Outsourcing vs. In-House Accounting Services

Outsourcing vs. In-House Accounting Services

Every business, at one time or another, experiences either tremendous growth or tremendous uncertainty. During these moments, it’s important that they rely on a trustworthy CFO for success. Learn why breaking away from traditional in-house bookkeeping and accounting services can be the key that unlocks your business’ full potential. 

Outsourcing Accounting Services Are the Future

In-house accounting is a traditional form of business bookkeeping. However, times have changed, and it is rapidly being replaced by outsourced accounting or CFO services. There are several advantages that outsourced CFOs and accounting teams provide. Compared to in-house services, business can realize the following benefits to outsourcing:

  • Increased cost savings
  • High-level expertise that may not be available when hiring internally
  • Scalability
  • Reliability
  • Convenience

Gain Dependability and Convenience by Outsourcing 

We understand that trying to fill an in-house opening can be taxing and expensive. Sometimes the candidates aren’t as credible as they first appear, and that can take a heavy toll on a company’s bottom line. Or, in some cases, there is time and effort placed in training new hires only to lose them later to a competitor. Through outsourced accountant and bookkeeping services, it is on them to meet your required needs, not the other way around.

Additionally, companies like Next Leve Now thoroughly vet CFOs and accountants to ensure that our clients are fully taken care of. They are not only up-to-date on the most current training and certifications, but arrive with a wealth of resources and established credibility with bankers and financial partners. Moreover, companies that use outsourcing services also benefit from convenience and flexibility. The hours and services can be tailored to suit every company’s unique needs. 

Save Costs with Outsourced CFO and Accountant Services

When comparing the cost between in-house and outsourced CFO and Accountant services, there are a lot of things to consider. Foremost, in-house CFOs typically receive a median annual salary of $393,377 with additional benefits, such as health insurance and 401k. Their paid time off and sick leave must also be calculated, along with any other additional benefits. These benefits include life insurance, vision, and dental insurance, and more.

Many small businesses may be in dire need of these financial services but can’t afford a full-time CFO. Conversely, businesses that acquire an outsourced accounting or CFO service can pay only for what they need. And they don’t have to worry about the overhead that comes with payroll expenses, employee benefits, and additional resources.

Contact Us Regarding Outsourced Accounting Services

Are you struggling to get your company on the right track to success? Are you finding it difficult to juggle your important financial responsibilities while fulfilling your sales and visionary duties as a business owner? Contact us to get the help you need! Our experienced, dedicated team of financial experts can offer the assistance you need.

Five Metrics that Predict Success for Professional Service Organizations

Five Metrics that Predict Success for Professional Service Organizations

Professional Service Organizations (PSOs) often face a distinct array of challenges to foster success and growth. And predictability is key in ensuring that you meet stakeholder’s expectations to support the goals of your organization. Learn how to create a profitable and predictable business through our top five metrics for success below:

Forecast Revenue

In order to appropriately forecast revenue and boost your Professional Service Organization’s success, you need to have a solid understanding of seasonality and trends. By understanding your revenue types, you can plan and allocate for each service in a manageable way. To do this, you will need to complete the following:

  • Form a commitment with your organization top-down to build accurate forecasting
  • Forecast at several levels: project, portfolio, resource, and risk
  • Become predictable by preparing your organization appropriately for what’s to come and create repeatable patterns

Moreover, to begin forecasting you will need to properly assess employee bandwidth, and ensure frequent communication within your company. You should also establish clear goals and learn from your experiences to improve precision. Also, you should also prioritize your focus to encourage negotiations among stakeholders and remove potential obstacles.

Analyze Your Budgets vs. Actuals 

Additionally, you will also want to review your budgeting process and how those numbers compare to actual spending. By crafting metrics, you can forecast accurately to improve this ratio. This is key to make your organization predictable and to ensure projects are aligned to strategic goals. Furthermore, you should also ensure that you have the right people in the right place. By understanding your budget and actuals, you can also improve company capacity and have effective KPIs in place to be on track.

Succeed with Capacity Planning 

Ask yourself if you have the resources to meet current demands in your organization and if you can realistically take on more work. Capacity planning enables you to know what you can take on. And it offers you the flexibility to communicate the impact of taking on additional work outside of your scope. Through capacity planning, you are factoring in realistic expectations and actual working hours to appropriately value proposition your employees.

Utilization and Outcomes

Although some organizations are moving away from utilization and looking towards outcomes, it is important to consider if your resources are maximizing their billable time. And if high-value resources are attributed to high-value work. You should account for the following:

  • Appropriate resource assignments
  • High-level or enterprise-wide planning to maximize utilization
  • Differentiated billable and nonbillable hours

Professional Service Organizations and Project Management

Project management is integral for delivering client projects on time and on budget while maintaining your company’s profit margins. Organizations that undervalue project management have reported an average of 50% or more of their projects failing. On the other hand, high-performing organizations that prioritize project management successfully complete 89% of their projects. Making sure to prioritize project management is a key factor in its success.

By manage capacity, forecasting, and establishing efficient project management, your company can become more predictable and attain the backbone to succeed. For a more comprehensive discussion regarding the five-performance metrics, view our most recent webinar below, or contact us for a free business assessment!

 

Outsourced CFO Services: A Case Study

Outsourced CFO Services: A Case Study

A client’s controller had resigned from their already understaffed accounting department. They were in urgent need of help, and reached out to us for assistance. Learn how our outsourced CFO services helped them recover and thrive.

Key Points:

Problem: The client was in immediate need of a finance and accounting services that could adapt to meet their growing and rigorous business demands.

Solution: We were able to provide them with a highly qualified CFO that was perfectly suited for their industry who offered a diverse range of skills and expertise that successfully:

  • Established strategic planning and enhanced scalability by building a reliable accounting team
  • Developed documentation and streamlined operations and procedures
  • Increased efficiency through meaningful KPIs
  • Empowered leaders with a wealth of resources and solutions

The company’s CEO found that: “Everything about the accounting department has been increasingly efficient since we started our partnership with Next Level Now. I attribute that to finally having a true leader in the department that was able to provide solutions and build an effective team.”

Outsourced CFO Services that Match Your Needs

Our client is in the Outdoor Sporting Goods industry and they design and manufacture products for camping, mountaineering, and campfire enjoyment. They needed an outsourced CFO that could immediately provide the necessary skill sets to streamline operations and develop their internal team. To accomplish this, we brought in our highly-skilled CFO with over 20 years of experience as a Finance and Operational Executive. To get a true sense of the business’ needs and procedures, he worked closely with them to develop applicable solutions

Through his proficiency in financial modeling and forecasting, he provided the client with accurate data so they could make informed decisions. He was also able to streamline accounts payable and receivable, payroll, budgeting, and more. The company’s CEO described our services as, “the perfect tool for transitioning, ramping up, and exploring what the true needs of the business are. And Next Level Now was able to do so with incredible speed, flexibility, and acumen.”

Building a Lasting Partnership

Most of our clients are looking for a long-term partnership, and this client was no exception. As a result, we continue to provide them with steady guidance and a wealth of resources to fuel their success. Their CEO stated, “Next Level Now is a perfect partner for us, and we have developed a trust with them to continue to utilize their services for years to come and refer them to others.” In fact, after the success they gained working with our CFO, we were also able to provide them with bookkeeping assistance. We strive to help our clients become self-sufficient while also supporting them when needed.

CFO Services to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Next Level Now provides outsourced finance, bookkeeping, and accounting services. Our services allow you to focus on the areas of your business that you are good at, while we handle the financials. Contact us to learn more about our outsourced CFOs and accountants so, we can help your business succeed today!

Next Level Now Services Expand!

NLN is now offering Organization Development and Human Resource services. This expansion of services has occurred by adding Laura Montville to the team. Laura brings a needed skill set to better serve our clients and is a perfect fit to the Team at NLN.

Laura Montville has over 20 years of experience in Organization Development including Leadership Development and Human Resources. Laura is a specialist in developing leadership programs for senior-level executives and is a passionate and experienced business person, having run her own successful staffing company in Portsmouth from 1986 to 2006. She is a recognized business partner focused on driving strategic change and praised for her outstanding ability to facilitate dialogue and coach others towards success.

Kenneth Peterson shares, “I am very excited about adding these new services to help our clients. Laura Montville’s experience adds tremendous depth to our Team allowing us to help our clients strategically solve their organization and human resource issues. It also is part of us “walking the walk” of Next Level’s culture and values; Learn, Grow and Share. Adding Laura to Next Level Now represents us investing in our own personal and professional growth. She is a resource for us ALL!”

 

Mike Grandinetti Delivers a very thought-provoking presentation

We hosted our 4th LEARN GROW TEACH Speaker Event, Wednesday June 29, 2016. The topic was Disruptive Innovation, presented by expert Mike Grandinetti of Boston. The speaker explored how businesses such as Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb have changed the course of their respective industries and how we must be agile and accepting of change in our own businesses to succeed.

Mike Grandinetti Speaking at LEARN GROW TEACH

NLN Hosts 3rd LEARN GROW TEACH Event with David Karofsky

David Karofsky

David Karofsky

In our 3rd Speaker Event for clients and friends, we welcome David Karofsky CEO of Transitions Consultants Group for this highly interactive presentation on Conflict Management. We will explore the topics of conflict, their causes and best practices for effective solutions. David has over 25 years of experience as a business consultant, working specifically with companies on managing conflict, building alignment and developing succession plans for leadership and ownership.