There’s an old adage in business: “hire a generalist, outsource a specialist”.
For small businesses with limited resources, hiring a dedicated specialist for all functional areas (ie: marketing, accounting, IT) is just not feasible. Instead, they rely on an outsourcing model to meet each unique need.
It’s highly beneficial because they obtain expert knowledge at a fraction of the cost. They only pay for the services they need and avoid the overhead of additional employees. By cutting costs without reducing the level of service, owners can save money to reinvest in their business.
Because accounting is such an involved discipline, some wonder how outsourcing can work. Rest assured, because millions of small businesses enjoy the benefits while leaning on a few key principles:
Establish Trust
It is important that you establish trust between yourself and your accounting professional (“AP”). At Empower, our seasoned professionals offer a free initial consultation so you can meet and get to know one another. During this meeting you’ll share backgrounds, capabilities, expectations, budget, etc… Because the AP will quickly become ingrained in most financial aspects of your business, you must choose someone you trust. Full disclosure of your financials is important for them to properly do their job.
Set Expectations
Once you and your accounting professional mutually agree to move forward, your AP will send you a detailed Statement of Work. This will include the scope of work, timeline, tactical deliverables, and fees. Both parties will sign this document solidifying the agreement. From there, your AP will also send you a non-disclosure agreement which protects you against any unlawful sharing of information. Setting expectations and coming to a mutual agreement up front will help alleviate scope creep and accountability issues down the road.
Access Data
Once you have a signed non-disclosure agreement, your AP will need access to all of your business’s financial information. In order to properly and accurately produce your financial statements, they need to know about all your financial accounts. This includes loans, lines of credit, credit cards, and even that “slush” savings account you might be hanging on to.
Our pre-vetted professionals will guide you through granting them access to your banking and credit card institutions. Most national banks have the option to add an ‘admin’ / read-only user, allowing the AP to pull monthly statements and view check images without having access to your funds. This will enable your professional to access your information and only reach out when questions or issues arise.
Your AP will also need access to other applicable providers (ie: payroll, bill pay services, Venmo, Stripe, POS, CRM, etc…) to be most effective. By granting access to the full suite of your financial systems, they can most effectively administer your accounting needs.
As a best practice, we recommend this all happen during your first onboarding meeting(s). Most financial institutions require a second-level authentication for new logins, so as the account owner, you can efficiently provide the codes your professional will need to get logged in.
Collaborate
All client <-> AP relationships will look different. Some will be transactional and only require bookkeeping and financials; others might be more like a partner/advisor and want to connect much more frequently. Anything along the spectrum is fine as long as expectations are clear and both parties communicate accordingly. It’s imperative you share your pain points and allow them to offer solutions where they can. Empower’s highly skilled Accounting Professionals should be an extension of your business and viewed as an asset to be leveraged. By outsourcing your accounting needs, you should be freed up to focus on growth and other strategic objectives.
At Empower, we believe that when you bring a qualified accounting professional with a dedicated, supportive community to a business owner with a clear vision, their businesses grow faster and healthier, and entrepreneurs thrive.
If you’re ready to hire an accounting professional, reach out to our team at any time here.
Or if you’re ready to step out and start your own fractional accounting firm, please connect with us here.