Online Accounting Services

Oct 282010

Most business owners and managers see accounting as a necessary evil. It is something that has to be done in order to comply. Managers would prefer to spend their time strategizing and finding out how to make a process more efficient. You really can’t blame them; sometimes crunching numbers just isn’t that fun. For those who don’t get excited about debits and credits, you can always look for an online accounting services firm to do your accounting for you.

These online accounting firms are made up of skilled bookkeepers and accountants. These accountants can work with your business year around to keep your books up to date. Most of the time these firms have a physical location where they do their work. They are normal people just like you and me. They gather together in their office and they perform the accounting tasks that you don’t want to.

How It Works

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of how this arrangement works. Basically, you send the online accounting services firm all of your boring accounting information: bills, invoices, receipts, etc. They take all of these documents and they perform your accounting for you. They usually have some accounting software that they use to help them with this process.

The way you deliver your information depends on the provider you are working with. The method of delivery is more important than you might think; remember that you will be sending them this information all year. The first option for delivery of information is through the traditional mail system. Basically, you gather up all of your information for a certain time period, cram it into an envelope, and ship it off to the accounting service provider (you’ll probably want to make copies in case there is every a problem). The second option is to scan all of your documents and send them electronically. Surprisingly, not all online services have this option (you’ll need to check with the accounting firm beforehand). The third option is to work on some form of cloud-computing device. I’m not an expert on how all of this works, but basically the idea is that you just share all of your information online with your accountants. Think of it as sharing an email account where you both have access to the same information.

Why Do Companies Do This?

The main reason companies outsource their accounting is for specialization purposes. Remember that most economists believe that if everyone specializes in what they are best at, then each individual will be better off. In other words companies who outsource their accounting believe that the accounting experts can do a better job at accounting than they can (a logical assumption). Once the accounting is off their hands, these business owners, managers, and employees are free to focus on what they do best. This helps companies to focus on their own core competencies.

When?

Many business managers (mostly small business managers) falsely assume that they only need to do this once a year. Just store up all of your documents all year long and then come tax season ship them off to the online accounting services firm. This is a recipe for disaster. If something goes wrong then you will not be able to meet the tax deadlines (and that means spending more time with the IRS; never enjoyable). You are missing out on another opportunity if you wait until fiscal year end to do all of your accounting. Believe it or not accounting provides economic information. This is information that you could be using all year round to make smarter business decisions. You’ll want to work with these firms year round.

How Much Does Online Accounting Cost?

The prices of these services vary according to what you are looking for. If you just want someone to do your bookkeeping (creating monthly financial statements) then depending on the size of your corporation it might only cost you $100-$200 a month. This is a really great deal; try finding an experience bookkeeper for this much. However, if you want the online firm to perform all of your accounting for you (including payroll) then you are probably looking at around $1,000 a month (again depending on your size). Obviously the larger the size of your company, the more you will have to pay.

Online Accounting Services Firms

There is a fairly large selection of firms that offer this service. The organizations that do offer this service vary dramatically. For example you may find someone who is a full-time accountant that just performs this service on the side. You will definitely run into some organizations that are based in India (and other locations outside of the U.S. that offer this service). You can also find U.S. based firms that offer these accounting and bookkeeping services. As time passes I will try to provide reviews from what I can dig up on the Web. However; I encourage anybody with experience to please share their online accounting services experience below. If you do this you will sincerely be helping others who are also looking to outsource their accounting.

If you comment please provide the following information:
Name of the provider (and their website).
Size of your company.
Your experience with them (pros and cons).
Did they save you time?
Would you recommend them to a friend?
Anything else you feel will be helpful for others in this situation.

Tax Accounting Services

Oct 062010

Whether you are an individual or a corporation, the bottom line is that you will end up having to pay taxes. As the old saying goes “There are only two things certain in life, death and taxes.” Even though I have a Master’s Degree in Accountancy, I don’t particularly enjoy tax. To be able to master the subject simply requires a lot of memorization and the ability to flip through the tax code quickly. Below I will provide some information on companies that provide tax accounting services for individuals and for companies.

Tax Services for Individuals

FreeTaxUSA (also known as TaxHawk): This is a great place to file your federal and state taxes. You can file your federal taxes completely free and you can do it over the Internet. This means that if you have all the important information present (W-2’s, Social Security Numbers, etc.) you can simply set up an account, log in, and finish your taxes within an hour. Talk about making life easier.

FreeTaxUSA does charge you something for filing your state taxes. However for $10 you are getting quite the deal. This is a lot cheaper than purchasing popular over-the-counter software from H&R Block or TurboTax. FreeTaxUSA does offer some support through email, but it is mainly up to you to be able to fill out everything and file your taxes. They do have a very user friendly program that will make it easy for most people without crazy income sources to file with ease.

TurboTax: This is the classic tax accounting service. They have software that you can purchase at the store or you can use their online system. This tax service may be the best available in terms of ease-of-use. However, it is a bit pricier costing about $60 for the software.

TurboTax has an online edition as well, but they only offer it for free if you have a very, very simple return. In addition, their free edition costs $30 for the state. Almost everybody has to file state taxes as well. In short, if you are filing your taxes online then you get a better deal using FreeTaxUSA. The software is almost the same, but you pay $20-$40 more for the brand name.

H&R Block: If you are looking for tax accounting services where you meet with someone face-to-face to talk about your tax issues then H&R block is the place for you. They have all the software and online capabilities that you will ever need. What distinguishes H&R Block is their personal touch.

Tax Services for Corporations

The type of tax service received by corporations depends on the size of the corporation. Most large businesses within the United States will work with one of the Big 4 Accounting firms (E&Y, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, and PWC).

However, if you are a small or medium-size business owner looking for tax services than you probably want to look for a local accounting firm. Local firms can usually offer better pricing for smaller companies. Especially for companies that aren’t located in a major city.

Accounting Services Guide

Aug 132010

A lot of people come here looking for help finding accounting services. The first thing to know is that there are several types of services that are provided by accountants. Some of these services include bookkeeping, tax preparation, audit, and consulting. We’ll discuss this subject more below.

Other people come here looking for information about an Accounting Degree. I happen to hold a couple of these degrees (Bachelors and a Masters) and am considering doing even more schooling (PhD in Accounting). While it is true that a degree in this field is a safe bet, there are few things you should know first. You can find out whether this is a good option for you be reading my post on accounting degrees (linked to above).

Back to Accounting Services

A bookkeeping service can be very helpful for many companies. Although it is hard to believe, many business owners don’t enjoy accounting. However, the smart ones realize that it is important. If you fall into this category then it might be a good idea to try and outsource your bookkeeping. This way, you will be able to spend your time working on your core competencies while the bookkeeper handles the dirty work.

If bookkeeping is the type of accounting service that you are looking for, then allow me to give you a few pointers. First of all, bookkeeping is a skill that needs to be developed over time. While it is true that it isn’t rocket science, you still need to have some analytical skills and an understanding of basic accounting principles to get the job done well. You’ll want to find someone that has some experience doing this type of work. Most accounting graduates, fresh out of college, don’t actually have any experience using accounting software (I know because I was one of them). The last tip I’d provide is to ask other businesses what they do. There is a good chance you can find a great service for a low price. Find more information about bookkeeping services.

Tax services are another very popular service provided by accountants. Unfortunately both individuals and businesses have to file taxes every year. Finding a good accountant to do this for you will save you time, money, and serious headaches. Here is some more information on tax services.

Although accountants aren’t normally considered as visionary, the truth is they can provide a lot of consulting value to your business. Many accountants have spent years tracking financial metrics. They know how to get a business on a budget that can lead to success.

Online Accounting Services

Online services are an excellent way to outsource your accounting. These services are often very inexpensive when compared to hiring a full-time bookkeeper. Prices vary depending on the size of your company, but there are some accountants that offer their services for less than $200 a month. Good luck finding a full time accountant for that much money. One word of advice is to find an online company with a good reputation.
Now you have a brief overview of some of the more common accountant services available. Whether you’re looking for help with your record keeping, tax preparation, or overall company strategy an accountant is here to help.

Restaurant Accounting Services

Aug 122010

Let’s be honest, most people who open up a restaurant don’t do so because they enjoy accounting. In fact, most of the time new restaurant owners have no idea that accounting exists. It is typically the case that they get their restaurant operations running and find out that they have to pay taxes. Soon they find out that there is more to accounting than just taxes.

A restaurant owner has to worry about several different types of accounting. Taxes are a big deal because you’ll need to calculate sales tax on every item you sale. You’ll also need to worry about taxes at both the State level and the national level (a major pain). Other tax/payroll items you’ll need to worry about include employee tax deductions and FICA. You can learn more about that at this site: http://www.tax.gov/virtualworkshop/. It’s the flashiest site you’ll ever see on taxes.

Another form of accounting that is very beneficial to restaurant owners is managerial accounting. This type of accounting is used for analysis and decision making purposes. It is an exciting type of accounting service. This is used to gather information on costs and revenues. For example, a restaurant manager may want to know how much ingredients cost and what dishes are the most profitable. Armed with this knowledge the manager can make decisions that might lead to higher profitability. Who said accounting was boring?

Now, if all of this accountancy talk sounds a bit dry to you, you may want to look for a company that offers accounting services for restaurants. The benefit of outsourcing your accounting is that you can turn all tax and compliance issues over to someone else. I wouldn’t personally recommend turning over all managerial accounting to a third party. You will at least want to be semi-involved so you can understand the information to make decisions. However, feel free to get rid of all your compliance and tax accounting services. There are a lot of different types of restaurant software and services that can help you.

Here is a list of companies that offer restaurant accounting services.

Murphy Accounting: http://www.murphyaccounting.com/

Murphy isn’t specifically geared towards restaurants, but they are geared towards small businesses. I’m assuming you’re a small business owner if you are reading this because large businesses already know the importance of accounting.

Indevia Accounting: http://www.indevia.com/

Indevia is another company that can handle all of your accounting. They are based in California, but you don’t have to live in California to work with them. You just send them the numbers and they do the rest. However, it should be noted that they outsource most of the work to India.

RAS: http://www.restaurant-accounting.com/

RAS is another great option for those owners who just don’t want to manage all of the tax and compliance issues. The good thing about RAS is that they are specifically designed to handle restaurants. Knowing the industry helps.

If you know any other services that should be added to the list or any companies that offer restaurant accounting software, please let us know by leaving a comment in the box below.

Different Types of Accounting Services

Feb 272010

Are you looking for accounting services? Well the truth is you will probably need to be a little more specific in what you are searching for. Contrary to popular opinion, there are a lot of different types of services that accountants perform. Most people think that all accountants hold a pencil, wear a funny visor and use a huge calculator. This post will attempt to outline some of the accountant services that are available and give other useful information

Accounting Tax Services

If you know next to nothing about accounting, then you probably believe that the only service accountants offer is taxes. Some accountants do specialize in tax, but fewer than you might think. In other words, if you are looking for a tax accountant, make sure to ask the accountant if they do/specialize in taxes. It can be offensive to those of us who aren’t in taxes if you ask us to do your taxes at the end of the year!
Another item to focus on when you are looking for accounting services that deal with taxes is to ask the accountant if he/she specializes in individual taxes or corporate taxes or both. Some accountants may be experts in individual taxes, and they may not have the foggiest idea about corporate taxes and vice versa. Make sure you know what you need, when hiring/looking for tax accounting services.

Accounting Audit Services

Contrary to popular belief, accountants do something besides tax. In fact, brace yourself; the auditing field of accounting is probably larger than the tax field. Accounting services in this field consist of making sure that the financial information that a public company releases is in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Note that private companies often want their financial information audited as well.
Why would anyone want to be audited?

For public companies (companies that trade stock publicly) this is a required accounting service. These companies release financial statements and believe it or not, they are not always honest. A lot of people use these statements to decide which stock to buy and sell. In fact, people who don’t use and understand these statements are at a huge disadvantage. If the company is not honest, then a lot of people’s livelihoods suffer. Hence the need for auditing accounting services. The auditor/accountant comes in and does his/her best to ensure that the financial statements are for the most part accurate.

Are you a private company looking for this type of accounting service? A lot of private companies need auditing services as well. Banks will often require the private company’s financial information to be audited before they feel good about lending money. In addition, potential purchasers of a company will often want the financials to be audited.

Accounting Bookkeeping Services

A lot of people who are searching for “accounting services” are often looking for someone to take care of their “books.” This type of service usually consists of the accountant keeping track of purchases, sales, investments, cash, etc. These services can be performed with a pencil and paper or they can be performed with accounting software (more common nowadays). Not trying to slight bookkeepers, but it doesn’t require a lot of effort to do this type of work because the software keeps track of everything for you. If you are looking to hire an accountant for this type of service, don’t offer to pay too much and consider doing it yourself if you are really on a tight budget.
Managerial Accounting Services

This type of service provides a lot of value, but it is often overlooked. Management accountants work within the company trying to track important information that will help upper-management make key decisions on how to run the company. After years of staring at financial information, it turns out that accountants are pretty good at dissecting the information and making good decisions for the company. This type of accountant can often offer consulting services that may spice up your business.

Internal Auditors

These accountants offer a lot of different types of services for the company. Their roles may include bookkeeping, decision-making, taxes, and more. However one of their main roles is to work with the auditors that come in to make sure that your company’s financial information is correct. They try to keep the company honest all year and they work with the Board of Directors and the external auditors to ensure that the financials are presented fairly.

I’m sure that there are more accounting services out there, but that should get you a pretty good idea of what to look for when searching for accountants. Remember that not all accountants perform the same services and not all accountants are alike.

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