The Solution Is Accounting Outsourcing

Are you tired of employee drama?
Looking for ways to get ‘actionable numbers’ in real time on your desk?
Looking for ways to cut back office cost in your business?

Over the last 10 years hundreds of thousands of small businesses have sub contracted their bookkeeping function to a local accounting office.

The solution is called accounting outsourcing!

The time you save in managing the bookkeeping function will allow you to spend more time….

Building relationships with customers, staff and vendors
Allows you to take the time to create systems in your business so it runs like a franchise.

Outsourced bookkeeping can include bill payment, sending invoices, payroll and advanced functions like Chief Financial Officer tasks.

Outsourced Bookkeeping

If you looked back to the beginning of your business – could you justify ever putting the time energy and money into setting up a bookkeeping department again.  Most owners say they wish outsourcing was common 5 or 10 years ago – they would have saved years of employee drama and bad numbers.

Working on tasks your customers don’t know about like payroll, accounts payable or buying advertising is plum nuts – focus all your effort on building a loyal client base if you want to be successful.

The Power of Partnering with an outsourced accounting firm

Accounting is far more difficult then most business owners believe.  Plus, as a group we are reluctant to hire expensive top notch staff.   By using our services you only pay for what you need, but more important we have 5 levels of staff on each account.   80% of all outsourced accounting work can be done by low paid people.  That way you can afford to put a few hours in at the sr. bookkeeper and maybe one hour a week at the CPA level each to make sure your numbers are ‘actionable.’

Focus on your business when you have a dependable local firm managing your back office

We have an indepth staff to provide accounting outsourcing for your firm.  You will finally be able to stop worrying about the bookkeeping function as we take care of all staffing, quality and cost factors on your behalf.   You’ll no longer have to hire, train or worry about retention as we provide a total team for each client.

Other benefits of accounting outsourcing and outsourced bookkeeping

Accounting outsourcing cuts your capital expense as you no longer need the overhead
Accounting outsourcing stops your wasted hours of management time dealing with staff
Accounting outsourcing delivers real time accounting that is accurate

The Question is Not Whether to Outsource But What to Outsource

The reason we went into outsourced accounting as a business ten years ago was the answer to the three main questions from the Outsourcing Research Council:

If you were starting the company today, would you elect to perform this function internally?
Are you so good at performing this activity that others would hire you to do it for them?
Will tomorrow’s CEO come from that skill set?

Very few small businesses answer these questions any other way then, “NO.”   In our business we strive to outsource everything off the owners desk that cost under 0 per hour to get done.  We move everyting off our staffs’ desk if it cost less then 30 an hour. Outsourced bookkeeping starts under so it is a prime target for cutting cost.

Cut back office infrastructure with outsourced accounting

So in the accounting function you have low level tasks such as entering a bill and paying a bill, followed by receivables and bank account reconciliation, then payroll all the way up to CFO level cash and asset management.

You may be wise to start your outsourced accounting relationship with the very basic work and review your local accountants service before asking them to help you in more advanced services.

Most small business owners want to do the transactions themselves or have the spouse do them because it seems easy.  This is a giant mistake.  One little thing goes wrong and the entire set of books are at question.   Bad numbers = guessing on what’s working in your business.

Accounting Outsourcing has dividends for a small business of 1 to 100 staff

Accounting outsourcing provides a series of benefits according to the  The Outsourcing Institute.

Focus on customers not back office. Accounting outsourcing frees you up to put time and energy into customer acquisition and resales.

A local accounting firm has the capabilities already in place –Accounting outsourcing firms use multiple staff for each client with an expert on payables handling your bills while someone else who knows payroll takes that problem.  You get the best staff for the lowest cost when you outsource bookkeeping and accounting.

Go Paperless.  Most outsourced accounting firms use Delegation Magic to manage your documents and work flow.  This will reduce your back office cost and improve your business systems. As far as we can tell it is the best document management system for a small business outsourcing accounting and other low level tasks.

Shared Capital Expenses.  When you are outsourcing your accounting you will tap into the software, training, skill set, experience and communication skills of a team that has been around for some time. Setting all this up in your business, by yourself can take years of effort – that you don’t need to waste time on.

Cutting cost:  Although you will pay an outsourced accounting firm more per hour then in house staff, it generally takes them about half the time to do your work as an in house employee takes.  On average your in house bookkeeper takes 15 minutes to complete a transation when you consider all time and effort.  Outsourced bookkeeping firms using document management systems and on line connectivity can do the same work in 3 to 7 minutes.   You capture economy of scale cost reduction because your tapping into someone elses infrastructure.

The bottom line:  Outsourcing accounting will provide you with lower cost, better and actionable numbers you can use daily to run a better business and best of all no more employee drama

 

KC Truby

 

Accounting Tips For Small Businesses

With tax time nearly upon us, many little businesses and initial time entrepreneurs are scrambling to get their accounting data straightened out in order to file on time. When several tiny business homeowners assume of accounting, they have an inclination to associate it with income tax preparation and filing. The accounting for your little business ought to not be relegated to tax time. Accounting data will help business owners build better decisions, and improve the management of their business. It will conjointly facilitate them secure financing, and facilitate reporting to stakeholders (such as creditors, banks, and government agencies), and it can tip them off to any serious issues that may be brewing, such as dwindling money resources, or debt burdens that may become overwhelming. The accounting side of the many small businesses is often the foremost neglected. Most small business house owners do not feel they need the time or experience to devote to keeping their books. Let’s face it, most small business homeowners didn’t begin a business as a result of they were eager to deal with the finance and accounting aspects of it. The accounting could be a perform done at the end of the year for tax purposes. This perspective is unfortunate, as a result of the accounting results of a business can represent a wealth of knowledge, and can help business owners create higher decisions. The actual fact is that accounting info very serves as an indicator of how healthy your business is. Assume of your accounting info as a reading on a thermometer. If you merely see the price in accounting at tax time, you’re missing out on an chance to induce a true image (and not simply a “gut feeling) of how your business is performing financially. It is unlikely that the individual who prepared your info is going to give you any tips or steerage with respect to the management of your business (unless your accountant or bookkeeper is additionally a relative or associate). Bear in mind, in this instance you’ve got paid them to organize info for tax filing purposes, not give consulting services on how to boost the performance of your business. If you’ve got already paid someone to arrange money information for you, then the information is all there, waiting to be used. Business homeowners would like not be those who prepare money info, but they’d better be ready to be the ones who concentrate, and interpret, that money data (or have a trusted associate who is willing to do this for them – though most accountants don’t come back low cost). A accountable tiny business owner makes it a purpose to perceive a way to browse financial statements, and draw conclusions from the information contained therein. Sadly, you can’t extremely purchase accounting advice tailored to your little business over the internet. The nice news is that you do not need to be a financial genius to perceive your balance sheet. There are various resources available on the net which can guide you thru the process of understanding your financial statements. You may be just beginning out, and trying for potential solutions. Or, you will be a seasoned business owner trying for some tips. There’s a wide variety of solutions on the market, and these vary from tutorials and e-books, to accounting and bookkeeping software. Learn additional about these here: Accounting Tips for Tiny Businesses With tax time nearly upon us, many little businesses and initial time entrepreneurs are scrambling to get their accounting info straightened out in order to file on time. When many tiny business homeowners suppose of accounting, they have an inclination to associate it with income tax preparation and filing. The accounting for your little business ought to not be relegated to tax time. Accounting information will help business owners create better choices, and improve the management of their business. It will additionally facilitate them secure financing, and facilitate reporting to stakeholders (like creditors, banks, and government agencies), and it can tip them off to any serious problems that might be brewing, like dwindling money resources, or debt burdens that could become overwhelming. The accounting side of the many small businesses is usually the foremost neglected. Most tiny business owners do not feel they have the time or experience to devote to keeping their books. Let’s face it, most little business house owners did not begin a business as a result of they were eager to deal with the finance and accounting aspects of it. The accounting could be a operate done at the tip of the year for tax purposes. This attitude is unfortunate, as a result of the accounting results of a business can represent a wealth of information, and will facilitate business owners make higher decisions. The fact is that accounting data very is an indicator of how healthy your business is. Assume of your accounting information as a reading on a thermometer. If you only see the value in accounting at tax time, you’re missing out on an chance to get a real image (and not just a “gut feeling) of how your business is performing financially. It is not likely that the individual who prepared your data goes to present you any tips or steering with respect to the management of your business (unless your accountant or bookkeeper is also a relative or associate). Remember, in this instance you’ve paid them to arrange info for tax filing functions, not provide consulting services on how to improve the performance of your business. If you’ve got already paid someone to organize financial information for you, then the information is all there, waiting to be used. Business owners need not be those who prepare money data, however they’d better be prepared to be the ones who pay attention, and interpret, that money data (or have a trusted associate who is willing to try and do this for them – although most accountants do not come back low cost). A responsible tiny business owner makes it a purpose to understand the way to read financial statements, and draw conclusions from the knowledge contained therein. Sadly, you can’t very purchase accounting recommendation tailored to your small business over the internet. The great news is that you do not need to be a money genius to perceive your balance sheet. There are many resources offered on the web that can guide you thru the process of understanding your financial statements. You will be just beginning out, and wanting for potential solutions. Or, you will be a seasoned business owner wanting for some tips. There is a wide variety of solutions accessible, and these range from tutorials and e-books, to accounting and bookkeeping software.

Day in the life of an external auditor. Episode 2: Career plan discussions.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Some of the Features of Online Personal Finance Software

As the Internet has exploded, many people have begun to rely on computers to assist with budgeting. Online personal finance is a multi-billion per year industry. Initially it was popular in helping small businesses with budgeting and tax concerns, but as the computer has become ubiquitous in American homes, average people have begun to regard the computer as indispensible to their personal finance needs.

One of the first, and most attractive, ways that online personal finance tools can help the average person is through automated bill pay. This is a very busy time for the average person who is working more than ever, has a family to attend to, and the many other stresses of day to day life. Automated bill pay is quite simple. The online personal finance software links a person’s checking account to their various monthly expenses. It even allows for a person to specify when they would like the bills to be paid. This makes things much easier as this ensures the account is never overdrawn. Most automated payments are made after payday. This can be done for fixed expenses such as Internet or cable TV. Variable expenses can be paid in full or with a specified amount. It not only makes sure that all of the bills are paid and nothing slips through the cracks, resulting in late fees. It also guarantees that the bills are paid before any irresponsible spending takes place. One of the goals of online personal finance is to ensure that a person lives within their means. If all of the bills are paid before any money can be spent this becomes a much more reasonable goal. Certainly there sometimes need to be other changes to one’s spending habits that need to be made, but it’s an important first step.

Another helpful feature of online personal finance is the built in tax software. Not everyone has very complex taxes. Obviously some people don’t have a family and don’t have a house or any investments. These people’s taxes are quite simple to deal with. However most people that are looking to do some budgeting have more complex situations. Real estate is a great investment for the tax breaks it gives. Having online personal finance software saves money by avoiding having to go to a tax professional and ensures there aren’t any mistakes or missed deductions. When people are using online personal finance software to remedy their bad habits, they often overlook tax considerations. Back taxes are often particularly difficult to deal with and online personal finance software can help in this regard. The larger one’s family is or the greater the number of investments someone has, the more likely it is that they have tricky taxes and need online personal finance software.

Learn Accounting :Understanding Basic Accounting Controls

Tampa, FL March 27, 2009 – Whether you operate a large multi-national corporation or a small local restaurant, understanding some basic accounting controls will go a long way towards creating more reliable financial results and rendering you a better night’s sleep. Basically, accounting controls are operational, financial, or technological mechanisms used by businesses to ensure or encourage a particular behavior or result. Internal controls give owners and managers some degree of assurance that people are doing what they are supposed to be doing and that material mistakes, accidental or otherwise, will be detected prior to going out the door. For example, segregating responsibility for check writing from the responsibility for reconciling monthly bank statements helps to control against improper check disbursements. In the example above, segregating such duties may be difficult in small businesses with limited staffing capabilities. However, alternate control mechanisms, such as manager or owner review of monthly bank reconciliations, can be implemented to partially mitigate such risks.

It’s no surprise that internal controls frequently come at a cost. As such, the number and strength of the controls within any given internal control structure is usually a function of the owner or manager’s resource capacity and risk tolerance level. As such, it is important to conduct a general risk assessment of the business process or function that you are looking to control in order to focus your efforts most effectively and gain the most bang-for-your-buck as they say.

First, let’s talk about some higher-level control concepts that should be present across most accounting processes to set the stage for more detailed transaction or process-level control mechanisms. One of the best ways to standardize behavior and set expectations is to create formal written policies and procedures to govern the actions and activities within your business or department. In accounting, such policies and procedures are frequently summarized in an Accounting Manual, which specifies the who, what, when, and how of common accounting procedures and activities. Another control concept, illustrated in the earlier example, is known as segregation of duties. Optimally, no single individual should have the responsibility or ability to initiate, authorize, process, and record a given transaction (i.e. they shouldn’t have end-to-end responsibility). Segregating such duties decreases the chances of errors, intentional or otherwise, going undetected.

Next, let’s look at some common accounting functions and give some examples of common internal controls specific to each. It is important to note that these are only examples and any good internal control system should be customized to the needs and risks within your organization or department. Below is a list of some common accounting areas, their functional objectives, and some common internal controls suggestions.

Accounts Receivable, Credit, & Collections - To ensure that all funds intended for the organization are received, promptly deposited, properly recorded, reconciled, and kept under adequate security. • Formally document policies and procedures governing accounts receivable, credit, and collection processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Require credit reporting on all customers prior to credit issuance • Require periodic review of key customers to ensure ongoing credit worthiness • Establish limits of authority for credit issuance and terms (system or otherwise) • Limit system access to alter credit limits and/or terms only to appropriate personnel • Require manager approval for adjustments to and/or write-offs of A/R balances • Sequentially number credit memo adjustments to A/R balances • Require periodic reconciliation of the General Ledger to the Cash and A/R subsidiary ledger balances along with managerial review of this reconciliation • Reconcile bank statements to the General Ledger on a regular basis • Set-up lock-boxes for receipt of customer payments in order to limit the handling of checks and other forms of payment • Establish a central point of contact for incoming mail, preferably someone without the ability to post cash and/or adjust customer A/R balances in the system • Create summary reporting to be reviewed by management on a periodic basis, such as A/R aging, credit memos by customer, credit memos by employee, write-offs by customer, write-offs by employee, etc. • Limit access to alter or create records in the customer master file to appropriate parties • Batch receipt input data is compared to control totals and differences are investigated and resolved • Mail account statements to customers • Maintain support files in a secured area and restrict to appropriate personnel

Accounts Payable, Purchasing – To ensure that funds are disbursed only upon proper authorization of management, for valid business purposes, and that all disbursements are properly recorded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing accounts payable and purchasing processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • System access to create, edit, or delete purchase orders is restricted to appropriate personnel • Ability to add, modify, or delete vendor records in the vendor master file is restricted to appropriate individuals • All new vendors or major modifications to vendor information require manager approval • The vendor master file is periodically purged of old and obsolete vendors • A three-way match between the invoice, PO, and receiver must be present before payment is released to the vendor • Adjustments to A/P balances (credit notes) require managerial approval and is restricted to appropriate personnel • Check stock, signature plates, etc are appropriates secured and access is restricted to appropriate personnel • Dual signatures are required on all manual check disbursements • Positive pay account maintained at bank • Check sequences and gaps are investigated • Bank statements are reconciled to the general ledger regularly and reviewed by management • Major supplier statements are reconciled to the A/P subsidiary ledger • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Payroll – To ensure that payroll disbursements are made only upon proper authorization to bona fide employees, that payroll disbursement is properly recorded and that related legal requirements (such as payroll tax deposits) are complied with. • Formally document policies and procedures governing payroll processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Access to add, modify, delete records from the employee master file is restricted to appropriate personnel. Modification to significant data (i.e. salaries, etc) requires managerial approval. • Payroll is disbursed manually with picture ID only on an annual basis in order to validate that paychecks are for bona fide employees (i.e. not ghost employees) • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Fixed Assets – To ensure that fixed assets are acquired and disposed of only upon proper authorization, are adequately safeguarded, and properly recorded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing fixed asset-related processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Assets are appropriately secured • Book to physical reconciliation is conducted annually to validate condition and existence • Access to the fixed assets register is restricted to appropriate personnel • Asset disposals and write-offs require managerial approval above certain levels • Asset acquisitions must be approved in advance of purchase • Pre-numbered asset tags are affixed to all fixed assets • Asset valuations are periodically reviewed by management for continued relevance • All supporting paperwork must be obtained prior to entry into the fixed asset register • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Inventory – To ensure that inventories are received and/or shipped only with proper authorization and documentation, properly recorded, and appropriately safeguarded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing inventory-related processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Inventories are appropriately secured • Book-to-physical or cycle counts are conducted periodically to validate condition and existence • Inventory will only be received with valid support paperwork (i.e. PO) • All inventory receipts must be verified for quantity and condition against the bill of lading and the packing slip and recorded on pre-number receiver forms or a log • The receipts log is reviewed and reconciled to system receipts by management on a daily basis • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel • Inventories are periodically marked to market to ensure proper valuation • Inventory write-offs require management review and approval • System access to process inventory adjustments is restricted to appropriate personnel • All inventory shipments must be accompanied by a valid order • Periodic managerial review of open work orders, inventory aging reports, etc • All shipments are recorded in a shipping log, which is reviewed and reconciled to the system shipments by management on a daily basis

Financial Closing or Reporting– To ensure that financial data is recorded, consolidated, and reported accurately, timely, and in compliance with US GAAP. • Formally document policies and procedures governing financial closing processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Create and maintain a comprehensive close checklist of all close activities • Closing checklist and binder with all supporting entries should be reviewed and approved by the controller and/or owner prior to close • Segregate duties within the account reconciliation, journal posting, and management review/approval processes • All non-standard, adjusting, and/or manual journal entries require management approval • Establish a budgeting and forecasting process. Use trend analysis (horizontal and vertical) in order to sanity check results. Research and resolve any unusual variations • Ability and/or access to post journal entries is limited to appropriate personnel

Understanding the underlying concepts behind basic accounting controls will allow you and your organization to create an internal control structure, both within accounting and beyond, that enables more effective and efficient operating and financial results. And one more thing it provides…a little extra peace of mind.

For more information on accounting and auditing, please visit The Accounting Nation website at http://www.accountingnation.com.

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Small Businesses Should Definitely Use Accounting Software

There is only one major difference between a big and a small company except the financial status. This difference is small business most often does not require a certified public accountant as a full time employee. Accounting is the financial process by which a business is able to summarize the costs it has borne and the profits it has made. Here are the top ten reasons why small businesses should invest in accounting software.

1. Productivity is increased by the use of Accounting

Though your company got adjusted to the paper work manually, it does not mean you can’t change it. Accounting is a high professionalism job. This software simplifies the whole process and handles a various financial calculations simply. By spending less time you can achieve more using a accounting software you can reduce error.

2. Banking processes get immense help by Accounting Software

The latest accounting software can also be linked to your banking account through Internet and the business banking information can be incorporated by the software.

3. The Good Bookkeeping value

Bookkeeping is an essential part of any business as it become important while tax return to the government. As Accounting software reduces the pain of the work so most accountant prefer it. It also saves the work a lot.

4. Using Accounting Information is convenient

Using accounting software is simple to send data and information to your tax consultant or to an outsource service provider through email to work on your accounting and financial data. For Small businesses this saves significant time and money.

5. Accounting Software can be easily accessible

Any small business accounting software like QuickBooks, Simply Accounting, Peachtree, MYOB, Microsoft office small business accounting , etc., are easy to install and use. All of the accounting software comes with manuals and tutorials for you to read and understand the software. Other option for small business is using Application Service provider (ASP), in this accounting software model small businesses can use other companies accounting software for a monthly fee.

6. Tax calculations can be made easy by this software

Small businesses like other businesses have several financial and tax responsibilities to keep in mind when preparing their quarterly and year-end financial statements. Accounting software greatly simplifies and helps you to pay your tax dues correctly and accurately without incurring any penalties and fines.

7. Best practices

Using accounting software small businesses can instantly increase their operational and business efficiency by the best practices offered by the accounting software.

8. Planning & forecasting are prime thing in this software

Accounting software can assist in keeping the small businesses in forecasting their current and future business strategies. They can easily compare their past and current data in various reports, graphs and can use their business data for planning and forecasting purposes.

9. Accounting Software can be combined with Other Software for Better Use

Most accounting software allow other software programs such as Microsoft Office and other related business application to simplify the data sharing

10. Accounting Software is versatile

Small businesses can not only keep a track of their expenditure, debts and receipts; but also create pay rolls, invoices, print checks, pay outstanding invoices, track overdue invoices, scheduled transactions, accounts payable, accounts receivable etc. Thus the software can help the small business keep a track of virtually all its financial dealings and ensure that no payment or bill is missed

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Little Miss Jocelyn – Accounts