Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

Lavoie CPA has added Jirav, an all-in-one business planning software for small and medium companies, to its lineup of preferred cloud solutions for the accounting profession.

At Lavoie CPA, we leverage accounting as a service and cloud-based accounting technology to streamline clients’ accounting, payroll, and analytical processes. Implementing software solutions is critical for improving financial reporting and making businesses scalable over the long term. We work closely with clients to identify the right software solution that supports strategic objectives while making operations more efficient and effective.

Through this partnership, Lavoie CPA and Jirav aim to give clients a competitive edge in their accounting and administrative processes.

Jirav is an all-in-one financial planning and analysis solution that maximizes the collaborative value of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics so leaders can drive their businesses forward with confidence and speed.

Jirav integrates natively with leading accounting or ERP platforms such as Xero, Quickbooks, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct. With Jirav, you are up and running your forecasts using templates in minutes.

This powerful business planning software helps companies:

  • Maximize Growth: Model the outcomes of investing in sales, marketing, or other areas. Scenario test to optimize your growth strategy and track results to plan.
  • Operate With Financial Excellence: A key to growth is having a plan and measuring against it. Manage detailed KPIs and collaborate with owners to keep the business on track.
  • Focus on Strategy: Finance teams at growth companies lose too much time to spreadsheets and generating reports. Automate the tasks and focus on being strategic.

Contact slavoie@lavoiepllc.com to request a demo today. To learn more about the platform, please visit https://www.jirav.com/.

About Lavoie CPA

Founded in 2009, Lavoie has served as a reliable Charlotte CPA firm that specializes in strategic financial and operational planning for businesses of all sizes. By delivering state-of-the-art strategic support, Lavoie’s clients can focus on growing their business and soar to the next level of greatness. In addition to providing customized solutions for clients, Lavoie prioritizes social justice issues and is extremely involved in the local Charlotte community.

About Jirav

Jirav is a comprehensive business planning solution for small and medium companies that maximizes the collaborative value of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics so leaders can drive their businesses forward with confidence and speed. The all-in-one financial planning and analysis software offers faster implementation and a more intuitive interface, allowing finance leaders to build financial models in hours (not days) and generate financial reports in minutes (not hours). Jirav is headquartered in San Francisco with offices and teams across the world including Seattle, Austin, and Poland. Learn more at www.jirav.com.

4 Things all Startups should consider Outsourcing

4 Things all Startups should consider Outsourcing

Founders create businesses because they have a passion or expertise in providing particular goods or services to market and often get caught up on focusing on items outside of their expertise. Being a startup means there’s always more work to do, and not enough time to do it. It is easy to get caught in numerous non-value add tasks that take anyway from working on the business. That’s why most success startups outsource certain tasks to companies or individuals who specialize in providing valuable time-saving services for a fee.

With all the advancements in technology, it’s easier and more convenient than ever to outsource. Here are five things you should consider outsourcing to experts.

1. Accounting & Finance Firms
Most entrepreneurs are not Accountants. However, understanding cash flows or analyzing profitability of a business is vital to its success. Too often startups neglect building an accounting process until profits go downhill or cash slowly drains away. Setting up an accounting process for your startup is critical to the long-term success. An accounting process is also important because it allows your business to look forward. Startups or small businesses that that don’t have an accounting process in place find themselves trapped by past actions or constantly worried about having enough money to pay bills.

In addition to accounting process, setting up an accounting system is important for your startup as it will allow you to see how your business is doing and allow you to make decisions to strategically position your business for growth.

Look for an outsourced accounting firm that does more than just bookkeeping. Partnering with someone that goes beyond debits and credits and gives advice on such things as cashflow will help set you up for success. Technology is vital to help provide necessary insights.

2. Graphic Design and Web Development.
Coming up with a brand-defining logo, an attractive website, and print materials can be extremely time consuming and difficult to get right. Using a professional graphic designer will help your business look its best. They understand a lot of things that you may overlook. Whatever your goals, there’s a graphic designer with the talent, aesthetic sensibilities, and visual skills to fulfill your vision and enhance your company brand.

Look for a graphic designer that offers web development to help streamline the process and provide a unified message.

3. Web Research.
Prospecting for new business and keeping up with the latest developments in your industry can be time consuming and daunting. A web researcher can research information you, whether it’s gathering information and statistics for an upcoming presentation or looking up the names of companies and contacts for a leads list. They can also organize this material in a form that’s easy to use and read.

4. Administrative Assistance.
If half your day is spent sifting through your overflowing email inbox, returning call and making travel arrangement, a virtual administrative assistant (VA) may be just what you need to streamline that frustrating process and keep you from being inundated by a constant stream of on administrative tasks that keep you from more value-added items.

Before you waste your time on something that is not in your expertise, consider outsourcing. This will make your to-do list shorter and free you up to focus on the things you’re best at and that generate the most income for your business.

Why startups need Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

Why startups need Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

Are you a startup and are considering hiring accounting and finance personal?

Having the right finance and accounting policy, procedures and technology in place could be critical to your success.  Lots of startups outsource many of the tasks not related to your company’s core competency, including accounting & finance.  Should you invest the money in hiring FTEs and purchase accounting software or use an outsourced accounting firm?  Let’s look at four ways hiring an outsourced firm can help your startup business.

  1. Select the right accounting package.

Too many startup businesses purchase off the shelf accounting packages that do not provide proper visibility into their business.  As a result, they either spend a lot of time with Excel spreadsheets to try and gain necessary information or they simply neglect items that inhibit growth and put the business at risk.

With the proper technology you have visibility into your business from anywhere, enabling you to spend more time on the business instead of in the business.

  1. Help with investment capital.

Whether you’re applying for a business loan or seeking outside funding from angel investors or venture capital firms, accurate and up-to-date financials are essential.

Professional services firms will provide you with the up-to-date financial statements, along with explanations of the data in those financial statements, which can help your company standout amidst all those other businesses.

Be financial audit, partner and/or investor ready from day one.

  1. Trusted advice.

Fractional CFO services or CFO guidance including advice, counsel and insight — providing you with financial statements, budgets, forecasts and dashboards to monitor all your financial data. It’s one thing to have all the financial data you need to run your business. But the real benefit is to have someone to explain exactly what the financial statements mean, and help you to make the decisions that will steer your company toward growth.

4 . Scale with your company.

With outsourced services your variable cost become a scalable fixed cost.  Why add non-revenue generating cost when you can gain resources, technology, quality and support all tailored to your needs? When your company grows the outsourced services company grows with you.

Lavoie CPA provides accounting & finance, technology and human resources support all as a service.

Technology Drives CFO Success

Technology Drives CFO Success

Effective Virtual or Fractional CFOs Rely on Technology

Whether your CFO is full-time or an outsourced fractional CFO, CFOs are a pivotal part of your company leadership, helping you make crucial financial decisions and leading the execution of those decisions.   What makes an effective CFO?   Effective CFO’s excel at:

  • Capitalizing on opportunities while avoiding ricks
  • Strategic modeling driven by accurate data
  • Speed and accuracy for fast decisions
  • Data analysis and insight

No matter how qualified the individual is, without the right technology the job becomes extremely difficult.  Speed and accuracy drive much of their effectiveness and is almost impossible without the right tools in place.

Lavoie CPA recognized this from the start and has always combined  people, processes and technology.  We provide the necessary tools to quickly digest accurate data and be able to make informed decisions to steer the business down the best path.  With dashboards in place, companies can quickly see information in real-time and make changes were needed without waiting days, weeks or even months.  Lavoie CPA also has the expertise to intercept the data and make impactful recommendations.

The core technology we utilize is Sage Intacct.  Sage Intacct is an industry-leading financial management solution designed for the needs of strategic CFOs and their teams.  In addition, we partner with other leading accounting software providers that maximize our clients’ efficiencies.  If you are looking for a virtual or fractional CFO also consider what technologies are being utilized so that you can fully maximize your investment.

Accounting the Key Strategic Advantage?

Accounting the Key Strategic Advantage?

Most companies that are thriving view accounting as a strategic function. Companies relying on bookkeeping have a hard time keeping up in today’s changing climate. Bookkeeping by itself does not provide opportunities.  In a fiercely competitive work environment, companies that properly manage finance can grow and protect themselves from risk.

The opportunities are exciting for the future but it also comes with lots of challenges.  Too many companies are stuck looking into the past because of lack of expertise and or technology.  It is important to understand the past, but essential to have the knowledge and tools to be able to see in real-time and make educated predictions into the future.  As companies grow, hiring and retaining qualified employees can be a difficult task with lots of uncertainty.

A growing number are relying on Accounting as a Service (AaaS) to gain a competitive advantage. AaaS combines tactical and strategic accounting and includes leading accounting software.

Top 3 benefits of Accounting as a Service:

  • Focus on Core
    • Concentrate on growing the business
    • Efficiency gains
    • Eliminate staff turnover complexities
    • Ability to scale as you grow
  • Professional Expertise
  • Technology
    • Real-time visibility into your business performance
    • Increased security
    • Reduced IT headaches
    • Integration with other applications to eliminate information silos

Forward thinking companies put themselves a head of the curve.  Interested in learning more about Accounting as a Service?   Contact us.

10 Benefits of “Accounting as a Service”

10 Benefits of “Accounting as a Service”

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often driven by a passion or cause – not spending hours on accounting and financial management.

SMBs face many financial challenges that affect cash flow including hiring new employees, increasing profits, employee healthcare, growing revenue and properly managing expenses.

Fortunately, technology has changed the game for SMBs. In the last decade, new technologies have enabled SMBs to compete with large enterprises.

Technology is only part of the equation.  Accounting as a Service (AaaS) is a hybrid solution that combines services with accounting software; thus, the client can enjoy the benefits of professional expertise and leading cloud technology. This lays a great foundation, allowing companies to focus on revenue generating activities.  They are able to focus on future growth instead of being stuck analyzing the past.

10 Benefits of  Accounting as a Service

  1. Real-time visibility to your business performance via dashboards
  2. Reduce financial risk
  3. Increase productivity
  4. Be financial audit ready at all times
  5. Improved process flow and automation
  6. Eliminate staff turnover
  7. Cost savings
  8. Increased security
  9. Reduced IT headaches (upgrades and maintenance)
  10. Integration with your other applications to eliminate information silos

Interested in learning more?