As a small business owner, you’re likely very familiar with the feeling of drowning in financial paperwork and uncertainty. Maybe you don’t fully understand your accounting systems. Perhaps you can’t make sense of your financial statements. Or maybe you worry about potential tax issues lurking beneath the surface.
If you’ve decided to hire an accounting firm, you’re taking a crucial step toward financial clarity. But what actually happens once you sign on the dotted line? What does the onboarding process look like, and how soon can you expect results?
At Patrick Accounting, we've helped hundreds of small businesses like yours transition from financial uncertainty to confidence. Over the next 90 days, we’ll guide you through a structured onboarding process designed to clean up your financials, set up effective systems, and ensure you’re in control of your business finances.
In this article, we’ll break down exactly what happens at each stage of onboarding. You’ll know exactly what to expect, what’s required of you, and how to get the most value from your accounting team.
The Initial Strategy Session: Setting the Foundation
The first major milestone in your journey with Patrick Accounting is what we call the initial strategy session. Think of this as day zero—your first operational interaction with our team after signing on.
During this meeting, you’ll be introduced to our operations team. You'll meet the accounting managers, directors, and staff accountants who will be working with you and your financial information.
This meeting has several key purposes:
- Confirming expectations that were established during the sales process
- Understanding your current processes for invoicing, receiving payments, handling bills, and managing bank accounts
- Gathering information about all your financial accounts, point-of-sale systems, and bill payment methods
- Uncovering additional details that might not have come up during the sales process
- Establishing best practices for moving forward
Make sure you’re prepared for this meeting. It might feel information-heavy and possibly even a bit intrusive. We’ll ask detailed questions about your financials and spending habits. And we'll want to know how you segment personal and business expenses. This comprehensive approach is necessary to get a complete picture of your financial situation.
Common New Client Concern: “I’m worried about sharing all my financial details. It feels intrusive and overwhelming.”
Many business owners can feel vulnerable when opening up their financial history and practices to outside experts. This hesitation is completely normal. Our detailed information-gathering isn’t about judgment. We simply want to gain a complete understanding of your financial picture so we can create customized solutions. The temporary discomfort of this transparency leads to the relief of having experts help carry your financial burden and strategize solutions.
Sometimes, clients come to us with urgent concerns about tax notices that need immediate attention. And sometimes, their top priority is approaching deadlines. We understand the pressure, but this is where we often remind clients that “we have to walk before we run.” Building a solid foundation requires us to take the right steps in the right order, and at the right pace. By slowing down initially we can move more quickly and confidently later.
Many clients walk out of this initial meeting feeling a weight lifted from their shoulders. For the first time, they have someone diving into all those financial details they’ve been worrying about (or maybe even avoiding). It’s the beginning of bringing order to chaos.
The First 45 Days: Organizing and Preparing for Success
After the initial strategy session, our team gets to work behind the scenes. We’ll start organizing, categorizing, and making sense of your financial information. While our team is deep in the financial details, you’ll likely notice a sense of relief as the financial weight begins shifting from your shoulders to ours.
During this critical period, we’re:
- Reviewing past tax returns to identify opportunities and potential issues
- Organizing and cleaning up your chart of accounts
- Setting up systems and routines for future financial management
- Reconciling bank accounts (sometimes going back several years if necessary)
- Developing a comprehensive picture of your business finances
Throughout this period, you can expect weekly updates about what we’ve accomplished, what we’re working on, and what we still need from you. Transparency is key to our process. We want you to know exactly where we stand at all times.
Common New Client Concern: “What if my books are a mess when I start?”
Many business owners worry that their financials aren’t clean enough to hand over to an accounting firm. That’s exactly why this process exists! We will work through disorganized records, reconcile accounts, and put new systems in place.
This phase requires collaboration, though. We may need additional information from you to complete certain tasks. And your prompt responses will help keep the process moving forward smoothly. Remember, this is a team effort aimed at building a solid financial foundation for your business.
The Second Strategy Session: Revealing the Picture
Around day 45, we’ll schedule our second strategy session. This is an exciting meeting where you’ll see the first fruits of our work together.
During this session, we’ll:
- Present your first organized financial statements
- Explain how we’ve structured and cleaned up your financial information
- Address any tax issues we’ve discovered and present a plan to resolve them
- Gather your feedback on the financial statements and make adjustments as needed
- Begin discussing basic metrics and goals for your business
This meeting is often reassuring and eye-opening for clients. For many, it’s the first time they’ve seen real, reliable numbers that tell the story of their business’s financial health.
In this session, you may discover your business is in better shape than you thought, and sometimes you’ll see issues that need addressing. But generally, most clients describe feeling a great sense of relief because they’re no longer guessing. They finally have a clear picture of their financials.
Common New Client Concern: “What if you discover my business is in worse shape than I thought?”
This fear keeps many business owners awake at night. The reality is that clarity, even when the news isn’t ideal, is always better than uncertainty. If we uncover financial challenges, we’ll also provide specific, actionable solutions. Many clients find relief in finally knowing exactly where they stand, even when the picture isn’t perfect. More importantly, this knowledge becomes the starting point for meaningful improvement.
The second strategy session marks an important transition. This is when we move from cleanup mode to establishing ongoing systems and routines. We’ll discuss what your regular financial reporting will look like moving forward. And we explain how we’ll work together to maintain accurate records.
Building a solid financial foundation takes time. While it might feel urgent to fix everything at once, following a structured process ensures long-term success.
The Path to Day 90: Building Confidence and Control
Between days 45 and 90, we focus on implementing the routines and rhythms that will support your business long-term.
This is where the real transformation begins to take hold:
- You start receiving regular, accurate financial statements.
- Your sales tax gets paid on time.
- Any required filings are processed efficiently.
- Cash management systems are fully implemented.
- We begin asking strategic questions about your business performance.
By the 90-day mark, most clients experience a profound shift. You’ve gone from financial uncertainty to having structured systems that deliver reliable information. You know where you stand from a tax perspective, and you have clarity about your cash position and profitability.
Common New Client Concern: “After all this setup work, will I actually understand my finances better or just have more complex reports I don’t understand?”
This concern reflects the frustration many business owners have experienced with financial data that doesn’t translate to useful insights. Our goal isn’t just to provide pretty reports. We want you to understand what the numbers mean for your business.
This is also when we begin shifting from cleanup to strategy. With accurate financial data in hand, we can start discussing how to optimize your business. That may involve adjusting prices, managing labor costs more effectively, or planning for growth.
The education component begins in earnest during this period. We’ll help you understand how to read your financial statements. We'll explain what key metrics to watch, and how to use financial information to make better business decisions (not just ones based on your gut).
The result is worth the effort. You’ll be part of a financial partnership that provides peace of mind and a strategic advantage in your business operations.
From Confusion to Clarity: The 90-Day Transformation
The first 90 days with Patrick Accounting will move you from financial uncertainty to structured systems and clear reporting. During this time, we’ll help create a foundation that gives you confidence in your financial information.
Remember why you sought accounting help in the first place. When you first started, you likely felt overwhelmed and uncertain about your finances. You were stressed about potential tax issues. And you were unable to make data-driven decisions.
At Patrick Accounting, we do more than just process numbers. We partner with business owners to help them use financial data as a strategic advantage.
Do you need help cleaning up your financial past to gain a more profitable future? Take the first step today by reading our article, “Who is a Good Fit for Patrick Accounting?”
And if you’re already in the process, your next step is to maximize the value of our partnership by staying engaged, responding promptly to requests, and actively engaging with your financial data.
