The Best Outsourced Bookkeeping and Accounting Companies for 2020
As the business climate changes, many small businesses are starting to look for cost-effective ways to handle back-office operations, including outsourcing their accounting and bookkeeping. But what should you look for in an outsourced accounting department? Not all outsourced accounting companies are the same. Ask the right questions and select the partner that best fits your accounting needs and culture.
Basis 365 helps business owners get back to what they do best by taking over the accounting function and transforming the results to actionable information. On our preliminary discovery call, we discuss your pain points, assess your accounting requirements, and explore cloud-based solutions to improve your workflow. Many times, potential customers ask who we would recommend if our values don't align. We feel it's essential to address this question because we believe in helping small businesses succeed, whether with or without us.
Questions to Ask a Potential Outsourced Accounting & Bookkeeping Partner
We’re prepared a short download you can use in your search for an accounting or bookkeeping partner. The download also includes a link to a Google Document you can use to take notes during your search with great questions and the thought behind each question. Here are some highlighted items:
What software applications do they use?
You’re assessing if they provide a “modern” accounting experience. Are they cloud-based and paperless or will they have you manage accounting files and merely host a CD-based software application?
What is it like to work with them?
Ask them to walk you through the daily, weekly, and monthly experience. Get a feel with real-life examples about the collaborative process. Who will be working with you, is it one “bookkeeper in the US” or a “blended outsourced team”? Are they organized and structured or winging it to get it done?
How will they ensure consistent levels of service?
What are their deliverable time frames (e.g., response-time, closing the monthly financials)? What happens if these change? Will they be able to deliver a consistent level of service throughout the year? If they do taxes, how will tax season impact their level of services? If one of their employees leave, what do they have in place to ensure continuity?
Established Outsourced Accounting and Bookkeeping Companies in 2020
The following firms are our highlighted firms for 2020.
Bench: Bench solves bookkeeping problems for small business owners. By pairing intuitive in-house developed software with real, human bookkeepers Bench is able to bring financial mastery to the masses, starting with small businesses. Accounting is performed on a cash-basis, primarily for tax compliance purposes. They utilize their own, proprietary accounting software.
Accounting Department: AccountingDepartment.com, LLC is a complete virtual model with all U.S. employees working from home. The company implements a locked-down feature that allows for tight security over your financial records.
GrowthForce: GrowthForce has been providing bookkeeping, accounting, and controller services for small businesses and nonprofits. GrowthForces works 100% on the QuickBooks platform, allowing them to integrate with financial systems and apps.
Choosing an Outsourced Accounting and Bookkeeping Service
It's essential to pick an outsourced accounting service that fits your business's unique needs and can help you scale.
At Basis 365, we have designed our services to help funded startups and small businesses companies grow from roughly $1mm - $20mm in annual revenue or from 5 - 100 employees. We do this by providing a cloud-based, scalable accounting department with an experienced team that makes sure you have timely financial information to make better business decisions.
We collaborate with our customers and consider ourselves as an extended part of your team. We're not an end of the month bookkeeping experience. We are working every day on our customer's accounting to ensure we are responsive and timely using accrual accounting and providing insight into the numbers.
Choosing an outsourced accountant and bookkeeper is a crucial choice, if you're looking to get a financial edge, Basis 365 can help. Reach out today and schedule your free consultation to learn how we can help your business grow.
