Where is the line between helpful hints and Giving Away our business property?

Sara - Balancing Numbers
Sara - Balancing Numbers Member Posts: 75 ✭✭
Hi there.  I don't even know if this will get past Reckon censors, I certainly hope it does!  I'm not trying to stir up trouble, it's just that I've recently re-partnered with Reckon and I'm struggling to understand why partners are giving away their knowledge for free.  I'm interested in the opinion of both other consultants, and end users, on this subject.

I have 17 years RA experience (going back to Version 6), 7 of those as an Accredited Consultant (in the past, before this forum existed).  It seems from some of the questions posted on here, that many of our users could get a lot more out of their Reckon product (thus increasing customer satisfaction), if they "bite the bullet" and avail themselves of an hour or two of training.  A Reckon Partner would not only answer the immediate question, they would also do a basic file audit (thus helping with things the End User doesn't even know are going to present problems down the track)

No matter what we do for business, from running a mechanical workshop, to providing Reckon training, all of us want to help others.  Helping is not my issue.  Giving away the intellectual property that we've taken years and dollars to obtain is. 

I don't see a line being drawn anywhere between a few helpful hints, and straight out RA advice, which should be paid for, just like we pay our Lawyer or your Doctor, or anybody else who has what we need, stored in their head.  

Feedback via this forum would be appreciated. 

Comments

  • Kerry_Johnson
    Kerry_Johnson Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    Is this a question for the Partner Forum rather then this public Community?

  • Desleigh Brooks_7656143
    Desleigh Brooks_7656143 Accredited Partner Posts: 5 Accredited Partner Accredited Partner
    edited November 2016
    I whole heartedly agree.  I regularly give free telephone advice to my clients, but providing regular  free advice to strangers does nothing to build (or maintain) my customer base.

  • Desleigh Brooks_7656143
    Desleigh Brooks_7656143 Accredited Partner Posts: 5 Accredited Partner Accredited Partner
    edited November 2016
    You, too, are right.  It probably should be a question for the Partner Forum, rather than the public community but once it was out their couldn't refrain from making my comment, somewhat hastily perhaps.

  • Afshin
    Afshin Member Posts: 26
    edited November 2015
    Our world as we know it, is changing and we either change with it or doomed to fail...

    It's all about how you see your market and your customer base.

    With digital innovations, the traditional way of thinking or creating business is changing rapidly. You are not giving away your intellectual property by giving free advice. You are actually helping people to understand how good you are in what you are doing. There are so many accountants and consultants out there that quite frankly anyone can get the most complicated advice for peanut.

    Does that mean the accountants and consultants era is finishing??? my answer is absolutely NOT. you need to move on up the value chain and think about who are your customers and what type of service they are looking for. Answering a question in an online forum is not a service.

    Do you want to waste your time, advertise, bring customers to your business to just answer a question and get peanut!!! I guess the answer is not.

    Do you really think by answering people questions and even giving them step by step instructions would make you redundant? I don't think so. I ask many questions and I would like to deal with my day to day accounting issues myself. However I recently paid over $2K to get Tax and Accounting advice from a very expert and experience accountant. So what does this mean?

    If a business owner can afford a book keeper, accountant or consultant believe me, they will pay for it and their time is more valuable than checking these forums, submit questions and wait for an answer. They will come to you and they will ask for a service which is to do what they don't want to do and let them focus on their core business and deal with their own customers.

    Anyone can use platforms like this forum to show themselves and grow with the community. When someone is looking for a good accountant, I would definitely recommend someone I know.. If I need an accountant or consultant for my business I prefer to use someone who I know and I trust... Who do I know? Who do I trust? people who helped me and others when we needed them and know I can trust them with my business and ask them for a paid service.

    Knowing the software world, I'm sure there are changes in the software that even an expert with many years of experience doesn't know how to deal with. It's not about the age or how many years experience anyone has. It's about how fast things are changing and how could you keep up the pace? I'm sure we all need help at one time or another and how good it is when there is a community behind us supporting us!

    Be innovative, think ****, know your customer base, provide Service and your business will flourish... 
  • Viv A
    Viv A Member Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited February 2017
    Is there somewhere on the forum that a Reckon user could find an accredited partner with experience in the particular areas they are interested in? eg. how can the product be used and implemented for manufacturing?

    I for one have found it very difficult to find info on what the product can do. I have been a Reckon user for 8 years or so and am interested on possibly using the inventory side of the product - but am not interested in speaking with someone who doesn't have the appropriate experience here.

    Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

    V

  • Sean Cresswell
    Sean Cresswell Member Posts: 16 ✭✭
    edited April 2016
    I hear and agree with what you're saying,.....but surely it's an individuals choice to answer on here, or not.....be they professional support, or like me, just a daily user who happened upon a similar situation, that can possibly help.
  • gazza73
    gazza73 Accredited Partner Posts: 802 Accredited Partner Accredited Partner
    edited December 2016
    Vivien

    Here's  SIX accredited Partners who make a point of promoting they have expertise in Inventory:
    https://partnersearch.reckon.com/?s=inventory&categories=0&locations=0&dir-search=yes

    Sara.....

    Perhaps this is just one example of how this forum helps not only end-users,  but also, partners and Accredited Partners  to call upon the huge range of Community Contacts,  to become involved in getting solutions to their specific needs.  I know that in the last 6 months, in collaboration with Partner Managers,  Community Managers, and Relationship Managers,  that the contacts made through pointing people in the right direction, has lead to people getting their confidence up on, on Reckon can do.  Sure there are some problems - but again, the wider audience of the Community input  has helped bring these matters to the Developers attention,  or helped to highlight that the issue was due to other software, or environment issues.  The point is,  that the issue has been made more transparent and therefore accountable for remedy.

    We undertook a specific research exercise in May/June this year to establish the number of issues raised on the Community Forum that were due to bugs versus lack of User  Training/familiarity.    The results were in the order of 10% / 90% respectively.   But the thrust of the exercise, was to identify this fact, and then to explore how to introduce the 'majority' to realise that training or help was in fact needed, and that the product per se, was otherwise okay.   

    The question I would put out there, is of the 600,000 users of Reckon products, and of those, the percentage that are on subscription or advantage plans,  what are the others doing for support?  At least 6000 are speaking up.  And then of course there is the silent majority who look at the forum with the same problem, gain their answers and run.

    Simply click on the name of the person raising the forum article, check their profile page, and ascertain the number of conversations they have started versus the ones they have provided initial answers too, and the spirit in which they also offered followup advise from the 300+ Accredited Partners that are openly available to call upon from NZ and AUST from:

    ACCREDITED PARTNERS
    in Australia

    – http://home.reckon.com.au/support/Home/ReckonSupport/FindAReckonAccreditedPartner.aspx
    in New Zealand
    – http://www.reckonpartners.co.nz/consultants/


    Cheers!

    PS:  Our role is providing IT, integration, communications and Environmental support to compliment the skills and services offered by Accounting and Bookkeeping APs in AUST and NZ.



    Gary Pope
    m: 0408994799 
    An Accredited Partner- Consultant (VIC. Aust)
    http://www.alchester.com.au/reckon-ac...
    "Working with Accountants/Bookkeepers PPs/APs, as an
    independent IT Professional and retired FCPA Accountant"
  • Tim Cross_7724692
    Tim Cross_7724692 Member Posts: 44
    edited December 2015
    Maybe if there were not so many glitches in the software this forum might not be necessary. Paying somebody $150 per hour to resolve issues that should not be there is why people turn to one another for help in the first place!
  • gazza73
    gazza73 Accredited Partner Posts: 802 Accredited Partner Accredited Partner
    edited February 2017