If you're considering outsourcing your bookkeeping and accounting needs, you likely have many questions. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled the top 9 questions potential clients often ask about working with Patrick Accounting. Let's dive in and address your concerns.
1. I Am Looking For Someone To Do My Taxes - Is That Something You Do?
Yes and no. Here's how we approach taxes at Patrick Accounting.
We have two goals for our clients:
- To deliver timely, consistent financial insight to you so that you can use it to make good business decisions.
- To help you strategically plan for your tax liability to avoid any tax surprises.
We help small business owners with taxes by providing ongoing monthly bookkeeping services so we can offer good tax insight and help you plan throughout the year. If you are ONLY looking for a personal or a business tax return, we are NOT a good fit for you. But if you’re considering working with a partner to handle your ongoing bookkeeping AND taxes, we could be a great fit for you.
2. How Do Prices Work And What Is The Minimum Fee?
One of the first questions you think of is probably 'How much this is going to cost?'
At Patrick Accounting, we offer a variety of accounting and payroll packages designed to cater to the diverse needs of growing small businesses. Our packages bundle services such as bookkeeping, payroll, accounting, and taxes into one convenient monthly fee. Here’s a breakdown of our pricing structure:
- Core Package: This package starts at $600 per month and includes essential bookkeeping and payroll services to simplify your financial complexities.
- Advanced Package: Starting at $1,250 per month, this package builds on the Core package by providing more frequent interaction and deeper involvement in your financial processes.
- Ultimate Package: Starting at $1,950 per month, this package offers full-service financial support, focusing on driving profitability and establishing long-term financial rhythms.
In addition to the monthly fee, we require a one-time investment for setup. This startup fee covers the extra work we put into getting your business systems up and running smoothly, including migrating your data, setting up software integrations, and ensuring everything is ready to go. The one-time investment is typically twice your monthly accounting fee.
Onboarding fee = (Monthly fee x 2)
*This fee varies for each client since it's based on your specific monthly accounting package. This is what the onboarding fee includes.
Determining the Exact Cost for Your Business
The cost of our services can vary based on what your business needs. To figure out the cost for you, we start with a short meeting to understand your business and the number of transactions you have.
We’ll ask for your most recent tax return, a few months of bank statements, credit card statements, and access to your QuickBooks or R365 platform. This helps us get a clear picture of your finances. After this review, we’ll create a detailed proposal just for your business.
3. Who Should Work With Patrick Accounting?
Ideally, you are a growth-minded business owner with big goals, such as adding locations, buying a beach house, or planning to sell in the next five years. Small business owners who want to do things the right way and plan to grow to $500k-$10,000,000 in annual sales would be a great fit for our services.
We typically help service-based industries like restaurants and hospitality, white-collar service providers, personal care businesses, and blue-collar service providers. We also work with non-profits that don’t have heavy designated funds and restricted fund needs.
If you prefer working with an in-house bookkeeper, have heavy A/R or inventory needs, or need on-site services, we may not be the right fit for you.
For example, if you are a construction company with heavy job-costing or need your accountant to handle both accounts receivable and accounts payable, we are not a good fit.
4. Can You Help Me with Just Bookkeeping or Just Taxes If I Already Have Someone for Payroll?
We don’t offer tax-only services. For us to provide bookkeeping, we also need to handle your payroll. This way, one team manages all your financial tasks, making it easier to deliver accurate on-time reports, every time.
While it's not our usual practice, we do sometimes handle just bookkeeping, without federal and state taxes. If you’re curious about how this might work for your business, book a call with us to discuss your situation. We aim to give you a seamless, integrated financial management experience.
5. When Should I Outsource My Bookkeeping and Tax Work?
Deciding when to outsource your bookkeeping and tax work varies for each business owner. Accurate bookkeeping and tax planning are crucial for business growth and staying compliant. As a busy owner, managing finances can be overwhelming. When your business is growing, it’s essential to focus on attracting new customers, expanding operations, and increasing revenue. Outsourcing your bookkeeping can free up your time and make sure your finances are in good hands.
An outsourced solution also means there’s always someone managing your books, so you never have to worry about gaps. Generally, small businesses should spend between 1-3% of their top-line revenue on accounting. Companies making $500,000 or more annually get the most benefit from outsourcing, as it’s more cost-effective than hiring a part-time employee.
6. Who Are Your Clients and Where Are They Located?
We’ve had over 20 years to work with a variety of industries, so chances are we’ve run into a business or two that are similar to yours!
Some industries that we service really well include:
- Restaurants
- Hospitality Businesses
- Franchisees & Specialty Contractors
- Automotive, Tire, and Car Repair Shops
- Hair, Nail, and Medical Beauty Salons
- Lawyers, Closing Attorneys, Tech Companies
- Medical Practitioners (physical therapists, dentists, dermatologists)
- Pest Control, HVAC, and Plumbing Companies
- Non-Profits
Find out more about who we help and how and read testimonies of our current clients. If you’d like a referral from a current client, just let us know—we’re happy to provide a list.
We love helping Memphis-based companies, but we have clients all over the U.S.!
Our integrated services model makes us a one-stop shop for all your accounting needs, no matter where you are located in the US. Every client is unique, and our model is flexible to fit your business’s specific needs. We aim to be proactive, delivering meaningful financials every month so you can make great business decisions and optimize your tax planning strategy for year-end.
7. What Does Getting Started with Patrick Accounting Look Like?
Getting started with Patrick Accounting is straightforward. First, we'll schedule a call to learn about your business, your goals, and what’s happening in your back office.
If you decide to move forward with us, we will request some documents to prepare a service engagement. These typically include:
- Your most recent business tax return
- QuickBooks Online access or most recent financials
- Couple of months of bank statements
Once you’re ready to start, we’ll schedule an initial strategy session with your accounting team. During this session, we will set up the necessary tools and systems to simplify your accounting processes.
New clients typically see their first financial statements from us 30-60 days after this session. This initial period allows us to thoroughly review and organize your financials, setting the stage for ongoing, accurate accounting support.
8. Do You Work With Start-Ups Or Franchises?
Start-ups are very exciting, and we work with many fast-growing start-ups and franchises that need bookkeeping and tax services, but if your first-year revenue is less than half a million dollars, the ROI of our services is marginal for you.
We're not a good fit for brand-new start-ups with less than $500,000 in annual revenue. If you are a start-up planning to scale your revenue to $500,000 or more annually, we could be a great fit. We typically work with start-ups and new franchise owners a few weeks before their opening day. If you’re getting close to having sales for the first time, it’s a good time to start with accounting services. We can help you hire employees and capture your startup expenses before opening day.
9. I’m Not Sure My Business Is Structured Correctly For Taxes. Can You Advise On This?
For clients who engage us for monthly bookkeeping and tax services, the first thing we will review is your entity structure. We will review your last three tax returns and ensure you are in the most advantageous structure for your business growth plans.
If you are starting for the first time, we don’t offer consultation services for entity structure alone, but we have partners who do and can provide referrals.
We’ve Covered the Top 9 Questions—Now, What’s on Your Mind?
We know as a business owner, you genuinely have A LOT on your plate. Managing your finances is an essential part of growing your business, but with limited resources and a never-ending list of tasks, it can be challenging to keep up with bookkeeping, compliance, and tax responsibilities.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping, payroll, and tax needs can free up your time and energy, giving you peace of mind that your finances are managed accurately. This allows you to focus more on what really matters, whether that’s growing your sales or spending more time with your family.
Now that you’ve learned more about Patrick Accounting, I hope you have a clear sense of whether we would be a good fit for you and your business.
So, if you’re ready to take the next step, Let’s chat
We look forward to hearing from you and learning about your business!
