Question #5: How much is this going to cost?
For every new client call I get one of the first things I get asked is “How much is this going to cost”? My answer is simple; the price is tailored to you exactly like our services. Each accounting project is different, and in order to give you a price, even a ballpark figure, we have to assess exactly where you are and what you need to maximize your accounting project.
Several factors drive the cost of accounting:
-The volume of bank, credit card, lines of credit and other accounts that are being tracked-for every account that is being used a reconciliation must occur to keep the books in accordance with GAAP. (The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_Accepted_Accounting_Principles_(United_States)
-The volume of transactions in each of the aforementioned accounts that are being tracked-every item that hits the bank or credit card account must be entered (either manually or via download) and then accounted for in reconciliation. If you have very high volume accounts this will definitely take a bit of time
-The frequency with which your business requires reporting-Some small business have higher reporting needs than others in order to get an accurate picture of the accounting puzzle. If you need to see reports weekly or monthly; that will cost more than seeing reports on a quarterly basis. We recommend at least a quarterly reporting schedule for all our clients, to prevent confusion and memory loss on transactions. It’s important to evaluate both the solvency of the business and the accuracy of the bookkeeping in real time.
-The clarity of the books-Sometimes the books are very inaccurate, or may need clean up to get the project moved forward. Other times the books are very behind. These factors will drive the cost of this first phase of your accounting project up.
The good news is, we understand that budget is an issue for any business, especially the ones we cater to. We love entrepreneurs and the small business spirit that drives America. We work with each client to stay within their budget and deliver quality projects, on schedule.
We also maintain good relationships with your CPAs, and we can provide referrals to CPAs when requested. This keeps the cost of accounting lower by making the CPAs job as easy as possible, and cutting out on fixes that can become costly.