Impact stories are one of our favorite things to do here at BottomLine Marketing. We feature a lot of really cool businesses that a lot of people don’t know exist. Take Kiva, for example. Who knew there was a company out there that lets real people loan money to real people!
But, we love writing about businesses that the average person would consider “boring” even more. That’s because, when they market with impact, they really knock the ball out of the park.
McRally is one of those businesses. They provide accounting services, which is traditionally thought of as a necessity, but a boring necessity. Even Randy McRae, one of the partners at McRally, agrees that accounting can be boring.
“Accounting is boring. At least what we think of it on the surface. There are days where I sit down and plug in a bunch of transactions and just clear my head. It’s almost meditative in a sense. But it’s not something that’s going to get your blood flowing.”
Randy even shares a personal story about how he struggles with the lack of excitement.
“I had 9 months’ worth of expense reports to do for myself in our first year in the business. I just could not bear to sit down and do all that paperwork!”
What makes McRally remarkable is the fact that they know accounting can be boring, but they know it doesn’t have to be. Instead, they provide services that go beyond the numbers.
More than just crunching the numbers
Every business needs someone to crunch the numbers, and many accounting firms leave it at that. No wonder accounting gets a bad rap for being boring!
McRally goes one step further by applying those numbers to their clients’ business. Randy elaborates by saying, “We’ve learned how to interpret what’s happening with the business and try to get a feel for where a business is going in the future. I use accounting like the radar on a ship. That’s what accounting is. It can help you steer better.”
That definitely makes accounting more interesting! But don’t think they have forgotten about all the nuts and bolts that go into accounting. Because both Randy McRae and Quan Ly know how boring accounting can sometimes be, they have made it as easy as possible to provide outstanding services to their clients.
Quan explains how their services are different than other accounting firms by saying, “We’re a virtual accounting firm. We focus on bringing small businesses into the cloud, and we pair that with automation tools. We package all that with your typical accounting services like bookkeeping, year-end financial statements, and tax returns.”
McRally has managed to make accounting more interesting by making the numbers mean something, and they have made accounting easier than ever with a full range of services. Not to mention, they are virtual reality based so you can discuss your accounting needs without having to set up an appointment and meet in person. No wonder they are one of our featured impact stories!
Accounting as equals
The amazing features of their business doesn’t end there. So many clients prefer working with the team at McRally because they are on equal footing with their clients.
Unlike other accounting firms and digital service agencies, McRally uses the exact same systems as their clients.
Why does that matter? Quan elaborates, “Gone are the days of saying, ’Oh, I want to know what my numbers are. Let’s call my accountant to get those numbers.’ Then, you won’t hear back for a week or two as they’re trying to throw together the numbers. With this system, you can get whatever you want.”
In short, it allows the team to discuss the numbers in real time with their clients.
Randy continues, “You can log in and run the report and see it. We practice what we preach. We literally use the same system as our clients. It’s not like we’re going out there saying ‘Well, this is what you guys should be using,’ but internally, we’re doing something different. It is totally the same.”
This approach makes things easier for their clients and simpler for the McRally team.
“We have a team-first culture”
As we continue our impact stories here at BottomLine Marketing, we’re noticing that many of the businesses we highlight have one thing in common—taking care of their employees.
Quan uses a concept that is credited to Richard Branson to highlight this point, “You’ve got to take care of your team, and your team will take care of your customers.”
He goes on to mention a question that was asked of Richard Branson, “What if we train all these good people and then they end up leaving?”. He replies by asking, “What if we don’t train them and they end up staying?”
That’s the way they feel about their employees, and because they feel this way, they go above and beyond to take care of them, even if it means they eventually moving on to bigger and better things.
They have implemented an unlimited vacation policy and they’re looking to launch a four-day work week in the summer, all in the name of making their employees happier, so they in turn can make their clients happier.
“Treating people like a human being is a way of establishing a much more trusting and open environment,” says Randy.
Mistakes as a learning opportunity
You can tell a lot about whether a company deserves your business by taking a close look at how they handle mistakes. Some companies crack down hard on mistakes and do everything they can to avoid making them in the future.
The best companies, like McRally, don’t see a mistake as something bad, “If you did everything right off the hop, what would you be learning?” Randy asks. We think he has a good point.
With that kind of mentality, McRally isn’t afraid to take risks, “We changed our business model a few times in the first year. We have made mistakes in pricing. We’ve made mistakes in cost analysis. We’ve done things we don’t like in terms of how we start packages up.”
But, they always keep the customer experience in mind. Quan starts by saying, “It’s really important that we establish good relationships with our clients.”
Randy adds, “At the end of the day, you meet the deadlines, and that’s what counts. We have to make sure our existing clients are happy. Number one… Because strong client relationships will always stick with you as you go through tough times, and as you grow and figure things out.”
The most fascinating thing about McRally is that they are interesting in spite of the fact that what they do is considered uninteresting, which makes for a truly remarkable accounting company.
Make sure you check out the full interview below to learn even more fascinating facts about Quan Ly and Randy McRae of McRally.
Watch the full video here: