Basis 365 Accounting

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Directive Consulting and manage a lot of our financials. We're a B2B search marketing agency and help other B2B enterprise companies grow their marketing qualities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting.

We were looking for someone to manage our bookkeeping for us. We wanted to outsource our accounting to someone, so they could do it under an accrual basis instead of a cash basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage our books and now do more advanced accounting. Now we’re able to break out service lines where we’re making more of our revenue. They’ve also become more involved with budget and cash planning.

We have someone in-house who runs admin and does accounts receivable, but we didn’t think it made sense to have them spend their time bookkeeping and reconciling the accounts. It was more affordable and made more sense to outsource it.

Transactions come in and Basis 365  assigns them to the proper accounts, and they can help me with cash based questions. They do most of the research by themselves to figure out where stuff goes and then they send me a spreadsheet at the end of the month.

The main tools they use are Xero and Fathom. Fathom helps us do situational planning and creates data visualizations allowing us to see our growth rate. If we wanted to increase our profit margin, we can see what tactics we can use to get there, maybe its increase volume or decrease cost and Fathom will increase your price to your goal. It creates scenarios which can be really strategic with our pricing and with our operations.

What is the team dynamic?

There are 3 people that I work with, but I send everything by email and one of them will respond.

How did you come to work with Basis 365 Accounting?

We shared a co-working space when we were both getting started. We were doing their marketing and decided to outsource our bookkeeping and accounting to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They’ve created additional resources for us to focus on other areas of our business where we can grow.

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very great about communication. They’re always on time and it’s really helpful. They’re great at meeting the deadlines and making sure all the work is done. They’re doing really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're always available for insight. They do a good job of answering my questions and I don't have to worry about them sending an invoice each and every time I ask them a question. I like the way they do billing and can add insight in a financially feasible way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not at all. They’re doing everything I would imagine an outsourced bookkeeping provider could do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have someone who is going to be Basis 365's point of contact and help them if they ever have questions. Make sure it's someone who can quickly communicate with them to have the support they need to do their job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Conservaco has a sub-brand called Ignite Agency, among others. We focus on the digital marketing and advertising space, with a particular specialty in the area of equity and non-equity crowdfunding campaign development and management, which includes Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, and multimillion-dollar fundraising for clients. We also work with clients not interested in crowdfunding, on website development, public relations, social media, graphic design, video production and many other marketing and public relations initiatives.

I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting?

In my 40 years of experience, I’ve learned that it’s essential for the management and CEO of a company to have real-time financial and reporting information, and have solid controls in place, ensuring that money and expenditures are documented and maintained properly, on a day-to-day basis. I sought Basis 365 out because they were a young, dynamic firm which offered a contemporary, real-time software solution, the Xero platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basis 365 brought a level of expertise and consultation which was helpful as we were developing everything from chartered accounts through to processes and integrations with banking, credit cards and so on. After the initial signup, we spent the early days setting up the Xero platform, working with Basis 365 in order to get a proper chart of our accounts, and importing any prior transaction data of the company. We have online access which allows me to review the status of our financial reporting and any items coming through our banking or credit cards, and confirm those transactions. I’m able to look at histories, and create all kinds of different reports, querying the system around any question I might have. Xero has been a drastic improvement over other types of accounting software out there.

More recently, in May 2017, we’ve added payroll implementation through Gusto, which is being managed and supported by Basis 365. It was another solution brought to help us manage our payroll processing.

The initial onboarding process was quick, getting us up-and-running within a week or two. We usually finalize financials by the 15th of the month and often know well in advance what the likely final numbers will be. This works for us because we don’t need a faster closure.

What is the team dynamic?

There are at least two people overseeing the day-to-day transaction activity. Rhett [Co-founder, Basis 365 Accounting] has always made himself accessible when I needed it.

How much have you invested with them?

I prefer to keep this confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Basis 365 three and a half years ago. The relationship is ongoing; we’ve expanded it with other companies within our group. As our company grew, so did our relationship with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Having a real-time grasp of the financial condition of the company—pending invoices and the monitoring of costs on a real-time basis—has been a tremendous help. Firstly, it cut down on potential errors, being billed for something without being aware of it, only finding out about it months later. We have real-time visualizations, so the likelihood of unknown charges occurring drops dramatically. Having proper documentation on everything helps enormously—if we have to go back any period of time and try to understand why a transaction occurred, we’re able to see what we spend the money on, and why, linking it to whatever description we applied to those charges. It’s been tremendously helpful for me to have this understanding.

Their service has certainly saved us a lot of money, given that we don’t need to have a full staff of accounting people onboard. This is an important thing for a growing company. For a company of our size, growing rapidly and with clients who may not always pay on time, having a good grasp of what our expenses, obligations and incoming funds are, is critical.

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve provided incredibly helpful people at every step of the way, who have been patient and informative in helping us manage our processes better. They’ve been prompt in responding to and resolving any questions I might have had. They’re outstanding in terms of timelines and communication. I can reach out to them by email or phone regarding any question. We have a good structure regarding our expectations, and they’re good at reconciling transactions on a day-to-day basis, and if they don’t understand an item, they will email me with any questions or post them in the system where I can also respond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with other accounting services in the past. Basis 365 offers a combination of the Xero accounting system, the Gusto payroll system, and the actual process used by their team for making sure that we are current in our reporting and reconciliations on a day-to-day basis. It’s outstanding customer service which I’ve never seen from any other organization in the past. Basis 365 gives me confidence in an area which can be confusing and frustrating at times, accounting.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I am satisfied with the services they’ve provided, and, if there is any feedback, we share it with them. I have no pending or deferred comments to make at this point. I would highly recommend Basis 365 to new and established companies looking for a better accounting process, along with the support provided.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a management consulting firm working exclusively with the life sciences sector, including biotech, pharma, diagnostics and medical devices. We provide comprehensive consulting services covering the value chain including research, clinical development, manufacturing and supply chain, and commercial. We are unique in that our staff is composed of only seasoned industry-focused
consultants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting?

We were outsourcing accounting to allow our consulting staff to devote more of their valuable time to our clients instead of managing internal operations. Outsourcing to our first service provider saved a little bit of time, but not as much as we expected from the relationship. We didn’t have peace of mind, and I was doing a lot of oversight and double checking. Our original service provider was not adequately scaling to our business, so we initiated a new search and found Basis 365.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We retained Basis 365 to manage our accounting operations, but to do that in a streamlined and scalable manner we needed to go through an onboarding phase to standardize our project controls and migrate to a scalable and user-friendly suite of tools that would provide financial transparency, project-level transparency, and enable compliance amongst our staff. Basis 365 migrated our cash-basis Quickbooks accounting and prepared us for more accurate accrual-based tracking in Xero, our accounting platform. They introduced us to Workflowmax, a work management system, that allows us to manage our full project lifecycle from lead generation to staff assignments to project level financial reporting to invoicing. They fully integrated the work management platform into Xero. We were previously using Gusto, Bill.com, and Expensify which they also fully integrated into our accounting operations. This minimized the organizational change management to get my team up and running in the new ecosystem.

Since the migration, Basis 365 has been running all of our accounting operations including bookkeeping, invoicing, accounts payable/receivable management, monthly close, and both monthly and annual financial statement for tax preparation. They even provide quarterly financial performance analysis and insights to help me manage the business. Over just a few months of collaboration, we’ve shifted from weekly 1-hour meetings to bi-weekly 1-hour meetings to 30-minute bi-weekly meetings at my request. My goal is 30 minutes monthly. The decreasing time on calls is indicative of my continually increasing confidence in the team, and the full transparency they have created through WorkflowMax and Xero, where I can pull reports faster than emailing a request.

Our overall project controls toolkit is much more effective than it was before. Instead of people coming to me for project financial or remaining budget updates, my account managers and project leads just log into the systems and look for themselves.

They have delivered extremely well on my very simple needs – saving me time and giving me confidence that my numbers are accurate so I can spend less time in the back office and more time with my staff and clients.

How did you come to work with Basis 365 Accounting?

I’d evaluated basis during our initial accounting outsourcing initiative. They were slightly more expensive than the provider we selected, who was using Quickbooks, a platform more familiar to me.

My price sensitivity during early years of growth came at the expense of setting up scalable and truly turnkey systems. After a couple years, when I couldn’t afford the time and financial risk of using our other provider, I reached back out to Basis 365 for a quote, and we moved very quickly from there.

How much have you invested with them?

They charge us a flat fee for services per month as per our contract. They have multiple service offerings depending on the necessary amount of coaching, feedback, and financial management support your business may need. I signed up for one of their lower support tiers because I ran the books personally for years – so I already knew our business in excruciating detail. If our needs grow, then I will reach out and ask for an increased level of support.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Basis 365 since March 2017. Things are going very well so I don't see an end to this engagement anytime soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I was working 10–12 hours per week on accounting and financial management oversight, on top of 40-50 hours per week of client work and more time coaching my staff. 40-50 hours per month of bookkeeping, invoice generation, timecard review, report generation, and AP/AR [Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable] tracking has dropped to a few hours a month. This gives me more time with clients, more time with my staff, and more time with my family. The time back is priceless, and the business is running more smoothly.

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job, and I would rate them very highly. Every migration has hiccups, and the Basis 365 staff stepped in to cover for some of my own staff who I had assigned to lead the migration, and for a third-party system configurator of WorkflowMax. They did not let the ball drop.

What did you find most impressive about them?

All of the Basis 365 team members are extremely knowledgeable and experienced. I don’t feel like they are just logging transactions. The staff independently thinks on our company's behalf, flags issues early, and proactively offers solutions. They truly understand our business, and this is why I have confidence in them.They have a very good robust process, knowledgeable staff and they pay attention to details, which gave us the confidence to outsource our accounting. I haven’t had any worry about the health, accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of our financial data.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had some technical issues at the beginning of the project, like how we were going to successfully connect Expensify to the Xero system. I would have liked to have known that beforehand, beforehand, but sometimes experimenting and a little trial and error are necessary, especially as these fairly nascent SaaS platforms evolve.

There’s isn’t anything from the relationship or operations that I’m concerned about. I’m very happy with their work. They offered me as much time as I wanted for weekly consultations regarding the books. I’m the person right now asking for shorter, less frequent meetings because I’m so comfortable with the way they handle things.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

At the end of the day, quality is more important than cost because low quality in accounting will cost much more. In the initial biddings, I chose a low-cost provider and definitely ended up getting what I paid for. I had years of headaches as a result.

Don’t be pennywise pound foolish. Don’t undervalue relationships when you’re trusting somebody with your financial health. Choose a service provider that cares about the quality of their work, about you and your business. Make sure they know why you need them – for me the measure of success was time back. I believe clearly communicating that up front was critical. Choose peace of mind!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of Active Theory. We are a digital production company based in Venice, California. We make web-based experiences such as installations, apps, games, and websites for brands and ad agencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting?

We needed a bookkeeping and accounting service that was familiar with technology and our industry. We wanted one that was using web-based tools like Xero, an online-based accounting software package.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started off providing bookkeeping and basic accounting services. Their services have changed a little bit over the course of these years. We have also been working with them on financial tracking and financial modeling services. They set up a dashboard for us which allows us to get access to charts to view and predict key metrics for the company. Their service is great. They’re also keen and into technology, so they're constantly looking for new ways to improve their process, and we really appreciate that.

I wanted to use Xero because we had a bad experience with other accounting packages that were out there, and we wanted a web-based solution so that I could access various reports, everything from anywhere. I had read a little bit on Xero and they seemed like they were getting good reviews.

I assumed that any accounting company that used a tech-forward solution like Xero would be relatively forward-thinking themselves. It turns out that Basis 365 is forward-thinking and they do use Xero, so those things worked out. They exposed us to a few other web-based tools that they use for managing their books and clients.

What is the team dynamic?

I work with Rhett [Co-Founder, Basis 365], as well as a couple of others like Kristen [Accountant, Basis 365], Elicia [Lead Accountant, Basis 365], and sometimes Mike [Co-Founder, Basis 365]. Kristen is mainly my day-to-day point of contact, and Elicia does the general bookkeeping. If there's anything complex, I'll reach out to Rhett.

How did you come to work with Basis 365 Accounting?

We have read reviews about Xero being great, and we found Basis 365 on a Xero case study. I gave Basis 365 a call and they came up to visit us in Venice.

We had a chat about our business needs. We interviewed 5-6 other solutions, some of them web-based and some of them local accounting services, and we decided to go with Rhett and Mike. Their passion for their work was the most appealing to us, and they seemed like the most switched-on and interested. We're glad we made that choice.

How much have you invested with them?

I prefer to keep this confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together for 3 years, possibly a little bit more

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They've eased my personal workload. They generate management reports for us regularly. Prior to using Basis 365, we had a really average accountant which caused us a lot of problems. They went back through all of that work and tidied it all up. They basically do the role of a full-time employee but they do it remotely. They're able to do it really effectively by doing it remotely and managing it online. They don't need to put as many hours in as a full-time employee, so it's more cost-effective for us.

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great. They use online project tools to manage their workflow, like Redbooth and FUTRLI. I think a lot of their staff is remote and work at different times, which is fine by us; there’s no negative impact to the way we work.

As soon as I log a question or an issue in Redbooth, they'll get back to me promptly. I think their level of service is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It's their absorption and understanding of technology for an accounting and financial services firm. There's a lot of companies out there that claim to be up to speed with technology, but you could tell that these guys really love and enjoy technology, which is a good fit for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. If I ever do have feedback, I would just give it straight to Rhett. Everything is going well; it's a good relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be willing and ready to work with online tools, understanding that they and some of their staff work remotely. Communicate clearly with them and you'll get good service. They helped us throughout the learning process.

They don't insist on using certain technologies; they cater their solutions to their client's needs. We wanted Xero and they offered it. It was a good fit for us. I'm sure they offer other types of solutions as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Smarty Social Media is a digital agency that creates social content and digital strategies for brands on social media. As the business operations manager, I'm responsible for accounting, HR, and reporting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting?

I believe we were initially looking to outsource some of the work and needed an accountant to work as a silent partner and help grow the business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basis 365 handles our payroll, invoicing, and bookkeeping, maintaining corporate compliance. They also process our monthly management reports and quarterly reports of the business around profit margins, income statements, and cash flow. They also provide insight into what they see and make suggestions on what we can do to better perform as a company.

They maintain an alignment with me, making sure my timesheets and budgets are being properly accounted for each campaign so that we can see a much larger picture of what we’re offering clients. 

We use their WorkflowMax solution, which helps with time tracking and making sure we can properly input our contractors and internal staffs time against the correct job/campaign. Otherwise, it would be hard to know where each of our hours was being spent.

What is the team dynamic?

We work with three of their members—there is an overall account director, a member responsible for statements of work and invoicing, and another member responsible for everything that falls in-between, like time reporting for clients and campaigns, who is also my go-to person for every one-off need.

How did you come to work with Basis 365 Accounting?

I wasn’t here when the group was first approached. I know they initially came onboard as a silent partner helping us behind-the-scenes. Basis 365 was an affordable choice for what we needed at the time.

How much have you invested with them?

The monthly fee for their services averages around $1,900.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Basis 365 in October 2014. As our business continues to grow, I’m sure they will be able to provide the resources we need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Basis 365’s reporting and suggestions are tremendously helpful. They have helped us stay in compliance and organized as we have grown from one employee to seven, and from five contractors to fifteen. 

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

All our work is done through a system called Redbooth, where we can create tasks and share information as if they were in our office. We have monthly reports to go over the state of the business and have quarterly meeting reviews. 

They respond quickly, and we’ve developed a routine by which I know that if I need something, I can ask for it and receive it on time. They also know my routine of sending material.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like working with their staff. They make my life easier. I can tell them what I’m looking for and they can produce it that day, or even the next morning before I arrive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they could improve in at this time, as we work well together.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The best advice I can give is for clients to understand the paperless industry, specifically how to scan and share documents. It will make their lives so much easier, especially in the case of the older business workforce.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

RSG Inc. is a consulting firm working with public agencies throughout the state of California in the areas of affordable housing, economic health, real estate, and successor-agency services. We provide a wide variety of consulting, primarily for cities and counties in the state. I am a principal and the treasurer of the firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Basis 365 Accounting?

We had another accounting firm, but it was using an old and outdated system. We decided to start a bid for a new partner, and we also gave our accountant at that time an opportunity to submit. We wanted a system for time-entry invoicing which would provide more flexibility and reporting. Our old system made it hard to get data out and look at business metrics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basis 365 helped us with the setup of our complete transition to the new system, and also helped with addressing invoicing and how we coded our jobs. We needed to continue to operate during the transition in order to not lose momentum.

Due to working for cities and counties, each of our clients have their own job code. However, even though we may be working on multiple jobs with different budgets for one client, they need to be invoiced at the same time. We had to figure out ways to link those jobs together in the system in order to transition data. There was a cut-off date by the year’s end, and we still had jobs in progress. We needed to make sure all the budget amounts were transitioned accurately.

We used Basis 365’s Xero tool, which is more of an accounting software. WorkflowMax is a time-entry tool compatible with Xero, so we’ve used it more internally as it gives us tons of great reporting. It also allows us to review items by client, product line, staff, billables, and billable hours. The process is different from a construction job where the development is done in phases, because we have to account for every 15-minute time increment and then bill to public agencies.

We’re now able to accurately track time and money spent on projects. The reporting capabilities of WorkflowMax have been invaluable to the firm, and Basis 365 has even helped us figure out how to create some of those reports.

When we originally contracted with them in November 2014, they were helping us transition to a new system and figuring out how to do invoicing, payroll, monthly closing, and general reporting. In November 2016, we increased their scope to the controller level of service. This allowed us to rely on them for more performance analysis reporting. They’re also helping us prepare information used in our monthly partner packets so that we can better make business decisions. They help us with future revenue forecasting and other financial reports.

How did you come to work with Basis 365 Accounting?

We reviewed multiple proposals and selected Basis 365 because of the tools they offered, particularly the WorkflowMax time-entry and invoicing system. We knew it would help us analyze business metrics, and we appreciated its compatibility and ease of use.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $4,000 per month based on their current level of service. We started lower, but there was also an initial setup fee.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2014, and we have an ongoing relationship. The transition took 6 months to complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve seen the profit in our firm grow tremendously since we increased their services to the controller level, and also because partners aren’t having to spend their time on reporting. There are probably internal reasons for this as well.

As the financial officer of the company, I was spending a lot of my time on these things. Just on a personal level, my billable hours have increased by 20-30 per month, which means more revenue to the firm. Our administrator can manage her own workflow as well, whereas before it was too much for us to handle internally.

How did Basis 365 Accounting perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been able to call them and schedule a meeting if I have any issues. We can discuss it, then come up with a scope collaboratively in a trial-and-error process. In my mind, the transitions have been easy, except for a few normal mishaps. They’re easy to work with, open, and communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility, compared to how most accountants think, is impressive. Basis 365 was willing to come up with new ideas and solutions, and helped us with what we needed instead of being stuck on how things were done in the past. It was refreshing to see that they cared about our needs, and understood why we wanted to switch systems.

They’re pleasant to work with, communicate well, and give us the impression of being a part of the team. I know that we pay them a monthly fee, but it feels like Basis 365 is one of us because they’re just as invested in our business as we are.

Basis 365 also handles bill payment. Once, when someone went on vacation, we got a late fee, but they figured it out and made up the difference. They’ve always made things right.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, they had too many tools, like Redbooth, for communication. These are great, but having to go to too many places made it hard for us to follow. Also, we wanted more detailed summaries from them following meetings on what our next steps were. Basis 365 does follow through, but it would be nice to see something written for reference. Overall, they do a good job.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

For me, there is a tendency to rely on email communication, but it can become too much to keep up with. What worked well for us was having quarterly meetings where they came to our firm and worked with us on where we’re heading, what our goals are, and how those fit into the services they provide. This has been useful for us in aligning both teams.