Professional Services

Welcome to OneSource!

We’re excited to be working with you!
We want your experience to be the BEST possible, therefore we have developed this Client Success Guide to outline our goals, roles, responsibilities, expectations, process, and FAQ for everything that we’ll be doing for you.

 

Our Purpose

OneSource has dedicated itself to liberating business leaders and advisors from uncertainty and stress.
As our client, you are an integral part of this mission.

 

Goals

Our goal is to empower you with accurate and near real-time financials and advice so you can accelerate strategic and informed decisions. This means we will:

• Provide you with accurate and timely financial reporting with the least possible effort from you.
• Try to reach as close to real-time financials as possible
• Ensure you’re completely satisfied with your accounting function and you’re getting the support you need.
• Advise and add value when the opportunities arise

 

Our Core Values

These are the core values we work and live by every day, we ask that you embrace them and expect nothing less from of us :

• Avoid complacency, strive for excellence
• If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen
• Transparency

 

Roles & Responsibilities

Your Role

• Provide one point of contact
• Respond to questions or open items from our team within 5 days
  • Any time spent addressing responses received after 5 days will be subject to billable support hours.
  • This ensures that there are no bottlenecks in your accounting and tax cycle, therefore allowing us to constantly deliver on time.
• Do not run personal transactions through the business accounts
• Let us know when:
  • you hire employees that will work or live in a new state.
  • there is a change in ownership, or you want to change ownership
  • you want to make a large purchase or investment into the business
• Pay managing partners/shareholders reasonable compensation (market rate) via guaranteed payments (for partnerships) or payroll (for S-corps/C-corps)
• Request W-9s from any service provider, lender, and landlord for which you are not paying via debit/credit card before paying them (if you pay a vendor). 
• Do not pay employees outside of payroll. 
• Send manual check images, payment confirmations, invoices, and receipts to:
  • [email protected]
• When creating invoices:
  • Add the month and year for which the services are performed in the description of the invoice line items
  • Date invoices in the same month that services related to that invoice are performed. Use the service item that is mapped directly to revenue on the P&L.  
  • If you must invoice a client in advance of or after the month in which services related to that invoice are performed, use a service item that is mapped to a Deferred Revenue account on the Balance Sheet. 
• Stay engaged with your client advisor, and keep them in the loop about everything. Take advantage of Unlimited Access, this is not a gimmick.
• Provide feedback – both negative and positive so we can improve and build upon our strengths.
• Trust in our process and procedures

Our Role

• Provide one point of contact after the onboarding stage – the Client Advisor
• Answer your questions via email, text, phone, or Zoom.
• Ensure the scope of work is executed timely and accurately

How We Work

Our team works fully remote. We have team members and clients across the US. We also have a team in Armenia that supports our Client Advisor team, and an India team that supports our internal operations. Our relationship is virtual, but when possible we try to meet you in person. This strategy allows us to contribute an unparalleled amount of time, resources, and attention to your books and engagement at a reasonable price point.

Our Teams

We have the following positions in our firm :

US Team

• Partner
• Supervisor
• Account Manager

India Team

• Accountant I

Our US team is comprised of CPAs and staff members, and our overseas client-serving accountants have all earned accounting degrees at the minimum and gone through a rigorous training program. We take excellence and quality control very seriously, and each one of our team members is living proof of that.

When your dedicated client advisor is on vacation, another US-based CPA will serve as your point of contact, however, the work and deliverables will not be affected because the accountant team will continue delivering. This is the value of the Team-Based Approach. 

To successfully execute a Team-Based Approach, we document every single task, procedure, and nuance related to you so we can transfer knowledge between team members seamlessly.

 

Systems Used to Work With You

Karbon

Karbon is our engine. It houses every single task and email that gets executed in our firm along with start dates and due dates. It’s also used to streamline the open item and document request process with you. Karbon allows us to consolidate all tasks and requests so there aren’t information silos and allows our team to collaborate with you as seamlessly as possible.

The first time you receive a request from Karbon you will be asked to enter a four-digit PIN. Thereafter, each time you complete a request, you will be asked to enter the PIN. We request open items through Karbon very frequently so we recommend getting used to using this tool. It’s very frictionless! 

Practice Protect

Elepass is our password management tool. It’s the secure web-based login credential application that we use to seamlessly request login credentials from you.

Zoom

Given our virtual work environment, we love to have all our meetings through Zoom. You will be provided with a calendly.com meeting link that allows you to book Zoom meetings with your Client Advisor at any time.

Xero & Quickbooks Online

Xero and Quickbooks Online (QBO) serve as a truth for accounting data. This is where we will perform your accounting and house documentation for transactions. When in doubt, you can refer to QBO or Xero! 

Fathom

Fathom is the system used to share your monthly financial statements and analyses for your business. You will be required to set up an account to access your monthly deliverable. It includes an endless amount of analysis and financial planning tools. We encourage you to spend some time in there playing around.

 

The Process

So you’re probably wondering what to expect and what the next steps are for each service item in your proposal. Here is the process:

Onboarding

Your relationship with us starts with the onboarding. You will be introduced to your Senior Onboarding Specialist via email as soon as your proposal is signed and payment information is provided.

Our Senior Onboarding Specialist will guide you through the onboarding process. Within the first week, they will review your accounting system and discovery call notes and send you a client task checklist through Karbon requesting access to the necessary systems. They will also provide a timeline for the onboarding and next steps.

The onboarding process can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks depending on :

• Your response rate
• Condition of your books
• Our ability to get the appropriate access

Weekly Snapshot

If you have the Essentials plan, then each Wednesday you will receive an email from your client advisor with cash balance, Accounts Receivable, unpaid bills, and bill payments.

Month-End Financial Statements & Analysis via Fathom

You will receive an email from Fathom to view your monthly reports and analysis. You can print these reports to PDF if you prefer, but we recommend viewing them live because they are interactive reports.

Payroll Processing & Management w/ Gusto

If your monthly plan includes the Payroll Processing & Management w/ Gusto service item, then we will do the following :

• We will send you client tasks three days before the payroll submission date requesting if there are any changes that have not been added to Gusto or ADP.
• Review any changes to ensure they’re updated accurately in Gusto or ADP (benefits, state registrations, tax withholdings, etc.).
• Process and submit the payroll.

You are responsible for the following : 

• Responding to our payroll requests within 24 hours
• Ensuring there are adequate funds in any bank accounts from which you authorize us to process payroll.
• Onboarding and adding new employees* in Gusto or ADP
• Choosing your benefits plan
• Removing terminated employees from other systems besides payroll (QBO, Bill.com, Expensify, etc.)

*When you hire employees through Gusto or ADP, then the employee will receive an email to set up their profile and update their tax information. You will be responsible for making sure employees follow this protocol. Here is the employee help center for more information.

Bill Pay & Vendor Reconciliation

If you have the Thrive plan, then your monthly plan includes Bill Pay & Vendor Reconciliation. We will do the following:

• Monday-Tuesday
  • Address emails in Accounting@*
  • Download and save bills and receipts sent to Dext
  • Add these bills into Bill.com and QBO/Xero, then route them for payment approval
  • Request W-9s from vendors who have upcoming bills due

• Wednesday
  • Send payment or payment request details to vendors after calculating the reconciled cash balance.
  • Include the bill payments on the weekly snapshot report

*Please be aware that we only check the [email protected] inbox on the days listed above, we do not check it every day in order to stay efficient. Therefore, urgent requests should be emailed directly to your Client Advisor. 

You are responsible for the following:

• Ensuring all bills are sent to [email protected] with the appropriate account and class coding.
• Sending all bills that need to be paid on Wednesday to [email protected] by 12 AM EST each Tuesday. All bills sent to [email protected] after this deadline will be paid in the following week’s bill pay cycle.
• Ensuring there are adequate funds in any bank accounts from which you authorize us to disburse funds to vendors.
• Approving bills for payment in Bill.com only if they are coded correctly and addressed to the correct vendor.

1099 Preparation & Filing

Payments by vendor are tracked in QBO or Xero for 1099 filing purposes throughout the year. At the end of December and/or beginning of January, we will reach out to request missing vendor information needed to file the 1099s. The 1099s will be filed by January 31.

Tax Return Preparation & Filing

Your books are tax-ready throughout the year. Once we close out December your books will generally be ready for tax preparation. You will receive a year-end checklist from us in January to confirm some items such as shareholder/partner changes. Once we receive the responses to these items, we will begin preparing the returns. As long as all responses are received in five days, we should have the tax returns completed by the end of February, unless the IRS delays the issuance of tax forms. Your client advisor will keep you in the loop about this.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where do you draw the line with unlimited access? What are support hours?

• If a team member leaves a meeting with additional work as a result of the meeting, then this additional work is considered out of scope and subject to billable support hours. The exception is if the additional work is related directly to the scope of work. Your client advisor will let you know if a service is subject to support hours. Support hours are billed at a blended rate of $225/hour.

• Who is responsible for tax notices?

• Please send all tax notices to [email protected]. If the tax notice is related to work performed by our team, then addressing the notice is considered in-scope no matter how long it takes. If the tax notice is related to work performed by you or your previous accountant, then the time attributable to resolving the notices is considered billable support hours.

• What do you do to protect my data and information?

• We manage our client data using Microsoft 365 and V2 Cloud. Microsoft 365 provides us with the tools to assess current and historical security postures and to mitigate future risks. Each of these tools, including dashboards, reports, and MS Secure Score, are designed to provide the visibility, control, and guidance to drive maximum security improvements. Microsoft 365 also provides means to protect and govern data with sensitivity and retention labels, and provides access to compliance and privacy solutions. V2 Cloud provides the latest security in their data centers, servers, and private networks, with firewalls, encrypted connections, multi-factor authentications, and of course the latest antivirus.

  We also have a Cybersecurity insurance policy to protect us in a worst-case scenario. Our insurance policy is through the Coalition Cybersecurity Insurance, who provides state-of-the-art cybersecurity and best-in-class cyber insurance. The Coalition Cybersecurity platform provides 24/7 security monitoring, automated alerts, employee training, and access to experts who help prevent cyber incidents before they occur.

• Who owns my accounting data?

• We prepare and manage your accounting data, but you own it. This includes your QBO and all source documents that we store to prepare your financials. If you ever want to leave us or move your accounting in-house, we’re happy to transfer admin access for your QBO and all documents upon request.

• What do you mean by Accounting@?

• For Thrive plan clients, we set up and manage an Accounting@ inbox under your domain name. For example, if you own John’s Agency, and the domain name johnsagency.com, then we will ask you to set up [email protected] for our team. This email will be used to interact with your vendors to deal with Accounts Payable issues such as requesting vendor credits. It’s meant to replicate an in-house accounting team for a business of any size.

• When do I email Accounting@ versus my client advisor?

• Accounting@ is meant for Accounts Payable related issues. You shouldn’t send vendor introductions, invoices, receipts, statements, vendor credits, or any other vendor related issues to your client advisor. These will go to Accounting@.

• Should I use invoices@, receipts@, or Accounting@ for providing documentation? Also, what documentation should I send?

• They all end up in the same place, so it’s up to you. The more documentation you have supporting your transactions, the better. For example, if you pay a vendor, then we recommend sending the payment confirmation and bill for that vendor along with a description of the transaction. 

• How do you account for fixed assets and depreciation?

• Our default policy is to record fixed assets and depreciation on a tax basis unless you’re required to have a GAAP audit, review, or compilation. When you purchase a fixed asset, we will determine whether it needs to be capitalized or expensed based on IRS standards. If the purchase is a fixed asset, then we will record tax depreciation in that same month for that fixed asset. Most fixed assets qualify for accelerated 100% depreciation in the year of purchase, so you will see a large depreciation expense on your P&L in the month of purchase.

• How do I know my vendor balance aka Accounts Payable?

• Your vendor balance is updated on a weekly basis in QBO if you’re a Essentials or Thrive client. You can access this information by going to QBO > Reports > Unpaid Bills. Alternatively, you can run an aging report by going to QBO > Reports > Accounts Payable Aging. 

• Will you make sure we have documentation for all transactions?

• We will save and organize documentation (such as receipts, invoices, bills) and attach them to transactions in QBO for all documentation that you send to invoices@, receipts@, or accounting@. If you requested that we don’t add any transactions that don’t have documentation during your onboarding, then there could be delays in your accounting process if you don’t upload documentation.

• Why can’t I run personal expenses through my business account?

• You shouldn’t run personal expenses through your business for multiple reasons, but here are the top 5:

  1. It makes your financial statements meaningless for analysis
  2. You could mislead external stakeholders and provide inaccurate financials resulting in potential legal action. One of the main rules in running a successful business is to have it always ready for sale. And if you’re using the business as a personal bank account then no one will want to buy or invest in something like that. A savvy investor/buyer will know if your numbers are lying, so don’t compromise your valuation because you don’t feel like transferring money to your personal account.
  3. It could pierce the corporate veil, meaning you could lose your limited liability shield if you were ever taken to court and they could prove that your business account was being used for personal expenses.
  4. If the IRS catches you doing this then they will start questioning all of your legitimate business expenses.
  5. If the personal expenses are classified as distributions then your distributions could trigger a red flag from the IRS because they’re very high in proportion to your salaries.
• How do I know who owes me money?

• Go to QBO > Reports > Accounts Receivable Aging Summary. This report lists all clients who currently owe balances and how old the balances are.

• How do I know who my top clients are?

• Go to QBO > Reports > Sales by Customer Summary. This report will help you identify the characteristics of your top clients to help identify potential new clients who have the same characteristics.

• I am updating my trade name, what systems should I update?

• Make sure to update all of these accounts if they have the trade name on them. A lot of them are only using the legal name:

  • QB Payments merchant account
  • QB invoice template
  • Company name in QBO
  • Gusto account
  • Utilities and other vendors

  Trade name changes don’t really affect the finance systems as long as the legal name is correct. The most important is the QB invoice template because that’s what clients actually see.