At The Access Group, we work with accounting firms of all sizes to help them select the right accounting practice management software for their practice.
In our article, we'll apply all our knowledge from years of working with accountants to discuss client accounting services and define precisely what this means with client accounting examples.
We'll show you how to choose the best client accounting service format, so by the end of reading this article, you'll know the most suitable model for your accounting firm.
What is client accounting?
Client accounting services (CAS) go beyond the scope of traditional bookkeeping.
Accounting firms that engage in client accounting services provide a holistic service for their client's business, acting similarly to an outsourced accounting department.
Client accounting means that accounting firms can offer a deeper level of financial management, advanced management reporting and business advisory support to business clients.
Client accounting examples
Outsourced client accounting services will typically consist of the following services:
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable and invoicing
- Reconciling accounts
- Creating financial statements
- Tax planning and preparation
- Wealth management
- Consulting
Taking things one step further, client accounting services can include an advisory component, including:
- Cash flow analysis (such as cash management and reconciliation)
- Advanced management reporting
- Virtual CFO services, such as financial strategy planning, and market analysis
- Benchmarking and assisting with KPIs (key performance indicators)
What are some benefits of client accounting services?
Client accounting services offer many benefits for accounting firms, including:
- Business advisory becomes easier: Clients no longer want their accountants to be exclusively number crunchers; they're seeking firms to develop working relationships with that will evolve into a more business advisory capacity.
- Standardising workflows: When you provide client accounting services, you're in control of workflows and data, which means your firm can standardise and automate where necessary.
- More efficiencies in compliance: You'll be able to save time, as it'll be faster for your firm to complete its books.
- A better client experience: With client accounting services, you'll be an integral part of your client's day-to-day business management, which can help you forge a deeper client relationship.
- Offering business clients an easy solution: Many small-to-medium businesses are preoccupied with the day-to-day of operating their business without thinking strategically. Client accounting services offer business advice founded on data and insights, and strategic guidance that can help businesses to grow in both size and revenue.
What are the objectives of client accounting services?
Client accounting services help businesses needing more resources or expertise to maintain an accounting department in-house.
By outsourcing their accounting functions to a firm they trust, these businesses will benefit significantly by having access to accurate management of their finances, valuable insights into their performance, and someone to maintain their compliance and regulations.
Additional objectives of client accounting services for businesses may include:
- Reducing the costs of hiring accounting professionals in-house.
- Scalability of increasing or decreasing resources for businesses depending on timelines and workloads
- The need to access the expertise of skilled, experienced accountants who can provide an accurate and timely accounting service.
- Wanting to focus on core business operations without distraction.
- The need to make strategic decisions based on data and insights.
How do you manage workflow for client accounting services?
You'll be pleased to hear that there is an abundance of software for accountants that can help you manage workflows for client accounting services.
In this section, we’ll highlight two in particular that may help client accounting services to take flight: client management software and workflow software.
Client management software for accounting practices can help you track client accounting activities with your clients, such as calls, appointments and emails. You can also work with your entire accounting team to improve client accounting communications.
Workflow software for accounting practices is vital for client accounting services, helping you improve project management, track the progress of tasks and streamline processes so you can complete jobs faster.
Choosing the correct client accounting service format for your business
As you will have read in this article, client accounting services is a broad term that can include many services.
The type of services you include in your outsourced client accounting packages will mostly depend on your clients' needs. For some business clients, traditional accounting and bookkeeping services may be enough to meet their requirements, but medium-sized businesses looking to grow, and scale may need strategic direction, which falls under the category of business advisory services.
Typically, outsourced client accounting services packages include:
- Transactional services: including accounting and bookkeeping tasks, accounts receivable and accounts payable, payroll and cash flow management.
- Compliance services: tax preparation and lodgment, tax planning, auditing, preparing financial statements and reporting.
- Business advisory services: benchmarking and KPIs, business performance analysis, cash flow forecasting and business management reporting.
Conclusion
To summarise, client accounting services help accounting firms take one extra step in meeting their clients' financial and accounting needs.
By implementing outsourced client accounting services in your accounting firm, you'll take your services beyond traditional bookkeeping to a deeper level of support for your business clients.
If you're looking for the right software for accountants as you embark on your journey towards client accounting service offerings, look no further than The Access Group.
Perform your client accounting services in one place
At The Access Group, our data collection, ledger, tax preparation and lodgment software are available within a single platform for all your client accounting needs.
With our tax and ledger compliance software, you will be able to perform your client accounting services by using seamless workflows from accounting through to tax returns without needing to rekey any data.
Talk to a specialist today to learn about our tax and ledger compliance software, which is trusted by over 8,000 accounting practices across Australia and New Zealand.