a bookkeeper will manage:

• Company Bank Accounts 
• Insurance billing
• Account Payable 
• Accounts Receivable
• Cash flow

The Advantages of Outsourcing Bookkeeping

• By reducing bookkeeping time, more time can be allocated to patient care.
• Due to fewer operational expenses, the dental practice saves money by only paying for what it needs. As a result, the company may be able to provide raises annually to employees. 
• As the dentist and owner of your practice, you can be assured of the accuracy of the bookkeeping services provided, allowing you to manage your office more effectively and efficiently.
• Instead of trying to handle the finances, you and your staff can place much more emphasis on patient care. The result is greater patient satisfaction thanks to improving the overall experience.
• Instead of you and your staff being responsible for the practice’s bookkeeping, which can lead to uncertainty and errors, you have access to bookkeeping specialists. This approach allows you to enjoy consistency with your bookkeeping practices and have more time to devote to financial strategy, which puts you in a proactive position when managing your finances.
• In addition, you can also utilize premier bookkeeping programs within your dental practice. The programs will allow you to back up and save your data for years to come, making it easy for you to maintain your financial records reliably and persistently.

The Advantages of Professional Accounting Services for Dental Practices

It is essential to work with a skilled accountant who develops high-level strategies aimed at improving your practice’s financial standing. A professional accountant will prepare financial statements, analyze operational costs, prepare tax returns, and consult with your dental practice on financial decisions. 

Our dental accountant in Baton Rouge, LA provides accounting services tailored to specific industries. As your business grows, your taxes will become more complex. We will help you maximize your tax savings as your business grows. In addition to tax planning and support, we offer insight into current trends and relevant issues to help companies make wise decisions. Whether you’re starting your first company or managing your established one, you can rely on our team to provide you with strategic advice along the way. 

Contact our Baton Rouge dental accounting firm if you would like to learn more about how our team can assist you.

Your most valuable resource is time. Managing your time can be impossible on some days. Think about the strategies you currently use to manage your time. What other tools could you use to protect your most valuable asset? These three methods shared by our Baton Rouge dental accountant will help you maximize your time.

Reevaluate Your Management Strategies.

Without spending a dime, you can buy time. Use a new method for tracking practice productivity. Having your team email their task lists for the day can be a great way to keep them organized. Each staff member can describe quantitatively what they do, making it easy to refer back to them. The previous method would avoid micromanagement of employees by asking, “What did you do today?” With a full schedule of appointments, implementing management tasks is difficult.

Since you know what each team member contributes, you can reduce the number of daily meetings. A daily list of completed tasks allows everyone at your practice to be aware of which tasks need to be handled.

Maximize efficiency by using apps.

“Lost time is never found again.” Ben Franklin knew this 200 years ago. How can you use this knowledge in running your practice? You can track your practice with several tools available on your phone. Using these tools can help you become more efficient. Today, you don’t need to manage all aspects of your business manually.

Utilize scheduling apps and software. Apps such as these will help you save time and keep track of your practice’s performance. If you need some guidance, feel free to contact our accounting firm.

Consider Express Check-In.

Losing time is not always the fault of your team. One late patient can disrupt your whole schedule. Make registration easy for your patients. Provide patients with online forms they can fill out before they come in. This will help your entire practice run smoothly. Working with your patients to create a smoother, faster registration is the best way to avoid becoming known as a practice that runs behind schedule. Your patients will not want to fill out redundant paperwork. Whenever possible, rework any documents or forms to prevent your patients from repeatedly filling out information such as their name and address.

Time management is an essential skill for successful business leaders. Set up methods that allow you to measure productivity in concrete, quantitative terms. Make your life easier with technology and let your patients work with you to save time. Think differently about your time management strategies.

Our dental accounting firm in Baton Rouge, LA can help you implement strategies that will help you be more efficient. Please contact us for a consultation.

The varying nature of confidence can be exemplified as a business leader because of the stressful nature of leading a dental practice. Confidence can grow with a conscientious effort. Our team of dental CPAs in 70808 come up with a few ways to increase your confidence in the dental practice, leading to a more positive work environment.

Consistency is Key

Rapidly changing methods and ideas can prevent a business leader from feeling confident. The business should work for the practice leader, not the other way around.

Gaining a sense of consistency and stability with schedules, rules, and realistic  expectations can lead to an increase in confidence that the practice will run smoothly.

Know and understand the key parts of the dental office, important dates, and the function of each role. You can only become confident in your business operations when you fully grasp the nature of the entire business.

Stay True To Yourself

Being afraid to say what you think can be viewed as a lack of confidence. Speaking your mind, while still having a professional filter, can build confidence as it shows you are part of a team and contributing. Being yourself will also get rid of any notion that team members might have that you are not being a genuine person. Openness and authenticity will not only strengthen your bond with your team, but are also essential traits for effective leadership.

Be Open to Criticism

Change cannot come from one person alone, and not all criticism should be seen as an attack against you. Listen to feedback from team members and customers and tailor that feedback into something positive. Do not let the criticism fester and destroy your confidence. Take it and use it to grow.  Accepting constructive criticism and negative comments can help increase your confidence.

Know What You Are Talking About

Fully understanding what you are talking about can help improve your confidence. If you are a dental practice leader, strive to know everything you can about the office and its operations. If you are speaking about a topic, research everything you can about that topic. Become the expert. You will be better positioned to demonstrate confidence when it is clear that you are invested in what you are discussing.

Confidence can not only make or break your career, it can impact the dental practice as a whole. Contact our dental accounting office in Baton Rouge, LA for a dental practice evaluation and analysis to make sure you are working at your full potential.

Starting your new dental career can be one of the most exciting (and nerve-wracking) times of your life. Whether you are starting your own practice from scratch or joining one that is already established, there are several important aspects to keep in mind.

Our dental accounting team in 70808 has compiled a quick guide that will help you manage your priorities as a new dentist with confidence and ease.

1.  Protect Your Work-Life Balance– While you might be used to a heavy schedule during your years in school, don’t let yourself burn out. You deserve a healthy work-life balance. By setting boundaries and following them, you can enjoy your time with friends, family, or hobbies without feeling overwhelmed by your work schedule.
2. Know Your Strengths – Your practice should center on two things: what you are compassionate about, and what you are incredible at. Don’t pursue a specialty just to appeal to your community if it isn’t something you are excited about. Focusing on your strengths will bring you more satisfaction in your work as well as higher quality to your service.\
3. Manage Your Debt– Dental school graduates usually have a significant trail of student debt following them. Whether you refinance, make extra payments, or choose an alternate repayment plan, focus on reducing your balance instead of simply paying off the interest. Don’t forget to contribute early to your retirement fund, either. The best time to start saving was yesterday.
4. Successful Practice Management– A dental practice is a business, and a business needs a strong leader. Dental schools don’t typically prepare you for the financial and leadership elements of your career, so don’t be afraid to seek coaches or consultants. With the right mentor, both you and your practice can succeed.
5. Continue Your Education– The last advice you want to hear as a new dentist is ‘more schooling,’ but it’s true. Once you have settled in, you should look for new opportunities to hone your skills. There exists a world of workshops, lectures, and courses that can further your passion in dentistry, bring you confidence in your work, and improve the value of your practice.

With the right mindset and plan, you can build yourself up as a new dentist, achieving your leadership and financial goals. If you are considering starting your own practice, our team will be the resource you need to secure your future in success. Contact our dental accounting firm in Baton Rouge today to schedule a consultation.

It’s no secret that, as a dental practice owner, you take on a great deal of responsibility and overwhelming  financial stress. Here in our office, one of our main goals is to help you achieve financial freedom so that you can completely focus on leadership and business growth. The following tips from our dental accounting team in Baton Rouge will help you create a more solid foundation for your dental practice and help you along in your financial journey.

Organization is key. It is important to make sure that you always have systems in place. This will ensure that no details are missed and that everyone has a protocol to follow. Disorganization can quickly lead to unhappy customers, and ultimately, the downfall of a business. Efficient organization can also help bring opportunities for improvement to your attention.

Dream big.  Your dental practice will only be as successful as you envision it to be. Set clear goals with deadlines to use as a ruler for your success. Goals will help with financial decisions that present themselves. By setting goals with clear expectations, you will be able to assess how small decisions can have a true impact on your practice in the future. It will help you define a clear path toward your financial freedom.

Always have a plan. Without both short-term and long-term financial plans in place, you will be setting yourself up to fail. How will new earnings be allocated; how much will go toward savings? Are you budgeting for new purchases? Where will money come from if business gets slow?  If you don’t already have the answers to these questions, this is a great place to start. Planning for the unexpected helps to ensure that your dental practice will survive surprise expenses.

Make wise financial decisions. When starting a dental practice, it is inevitable that you will acquire some strategic debt. The key to success in the business will be an analysis of your return on investment. Don’t make big purchases without a thorough analysis of the value that it will bring to your practice.

If you need help creating a plan or making a financial decision, our office is available to help. Our goal is to put you on the path toward financial freedom. We want to help take some of the financial stress away so that you can focus on your community, patients, and business growth. Contact our dental accounting firm in Baton Rouge, LA today for a business consultation.

Marketing is at the heart of most business growth, but it is only the beginning. Even the best outreach efforts won’t advance your dental practice unless you can convert new leads into active patients. 

There are many reasons outside of your control that might stop someone from scheduling an appointment; however, make sure you are taking all possible measures to ensure they book with you and follow through.

Here are four ways recommended by our dental accounting team in Baton Rouge to help your team more effectively sell the value of your service to potential new patients:

Be available and responsive: As a dental professional, you know what it’s like to be busy. Your patients have busy lives of their own, so it’s important that your team is available to take calls as they come in and that you strive to offer flexible appointment times to accommodate the workweek.

Offer a friendly and welcoming environment: As you well know, some people suffer from dental anxiety. Work to overcome this discomfort quickly by communicating in a warm, affirming and caring attitude with your marketing, over the phone, and in person.

Make sure your team greets patients by their name and gets to know them. Ask patients during each step of a procedure how they are feeling. Offer sedation dentistry if you do not already. 

Don’t hard-sell a service: While you are expected to tout the benefits of the treatments you offer, patients are often turned off by pushy approaches, especially for elective procedures. Take the time to get to know each patient’s needs, treatment goals, and budget. Make them feel valued and understood, and you will increase the likelihood of treatment plan acceptance.

Master the art of the follow-up: Repetition is one of the easiest techniques for cementing something into memory. If a potential new patient reaches out to your office, be sure to follow up if you don’t hear from them again. You never know the reason they didn’t call back; taking that extra step can offer a second chance to make a connection and help your practice stand out in their mind.Many dentists struggle to think about their practice as a business. It is likely that you chose dentistry because of a desire to serve and heal and did not think about sales and bookkeeping. Our dental CPA firm in 70808 understands this so we offer ideas on tax savings, practice growth, and how to boost new patient numbers.

Contact our dental accounting firm in Baton Rouge and see what kind of difference we can make for you!

Healthcare is a serious business fraught with stress and experts are now touting the value of levity in breaking the tension found in the workplace. Books and courses about injecting humor into business are springing up, including a Stanford Business School course for executives called, “Humor: Serious Business.”  

Scientific studies have shown that joking and laughter relieve tension, boost the immune system, and relax the muscles. Laughing can increase memory, energy and creativity, as well as elevate mood. It can knit teams together and create a psychological safe haven.

While the addition of humor to the workplace does not remove deadlines or reduce performance expectations, it can help create a more enjoyable work life. Additionally, laughing can increase memory, energy, creativity, and elevate the mood.

Any office can benefit from these effects, so why not consider adding some lighthearted moments to your team’s day?

Here are a few suggestions from our dental accounting team in 70808 to help inject humor into your workdays. 

• Try sharing a tasteful, work-appropriate joke with your team to start the morning huddle and invite them to bring their own. 
• Post a board in a shared space and challenge everyone to bring a funny quote, image, or comic strip to hang. 
• Put on a silly shirt day once a month, decorate the office for a holiday, and allow holiday dress-ups during Halloween or holidays like Valentine’s Day. 
• Take funny photos or videos of you and your team and share them on social media. 

Keep your humor on-brand and non-offensive to all. 

If using outright humor doesn’t feel right to you, think about its cousin, levity. This is simply an elevation of mood that feels calming and light. Finding moments to share a laugh can invigorate the culture of your office.

There will always be pressure to attract new patients, increase productivity, and handle emergencies as they arise. Consider adding fun into your daily routing when the time is right. It should put everyone at ease and make the serious work of dentistry more enjoyable for both your team members and patients alike.

Far from making your practice look frivolous, experts say humor inspires confidence and loyalty. If you can make your patients smile, they will remember how you made them feel and will be more likely to stay with you.

A happy team leads to a successful practice. Let our accounting team help you along the way with guidance, insight, and our custom-tailored financial services. Contact our dental accounting firm in Baton Rouge, LA today to see what we can do for you!