Rigor and Cadence Around Business Accounting

Challenge

For this company, their main challenge was rigor and cadence in their finance department. One of the key areas that needed focus was their fixed asset schedule and inventory tracking, both of which, if not managed in real-time, will require a lot of rework on the back end to clean up - a massive headache. 

Their accounting, as a startup manufacturer in a highly-regulated industry, was challenging because of all of the work papers that were required, such as for the manufacturing equipment that they were purchasing that needed to be depreciated.

In the manufacturing industry this is a common issue as while they’re setting up shop, they are going to be purchasing equipment that needs to be tracked and logged correctly. Not only was this company purchasing equipment, they were purchasing pieces and building equipment as well. The fixed asset schedule had to be built for each individual piece and the depreciation could not start until each piece of equipment was truly put into use. 

Solution

Over the last four years of working with this company we have focused on both elevating and  developing cadence in their finance department. We worked within tight budgets to assist them improve their accounting systems on a monthly basis. This included a fixed asset schedule and establishing accounting policies and procedures that can be managed and scaled. We did this by using a series of tools to help us implement these procedures, including, Quickbooks Online, Bill.com, Square, and Hubdoc. We also helped them establish a PO processing system. 

Our team has experience with food and manufacturing industries and we have tailored our advice to include structuring a chart of accounts to the industry norms and regulations. We can categorize businesses as manufactures, designers, and service-based businesses, but our services are relevant to all since we keep business owners on a consistent cadence to maintain their accounting. 

Results

Our team provided the breath and the depth of knowledge to be able to help the team in numerous stages of their growth from earlier startup stages, through acquisitions that they made and even through transition of entity types as well as, being their partner to address evolving accounting needs of the growing business. 

This company is growing quickly and we are assisting them in identifying software and systems that can help them address the next evolution in their business growth, particularly looking at elevating their PO processing and inventory management. Next on the list with them would be to onboard an ERM software to allow them to do further cost accounting.

A piece of financial advice for anyone in this industry, your work papers are your best friend. Knowing your balance sheet will save you tons of time recreating numbers in the future, and make your tax preparer love you!

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice.