Tag: Dental Consultant Baton Rouge

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

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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 CPA in Baton Rouge | How to Get the Most Out of Team Meetings

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Baton Rouge Dental CPA

Regular team meetings can play a critical role in the health and growth of your dental practice. That one simple point can impact every aspect of your business. Your people, your patients, and your overall practice benefit from regular team meetings. The key is to make them effective.

Keep Goals and Expectations in Focus

The core of your practice is your vision, your goals, and your strategy for growth. Each member of your team needs to understand all these things and, just as importantly, needs to understand their part in your plan. Without that overarching understanding, your team is working blindly and less able to actively contribute toward reaching your practice goals.

A team meeting is an ideal format for open discussion about your vision, goals, and strategy. Not only can you use this discussion to ensure every member is clear on your expectations, but you may find that their unique perspective creates an exchange of ideas on more effective ways to reach goals – and how each person can best contribute.

Encourage Participation

Workplaces are a microcosm of the larger world. Some people are comfortable speaking in front of a group, some hate it. Some speak loudly, some must be drawn out. Ask each team member privately if they are comfortable speaking at meetings. If not, encourage them to share a written note or an email with you and address their point in the meeting.

Keep Meetings Positive

Have a round-table discussion of anything on your team’s mind. Have people share wins and learnings and don’t rebuff constructive criticism. Make sure each person is made to feel comfortable sharing their ideas with the rest of the group. This can be tricky when there are interpersonal issues within the team. If there are, enforce a no-tolerance policy for put-downs, belittling or dismissiveness. 

Casual vs. High-Level Meetings

While not every team meeting needs to include a high-level discussion of vision, goals, and strategy, it is a good idea to discuss these points at least once or twice a year and when bringing a new employee into the team. Additionally, many successful dentists find it useful to touch on how the strategies are being implemented and to discuss any measurable progress toward goals at least monthly. This helps keep your team engaged and motivated toward achievement.

Engage with Education

One of the most common components of an effective team meeting is education. Your team needs to know what the policies are, what is on the agenda for the day, if there are any specials being offered, and if anyone is sick or on vacation. Any new ideas, training, or techniques that can be shared should be. Your patients benefit from correct and consistent information from all members of your team. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

Only you can determine when and how often you should hold team meetings. Whether you meet daily, weekly, or on some other timeline, make sure your meetings are encouraging, educational, and affirming. You will see benefits to your team, your patient experience, and your practice as a whole.

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 | How to Become a True Leader

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Dental CPA Baton Rouge

There is a big difference between managing a dental practice and being a true dental practice leader. As is true for many small business owners, dental office leaders set the standard and pace of work. They inspire confidence and trust.

Making fundamental changes to the way your practice operates is no easy task, but it is attainable with the right mindset. Use these tips to get started on a path to developing an innovative practice that you lead to success.

Leaders Leverage Consistency

Leaders are constantly learning and implementing. They develop ideas that foster efficiencies, make people feel valued, and encourage synergy. By holding a consistent weekly meeting, your team can learn your leadership style. When communication is infrequent or inconsistent, leaders feel pressured to communicate and train in the few precious moments that arise sporadically between patients. This type of management can cause stress for the whole team. 

Don’t Micromanage Your Team

For most dentists, the highest and best use of time is spent treating patients. This means you must delegate tasks to other team members and trust them to do it. In fact, a hallmark of leadership is delegation. Let your employees handle the clerical side of the practice. It is important, however, to have structure in reporting, communication, and benchmarks. With this structure, clear expectations will replace micromanagement. You will find the workday will flow more smoothly and your team members will feel more empowered in their respective roles.  

Track Efficiency with Goal Setting

Every goal should be realistic and measurable. By giving each team member a set of weekly goals, you’ll alleviate the pressure that arises from having one or two team members carry the weight of the entire practice. Ensuring that a fair contribution is made by each employee will also resolve personal conflicts that can arise on a dental team. By setting and evaluating personal contributions, you’ll also be able to easily assess when a team member is deserving of a promotion.

Know When it’s Time to Train and Hire

Great leaders can recognize if their team is unable to handle the current workload. By hiring just before you need to, you’ll allow room for your business to grow. All too often, dental practice owners wait too long to recruit and end up burnt out, unmotivated, and unhappy.

Are you ready to step into a true leadership role and supercharge your practice? We’re ready for you. 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

Dental Consultant | Increase Investments for Revitalized Revenue

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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?

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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

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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

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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

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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

Dental Accountant in Baton Rouge | Tax Tips For Dental Practices

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Annual financial reports show that many Americans overpay on their taxes by a collective one billion dollars every year. This happens when people fail to hire experts who are well-versed in available tax credits and deductions. Considering tax implications, laws and spending before tax season can help you to properly plan and take advantage of credits and write offs available to you.  

There are a number of deductions to consider, including:

  • Charitable Expenses – Depending on the nature of your giving and documentation, you may be eligible for a deduction related to charitable contributions. 
  • Job-Hunting Costs – Whether seeking employment or to recruiting employees, you may have expenses in this category worthy of consideration. 
  • Lifetime Learning Credit – With proper documentation, certain programs may allow for a tax credit. 

Bigger Picture Changes

In addition to claiming credits during the actual filing process, there are a number of big-picture changes you may want to consider in the coming year.

  • Choose the Right Business Structure – An experienced accountant can help analyze your practice structure and advise you when deciding the business structure of your practice. 
  • Maximize Your Medical Benefits – Any smart tax strategy includes proper management of medical benefits. For example, businesses with employees can take advantage of Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans. These allow you to write off medical bills as business expenses.
  • Choose the Right Retirement Plan – Retirement plans help ensure financial stability and living standards when you eventually retire. An experienced accountant can help you choose between a 401k, defined benefit, SEP, and more to meet your goals.

Tax season only comes once a year, but it’s something any dental professional should be considering long before April. Our experienced accountants can help turn a hefty tax payment into a large return. Contact us today to see what our team 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

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

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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