Onboarding For Business
Intricate care is taken when onboarding a business
Here we will demonstrate the process we have developed to build a relationship with business effortlessly and successfully
Our business clients are a priority, and our business model sets up for ongoing, year-round accounting working. Working with businesses throughout the year is optimal and efficient. Having a close hand on the business’s pulse during the year allows the client time to act and prosper.
Example benefits of using us for annual services
- Avoid extensions of time to file
- Deductions have adequately been claimed, addressed, and audit-proofed
- Opportunities for tax strategies are not missed
- Reporting has been reviewed for managerial decision making
- Tax filings will be timely
- Tax preparation cost will be lower
- Hire the right team and then get the most for your resources (see here for information on differences in tax professionals)
The taxpayer/client now stands positioned optimally for success in the accounting and tax stratosphere.
Two types of onboarding for ongoing business services
1) An existing business that has been in business either for a short while or for many years – the company may be in any stage of the business cycle, it may be in the startup phase, it may be in the growth phase, or it may be in the winding down phase
2) An entirely new business with no activity or very little activity to date of retaining an accounting team
Projects will also fall into two categories
1) Prior Accounting Engagement
We will be engaged to work on anything that took place before you retained our firm, and that scope of work may include the following engagements:
- Compliance check with the tax authorities to find and correct looming tax issues
- Clean up of existing prior accounting data
- Reconstruction of books and records deemed unusable
- Filing past-due or amendment of tax returns
- Tax education – we answer your questions and explain tax concepts
- Audit proofing & best practices
- Tax strategies
- Estimated taxation & submission
- Understanding and correction of transactional flow
2) Going Forward Engagement
This engagement will be anything in the future from the date that you engage our firm.
The first type of estimate furnished based on prior period estimate rendered (see below under brand new business estimates)
Note: First three months is a trial period where we are assessing the scope of the work and will adjust our fees at the end of the period based on the actual workload and resources required to maintain your account with our firm
OUR INTAKE PROCESS FOR EXISTING AND NEW BUSINESSES
1) We have an initial 15-minute discovery call via phone or preferably via video conference to go over our pricing, your budget, tax law outlook, our services, and your work parameters – we will both determine if we are a good fit and proceed to the next phase
- be prepared for the discovery call by completing the business client questionnaire and submitting it before we meet
- the discovery call is NOT meant for tax questions as that would be against our insurance policy. We must be formally engaged to render tax advice, and we need to see a full and clear picture of the tax situation to provide accurate tax guidance
2) Complete and sign a privacy policy statement to permit us to review sensitive information and submit a one-hour payment via a payment authorization form.
3) We gather the information needed to provide you with an accurate estimate, and that will be a time charge of an hour for $250. We typically spend more time than an hour as some reviews go into great depth; however, we feel that this is part of the sales process and ask for an hour’s worth of time to cover some costs.
This process also helps us
understand the business’s nature and will allow us to reduce your overall accounting costs. (See below for a detailed explanation on estimates)
4) Once we agree as to expectations, responsibilities, pricing, tax compliance outlook, and scope of the work, we will provide you with a formal engagement letter and a list of deliverables to commence the work.
5) We bill you as the work is in progress. You will submit a deposit for the initial phase of the project, and as the funds are expunged, you will then submit the next round of funding to commence the next layer of work. This process will continue until we are completed with the entire engagement.
ESTIMATES RENDERED FOR EXISTING BUSINESS
To start the rendition of a detailed estimate, we will require access points and documents. Here are some examples of what will typically be required:
– Accounting records, which will include bank feeds, internal worksheets, accounting software access points, and other pertinent data as required
– Prior tax filings for the past three years
– Letters and notices that you may have received from the tax authorities
– Notes that include all the relevant information that will be useful in providing you with a detailed estimate
From then, we will conclude our estimate and submit it over to you for initial review. Booking a one-hour in-person or virtual meeting presentation of the estimate is a standard protocol as there will be much to discuss then. We will go over the entire project’s details and explain its scope and the expected minimum and maximum projected total costs in our meeting.
BRAND NEW BUSINESS ESTIMATES
A new business typically has no prior history. At times we are the first stop before the company has even had a chance to form. We have to discuss the owner’s expectations and future outlook of operations, environment, and other factors before rendering any estimations.
The new business estimate will be based on our initial one-hour paid meeting ($250) and discussion. In this meeting, we will go over your business expectations to understand what will be involved, and we will discuss items as the following expectations:
-number of transactions to process each month
-number of owners in the business
-record-keeping practices
-complexity of the company and transactions
-industry
-functionality sought out from the accounting system
-reporting frequency from our firm
-responsibilities you would care to hire us for (invoicing, paying employees, etc.)
We welcome the opportunity to serve you and your business needs
Thank you
Freyman CPA
