One Step Better Podcast

One Step Better now has its own YouTube channel! Subscribe here so you never miss an episode: ‪@OneStepBetterPod‬ Last episode Matt and Mike asked whether the entry-level staff accountant role still makes sense in a world of AI. This one zooms out: if the work is changing, what does the whole firm look like? Matt spent 45 minutes explaining how his team is built today. Pods, a director of accounti...

➡️ One Step Better now has its own YouTube channel! Subscribe here so you never miss an episode: ‪@OneStepBetterPod‬ Every accounting firm is quietly asking the same question right now: if AI can categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and tie down a balance sheet, do we still need to hire entry-level staff accountants? And if we do, what on earth are we training them to become? Mike and Matt...

Patrick Accounting has a stack of "best place to work" accolades, yet Mike still rates themselves a C on the one thing that would change everything. Listen to Matt and Mike get honest about LMA (leadership, management, and accountability) and why holding people accountable is genuinely one of the hardest things about leading a firm. In this episode: The LMA framework and exactly where mo...

Every accounting firm has a client they should have said no to. Most of them took it anyway because the money looked good, the sales conversation went well, or somebody convinced themselves they could make it work. Mike and Matt have been there. Listen to them get honest about what actually makes a good client, where the lines are, and why even the best criteria in the world doesn't stop you f...

Matt connected AI to every major tool in the firm. Then things got interesting. What followed was a mix of things going sideways, things working better than expected, and one moment that made Matt realize he wasn't thinking nearly big enough. All of which sparked a real conversation about what AI can actually do inside an accounting firm today, where the guardrails need to be, and how far off...

At some point, every growing accounting firm takes their best person, puts them in a leadership role, and hopes for the best. And for a while it kind of works. Until it doesn't... Mike and Matt are in the middle of this right now. 60 people, multiple team leads, a director of accounting, and an honest conversation about the fact that being great at the work and being great at leading people ar...

The best firms don't wait for things to fall apart. They break them first.  Hiring, training, sales, team structure. If you're not proactively challenging what's working, growth will do it for you, and it won't be on your terms. In this episode, Mike and Matt get real about the specific things that broke (and keep breaking) as Patrick Accounting has grown over the past 23 years. Th...

If you're building a leadership team around you as an accounting firm owner, you already know: letting go of control is hard. And when it goes sideways, even over something small, it can feel like a lot more than it is. In this episode: The exact moment the leadership meeting went sideways and what was really behind it Why letting go of control is the hardest part of scaling an accounting firm...

Most firm owners ask the wrong question when they want to grow. They ask how before they ask am I willing to do what it takes . Or as Matt puts it: "How much brain damage do you want along the way?" Because growing a firm isn't about strategy decks or revenue targets. It's about whether you, the owner, are willing to do the messy, expensive, slow work of building something that s...

If you own an accounting firm, you probably feel a gap between where you are and where you want to be. This podcast is about closing that gap by building a firm One Step Better at a time. Hosted by Matt Patrick (owner and founder of Patrick Accounting) and Mike Shaeffer (COO), you'll hear the unfiltered conversations that happen when you own an accounting firm. The ones you probably have with...

"You have to be willing to light some money on absolute fire for the goal of what may be." Ever feel like you're growing your business but somehow everything is getting harder, more expensive, and more chaotic? Not sure if you're actually ready to scale or just tired of being stuck where you are? This is one of the most common crossroads for small business owners. Especially if y...

Most restaurant owners think about tips from the payroll side. But your customers are thinking about tips from the experience side, and right now, that experience is broken. In this episode, Matt and Mike talk about tipping culture from both sides of the table. As customers frustrated by guilt tipping, receipt clutter, and being asked for 25% on an empty cup. And as accountants who keep finding re...

Most business owners set up their tip policy once and never think about it again. That's usually when the problems start. In this episode, Matt and Mike get into the compliance side of tipped employees that most owners don't hear about until they're already in trouble. They cover why overtime math gets ugly when tipped and non-tipped hours land in the same week, what happens when night...

Do you actually know what your menu items cost you? Not what you think they cost. What they really cost after portion creep, waste, vendor substitutions, and everything else that chips away at your margins. In this episode, Mike and Matt talk through the pricing paralysis most restaurant owners face right now and how to use your actual costs to make confident pricing decisions. You'll hear: Wh...

You're looking at your POS report. Then your spreadsheet. Then your bank account. They're all telling you something different. So which one do you believe? In this episode, Matt and Mike talk through what your point of sale system is actually built to do, where it falls short, and what happens when your sales data, labor scheduling, and inventory management aren't talking to each other...

It looks like you’re winning from the outside, but your bank account tells a different story. In this episode, Matt and Mike share what they've seen across hundreds of restaurant P&Ls: consistent patterns, missed opportunities, and small changes that add up to real profit. There’s no secret formula to profitability, but there are three financial levers that actually move the needle in restaura...

Your accountant says an expense is "non-deductible" and you're confused because you paid for it with your business card. Doesn't that reduce your taxes? Nope. Just because you used your business card doesn't make it deductible. Join us for Part 2 of simplifying accounting terms that confuse business owners. This time: balance sheets, tax credits vs. deductions, and why your a...

Your accountant just asked, “Have you looked at your P&L lately?”  And you’re sitting there wondering if that’s the same thing as your profit & loss statement. Or your income statement. Or… are those different things? So, we asked our accounting team to list every word they use that clients probably don't understand. They sent back 30+ terms. This episode is Part 1 of us breaking down...

Do you know if your business made money last month? Not "Did you make sales?" Did you actually make PROFIT? Most business owners track revenue religiously, but can't answer this without doing mental math. Your P&L is your scorecard. But most small business owners don't actually understand what it is. If you don't know your revenue, don't track your costs, don't ch...

Most small business owners say they want to grow, but their habits tell a different story. From spending money out of boredom, to hiring reactively, to holding on to tasks that should’ve been off your plate months ago… these are the mindsets, systems, and habits that quietly slow you down. In this episode of the One Step Better Business Podcast, Matt and Mike get real about what accountability act...

If you’re trying to grow a healthy business, you already know it’s not just about hitting revenue goals. It’s about getting clarity, leading people well, fixing what’s not working, and still finding the energy to show up again tomorrow. And if you're anything like us, you probably haven’t stopped to take a breath, let alone look back at what actually worked this year. In this episode, we talk...

Do your financials feel off, confusing, or just plain useless for making decisions? You might be using the wrong accounting method for what you're trying to accomplish. In this episode, Matt and Mike walk through what cash basis and accrual accounting actually mean, why it affects your decision-making (not just your tax bill), and how to know if you're on the right method. Learn why your n...

Think you can write off your vacation, your dog,  or that new truck with the wrap on it because it’s “technically” a moving billboard? A lot of business owners do! And that’s exactly what gets them in hot water. In this episode, Mike and Matt break down  the 7 most common write-offs business owners  think  are legal, but usually aren’t. If you’re running a business and want to make smart tax decis...

Most restaurant owners don’t get into the business for the spreadsheets. But ignoring the math is exactly how good places go under. In this episode of the One Step Better Podcast, Mike and Matt unpack what really causes margin problems in restaurants. From portion control to overstaffing out of fear, they walk through the hard choices owners have to make to actually turn a profit. Here’s what we g...

Your P&L says you’re making money. But your bank account is telling a different story. In this episode, we unpack why that gap exists, how to actually understand where your cash is going, and what steps you can take to get ahead of it. Hear the most common cash flow mistakes we see, the simple shifts business owners can make today, and how to build a system that puts you back in control of you...