A process built so nothing depends on one person's memory
Most accounting problems are process problems. Transactions get coded one way in March and another way in July. The close waits on the one person who knows where the documents live. No one has written down what a finished close looks like, so the books stay open until somebody needs a number.
We run every engagement the same way. A written scope defines the deliverables. A procedure document defines how each one gets produced. A closing calendar defines when it lands. If your dedicated accountant is out, the person covering opens the same procedure and produces the same result on the same day.
The work happens inside your systems, not ours. We operate in QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, and alongside Bill.com, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, Expensify and Ramp. You keep ownership of every login, every file and every historical record. Financial statements are prepared on the accrual basis under US GAAP or on the cash basis, whichever your scope calls for, and the basis is stated on the face of the package.
Discovery, transition, delivery, review
No stage starts until the one before it is signed off. That is what keeps the first close from turning into a surprise.
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1. Discovery and scoping
Two working sessions. The first covers your entities, chart of accounts, monthly transaction volume, bank and credit card accounts, payroll headcount, the states you file in, and your sales tax footprint. The second is a read-only look at the current file: trial balance, aged AR and AP, the last three closed months and any open reconciling items. You leave with a written scope listing every deliverable, its owner, its due date and a flat monthly fee. No work starts before you approve that scope.
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2. Transition and onboarding
We provision named user logins with the minimum permission each role needs, connect US bank and credit card feeds, and use read-only access anywhere write access is not required. We review the chart of accounts against how you actually report, consolidate duplicate accounts and map classes, locations or departments. Where history is incomplete, catch-up is quoted as its own fixed scope, and opening balances are tied to your last filed return or last reviewed period. Every recurring task is written into a procedure with approval thresholds and the exact report used to prove it is done.
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3. Steady-state delivery
Daily: transactions coded and matched, vendor bills entered in Bill.com, customer invoices issued, deposits applied. Weekly: an AP run prepared for your approval, AR aging with collection notes, and payroll run each pay cycle in Gusto, ADP or Paychex with the journal entry posted to the general ledger. Monthly: full reconciliation of every bank, credit card and loan account, accruals and prepaids, fixed asset and depreciation schedules, intercompany entries, sales tax returns, then a close package with balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and a variance note on every account that moved past your threshold.
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4. Review and improvement
Each quarter the engagement lead walks the numbers with you and reviews performance against the scope: days to close, items reopened after close, unreconciled balances, late filings and everything logged in the exception log. Procedures get updated in that meeting, not afterward. Once a year we refit the scope to actual volume so you stop paying for work that shrank, and we assemble the year-end package your CPA asks for: adjusted trial balance, reconciliations, fixed asset rollforward, 1099-NEC support, and the W-2, 941 and 940 filings for the year.
What happens week by week
A typical six-week transition for a single entity on QuickBooks Online or Xero. Multi-entity, multi-state and NetSuite or Sage Intacct environments run longer, and your committed dates are put in writing during week 1.
| Week | What we do | What you do | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Kickoff call, systems inventory, access requests, security and approval roles confirmed. | Approve user access. Introduce us to your bank, payroll provider and CPA. | Access matrix and dated transition plan. |
| Week 2 | Chart of accounts review and mapping, bank and credit card feed connection, opening balance tie-out. | A one-hour review call on account structure and reporting. | Approved chart of accounts and opening balances. |
| Week 3 | Historical cleanup: unreconciled items, undeposited funds, duplicate vendors, misapplied payments, prior period adjustments. | Answer coding questions on flagged transactions. | Cleanup log showing every adjustment and its reason. |
| Week 4 | Procedures written for AP, AR, payroll, expense coding and close, including cutoff dates and approval limits. | Confirm approval thresholds and payment signers. | Written procedures and closing calendar. |
| Week 5 | Parallel run of one full cycle. We produce the close while your current process runs as usual. | Compare both outputs and flag differences. | Parallel close results and difference list. |
| Week 6 | Go live. First full month closed on our calendar. Quarterly review scheduled. | Sign off on the first close package. | Month-end close package and review date. |
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Who actually works on your account
You are not assigned to a ticket queue. The same people do the work, review it and answer for it.
Your dedicated accountant
One named person handles your daily and monthly work. They learn your vendors, your coding rules and your approval limits, they sit on your recurring calls, and you have their direct email. This is not a rotating pool.
Senior reviewer
A second accountant reviews the close before it reaches you: reconciliations, accruals, unusual journal entries and anything outside the variance threshold. Nothing goes out on one set of eyes.
Engagement lead
Owns the relationship and the scope. Runs the quarterly review, handles scope and pricing changes, and is the escalation point when something needs a decision rather than an answer.
Specialist bench
Payroll tax, multi-state sales tax and nexus questions, AP volume spikes and year-end 1099-NEC runs draw on specialists, so your accountant is never learning a new filing on your deadline.
Learn moreWhat gets written down before we go live
Every item below exists as a document in your systems, not as knowledge in someone's head.
- Chart of accounts and reporting mapEvery account, what belongs in it, and how it rolls up on your statements.
- Coding rules by vendor and categoryWritten rules so the same transaction is coded the same way in every period.
- Approval thresholds and signersWho approves a bill at $500, who approves at $5,000, and who can release a payment run.
- Closing calendarCutoff dates, the business day each deliverable is due, and who is waiting on it.
- Reconciliation checklistEach bank, credit card, loan, merchant and payroll clearing account, with the report used as proof.
- Payroll and filing calendarPay dates, Form 941 and Form 940 deadlines, state withholding and unemployment schedules, W-2 and 1099-NEC timing.
- Sales tax registrationsEach state you are registered in, the filing frequency, and where each return is filed.
- Document storage and namingWhere statements, W-9s, contracts and support files live, and how they are named so anyone can find them.
Hours, handoffs and escalation
Outsourced work breaks at the handoffs. These are the rules that cover them.
- US business hours across time zonesYour team is scheduled against your local hours. Coverage runs from the start of the Eastern business day through the close of the Pacific business day, so a 4:30 PM question in California still gets a same day answer.
- A daily handoff logEvery account keeps a running log of what was completed, what is waiting on you, and what is blocked and why. When your accountant is out, whoever covers opens that log and keeps the calendar moving.
- One thread, not five inboxesQuestions go to a single shared address for your account, so your accountant, the reviewer and the engagement lead all see the same history. Nothing depends on someone remembering to forward an email.
- A defined escalation pathOpen items are chased at 24 hours, escalated to the senior reviewer at 48 hours and to the engagement lead at 72 hours. Anything touching a filing deadline, a payment release or a bank balance escalates immediately.
- Continuity by designProcedures, logins and support files live in your systems. Staffing changes on our side do not move your close date, because the next person follows the same written procedure.
What owners ask before they start
How long does onboarding really take?
Six weeks is typical for a reasonably clean set of books, one entity and single state payroll. Multi-entity, multi-state or NetSuite and Sage Intacct environments run longer. Heavy historical cleanup is scoped and quoted separately so it never becomes an open-ended delay. Committed dates go into the transition plan in week 1.
What if our books are badly behind?
That is common and it is a normal way to start. Catch-up is quoted as its own fixed scope with its own timeline so it does not slow steady-state work. Cleanup covers unreconciled items, undeposited funds, misapplied payments and prior period adjustments, and ends with opening balances tied to your last filed return or last reviewed period.
Do you work in our software or move us to yours?
Yours. We work in QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, and with Bill.com, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, Expensify and Ramp. If you want to change platforms, we can run the migration as a defined project, but it is never a condition of working with us.
Who signs off on the numbers?
You do. We prepare the close, the senior reviewer checks it, and you approve the package. We do not issue audits, reviews or compilations, and we do not sign tax returns. We prepare the workpapers and schedules your CPA needs and deliver them in the format they request.
How does this cost less than hiring in-house?
You pay for the hours your books actually need, plus review, instead of a salary, employer payroll taxes, benefits, software seats and the cost of covering vacation and turnover. Most clients run their back office for 40-60% less than a comparable in-house team. Where you land in that range depends on volume, entity count and how much cleanup the first quarter needs.
What happens if we want to stop?
Your data, logins and procedures are already in your systems. On exit we deliver a final close, a current reconciliation set and the procedure documents, then walk your in-house hire or new provider through the closing calendar. Nothing is held back.
Get a written scope and a fixed monthly quote, at no cost
Tell us what your month-end looks like today and we will map it against the process above, then send a scope with deliverables, due dates and a flat fee. Call (209) 456-5966 or email info@yfgconsultants.com for a free consultation and a no-cost quote.