How many hours did you spend last month preparing financial statements that your clients never opened? Have you ever sent a beautifully formatted P&L only to get a call two weeks later asking, “So… am I making money?”
If you’re like most accountants serving small businesses, you’ve experienced the frustration of doing excellent work that disappears into a black hole. You reconcile the accounts, prepare the reports, ask a question, make a nice comment, and send them off…only to realize your client has been making decisions based on their bank balance instead of the financials you worked hard to produce.
The problem isn’t that your clients don’t care about their numbers. It’s that we’ve been delivering financial information in ways that don’t work for them. After 20+ years of working with small business owners, I’ve learned that getting clients to actually use their financial statements requires us to change our approach.
Why Small Business Owners Ignore Their Financial Statements
Before we can fix this problem, we need to understand why it exists. When I talk to small business owners who admit they don’t look at their financials, I hear the same reasons repeatedly:
“I don’t understand what I’m looking at.”
Most financial statements are designed by accountants, for accountants. We use terminology and formats that make perfect sense to us but might as well be written in a foreign language to someone who didn’t study accounting.
“By the time I get my financial statements, the information is old.”
If a client receives their December financials in February, what are they supposed to do with that information? The decisions have already been made.
“I don’t know what to do with the information.”
Even when clients understand their statements and receive them promptly, they often don’t know what actions to take. A number on a page doesn’t automatically translate into a business decision.
“Looking at my financial statements stresses me out.”
For many small business owners, financial statements feel like a report card. Opening them means confronting problems they’d rather not think about.
None of these reasons are the client’s fault.
They’re the natural result of an approach to financial reporting that was never designed with small business owners in mind.
The Real Cost of Unread Financial Statements
When clients don’t engage with their financials, everybody loses.
- Your clients make worse decisions. They price services based on gut feeling instead of actual costs. They hire when they can’t afford to and delay hiring when they should expand.
- Your value becomes invisible. If clients never look at the statements you prepare, you become a commodity. They see you as someone who produces documents they’re required to have but don’t actually use.
- Advisory conversations become impossible. You can’t have meaningful discussions about business strategy when your client doesn’t have baseline financial literacy.
Five Ways to Get Clients to Actually Use Their Financial Information
The good news is that this problem is fixable. Here are five shifts that have transformed how my clients engage with their numbers.
Shift #1: Deliver Reports They Can Actually Understand
The standard financial statement format exists because accountants need it for compliance and analysis. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only format your clients should see.
What this looks like in practice:
Create a one-page summary that answers the questions your clients actually have: How much did we make? How much did we spend? Do we have enough cash? How does this compare to last month?
Use plain language instead of accounting terminology. “Money customers owe us” is clearer than “Accounts Receivable” for most business owners. Include visual elements like a simple chart showing revenue trends. That communicates more than a column of numbers.
The key insight: Your job isn’t just to prepare accurate financials. It’s to communicate financial reality in a way your client can understand and act on.
Shift #2: Make Timeliness Non-Negotiable
Financial statements lose value with every day that passes. A P&L from last month is useful. A P&L from three months ago is historical data.
What this looks like in practice:
Commit to delivering monthly financials within 10-15 business days of month-end. Yes, this requires systems and discipline. But if you can’t deliver timely information, you can’t expect clients to find it relevant.
When clients are slow to provide information you need, be direct about the consequences. “I can only give you useful financial reports if I have your data by the 5th of each month. Otherwise, you’re going to be making decisions without knowing where you actually stand.”
The key insight: Timeliness isn’t about your workflow convenience. It’s about whether the information is still actionable when your client receives it.
Shift #3: Tell Them What to Look At and What It Means
Don’t just send a report. Send a report with context.
What this looks like in practice:
Include a brief narrative with every set of financials. Just two or three paragraphs highlighting what’s notable and what deserves attention. “Your labor costs increased 4% this month while revenue stayed flat. Here’s why that matters…”
Create a simple “watch list” of three to five metrics that matter most for their specific business. When something looks concerning, say so explicitly. Don’t bury a warning in a footnote. “Your accounts receivable aging has gotten worse for three consecutive months. We need to talk about this.”
The key insight: Small business owners don’t need more data. They need someone to tell them what the data means and what to do about it.
Shift #4: Schedule Time to Review Together
The single most effective thing you can do to get clients engaging with their financials is simple: ook at them together.
What this looks like in practice:
Build a monthly or quarterly review meeting into your service agreement. Not an optional “let me know if you have questions” but a scheduled, recurring appointment.
Use screen sharing to walk through the reports together or even record a short video and send along with the financials. Point at specific numbers. Explain what you’re seeing. Ask what questions they have. Keep these meetings or videos short and focused. Ten to 15 minutes is usually plenty. The goal isn’t comprehensive analysis; it’s building the habit of looking at financials regularly.
The key insight: Financial literacy is taught. It can’t be assumed. Every review meeting is a teaching opportunity that makes your client more capable of using financial information independently.
Shift #5: Connect the Numbers to Decisions They’re Already Making
Financial statements become relevant when they connect to real business decisions.
What this looks like in practice:
When a client mentions they’re thinking about hiring someone, pull up the financials and work through it together. “Let’s look at whether your current revenue supports another salary.”
When they’re considering a major purchase, show them how it would affect cash flow. Reference their financials in every advisory conversation, even when they don’t bring them up. “Remember last month when we saw that your margins on residential work were 15 points higher than commercial? That’s relevant to this decision.”
The key insight: Clients don’t need to love financial statements. They need to see that financial statements help them make better decisions about things they already care about.
The Conversation That Changes Everything
If you’ve been sending financials into the void for months or years, you need to reset the relationship:
“I need to be honest with you. I’ve been preparing financial statements every month, but I don’t think you’re using them to make decisions. That means I’m not providing value, and you’re not getting the insight you’re paying for. Can we talk about what would actually be helpful?”
Then listen. Really listen. You might learn they’re overwhelmed and need simpler reports. You might discover the timing doesn’t work for their decision-making rhythm. Whatever you learn, you’ll be in a position to serve them better.
Your One Step Better Starting Point
If you’re thinking, “I need to fix this with all my clients,” slow down. Remember: progress over perfection.
- Pick three clients who aren’t currently engaging with their financials. Choose ones where you have a good relationship and some trust built up.
- Have the reset conversation with each one. Ask them honestly what would make financial information more useful.
- Implement one change based on what you learn. Maybe it’s a one-page summary. Maybe it’s a monthly review call. Maybe it’s a custom dashboard with just the metrics they care about.
- Do this consistently for three months. See what changes. You won’t transform every client relationship overnight. But you’ll learn what actually helps clients engage with their numbers.
Financial Statements Should Start Conversations, Not End Them
One of the biggest things I’ve learned after two decades of working with small business owners is that financial statements aren’t the destination. They’re the starting point for conversations that actually help clients build better businesses.
When a client opens their financials and immediately has questions, that’s not a problem. That’s actually exactly what you want to happen. Those questions lead to discussions about pricing, staffing, and growth. And those discussions lead to better decisions.
Your clients want to understand their businesses. They’re not ignoring their financials because they don’t care. They’re ignoring them because we haven’t yet found the right way to make the numbers meaningful.
That’s a problem worth solving. And solving it one client at a time, one step at a time is exactly what separates order-takers from true advisors.
Matt Patrick, CPA, is the founder of Patrick Accounting, a Memphis-based firm specializing in small business accounting, tax, payroll, and advisory services. Since 2003, Matt has been helping small business owners get “one step better” through practical, incremental improvements that compound into major transformation. The firm also hosts the “One Step Better Business Podcast,” where Matt shares insights on building thriving small businesses. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn or visit patrickaccounting.com.
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