Public Office is a creative services agency located in Toronto that prides itself on “tapping into the power of your brand.” But the amount of time they were starting to spend managing the finances and administrative details of their business was starting to get in the way of their ability to focus on their client work. That’s when they turned to Finally.
“Since engaging the team, we’ve been recognizing revenue differently, implemented timesheets to support our quoting process, and are having regular conversations and reports around our financial performance with the partner team. Overall, the experience of working with this team has greatly changed the financial management of our business for the better, and our growth is directly attributed to their support.”
Lindsay Durney, Managing Director & Partner, Public Office
Our services went above and beyond standard bookkeeping
Simple bookkeeping wasn’t going to cut it for the Public Office team. They knew they were missing out on potentially groundbreaking financial insight that would unlock untapped potential and launch their business to new heights.
Finally’s specialized support:
- Enhanced financial clarity
- Provided transparency over client profitability
- Increased efficiency and productivity
- Enabled informed decision-making and peace of mind
With our expertise, Public Office could focus on their creative work while having confidence in the financial health and performance of their business.
Public Office’s Primary Business Problem
Previously, Public Office had partnered with a generalist remote accounting provider who lacked subject matter expertise, leading to ineffective communication and inaccurate accounting. Basic things like distinguishing between a cost of sale and an overhead expense were not done, which meant the leadership team had to rely on their own tracking systems to understand how their clients were performing vs. their accounting system.
Compounding those issues was a lack of timeliness: the accounting service outsourced their labor to a different time zone, so it was a challenge to get responses from the team quickly.
All of these missteps meant that the Public partners were spending more time thinking and worrying about the accounting for their business than they should — and for all the wrong reasons. At a certain point, the most informed decision Public Office could make was to turn to a different remote accounting firm to get the job done.
Public Office’s Accounting Goals
It’s a testament to their acumen that Public Office ran a healthy business — inaccurate and untimely bookkeeping notwithstanding. However, the owners valued their time, and sought an accounting partner that valued their time too. Their goal was to find a high-quality accounting solution they could trust and reduce the frustration they felt with their outmoded processes. This way, they could continue growing their client base and delivering excellent services.
We engaged the Finally team to streamline our business bookkeeping as we were growing and needed to level up our tracking, expenses, and growth plan. We were thrilled to learn about many additional services they have expertise in, which made our decision to switch a no-brainer.
Lindsay Durney, Managing Director & Partner, Public Office
How Finally Helped Them Get There
Finally provided Public Office with an accounting team solution that included:
- Advisory
- Financial planning & analysis
- Financial reporting
- Day-to-day accounting
Right off the bat, we elevated their financial product by building an annual plan with the leadership team that captured their business goals. This helped them understand what they needed to do to realize their goals for the year. We also:
- Re-organized their chart of accounts to make it easy to interpret their financial statements. Financial reporting that tracked important financial metrics like net revenue, staff cost ratios, and overhead ratios is now delivered monthly.
- At Public’s request, implemented timesheets so that they could get a better estimate of client profitability and so they can improve their pricing over time.
- Transitioned the business to accrual revenue recognition, which is critical for any agency that pre-bills in order for the financial statements to more accurately represent business performance.
- Designed and executed a monthly management reporting pack that allowed the owners to understand company performance, client performance, and productivity of team members.
- Eliminated aged receivables: the team stayed on top of collections and appropriately elevated their communication if clients’ payments were past due.
Public Office’s previous accounting solution had bred mistrust in the accuracy and reliability of the company’s accounting information. Finally rebuilt that trust.
We made sure Public Office connected with our proactive accounting team within 24 hours of reaching out, and we empowered Public’s leadership team to make confident decisions with accurate financial results and forecasts. At last, the owners felt they had insight into their future performance. They also had time: time to focus on growing their business and themselves.
Are you ready to get your time back? Reach out to our team.