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How to Leverage Small Business Outsourced Bookkeeping to Grow Your Tax & Advisory Practice
Riley Horne
Why accounting firms “outsource”
In-house bookkeeping increases complexity
• Managing staff has hidden costs (hiring, turnover, training)
• Scaling is difficult, bookkeeping is nearly always the bottleneck
• The economics are very location, firm & client dependent
As an accountant, there are higher value services to offer
• Even with the best tech today, it is still highly manual
• Reacting to catch up work situations can suck out valuable time during tax season
• Bookkeeping sets a more transactional tone for the relationship
Why outsourcing can be an upgrade
• Bookkeeping technology and automation is a skill
• Bookkeeping is increasingly becoming a commoditized service
• Development in communication & bookkeeping platforms have opened up new ways of working
But first, some data!
10%
22%
28%
32%
A few questions before jumping in
What do your clients need?
• Complex & coordinated reporting & services?
• Small business bank reconciliations?
• Full service Payroll, invoicing, and bookkeeping?
How can you benefit?
• Less DIY client / catch –up work at tax time?
• Reduce overhead of training/managing in house work?
• Accessing quality, reliable work?
• Wanting to be more aware to advise your clients needs?
How can your clients benefit?
• More Affordable?
• Less time spent on bookkeeping / better technology?
Generally, outsourcing falls in to 3 areas
Contract bookkeepers
Bookkeeping vendors
Bookkeeping partners
Individual bookkeepers that can be hired remotely
A Bookkeeping firm designed to service clients
A Bookkeeping firm designed to service clients & accountants
Generally, outsourcing falls in to 3 areas
Contract bookkeepers
Bookkeeping vendors
Bookkeeping partnersAdvantages:
Limited changes required to existing systems & services
Hourly rate economics can be favorable in low cost of living locations
Moderate control on quality & client perceptions of who is providing the service
Disadvantages:
Similar management, talent sourcing & capacity issues as running an in-house group
Does not bring any systems value to the table
Generally, outsourcing falls in to 3 areas
Contract bookkeepers
Bookkeeping vendors
Bookkeeping partnersAdvantages:
No staff management
Possible provide a more efficient client solution
Disadvantages
May not provide a more efficient accountant solution
Model may not “place nice” with accounting services (e.g. they may poach other services)
Difficult to control quality of service & bookkeeping
Economics
Process flexibility
Generally, outsourcing falls in to 3 areas
Contract bookkeepers
Bookkeeping vendors
Bookkeeping partnersAdvantages:
No staff management
Possible provide a more efficient client & accountant solution
Relationship is likely customizable to your firm’s preferences
Potential economic upside vs vendors
More control over quality of service & bookkeeping
Disadvantages
Process flexibility
Evaluating tech & automation
+ Bookkeeping specific integrations
+ other BK solutions
1. In-house vs off the shelf tech• Off the shelf:
• In house:
2. Dive in to what exactly is automated, its impact on quality of service, quality of bookkeeping, and pricing
Evaluating services & workflow
1. Target client types?
2. What business services does the bookkeeping provider offer?
3. What reporting is provided? (Statements, dashboards, other?)
4. What is the year end process?
5. What is the output cadence?
6. What are your role expectations?
Evaluating quality of service
1. Are there processes to ensure bookkeeping quality?
2. Who will be bookkeeping for your clients? Level of access?
3. Bookkeeper capacity & onboarding process?
4. Communication expectations?
5. Any additional partner coordination services?
Evaluating pricing & structure
1. Hourly or flat rate?
2. How is pricing determined? (transactions, cost, connections etc)
3. How pricing is adjusted? (Trip points, monthly, annual etc)
4. What is the pricing process?
5. Are there alterative billing models? (referral vs reseller)
6. At the end of the day, how affordable is it?
So, what is Bench?
Bench is North America’s largest, most reliable bookkeeping service for small businesses. Withour dedicated partner support, 150 in-house bookkeepers, and our industry-leading technology, we can solve bookkeeping and help you grow your practice.
So what?
We are very friendly people providing a great service – there is no learning curve• Dedicated account management for you, professional bookkeepers for your clients• Purpose built interface & communications that are actually designed for humans• We work with you to provide a coordinated experience for your clients
We provide you and your clients with the information you need• We centralize and reconcile everything monthly so that you can advise them• We produce a year end package that makes filing a breeze• We let you know how things are going so that there aren’t any surprises
We are structured to work with you • We bill flat rate, so that you can too (including historical work)• We only provide reconciliation, which dovetails with your tax and advisory work
We’re perfect across a wide range
Ecommerce Marketing and advertising PR firms Legal professionals Contractors Retail Healthcare practitioners
Educational services Wholesalers Web developers ConstructionReal estate agents Fitness professionals Graphic designers Etc.
How do we stack up? - Tech
1. In house vs off the shelf tech In house
2. Dive in to what exactly is automated, its impact on quality of service, quality of bookkeeping, and pricing
We automate everything in house, reducing the cost of added vendors, our user interface is purpose built to reduce the learning curve & time spent on bookkeeping
How do we stack up? - Services
1. Target client types Small businesses suited to cash basis, less than $1M in revenue
2. What business services does the bookkeeping provider offer? Cash basis reconciliation
3. What reporting is provided? (Statements, dashboards, other?) Dashboards, Excel based Income statement, Balance Sheet, YEF
4. What is the year end process? Coordinated with accountant
5. What is the output cadence? Monthly
6. What are your role expectations? Customizable
How do we stack up? – Quality
1. Processes to ensure bookkeeping quality Team structure, QA process
2. Who will be bookkeeping for your clients? Level of access? In house, onshore, non contractor
staff, Direct+ unlimited access
3. Bookkeeping capacity & onboarding process? Fully scalable, dedicated partner-client onboarding
4. Communication expectations & workflow Built in comms, document mgmt,
1 business day SLA
5. Any additional partner coordination services? Dedicated Partner account management
How do we stack up? – Pricing
1. Hourly or flat rate? Flat
2. How is pricing determined? (transactions, cost, connections etc) Average Monthly costs, account connections
3. How pricing is adjusted? (Trip points, monthly, annual etc) Annual review based on trailing 12 month average
4. What is the pricing process? Free trial
5. Are there alterative billing models? (referral vs reseller) Yes
