Category: dental CPA

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. We’ve 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 Schiff & Associates for a dental practice evaluation and analysis to make sure you are working at your full potential. 

How do you know when it is absolutely time to hire a dental accountant? Occasionally there are certain tasks that you are able to do on your own, but these tasks may be very time consuming. When you are busy with clinical work, it is easy to overlook certain things or make financial mistakes. Here are a few signs that confirm you need an accountant:

1. You earn over $200,000 per year– Your odds of being audited once you start earning over $200,000 a year increase to nearly 4%. While this may not seem like a large number, it’s actually an increase of over 300%. Having your financials in order in case this does occur is vitally important once you become a high-earner.
2. You are a business owner or are self-employed– Utilizing the services of an accounting professional is vitally important for any business owner or entrepreneur. Tax laws change annually. The current US tax code has over 7 million words in it. Making sure that all of your deductions are included, your assets are depreciating properly, and that you are maximizing your tax savings will wind up saving you money in the long run.
3. You are setting money aside for others– When putting money aside for your children, grandchildren, or anyone you want to take care of, it’s very important to use a financial professional to decide which vehicles to use for tax-deferred or tax-free savings. This includes college savings plans or trusts.
4. You are incurring large capital gains tax– The key to success in paying big  capital gains tax is paying at long-term rates. An accountant can help you with a Qualified Small Business Tax Credit, can help minimize your taxes, and can help you set long-term payment goals.
5. You are experiencing rapid growth in your business– Not only is keeping your finances up-to-date time consuming, it’s also complicated. When you’re experiencing rapid growth, it’s time to call in an accounting professional. Having more customers, team members, and vendors is going to require more paperwork and number crunching and can rapidly become impossible for you to keep up with. 

Contact Schiff & Associates, today if any of these signs apply to you and your dental practice. Our professional dental CPAs can help you organize the financial aspect of your practice. 

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 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 understands this so we offer ideas on tax savings, practice growth, and how to boost new patient numbers. 

Contact us today 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 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 us today to see what we can do for you!

Whether you manage your practice’s human resources or oversee a practice manager, you are responsible as a business owner for ensuring your policies are appropriate, legal, and fair. Few practice owners are trained in HR, but some level of knowledge is important for the viability of your practice. 

Here are a few commonly asked questions regarding aspects of human resources for dental practice owners. 

What questions should I avoid during interviews? 

There are a few basic, even common questions that are never appropriate for an interview setting. Some of these include: 

● What is your marital status?

● Do you have children? 

● What is the origin of your (unusual) name? 

While such questions seem like natural ice-breakers, they are illegal. They can lead to the sharing of information about protected class status such as disability, family status, ethnic or religious heritage, sexual orientation, and others. 

Even if their answers would have no bearing on your decision, these questions can leave you open to a complaint if the position is not offered. You should always keep questions business-related. 

What should I do if an employee refuses to sign a disciplinary action form? 

If this happens, bring a witness into the room, and note the refusal to sign. Have the witness sign confirmation that the disciplinary action form was provided to the employee. Remind the employee that refusal to sign does not negate the disciplinary action and further infractions will lead to more serious consequences. 

We use software to track employee hours and the program has a function to automatically deduct meal times so employees do not need to manually clock in and out. Should we use this function? 

Before you decide to use an automatic system of this type, consider the time saved by not manually entering hours. Then compare it to the time lost by entering corrections if a team member misses lunch, returns early, or runs late. 

If your office rarely deviates from schedule, this might be beneficial. However, if you find that you are making corrections more than once or twice a week, this function could cost more time than it saves. 

Understanding the nuances of human resources is an important part of building a strong practice. As bookkeepers, tax preparers, and valuable advisors to dental practices, we can also help you create a profitable operation. Contact our office today for a free initial consultation.

Have you defined goals for your practice? Planning and achieving milestones provides a sense of personal satisfaction, inspiration to others, and often, greater profitability. Whether you want to double your patient flow, open a second office, or become a key opinion leader (KOL), your goals can be attainable if you create a strategy and work towards them systematically. 

Here are seven strategies for goal-setting: 

Define your objectives: If you only have a big-picture idea of what your goal looks like and a fuzzy vision of how to achieve it, stop and reassess. Start with the “why,” and progress to the “how.” 

Sketch or write it out, measure it, and break it down into steps. Ambitious plans are only successful if you create a detailed map to reach them. 

Take it one step at a time: It can be easy to focus on all the effort required to reach a goal and quickly become overwhelmed. Break it down into milestones that are weekly, quarterly, and

even yearly. Creating these incremental steps allows you to celebrate minor achievements and pivot quickly if a plan is not working. 

Create visual reminders: Set up a vision board or a private Pinterest page for visual inspiration. A Kanban-type board or thermometer poster can help you measure progress. 

Choose what works best for you and your type of goal. The more tangible you make your vision, the more inspired you will be to turn it into reality. 

Talk about it: Talk to your personal advisors, friends, loved ones and, if appropriate, your team about your goals. It will keep you accountable and allow others to share your inspiration. 

Map out benchmarks: Define the steps needed to achieve your dream, such as creating a new marketing plan, adding an additional team member, or a setting out on a real estate hunt. Work your plan by breaking the large steps into smaller ones. 

Don’t let setbacks defeat you: Remember the old saying, “Quitters never win and winners never quit?” The road to reaching dreams can be bumpy; expect setbacks and roll with them. Don’t allow yourself to feel discouraged or defeated. 

Show yourself kindness: Don’t work to the point of burnout. Take breaks and be as gracious to yourself as you would to a friend who is on a mission to achieve a goal. 

Through gradual and measurable goal-setting, you will likely gain the clarity needed to reach your objective. Our dental accounting team can help you create a roadmap based on our many years of experience and put the financial pieces into perspective. 

Contact us today to make an appointment for a free consultation and set your goals in motion!

Dental hygiene appointments are a major revenue driver for most dental practices. They are responsible for about one-third of total production numbers for most practices. Making the most of these appointments can help to improve profitability. 

A recent study shows that there is room for improvement. Just 17 percent of dentists say most of their active patients keep hygiene appointments every six months, and at least one in ten appointments are no-shows. 

The department can train to increase case acceptance and promote elective services. In fact, hygiene numbers could increase as much as five times among current, active patients with some diligent planning. 

How Much Does a Hygiene Department Contribute to a Dental Practice?

Numbers vary, but one industry benchmark suggests that each hygienist should produce around three times their wages, or about 33 to 35 percent of the practice total. If you want to improve your margin, your department could benefit from systemization. 

Start with a hard look at the numbers. Each month, analyze the hygiene department’s finances. Look at the collection to production ratio, no-shows, and the time spent with each patient. Studying these numbers will help to identify ways to maximize the department’s productivity. 

It can be a challenge to keep prophylaxis appointments moving while giving each patient maximum attention. The average time spent on scaling – 20 to 30 minutes – can present an optimal time to educate patients on oral health, focus on case acceptance, and discuss elective procedures. 

Make sure your team educates patients on the importance of dental hygiene exams and the consequences of skipping them. Some patients view these appointments as mere teeth cleanings; they likely don’t have a grasp on all of the benefits of cleanings and examinations. 

Emphasize the need for regular oral cancer screenings as well: how one person dies every hour of an oral cancer and how simple, painless exams can detect a problem early enough to treat it successfully. 

Improve Case Acceptance and No-Shows 

After analyzing your hygiene department, scrutinize and revamp your appointment confirmation system. Some practices set up their hygienists to schedule next appointments chairside or escort patients to the front desk. 

Another way to decrease no-shows is by sending multiple reminders through a variety of mediums such as phone calls, texts, emails, and physical postcards. Some practices call or text a day or two before the appointment. 

While some of your patients might balk at multiple messages, they are less likely to ignore them. Make sure patients understand that a missed appointment robs another patient of an opportunity to receive care and treatment. 

When you boost hygiene production, you are likely to improve your bottom line. If you’d like to gain greater financial insight into your practice’s profitability, contact our dental CPA firm today.

The days seem to fly by in a dental practice, barely leaving time for you to check in with your team. Do you really know how they are feeling about work? Dental practices, like any healthcare organization, can be stressful and busy environments, but as a leader, you need to ensure patients receive positive, professional care. 

Team morale is vital to patient satisfaction and retention – and it makes good financial sense to invest in. According to a recent Gallup poll, there are roughly 22 million actively disengaged employees costing the economy up to $350 billion dollars a year in lost productivity. Key factors cited in the report included illness, absenteeism, and attitude.

When you are working inside a person’s mouth – a most intimate act – you can imagine how quickly they will pick up on a poor attitude. 

Servant Leadership 

Morale can be improved through a concept known as servant leadership. It is centered around getting to know each team member on a personal level, recognizing their contributions, and thus creating a feeling of pride within the team. A harmonious work environment flows from the top and engenders trust in the organization. 

In 1970, the late pundit Robert K. Greenleaf coined the phrase servant leadership saying, “the great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness.” 

Get to Know Your Team 

Learn what motivates each team member and plan rewards accordingly. Some might enjoy a photo and thank-you post on social media, others a private, hand-written note, and almost everyone would enjoy a paid day off. Think about what makes sense for your team and budget. Your efforts, no matter how small, will serve to energize your employees and make them feel good about serving patients. 

Recognize Contributions 

Group recognition is also important. Plan a catered employee luncheon or hand out gift certificates. Create an employee recognition week and include it in your patient newsletter. 

Practice self-awareness 

Check in with your own state of mind each day and be mindful of spreading sour vibes. Hold yourself accountable for following through on promises; handle conflicts quickly; adopt an open-door policy that makes your team feel comfortable. 

Meet 

Holding morning huddles and team meetings keeps everyone on the same page and fosters easy communication. It also makes you aware of potential job satisfaction roadblocks, such as an overwhelming caseload or uneven work distribution.

Pitch in 

Finally, employees always appreciate a leader who rolls up their sleeves and helps when the going gets tough. 

The trust, appreciation, and support you give your team can make a tremendous difference in office harmony, patient experience, and your bottom line. To ensure a thriving practice, make morale a priority. 

If you’d like to learn more about creating a harmonious work environment, get in touch with our team today!

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.  

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 our dental CPA know if we can help with setting financial goals and budgeting.  Contact our dental CPA today