(800) 931-6557
(800) 931-6557
ASP
  • Home
  • Accounting
    • FAQ
  • Recruiting
    • Recruiting Team
    • Recruiting Process
    • Recruiting FAQ
  • Openings
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • Colorado
  • About
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Resources
    • Submit Resume
  • Contact
  • Payments
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Accounting
    • FAQ
  • Recruiting
    • Recruiting Team
    • Recruiting Process
    • Recruiting FAQ
  • Openings
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • Colorado
  • About
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Resources
    • Submit Resume
  • Contact
  • Payments
  • Blog

​In Pursuit of Profit

Read our expert article below or sign up to get articles sent to your inbox.​

5/11/2021

Comments

When Should You Hire a Fractional Accountant?

 
when should you hire a fractional accountant
What is a fractional accountant and when do you need one?

​It may sound cliched, but fractional accountants are whatever you need whenever you need them.

Fractional accountants are the “a la carte” version of accounting professionals. These financial professionals can be hired to do any number of financial functions, handling everything from financial reporting and cash flow management to tax preparation and internal controls. They can do part-time work, project work, and interim assignments while working on-site, off-site, or a combination of the two. Essentially, a fractional accountant can provide as much or as little work as you need.
​
Most often though, fractional accountants are brought in to assist existing accounting teams, work on special projects, and supplement software systems. 

Handle Overflow
As business needs expand your current employees may not have the availability or skillsets to keep pace with those changes – a fractional accountant can meet additional needs and fill those gaps. When your accounting needs increase but not to the level of needing to hire another full-time, in-house role, hiring a fractional accountant allows you to get more work done on a budget. And hiring a fractional accountant role converts what would otherwise be a fixed cost for a full-time hire into a variable cost, facilitating better cash flow management.

Do Project Work
A fractional accountant is a great and affordable hire for a project when the rest of your accounting and finance staff is busy doing their day jobs. Short-term financial needs around regular financial functions like tax planning and filing are a perfect fit for a fractional role.
​
However, these are not the only types of projects that necessitate a third-party accounting hire. Project work that arises during transitional periods like opening new markets, hiring pushes or downsizing, buying another business or selling your business, require an accountant’s experience to strategically guide the business through these critical changes. In a resource on how to adapt to business shifts and market disruptions our team explains, 
An experienced accountant should be overseeing the financial components inherent in these types of adaptations. However, many business owners want to avoid the significant costs of hiring and retaining an accountant in-house. Outsource financial functions to a third-party accountant to draw on the expertise of a dedicated professional without hiring in-house.
Augment Software
​Technology does not replace the need for an accountant, because, as our experts explain, “A financial professional is still necessary even with an online accounting software because technology is only as good as its user’s proficiency with it.” Remember, even the best solutions still need oversight to ensure they are being used properly and being used to their fullest. And while regular reporting and ongoing activities can be automated ad hoc work will always exist, necessitating an accountant, even if the role is just part-time like a fractional accountant.
​
Furthermore, fractional accountants are accustomed to working remotely, so they are in a great position to recommend digital solutions to improve efficiency and accuracy. Current accounting trends show that,  
While about three quarters of businesses use a cloud-based accounting software already many still do not use supplemental apps and standalone platforms to streamline functions like sales tax calculation and employee expense tracking. Third-party tech add-ons can create significant business efficiencies while simultaneously allowing greater scalability. Additionally, leaning on the right technology improves accuracy over manual calculating, tracking, and reporting.
​Leaning on a fractional accountant to advise on how to supplement additional technology is a strategic way to ensure your financial operations will continue to benefit from the investment in a fractional accountant even when the individual is not working for the company.
 
Provide Cost-Effective Accounting Expertise
A fractional accountant is less expensive than a full-time employee because they either work on a less than full-time capacity or just work for a set period, doing project or interim work. Fractional accountants can also be hired faster than their in-house counterparts, which means they can be brought in more quickly, further reducing their overall expense.
​
If you are looking to hire a fractional accountant, please contact us to get an experienced professional working with your company for as much or as little time as you need.  
Comments

    SUBSCRIBE:

    DOWNLOAD:

    The Ultimate New Business Formation Checklist

    DOWNLOAD:

    Accountant Evaluation

    Categories:

    All
    Accountant
    Accounting
    Accounting Systems
    Audit
    Bank Reconciliation
    Benefits
    Bookkeeper
    Bookkeeping
    Brand
    Budgeting
    Business Analysis
    Business Trends
    Cash Flow
    Change Management
    Checklist
    Closing The Books
    Colorado
    Community
    Contracts
    Controller
    Depreciation
    Ecommerce
    Economy
    Finance
    Fraud
    Government
    Hack
    Hiring
    HR
    Infographic
    Internal Controls
    IRS
    Laws
    Leadership
    Legal
    Local Economics
    Manuals
    Market Trends
    News
    Nonprofit
    Online Bookkeeping
    Oregon
    Outsource
    Payroll
    Payroll Taxes
    Planning
    Procedures
    QuickBooks
    Record Keeping
    Recruiting
    Recruiting Market Reports
    Remote Workforce
    Reporting
    Restaurants
    Risk
    Sales Tax
    Scam
    Security
    Small Business
    Social Media
    Software
    Startup
    Statistics
    Strategy
    Taxes
    Technology
    Time Management
    Washington State

    Archives:

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    June 2015
    February 2013
    October 2012
    November 2011
    May 2011



    RSS Feed

Services

Accounting Services
Recruiting Services

​

Company

About
Oregon Team
​Washington Team
Colorado Team
Clients


Support

Contact
CC
FAQ
​Resources
​Blog
​

ASP

Your resource for accounting & recruiting services. Serving Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Denver, Lakewood, Aurora and more.
Contact us today for a free,
no-obligation consultation:
Toll Free (800) 931-6557
WA (425) 492-1901
OR (503) 473-0122
​CO
(720) 572-8211
info@asp-nw.com
© COPYRIGHT ASP - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 A CFO Selections Company
Privacy Policy