What to Expect During Your Alignment Call with Patrick Accounting

We’ve had our first meeting together and learned about the problems you’re experiencing and the opportunities within your business. You’ve handed over lots of financial information, including past tax returns, access to your books, and bank statements.

So, what’s next?

Our next step together is your Alignment Call. This conversation is an important part of the process because it allows us to review key items from your books together. We'll highlight anything that needs attention and share insights you should be aware of, whether you move forward with us or not. We’ll also confirm which services you actually need (and don’t need) based on what we’ve uncovered.

By the end of the call, you will know:

• What we found when reviewing your books
• How our services could help your business
• The ballpark cost of working with us

At the end of this call, if our prices align with your needs, we will ask for a commitment to get started.

What Happens During an Alignment Call?

By the time we have this call, you already know something isn’t working in your accounting process. You’re actively looking for a solution—you just need to determine whether Patrick Accounting is the right fit.

We Start by Understanding Your Biggest Concerns

At this stage, most business owners have some key questions in mind:

• How does this actually work? What will Patrick Accounting handle? What stays on my plate?
• What happens to my in-house team if I have one? Do I need to let my bookkeeper go?
• When should I make the switch? When is the right time to move my accounting over?

These are all valid concerns and part of this conversation is designed to address them. We want to make sure you walk away with a clear understanding of how this transition would work, what the financial commitment looks like, and whether this is the right fit for your business.

We Walk You Through What We’ve Found in Your Books

Since we’ve already reviewed your books, we’ll also use this time to walk through what we’ve found: 

• Talk through our findings. We will highlight what is working, what is not, and where we see opportunities for improvement.
• Ask clarifying questions. Typically, we uncover other areas of your business that we may not have explored in our first call, so this allows us to clarify more of your processes.
• Discuss pricing. We will give you a ballpark estimate, including both the monthly cost and any one-time investment to get started. The one-time investment covers our initial strategy sessions, catching up on past tax filings, and bringing your books up to date, accurately.
• Map out the next steps. If you are ready, we will schedule a quick call to go over our service agreement. After that, we will schedule your initial strategy session, which is the first time you get to meet your accounting team!

At the end of the call, we will ask a simple question: Are you ready to get started?

If the answer is yes, great! We will schedule your Service Agreement Call and lay out the timeline for onboarding. Sometimes, we'll get to the end of this call and you may not be ready to make a change or wonder if the initial investments are worth it. If you need some time to review, we'll provide all the information you need to make the best choice for your business.

What We Expect from You

This call works best when it is a two-way conversation. To get the most value from it, we ask that you:

• Be open about your current accounting setup. We are not here to judge—just to understand how things are working (or not working).
• Ask questions. This is your chance to clarify anything you are unsure about, whether it is how we handle taxes or how the transition process works.
• Think about your next steps. If you know you need a change, be ready to discuss what that looks like for you.

We know accounting is personal. Our goal is not just to clean up numbers, but to help you feel confident and in control of your finances.

What Happens After the Alignment Call?

If you are ready to move forward, we will schedule a call to confirm our scope of services for you. This call will be brief (usually lasting 20 minutes) in which we finalize services and sign paperwork. 

Next, we'll schedule your Initial Strategy Session. That is where we will:

• Go deeper into the details of our services and how they will fit into your business
• Provide a formal pricing breakdown
• Outline the onboarding process and timeline

We also want to be upfront about a few things:

• Your information stays confidential. You can be honest about your struggles without worry.
• There is a one-time investment to get started. This typically includes a heavy cleanup process to streamline your chart of accounts, bring your books up to date with every transaction, and file any outstanding taxes.
• Your ongoing accounting will follow a structured monthly process. We will set expectations so you always know what to expect.
• Timing matters. The sooner we start, the sooner we can fix any financial issues and set you up for success.

What You Will Walk Away With

By the end of this call, you will have:

• A clear understanding of what is happening in your books and areas that may need attention
• Ballpark pricing so you can decide if this fits your budget
• A solid plan for what happens next if you decide to move forward

If you are ready, we will schedule your Service Agreement Call and start putting a plan in place. 

Your Next Steps

The Alignment Call is about giving you the insight you need to take control of your business finances. Whether you choose to move forward with us or not, you will walk away with valuable information and a better understanding of your accounting situation.

To get started, there’s a one-time investment, covering the groundwork needed to clean up, organize, and set your financials on the right track.

Curious why this is part of the process? Check out Why We Have a One-Time Investment for New Clients to learn more.