Accounting Content Strategy: Interests, Pain Points, Platforms & Templates

Recognizing the interests, pain points, tools, and templates commonly used by accountants is incredibly valuable for businesses, blogs or sites looking to promote to this group through content marketing, product marketing and advertising.

View content insights, persona details and daily struggles to help you craft a marketing or product strategy.

This guide provides an overview of key research areas related to accountants, including:

• Content Interests and SEO/PPC keywords
• Common Tasks and Pain Points
• Popular Platforms, Tools, and Software
• Work-Related Templates
• Complete List of 160 Accounting Keywords

As always, if you’re looking for keywords that interest accountants, try our free tool.

Now let’s get to it.

Accountant Content Interests, Topics, & Keywords

Understanding the type of content that accountants are most interested in, and are actively searching for online, is the first step to reach them. It informs your strategies for both content creation as well as SEO keyword positioning.

Accountants hold in high regard these five core accounting topics, along with their correlated keywords:

1. Tax Preparation
Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) work pivots on taxes. They find useful content in tax related guides, such as those about returns, planning, deductions, credits, and refunds. They commonly use relevant keywords like:

• Tax return
• Tax planning
• Tax deduction
• Tax credit
• Tax refund

2. Financial Planning

With financial planning activities such as budgeting, retirement, investing, insurance and estate planning. Accountants provide assistance to both individuals and businesses. Keywords include:

• Budgeting
• Retirement planning
• Investment planning
• Estate planning
• Insurance planning

3. Bookkeeping

Diligently maintaining accurate records is pivotal to the success of a business. Therefore, it demands full attention and precision. Managing accounts payable/receivable, reconciling bank statements, and preparing financial statements represent core accounting activities and day-to-day bookkeeping tasks. Keywords include:

• Accounts receivable
• Accounts payable
• Bank reconciliation
• Financial statements
• Cash flow

4. Auditing

The process of auditing involves examining an organization’s financial records meticulously to ensure their accuracy and adherence to laws and regulations. Routinely, accountants conduct various audits, internal, external, financial compliance and risk. Useful keywords encompass the following:

• Internal auditing
• External auditing
• Financial auditing
• Compliance auditing
• Risk auditing

5. Business Consulting
Many accountants offer advisory services. They aid businesses in constructing strategies, performing analyses, creating models, devising processes, and crafting solutions. Relevant keywords:

• Business strategy
• Business analysis
• Business modeling
• Business process
• Business solutions

Accountant Pain Points, Common Tasks, & Challenges

Understanding top accounting topics equips us to delve into the specific tasks performed by accountants. It illuminates the challenges they frequently encounter. This exposure, highlighting opportunities for introducing tips, tools and solutions, ultimately empowers us to simplify life for accountants significantly.

The following five accounting tasks tend to be particularly frustrating:

1. Financial Statement Preparation: Crafting intricate financial statements, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, presents a time-consuming challenge. It requires attention to detail and complexity management. Accuracy and efficiency further exacerbate these pain points.
2. Account Reconciliation: The process of reconciling accounts demands a manual matching of transactions. It requires keen precision, aligning figures between bank statements and internal ledgers. This is tedious work that is unfortunately susceptible to errors.
3. Financial Data Analysis: Accountants dedicate significant time to the analysis of financial data. Their goal? Uncovering insights for accurate and comprehensive reporting, as well as advisory purposes. In this endeavor, complexity and accuracy are always a concern.
4. Budget Management: Tracking expenses and forecasting future financial trends are complex processes inherent to managing budgets for accountants and their clients.
5. Tax Preparation: Tax returns and filings are core to an accountant’s duties. Tax laws are different in every region and can change yearly. This underscores how important this is to most accountants.

These pain points provide opportunities to generate valuable content, such as tutorials, tools, and templates, to simplify the lives of accountants. This data also sheds light on potential product solutions. If you’re able to help solve these problems, it could become a popular platform for this group. Moreover, these issues serve as a guide for areas that require emphasis in pay-per-click or advertising campaigns.

Popular Accounting Platforms, Software & Tools

Understanding the software, systems, and platforms that accountants use daily is crucial to adequately reaching and serving them. The most popular among these tools are listed below:

1. Accounting Software: QuickBooks, Xero or Sage is utilized by most accountants for tasks including invoicing, expense tracking, reporting, and more.
2. Spreadsheets: Accountants rely on Spreadsheet software like Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and a variety of spreadsheet SaaS software or plugins. In accounting this is used for analysis, reporting, and tracking.
3. Tax Preparation Software: TurboTax, TaxAct, and H&R Block. These programs aid accountants in the precise and efficient preparation, and filing, of taxes. These tools are synonymous with tax season for both accountants and non-accountants filing taxes.
4. Financial Analysis Tools: Bloomberg, FactSet, and Morningstar. Accountants frequently need to analyze investments and assets for their clients.
5. Budgeting Software: Mint, YNAB, and Quicken. These apps help with three key areas budgeting (both personal and business), expense tracking and cash flow management.

Understanding these platforms can fuel your integration strategy, partnerships and advertising opportunities. Use this as a foundation to find new competitors and understand the market your product or service might be competing with.

Popular Accounting Work Templates

Accountants employ a variety of templates, spreadsheets, documents, and forms, to execute mission-critical tasks. They are necessary for both their own operations and the fulfillment of client obligations. Use this information to create lead-gen opportunities to drive more downloads and allow for opportunities to plug-in an Accountant’s workflows to your software.

Providing accountants with valuable templates can also encourage links and shares back to your website.

You can create these five template examples

1. Financial Statements
   • Balance Sheet: It should comprise sections for tracking assets, liabilities and equity.
   • Income Statement: Calculate revenue, expenses, and profit or loss over a specific period.
   • Cash Flow Statement: Track operating, investing, and financing cash flows. This template should offer sections specifically for each type of cash flow.
2. Budgeting Templates
   • Budget Dashboard: Track all financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in one consolidated location.
   • Expense Tracker: Diligently log spending and receive alerts concerning budget overages.
   • Cash Flow Forecast: A method employed to estimate future monetary requirements.
   • Profit and Loss (P&L): Accurately gauge revenue and expenses to help you make business decisions or employee headcount changes.
3. Accounting Templates
   • General Ledger: Log and categorize transactions.
   • Accounts Payable: Monitor invoices and payments meticulously.
   • Accounts Receivable: Manage customer invoices.
   • Invoice Generator: Create polished invoices swiftly through an invoice generator tool or Excel template.
4. Auditing Templates
   • Audit Checklist: A chronological list of what to look for during an audit.
   • Risk analysis: Identify and quantify risks: it actively discerns potential hazards, evaluating their likelihood and quantifying the possible impacts.
   • Internal Controls Matrix: This template is a method to document control procedures.
   • Audit Working Papers Template: A way to organize documentation.
5. Tax Preparation Templates
   • Tax Return: Forms for tax returns, pre-populated with formulas and fields.
   • Tax Calculator: A tool to estimate both quarterly and annual taxes owed.
   • Tax Deduction Tracker: Ensure the logging of eligible business and personal deductions.
   • Tax Checklist: A comprehensive list complete with deadlines, organizational tips, and guidance from your experience.

The more tailored and robust your template suite is for accountants, the more value it will provide. Include clear instructions and examples to make adoption with your platform or services seamless.

Keyword Table

But first…

Get Free Accountant Keyword Research (with Stats & Rankings)

Hopefully, this research helps you get closer to your target audience and helps you empathize with this group’s problems. To further your research, create a content strategy for accountants in minutes by using our free AI keyword research tool. It will help you gather more accounting keywords, stats and will even let you track keywords you rank for.

Okay, really…

Keyword Research for Accounting SEO Keywords

Subtopic	Category	Keyword	Search Volume	CPC	Ad Competition	Keyword Difficulty
Accounting	Accounting	accounting jobs	27100	3.65	0.25	49
Accounting	Accounting	accounting firms	18100	10.77	0.05	55
Accounting	Accounting	accounting degree	12100	42.9	0.47	50
Accounting	Accounting	accounting internships	5400	9.16	0.17	37
Accounting	Accounting	accounting courses	4400	27.62	0.51	77
Accounting	Accounting	accounting careers	4400	15.55	0.23	50
Accounting	Accounting	accounting books	2900	9.36	0.99	39
Accounting	Accounting	accounting terms	2900	3.23	0.09	47
Accounting	Accounting	accounting systems	1900	50	0.37	90
Accounting	Accounting	accounting basics	1600	10.12	0.26	57
Accounting	Accounting	accounting standards	1000	8.25	0.04	58
Accounting	Accounting	accounting information	880	3.18	0.11	43
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting for free	480	13.82	0.45	52
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting online	320	24.1	0.33	65
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting basics	110	10.47	0.45	68
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting software	40	13.65	0.48	83
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting principles	10		0.38	80
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting for beginners	10	19.71	0.4
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting fast	10	15.41	0.63	53
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting step by step	10		0.36
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting at home	10		0.71
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting from scratch	10	21.14	0.48
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting in 30 days
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting in a week
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting in 10 days
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting in 7 days
Accounting	Learn Accounting	learn accounting in 5 days
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting software	14800	60	0.52	97
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	small business accounting	12100	40	0.27	70
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting services	12100	24.54	0.15	50
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	bookkeeping software	6600	28.77	0.66	84
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	online accounting	4400	27.78	0.28	50
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting program	2400	60	0.45	90
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	financial software	1900	21	0.41	64
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting system	1900	50	0.37	90
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting solution	1600	44.87	0.15	44
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting app	1300	30.44	0.3	57
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	cloud accounting	1000	27.84	0.34	52
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting tools	1000	26.26	0.26	47
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting technology	720	14.14	0.17	28
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting management	480	16.8	0.09	59
Accounting Software	Accounting Software	accounting platform	170	65.02	0.47	97
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	small business accounting software	9900	70	0.55	79
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	free accounting software	4400	26.75	0.45	52
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	online accounting software	2400	131.75	0.51	88
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software	1900	70.2	0.42	90
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for nonprofits	590	60	0.54	36
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	top accounting software	390	93.75	0.26	90
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	cloud accounting software	320	165.37	0.35	58
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	easy accounting software	320	50	0.4	79
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for mac	210	100.55	0.18	29
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for freelancers	140	50	0.44	39
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for startups	90	78.48	0.57	42
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	affordable accounting software	40	44	1	74
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for consultants	30	60	0.53	47
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for windows	10
Accounting Software	Best Accounting Software	best accounting software for small busin
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting jobs	1300	9.22	0.17	17
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting definition	1300	5.34	0.02	54
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting standards	1000	6.77	0.09	34
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting salary	880	2.43	0.01	31
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting principles	720	14.62	0.03	23
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting methods	390	16.49	0.03	39
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting formulas	320		0.01	17
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting systems	260	73.25	0.24	42
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting software	170	170.62	0.26	68
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting basics	170	14.27	0.08	23
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting process	110	20	0.04	47
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting analysis	40		0.07	43
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting reports	40	7.78	0.08	22
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting courses	40	13.56	0.5	27
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting	cost accounting techniques	20	6.21	0.13
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting guidelines	10		0.36
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting requirements	10		0.09
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting rules	10
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting practices	10		0.08
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting procedures	10	4.8	0.27
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting regulations
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting controls
Cost Accounting	Cost Accounting Standards	cost accounting benchmarks
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting definition	880	10.64	0.03	57
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting statements	720	14.55	0.13	58
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting principles	590	7.23	0.41	60
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting software	210	62.86	0.25	97
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting basics	140	8.32	0.36	69
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting equation	90			49
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting ratios	90		0.02	57
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting reports	90	5.12	0.07	65
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting concepts	70	10.07	0.09	54
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting standards	70		0.05	68
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting system	70	41.32	0.42	67
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting terms	50	5	0.09	59
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting cycle	40		0.02	49
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting process	10		0.07	50
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting	financial accounting transactions	10
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	balance sheet	90500	13.77	0.1	68
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	income statement	74000	7.91	0.03	70
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	statement of cash flows	49500	12.21	0.06	58
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	financial statements	22200	12.38	0.17	58
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	trial balance	18100	25.82	0.01	47
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	accounting equation	18100	4.61	0.02	49
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	accrual accounting	14800	11.13	0.06	54
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	general ledger	14800	23.88	0.03	55
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	accounting principles	8100	5.56	0.12	77
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	debits and credits	5400	17.56	0.03	64
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	financial analysis	4400	6.67	0.14	74
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	cash basis accounting	3600	20	0.08	50
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	accounting concepts	720	9.79	0.11	55
Financial Accounting	Financial Accounting Basics	double-entry system	320	13.7	0.03	52
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting software	880	33.99	0.35	97
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting methods	170		0.04	42
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting budget	90	18.28	0.06	33
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting reports	50	16.91	0.07	42
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting functions	50		0.03	38
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting tools	40	21.95	0.12	28
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting decision making	40		0.11	36
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting systems	30	27.24	0.16	31
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting information	30	30.44	0.09	57
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting principles	20		0.13
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting techniques	10		0.02
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting analysis	10
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting process	10
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting control
Management Accounting	Management Accounting	management accounting cost
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	project management techniques	880	10	0.1	36
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	risk management techniques	590	5.74	0.07	58
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	decision-making techniques	480	4.13	0.03	52
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	inventory management techniques	390	8.67	0.18	54
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	forecasting techniques	320	2.68	0.09	59
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	budgeting techniques	260	5.29	0.13	50
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	quality management techniques	70	5.29	0.09	47
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	cash flow management techniques	70	9.26	0.07	40
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	performance management techniques	40	6.52	0.11	43
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	cost management techniques	20		0.08	37
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	strategic management techniques	20
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	financial management techniques	10		0.21	50
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	variance analysis techniques
Management Accounting	Management Accounting Techniques	activity-based costing techniques
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax return	74000	6.58	0.25	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax preparation	40500	12.84	0.22	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax deductions	40500	5.61	0.03	78
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax services	33100	15.02	0.19	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax credits	27100	5.98	0.12	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax accountant	18100	15.95	0.2	48
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax filing	14800	12.08	0.37	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax laws	14800	40.51	0.24	60
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax advisor	9900	20.3	0.35	80
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax consultant	9900	21.85	0.16	59
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax liabilities	9900	6.52	0.01	53
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax audit	6600	12.81	0.1	58
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax planning	5400	15.79	0.23	47
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax strategies	1600	10	0.24	44
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting	tax compliance	880	10	0.18	40
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	tax returns	74000	6.58	0.25	100
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	tax accounting	18100	16.44	0.18	34
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	tax consulting	9900	21.85	0.16	59
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	tax advice	9900	20.3	0.35	75
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	small business tax	5400	16.63	0.25	80
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	corporate tax	4400	10.43	0.06	75
Tax Accounting	Tax Accounting Services	individual tax	390	8.93	0.06	84