Posted January 25th, 2012
by admin
For any company, solid financial management practices are necessary to ensure profitability. As a business owner, where should you focus your efforts- on client deliverables, or on managing your revenue well? CFO services could be a solution to that issue.
Management of Funds
CFO services involve a careful scrutiny of your accounts, including profits and losses. Although this may sound obvious, it is easy to neglect regular account-keeping especially when your focus may be on meeting client requirements. Managing funds is an indispensable part of generating profits. Profitability does not come only from your customers. Practices such as managing costs, reducing unnecessary expenses, and enhancing productivity also play an active role in increasing your profits.
CFO services provide a detailed scrutiny of your revenue sources, revenue generation methods, and costs associated with revenue generation to determine areas that may be leading to decreased profitability. At a minimum, you should be able to answer the following questions about your finances:
- Are your account sheets updated and accurate?
- Do they reflect profits and losses accurately?
- Are you able to identify your overhead expenses correctly?
- Are there overhead costs that could be curtailed?
Managing Overheads
It is important to note that while overhead is necessary for a business to function, it may not be directly involved in revenue or profit generation. Thus, your travel expenses, phone bills, and client entertainment could all be categorized as overhead expenses. However, controlling overhead is not the only way to reduce costs; in fact, cutting too much overhead could negatively impact your revenue stream. For example, if your business offering is such that it requires significant client interaction, then reducing client entertainment overhead expenses may not be the best option for you. Professional CFO services can help you decide if your overhead requires curtailing or not; and if it does, you have access to the expertise to advise you in deciding on how much you need to reduce your expenses.
Managing Debtors
Each time you present a client with an invoice for services rendered, it means your customer is yet to pay you. Unless there is a very strict policy for Cash on Delivery, it is highly likely that a business incurs several invoices per day, amounting to a significant number per month. Each invoice represents customers who are debtors of your company. A collection of these invoices, or a list of your debtors, can be termed as a statement. A statement also contains other details, such as amount owed, date, and amount paid. Debtor aging is an important aspect of this statement. Age here refers to the amount of time a debt has remained unpaid.
When you hire professional CFO services, you are better informed about the state of your company’s finances, and hence better prepared to reclaim the money. When debtor age goes beyond a limit that you fix, 30 days for example, you can contact your debtors and follow up on payment.
General Expenses Management
How do you decide whether your business is utilizing resources optimally? Or that the rates you have established for your services are competitive? When you hire professional CFO services, you are provided with informed advice on these types of questions. The CFO researches your accounts thoroughly and undertakes a detailed analysis around the general expenses incurred by your business. The professional CFO is well-positioned to guide you in managing your company’s general expenses, including taking corrective action when needed.
Outsourcing the CFO
If you are a start-up or a small to mid-size business, you do not need to hire a full time CFO. Instead, consider outsourcing this function. Ideally, investigate providers with experience managing requirements of businesses similar to yours. This will give you added leverage in the form of their experience and expertise.
Shop around before you finalize your decision on a part-time CFO services provider. Some providers also offer scalability – a big benefit for small to medium-sized businesses and startups. Scalability allows you to tap into industry-standard services and infrastructure while paying only for the services you actually use. Thus, it produces immense savings on investing in infrastructure costs and costs associated with hiring and retaining trained employees.
When you outsource your CFO requirements, you receive the dual benefit of direct profitability through smart financial management combined with savings on investment costs otherwise spent on funding a dedicated CFO position in your company.
Satish Patel, CPA
President, Analytix Solutions
Satish Patel, Founder-CEO of Analytix Solutions, has more than two decades of experience as a CPA. He has also advised small and mid-sized businesses on diverse matters such as valuation, accounting, and finance. His experience extends to raising capital and arranging for finance from angel investors.
Tags: CFO services, CFO services provider, professional CFO, Virtual CFO Posted in CFO services
Posted January 16th, 2012
by admin
For most companies, the beginning of a new year signifies a time to take a retrospective look at the previous year and create goals and objectives for the year to come. This is a practice we adhere to at Analytix Solutions, as well. We are pleased with our 2011 successes, many of which we attribute to our ongoing client relationships and loyal client base. We are proud that our attrition rate remains at less than 5%.
Our 2011 revenue growth was 35%, and most of that growth was based on client and partner referrals. Not only did we acquire 30 new clients, most of our existing clients increased their commitment to the accounting services we provide or contracted with us to provide other complementary support services. In response to our clients, we also expanded our service offerings to meet client needs. Analytix Solutions became an Intacct Partner during 2011, which directly benefits clients who have outgrown QuickBooks and are searching for cloud based applications. We also launched a new, updated website and signed-on a few Partners to resell some of our accounting services. We thank all of our clients and appreciate their support.
For 2012, our goal is to continue to grow and prosper as a company. We have established a 30% target revenue growth goal. Our employee base has grown by 42%, and we are moving one of our facilities to larger space to accommodate our own internal growth and infrastructure requirements.
As we welcome the New Year, we would like to share with you our best practices for how we plan to further increase our own profitability in 2012.
1. Nurture existing client or customer relationships
There is an old business adage which claims that 20% of your customers generate 80% of your revenue. Do you know who your best customers are? Maintaining your existing customer base is less expensive than acquiring new ones. Focus on increasing business from your established clients based on the services they require to make their businesses run more effectively. Work to increase customer loyalty by providing them with rewards that recognize that loyalty. If you don’t already, maintain a database of your existing customers that includes their buying behavior patterns to assist you in acknowledging their loyalty.
2. Determine key performance indicators
Specifically, you should have a clear understanding of which metrics are critical to determining your company’s performance. Do you know what drivers directly impact your sales and cash flow? Is it a product’s average number of days in inventory? Labor costs? Always have a comparison for your performance indicators so that you know where you stand compared to the previous year’s indicators or industry benchmarks. Even more importantly, know the threshold for these indicators so that you can recognize underperformance in certain areas.
3. Review and analyze monthly financial statements
Make it a point to perform a realistic assessment of your financials each month. Pay attention to key performance indicators that you have established. If you don’t have time or the expertise to perform this function, hire someone with CFO level expertise on a part-time basis. Timely and accurate data is critical to decision making success. Establish a monthly objective to review your financial statements for the month prior by the 15th of the new fiscal month.
4. Increase efficiency
This can be best accomplished by automating processes wherever possible to eliminate manual functions that take employee focus off of value added services. Invest in software programs and applications that will help accomplish this goal, especially ones that assist with payroll, time and billing, and data entry.
5. Outsource non-core tasks to provide you with more time to run your business
Assess the time you and your employees spend on tasks that require completion but really add little value to your own customers and customer relationships. Focus on those functions which allow you to foster relationships and grow your business. At Analytix, we “walk the talk” and recognize our own limitations. We outsource non-core tasks that are not central to the services we provide to our own clients.
Integrating these five practices into your operations will assist in improving your profitability. We are currently offering a free analysis of your accounting business processes and accounting system. If you would like to learn more on how Analytix Solutions can help improve your profitability in 2012, please call me directly at 781.503.9004 or email me at snpatel@aixsol.com.
Satish Patel, CPA
President, Analytix Solutions
Satish Patel, Founder-CEO of Analytix Solutions, has more than two decades of experience as a CPA. He has also advised small and mid-sized businesses on diverse matters such as valuation, accounting, and finance. His experience extends to raising capital and arranging for finance from angel investors.
Tags: accounting services, Analytix, CFO services Posted in Accounting service, CFO services, accounting, accounting services
Posted December 8th, 2011
by admin
Technology has become the driver changing the way companies exist and operate. The next generation of the workforce will be accustomed to operating in a completely technologically connected world with trusted relationships shaped by social platforms and social networking. Our economic environment has become one with diminished geographical boundaries. Increasingly, clients and customers are more focused on the caliber and quality of the work being performed- not on where it is being performed.
Accounting departments are not immune to these changes, and businesses must reassess their accounting departments to adapt to these trends.
1. Cloud Computing- Also termed software as a service, (SaaS), cloud computing is a new way of providing companies with software programs, allowing users to access the programs over the internet as opposed to having to load the software on an individual hard drive or central server. Emerging cloud and mobile technologies provide companies with increasingly more flexible options and 24/7 access to accounting data. In addition, cloud computing technologies have eliminated the problematic issue of single user systems that house accounting data on a single computer, allowing multiple user access. These technologies also eliminate the need to invest heavily in IT systems and staff thereby increasing profitability. With cloud computing programs, resolution of accounting system IT issues, data security and back-up often reside with the software developer taking the responsibility off of small to mid-sized businesses.
2. Outsourcing- This practice is becoming more and more prevalent across industries and is particularly beneficial to small to mid-sized companies. It provides a greater range of access to specific skill sets that may not be required or affordable on a fulltime basis. Outsourcing specific non-core tasks such as bookkeeping allow businesses to scale back services when they are not required or ramp up services during peak periods. Outsourcing functions such as CFO level services provide businesses with a high level expertise when they need it, expertise which may otherwise be in accessible or unaffordable if they needed to hire a full-time employee.
3. Virtual Office- Geographical boundaries are slowly being erased. It is now significantly less important where a company or its employees reside. This provides increased access to qualified accounting staff with a specific skill set, as they no longer need to be physically present in an office or even in a designated city or state to successfully accomplish accounting functions. This also reduces significant overhead expenses as office space to house staff is no longer essential to performing accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Tasks can be performed anytime, anywhere.
4. Self Service- Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on self-service as a result of technology. Today’s workforce is accustomed to 24/7 immediate access to information and the ability to quickly address tasks. Accounting departments must realize that monthly revenue and profitability reports are no longer sufficient. They must mobilize to offer real time access to live data so that decisions impacting the company can be made promptly and efficiently, by key decision makers with accessibility to this information.
5. Automation and Integration- Accounting departments must look to automate key business processes such as order entries and expense approvals to increase efficiency. This eliminates duplication of data entry and human error resulting in improved profitability. In addition, with access to more and more software programs companies must learn to integrate applications for accounting, CRM, e-commerce, payroll and POS so that they possess an all-inclusive snapshot of the company’s financial status. Companies that learn to effectively integrate, manage and analyze this data will be far better equipped to move swiftly and decisively on critical matters that impact their business.
Businesses must embrace these trends that impact their accounting department to remain competitive. We are currently offering a free analysis of your accounting business processes and accounting system. If you would like to learn more on how Analytix Solutions can help improve your profitability, please call directly at 781.503.9004 or email at sales@aixsol.com.
Tags: accounting and bookkeeping, accounting business processes, accounting department, accounting system Posted in Accounting service, accounting, accounting and bookkeeping, accounting firm
