How Do You Handle After-Hours Phone Calls? | Dental Advisor Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge Dental Accountant

Time is money, and if you are not taking advantage of after-hours phone calls at your dental practice, you could be missing out on new opportunities to connect with patients and grow your practice. 

You may have created an effective marketing strategy that is getting the phone to ring, and you have probably trained your team in proper phone etiquette; but have you considered what happens if a prospective patient calls on nights and weekends?

If someone phones you after hours seeking information or to reschedule an appointment, they will likely leave a message or call back during regular business hours. However, a potential new patient who needs emergency dental treatment is more likely to hang up and call around until they get a person to answer. 

Many dental practices do not have phone coverage outside standard hours of operation or during lunch; others have an answering machine. Both can feel impersonal and frustrating to patients and prospects. 

Dental Accountant Baton Rouge LA

If your patient discovers late one night or on a Sunday that they need to reschedule an appointment the next business day, chances are your team won’t hear the voicemail until it’s too late to make changes. If your phones are being answered outside working hours, issues like this can be addressed more promptly, leading to better scheduling and happier patients.

If you are interested in 24/7 phone coverage, you can either hire an answering service or train your team to share the responsibility. If a professional answering service makes sense for you, talk to a dental accountant about the cost of building it into your budget and the possible return on investment it could yield. 

The other option, sharing the responsibility among team members, may cost you less and offer a more personal interaction. No one has better knowledge of your practice, your patients, and your schedule than your own team. Discuss with your accountant the most effective way to compensate team members for this time, such as paying them a set amount per shift or per call answered.

If you believe lack of 24-hour phone availability is detrimental to your business, talk to our team about adding this service into your fixed costs and exploring the tax ramifications. Arrange a free initial consultation today. 

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Smart Ways to Plan for Retirement | Dental CPA Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge Dental Accountant

No matter how long you have been practicing dentistry, it’s important to put a retirement plan in place. Act now to create a realistic savings timeline for a comfortable senior lifestyle. Here are some questions to ponder as you consider your retirement strategy. 

How much are you currently saving? When you meet with our dental accounting team, you will review the details of your P&L, taxes, and your long-term savings objective. During retirement, it may be beneficial to change some of your investments to help your savings outpace inflation.

Do you have an exit strategy? If you are a dental practice owner or partner, it would be helpful to create a written agreement about who will buy you out when you retire. Ask yourself whether you plan to retire outright or work part-time. Think about how your retirement savings will be affected by taxes. These issues and more should inform your strategic plan for retirement. Our dental accounting firm can guide you through details of the transition process.

What do you plan to do during retirement? If you have your heart set on starting a new venture, traveling more, or embracing a hobby, you may have to plan for shifting priorities and greater living expenses. The economy continues to change, and it is worth your while to lean on experts to help future-proof your lifestyle. 

How long will you be retired? Advances in modern medicine have increased life expectancy dramatically. Depending on your health and family history, you may want to plan as though you will live to be 100 and estimate your needs accordingly. Have you considered long-term care insurance, for example?

What other expenses will change? Retirement may eliminate your commute, work wardrobe, and team lunches; however, for most people, the golden years is a time of higher costs for medical care and prescriptions. Talk with us about the types of budget changes that are likely to occur during retirement.

Don’t let decisions for the future creep up on you, even if you are young and healthy. For more information on tax planning and looking ahead to a comfortable retirement, contact our office and schedule a complimentary initial consultation. We are experts in helping dentists achieve their goals during their active working life and beyond.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Don’t Ignore Negative Reviews | Dental Accountant Baton Rouge

Don't Ignore Negative Reviews

Finding a bad review of your practice is a slap in the face and it happens even to the most conscientious practitioners. Someone might be having a bad day and take it out of you. Sometimes the review is deserved and presents a growth opportunity. While we all act differently to criticism, the one thing you should not do is ignore a bad review. When ignored, negative feedback can have a detrimental impact on your practice. 

Dental Advisor, Baton Rouge LA

Can You Afford to Lose Patients to Bad Reviews? 

Potential patients who are considering using your dental services will invariably look at your reviews. If any bad reviews are ignored, they may not give you a second glance. They might make the assumption that you don’t care about your patients or care to address deficits. That is a sure way to lose out on new business and any referrals they might make in the future. This applies not only to potential patients but current ones who keep track of reviews. 

Reviews are (Usually) Forever

Negative feedback on review sites is usually there, out in public, for all time. It is difficult if not impossible to remove bad reviews. This creates a lasting list of negative impressions on your practice that can be referenced by others. That is why it is important for dentists to address poor reviews whenever possible. Show the client or customer that you care about their thoughts. Do not attack; stick to facts and apologize if warranted. While it may not win a patient back, it may be appealing to future patients, especially if you also have many positive reviews.  

Show You Respect Your Patients

No one wants to be treated disrespectfully; we all want our voices heard and to be valued as individuals. If you ignore negative reviews, you are essentially telling both the reviewer and prospective patients that you don’t care what they have to say. While some reviewers just want to be nasty (or may be competitors trying to sabotage you), legitimate patients who do complain feel passionately enough about your business to voice their concerns. If you don’t validate those concerns, expect them to take their business elsewhere. 

Missing a Chance to Learn

You are not perfect; no one is. Mistakes present an opportunity for leaders to learn. It is even better when a patient presents those mistakes clearly. This will allow you to learn why the mistake happened and how to fix it so it doesn’t happen in the future. If you ignore feedback, you open the door to a mistake happening again. Negative reviews offer a chance to learn and grow your business; if you ignore them you miss that opportunity.

Great reviews are not the only ones that can help improve your practice. Bad reviews present an opportunity to learn from them and grow. If you choose to ignore poor reviews, the consequences could be disastrous. Not only could you lose current patients, but prospects, too. 

When you see a negative review, take a step back and see what you can learn from the experience. Address their concerns, by telephone if possible, and make every effort to create positive experiences in the future.

Contact our team for a consultation today on other ways to grow your business. Click to contact a Dental Consultant in Baton Rouge, today.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Information Sharing Through a Dental Study Club | Baton Rouge Dental Accountant

Information Sharing Through a Dental Study Club

Have you considered joining a dental study club? The dental profession is constantly changing, as are all health and science fields in general. It can be challenging to stay current with advances in techniques and new technologies every year. In leaner times, too, it is important to stay current within your continuing education budget. 

Dental Advisor, Baton Rouge LA

There are many reasons to consider joining a group of fellow dentists in exchanging knowledge and ideas. Here are some of the most valuable advantages you stand to gain.

Continuing Education

When travel and extended time off are not feasible, dental study clubs allow you to pool resources of a group of dental professionals and attend continuing education lectures. These groups also make it possible to participate in hands-on clinical training in your area. This added source of training and education can serve as a valuable way to stay current with new technology and techniques affordably. 

Learn a New Practice Area

If you want to focus your practice on one or more specific areas of dentistry, such as implants, Botox or sleep apnea treatment, a dental study group focused on those areas can help. You can find and attend the courses you need to develop the skills and qualifications to reach your desired goal.

Peer Support

Group discussions have been shown to be one of the most effective ways to share experiences, techniques, challenges, and new ideas with like-minded individuals for the benefit of everyone involved. With a dental study club, you are interacting with other dentists and specialists in your area. Informal gatherings allow you to explore new ways of approaching a problem or a treatment, bounce ideas off of other professionals, and benefit from what your peers have already tried.

Learn the Value of Networking

Getting to know your peers satisfies the need to interact with like-minded professionals and even gain a source of referrals. While it may not be the primary reason to join a dental study club, virtual and face-to-face meetings are highly beneficial. Specialists, in particular, depend on referrals from other dentists. It can be much easier to refer a patient or gain a referral when you have developed a relationship with other professionals and know how they treat their patients, what technologies they use, and similar information.

The collegial exchange of knowledge, solutions to challenges, and support can be invigorating while the format is economical. Consider joining or starting a study club in your area, and let us know if we can help with setting financial goals and budgeting.  Click to contact a Dental Consultant in Baton Rouge.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Dental Consultant | Increase Investments for Revitalized Revenue

Baton Rouge Dental CPA

Like most businesses, dental practices are not immune to the effects of the economy, and, lately, the pandemic. Peaks and valleys in revenues are normal. Any time revenues begin to inch down, many practice owners react by cutting back on the line item they think is most expendable: Marketing. This is almost always a mistake.

When you cut your marketing budget, you effectively slam the door on new patients, and you reduce your potential revenue. If you are new to the profession, you may not realize how closely linked marketing and revenue are.

The competition for patients is too fierce to stop marketing your practice — the kind of marketing that is tailored to the people you want in your chairs. Your practice might be near a school and benefit from drawing young families who like convenience. You might want to advertise your excellent restorative work to a retiree-rich zip code or teeth bleaching and veneers to young professionals. How do you reach them?

Today’s businesses cannot survive through word of mouth and referrals alone. Your practice needs to attract new patients on an ongoing basis, not just in the weeks following a postcard blast or mass email. A scattershot approach is a waste of money. You want to capture potential patients’ attention week after week, month after month. It takes at least seven exposures for them to remember you. This is especially true with a profession that still, unfortunately, invokes fear; it is imperative that you establish trust.

In addition to attracting new patients, you need to solidify and maintain the loyalty of your existing patients. It is important to keep them looped into any specials you want to run, new services you offer, and the latest developments in the dental world. Social media marketing can be just the solution.

Consistent, effective marketing keeps you top of mind.

When your marketing budget increases, stronger revenue follows. Several factors influence how much your practice should allocate to marketing, including these:

  • Are you a new practice? You may need to invest more until you have established a solid patient base.
  • Do you want to maintain growth for your established practice? Compare your current rate of new patient acquisition to the number of patients lost annually to determine how your current budget is performing.
  • Is business stagnant or decreasing? Consider investing an additional 5 or 10 percent above your current marketing budget, at least until the trend reverses.
  • How competitive is your local market? Higher competition requires greater investment to grow business. You must find, build on, and market your differentiator — and not stop.

Can you still afford to market your dental practice in leaner times? You can’t afford not to. For customized advice regarding your marketing budget and business growth, contact AG Dental CPAs and Advisors today.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Baton Rouge Dental Accountant | Tax Time: Why File with an Accountant?

Dental Accountant Baton Rouge

When it comes to tax time, having a professional CPA on your team is important to protecting your investment, and ensuring the health and longevity of your practice. Before you consider taking shortcuts, stop and consider the consequences. Here are a few of the many reasons you should work with a professional accountant.

Dental accountants understand tax code. Tax code is not only complicated; it changes frequently. Interpreting and staying up to date on the current codes is a full-time job. As a dentist, you are busy enough running a practice without having to stay abreast of shifts in tax law. Accounting software may not help you take all the deductions that you are owed. Hiring an accountant who understands how dental practices operate is a wise investment. It can offer you with extra peace of mind every April 15.

Dental accountants know how to get you more deductions. Everyone wants to maximize their deductions, but only a professional financial expert can get you everything you are legally owed. Don’t leave money on the table and don’t overpay the government. This is exceptionally important advice for small businesses, including most dental offices. Partner with an experienced dental accountancy firm to offer advice, analysis and help with preparing quarterly estimates.

Dental accountants minimize your risk. Taxes are one area in which you don’t want to cut corners. One innocent mistake can unleash an audit and cause potential trouble. If you run into such a scenario,  you could wind up paying far more than you would have if you worked with a professional from the beginning. If your practice is an S Corporation, penalties bleed into your personal taxes and can have damaging repercussions on your family’s finances. Working with a dental CPA, like AG Dental CPAs and Advisors, throughout the year offers protection. Your accountant can ensure that you have your tax-related paperwork in order year-round. Accurate documentation ensures you will receive all allowable deductions and minimize errors.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are risk-takers; it’s how they succeed. But risk has limits. Don’t jeopardize your dream by cutting corners on one of the most important tasks of the year. Work with a dental CPA and allow yourself the peace of mind to protect what you have worked so hard to build. Choosing the right dental accounting firm is critical. You want one that puts your interests first, helps you with long-term strategy, and offers analysis and advice.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Dental CPA Baton Rouge LA | Boosting Your Practice’s Profitability

Have you ever wondered how you can maximize your practice’s return on services and recoup some of your capital? Our dental CPA provides strategies to help boost your office’s profitability.

How to Optimize your Dental Practice

Reviewing your production reports and ensuring procedures are in place can help save time and money. If a procedure is charged incorrectly, it can increase costs over the course of a year.

If possible, adding high-dollar procedures to your practice such as endodontics, teeth whitening, and other cosmetic services can greatly boost your bottom line. Training dental hygienists in various procedures, such as soft-tissue management and whitening, can also maximize a dental practice’s profitability.

Build a Great Dental Team

In order to recruit and hire the best possible candidates, it is worth paying above-average wages to experienced people in the field. This avoids high employee turnover, which can become costly. A friendly and knowledgeable dental team will also help with patient retention.  

Facilities and Equipment

If possible, purchase all your dental and office equipment, rather than lease it. This avoids a number of issues including higher retail costs, interest payments, hidden fees, and lease-breaking penalties.

Strive to maximize your office space. If your current patient volume doesn’t allow you to use all your offices, consider subletting either your primary or secondary office space. Another option: Merging your office with another dentist. Done right, it can help you fully utilize your space and reduce overhead.

There are a variety of ways to boost profits and cut costs while owning a practice. To start, focus on your core services, team, and office space. We know opening a practice can be costly and leave many dentists in debt, especially after finishing school. Contact our team of dental accountants at AG Dental CPAs and Advisors today for help with managing your budget and ways to maximize your return on investment.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Baton Rouge Dental CPA | How to Choose the Right Dental CPA

Hiring a dental specific CPA (certified public accountant) for your practice not only provides greater financial transparency; it’s an excellent resource for making informed business decisions. If you’re considering hiring a dental CPA, it’s important to know what qualities to look for in candidates. The following are important steps in helping determine the ideal CPA for you.

Determine Your Needs

Before you start looking for an accountant, determine why you need a dental CPA. Are you looking for a CPA to help with your financial business strategy? Do you need help with your bookkeeping or filing your taxes? Once you determine your specific needs, you can assess which skills you should look for in a dental CPA.

Ask Around

Colleagues experienced in running their own practices can be a helpful resource in providing advice on this process. Ask what traits they look for in a CPA. With their knowledge in mind, begin conducting your own research guided by your particular needs.

Here are some general questions to ask yourself when looking for a dental CPA:

  • Do they meet my specific needs?
  • Are they up-to-date with their knowledge? Do they use modern software?
  • Are they established and reputable?
  • What dental practices do they currently represent?

Look for Dental Industry Experience

Many accountants spend a majority of their time working with clients in a vast number of industries and don’t necessarily have specific experience with dentistry. If you are looking for an accountant with dental industry knowledge, contact AG Dental CPAs and Advisors today. We offer a variety of services to fit everyone’s needs. We look forward to hearing from you.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Baton Rouge Dental CPA | Goal Setting Strategies

No matter how impressive your vision for your practice may be, dreams require hard work and strategic planning. Highly successful practice owners learn to set goals realistically and effectively. Master the skills of effective goal-setting, strategic planning, and assessment to find greater success in your business.

Set Incremental Goals

Start small when setting goals by establishing daily and weekly goals. It can be easy to let ambition take over while you dream of long-term goals. However, you cannot reach your long-term goals without smaller victories along the way. Setting smaller, incremental goals provides the opportunity for you to be in consistent control of your practice. You will know if you miss a weekly goal, and you can then adjust your strategy to make sure your team can stay on track moving forward. If you are only setting quarterly or yearly goals it can come as a surprise when you miss them, or your team might be left struggling to meet them in the eleventh hour.

Make Goals Visible

You and your team need a visual reminder of what your goals are and when you plan to achieve them. Put them up on a bulletin board in the office or include them on your calendar. Write your goals in a place you look daily as a consistent reminder. We all have those back-of-the-mind thoughts or ideas that might be good if implemented, but they are frequently forgotten. Make your goals visible to you and your entire team.

Measure Your Goals

How will you know if you achieved your goal if you cannot measure it? Goals should have a measurable standard. Perhaps your goal is to see a 20% increase in your monthly new patient numbers in a 6 month timeframe. By defining specific numbers and timeframes, your goals will lead to action. Abstract goals are often set and missed. When a goal is clear and measurable, you can more easily create a plan that accomplishes the goal at hand. Once you’ve set measurable goals, make sure you have a cadence for evaluating them. Will you be reviewing your progress weekly, monthly, or quarterly? This timeframe will vary based on the size of the goal and effort needed to evaluate change. 

Evaluate your goal-setting protocol to identify areas of opportunity. Master these skills and you will be on your way to the success you desire.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Baton Rouge Dental Advisor | New Hire Onboarding: The 30-60-90 Day Benchmarks

One way to introduce a new team member to the policies in your practice is through 30-60-90 onboarding. This method uses identifiable goals and metrics in order to show new employees how to integrate themselves into your team. You can successfully bring new team members into your practice and set them on the path towards personal and professional growth.

30 Days

An employee’s first thirty days on the job are essential to building relationships. They are also vital to ensuring he or she knows the expectations of their position. Collaborate with new team members on a set of three or more goals that they can work on during their first month. Emphasize that the focus should be on absorbing as much information as possible.

60 Days

After the first thirty days, your new hire should be familiar with your practice’s routine. They should be able to effectively execute the tasks they learned during the first thirty days. At this point, team members should adjust their focus from learning about daily operations to focusing on contributing to the practice’s mission.

90 Days

By ninety days your new team members should be fully integrated into your practice’s workflow and executing their tasks independently. More importantly, they should be able to take the lead on projects and responsibilities without supervision. When problems arise, your new team members will be able to react and solve them while also being proactive in preventing them from happening again.

How Can You Make An Effective 30-60-90 Plan?

The best 30-60-90 plans take an extra step to look beyond numbers. You want your new employee to think critically as they settle into their new role. With that in mind, there are a number of things you can keep in mind as you create a 30-60-90 plan that will lead your employees to great success.

  • Emphasize the big picture – Think about why you hired this specific person for this role, whether it be to fill a need in your practice or expand your team. Make sure they plan goals and metrics that reflect your overall priorities.
  • Ask and answer questions –  Your new hire needs a baseline understanding of the status quo in order to be effective in their new role. Encourage them to ask whatever questions they need to understand their priorities and direction.
  • Be flexible – Don’t worry about if your new hire doesn’t grasp things immediately. 90 days is a significant length of time, and there is often an adjustment period. Provide constructive feedback and course-correct as necessary.

With proper planning using the 30-60-90 method, you can introduce new team members to your practice and provide them with a baseline knowledge to help you achieve long-term goals. Consistent contributions from every member of your team are vital to making your practice a success. Contact us today at AG Dental CPAs and Advisors to learn more about what 30-60-90 planning can do for you.

AG Dental CPAs and Advisors
Phone: (225) 767-1020
Url: https://agdentalcpas.com/
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg A, STE 1B
Baton Rouge, LA 70808