Lavoie CPA & Jirav Launch Strategic Partnership

by Sharai Lavoie | Feb 11, 2022 | Accounting, Adaptive, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cashflow, CFO, Cloud, Community, Competitive Advantage, CPA, Entrepreneurs, ERP, Finance, Financial Services, Forecasting, Growth, Healthcare, KPI, Lavoie, Metrics, Outsourcing, Planning, SaaS, Small Business, Software, Startups, Technology

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.

A CPA firm that does NOT provide Tax or Audit services?

by Mark Colwell | Feb 4, 2020 | Accounting, Big Data, Blog, CFO, Cloud, CPA, Finance, Financial Services, Metrics, Outsourcing, SMBs, Software, Startups, Technology

The value in not providing traditional accounting services

When most people hear CPA they immediately think tax and audit. Lavoie CPA does NOT provide either service. So, what do we do? We provide world class accounting bundled with leading accounting technology and Outsourced Accounting (Accounting as a Service) to help our clients succeed . But why don’t we provide tax or financial audit services?

Our focus is helping grow your business. We provide financial intelligence you can rely on to make informed financial decisions.
We don’t want to become tax experts. Staying on top of changes to tax laws and regulations is an exhaustive process. We rather partner with tax professionals and focus on what we do best – help grow your business!
We can’t audit ourselves. Since we provide leading finance and accounting services, we can’t audit our own work. However, our clients are always audit ready!

Why do clients come to Lavoie CPA since we don’t do tax or audit?

We help grow sales.
We turn finance into a strategic asset.
We keep cost under control.
We eliminate distractions and let our clients focus on what they do best.

Want to learn more?

How to Improve Your Sales Forecast Accuracy

by Madeleine Wallmon | Jul 11, 2017 | Analytics, Cloud, Finance, Forecasting, Metrics, Planning

What is Forecasting and Why is it Important?

Forecasting is an essential part of every business as it helps you avoid unforeseen issues and manage your business more efficiently. The sales forecast is especially important, as it serves as the base for your company’s goals, profit and growth potential. But, to be able to depend on a sales forecast, you need it to be accurate.

Related Reading: Should Small Businesses Forecast?

Forecast Pitfalls

The problem for many businesses is that their sales forecast is based on data that isn’t accurate or realistic. Adaptive Insights’ CFO Indicator Q2 2016 report showed that only one in four CFOs met their sales forecasts. Relying on a sales forecast that is based on the wrong data can cause a lot of headache. If you are sick of coming up short on your goals, take a look at the steps below to improve your sales forecast accuracy.

Steps to Improve Sales Forecast Accuracy

1. Understand your buyer’s journey

A sales forecast is based on your sales goals and ultimately who ends up buying your products or services. While historic sales data is important, you also need to make sure you understand your buyer’s journey and each step of the sales process. Ultimately, the sales process only moves forward when your potential buyer makes a decision. Therefore, you should aim to outline each step of the buyer’s journey, what decisions are made along the way and what you can do differently at each stage. This will also allow you to make better predictions on your sales goals.

2. Incorporate external factors

It is common that companies only concern themselves with internal data and don’t realize the impact that external factors may have on your sales. As a result, their data is wrong. Because of this, you should research economic factors that have had a historical impact on your company’s sale and include in your forecasts.

3. Shorten your forecasting cycle

Finally, you should forecast more frequently, as it allows you to be alert earlier if expectations don’t match results. Consequently, you can take action quicker and prevent any arising problems.

“Consider pushing your annual forecast back to later in the year. We used to do our forecast in August but now have pushed that all the way back to November. And in the past six months, we’ve created a new forecast almost monthly. Creating that many new forecasts can take a lot of time, but sometimes it’s necessary. In the end, you don’t want to run a business off of a forecast you no longer have confidence in.”

– Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation, in an interview with Inc.com

One approach to increasing the frequency of your forecasts is by using a cloud-based performance management systems (CPM). Using a CPM system allows you to constantly adjust and fine-tune your forecasts. This means you can view real-time data and make better informed decisions with your business.

In conclusion, you need to establish a framework that offers clear communication and no surprises. This will allow for an improved sales forecast accuracy that, at the end of the day, gives your business a better chance of succeeding.

What steps is your company taking toward improving forecasting accuracy?

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Missing Metrics: The Hole in Your Donut

by Jack | Mar 3, 2016 | Accounting, Adaptive, Analytics, Financial Services, Intacct, Metrics

Good Decision-Making is About Having and Using The Right Information

If you are missing metrics you need when you need it, your business will experience difficulty reaching its full potential. So here are two important questions:

Do you have the view you need of your business?
Are you missing out on important metrics that could make the difference for you?

If you answered “No’ to the first question and “Yes” to the second question, it is likely time to upgrade your firm’s accounting and reporting software.

Accounting Software Solutions Are Often Limited

They may be fine for a certain select range of functions, but they won’t deliver a complete, 360 degree view of your business. And the comprehensive view is essential for optimized decision-making. For example, operational data, which includes everything from energy usage to inventory and beyond, is a critical part of your business. But does your accounting reporting incorporate this data? Can you see operational data side-by-side with your financials in your reports? If this information isn’t incorporated in a visible, intuitive manner, you won’t have the complete picture when making strategic business decisions.

The same is true when it comes to financial depth. After all, there are many layers of financial data that need to be analyzed. Do you have access to real-time up-to-date business performance metrics from any venue? Can you slice and dice your accounting information to make comparisons and tracking even more effective? Or is your accounting software static? Do your reports have limited metrics? Can you only see a sneak peek of your company’s performance, instead of the whole story?

The more flexible and comprehensive your accounting and financial reporting software is, the better. In fact, you can gain a serious advantage over your competitors if you upgrade to a more adaptable, in-depth solution while they’re stuck with rigid, unrefined tools – or, even worse, still using spreadsheets for their accounting. So what software solution should you choose?

Intacct Dimensions

One of the software solutions that we employ for our clients is Intacct Dimensions, a cloud-based application that delivers best practice accounting and reporting solutions for companies of any size. Intacct’s accounting and reporting software is based on the notion of dimensions. Multiple dimensions of data provide a deeper and far more accurate picture of your company’s financial situation. With Intacct, you can look at all transactions through eight distinct filters:

Department
Location
Customer
Vendor
Employee
Item
Class
Project

Integrating all of this information into unified reporting ensures that business leaders have the ability to examine their financial operations from many different angles. Reports can be modified to incorporate any or all of these different dimensions, depending upon what the user is trying to discover. And because of the high degree of integration, examining this wide range of metrics is a simple matter. Business leaders become more agile, more informed and more confident in all of their decision-making.

This isn’t just an accounting issue. There should never be any blind spots or mysteries when it comes to your company’s performance, finances or operations. Choosing the right software solution – such as Intacct Dimension- ensures that you will know what you need to know when you need to know it.

Maximizing Business Efficiency with Sage Intacct Implementation by Lavoie CPA

by Sharai Lavoie | December 19, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

Lavoie CPA is proud to announce its role as a direct implementer for Sage Intacct. You can now purchase Sage Intacct for use in your business through our team, and our expertise with this software will take your financial operations to new heights. Sage Intacct is a...

Managing Multiple Entities: A Guide to Effective Accounting

by Sharai Lavoie | April 26, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

Businesses struggle with numbers all the time, and for multiple-entity businesses, this struggle is complicated as there are lots of financial statements to consolidate. This article will serve as a guide to help you learn the challenges of multi-entity accounting,...

Bookkeeping vs Accounting: Differences & Benefits

by Sharai Lavoie | March 24, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

As a business owner, managing finances and staying on top of financial obligations is crucial for success. To achieve this, businesses need two important financial services: bookkeeping and accounting. In this blog, we will explore the differences between bookkeeping...

Guide for Start-Ups Looking to Partner With an Outsourced Accounting Firm

by Sharai Lavoie | February 23, 2023 | Accounting, Startups | 0 Comments

For investor-backed companies, like start-ups, an outsourced accounting firm, also known as a financial operations management and outsourced accounting firm, offers many benefits that allow start-ups to scale, save time, and reduce operational costs and risk. Learn...

Due Diligence Checklist 101: What Venture Capitalists Need to Know

by Sharai Lavoie | February 23, 2023 | Accounting, Startups | 0 Comments

Before investing in a company, venture capitalists run what is called a due diligence checklist. This is a rigorous process that looks closely at all aspects of a company, including assessing business legal, financial, and human resources status. By performing a...

How Outsourced Accounting Benefits Your Private Equity Clients

by Sharai Lavoie | February 13, 2023 | Accounting, Outsourcing | 0 Comments

Today, more than half of market private equity firms use an outsourced accounting partner, and for a good reason. Working with a financial operations management and outsourced accounting firm benefits both your firm and your clients. Jump Ahead In the sections below,...

The Best Budgeting Methods for Your Business

by Sharai Lavoie | July 6, 2022 | Accounting, Blog, Budgeting | 0 Comments

From software developers to capital investors, most business professionals understand that budgeting is vital for sustainable growth. But few understand that a company’s budgeting methodology can make the difference between financial success and ruin. In this...

What Is Driver-Based Planning and How Can It Give Your Company a Competitive Edge?

by Sharai Lavoie | July 6, 2022 | Accounting, Small Business | 0 Comments

Budgeting often leaves business professionals drifting aimlessly in a sea of details. With so much information available, they struggle to determine which factors will propel their company forward and which will sink it altogether. Fortunately, driver-based planning...

How Monarch Doubled Revenue with Outsourced Accounting Services

by Sharai Lavoie | June 20, 2022 | Accounting | 0 Comments

“[Sharai] takes pride in what she does. [Lavoie] is not a giant firm where there’s no sense of ownership or sense of pride. For us, that was extremely important.” Client Monarch Medical Industry Medical Software Outcomes Annual revenue doubled Headcount...

Accounting Trends in 2022 That Can Help Your Business

by Sharai Lavoie | March 14, 2022 | Accounting | 0 Comments

The accounting industry continues to quietly undergo a transformation that will be revolutionary once the history books are written. This transformation is mainly the fruit of rapid developments in the technological infrastructure that powers the day-to-day functions...

How Do CFOs Keep Up with Technology Changes?

by Mark Colwell | Jul 2, 2015 | CFO, Big Data, Metrics, Technology

Changing Technology and Financial Pressure

Rapid change in technology has put a lot of pressure on finance and accounting teams. CFOs have increased responsibilities and their role is evolving. As a result, boardroom-level strategy is now as much of a focus as the balance sheet. Robert Half Management Resources recently released a survey with over 2,200 US companies of all sizes where they asked CFOs the following question:

“In general, what would you say is the single greatest pressure facing your accounting and finance function?”

Their responses were:

Keeping pace with changing technology
Meeting regulatory compliance mandates
Harnessing and managing big data
Finding and keeping skilled staff

Thus, based on the survey conducted by Robert Half, it seems that the greatest pressure CFOs are currently facing is changing technology. Leading financial managers should be able to look at a problem from many points of view and find a solution among disparate notions as a result. Therefore, gaining visibility into data and turning it into information is key. If data isn’t accurate, information and perceived solutions are flawed, or even worse, your solution only leads to further problems and you lose credibility.

7 Ways for CFOs To Keep Up with Technology

Paul McDonald (senior executive director for Robert Half), James C. Bourke (CPA/CITP/CFF, a partner in a large CPA firm) and Jeff Drew (Senior Editor at CGMA Magazine) have come up with seven tips that are especially relevant for CFOs to keep up with changes in technology.

Hire financial staff with strong technology knowledge.
Interact with in-house IT staff and outside consultants who are trusted technology experts.
Attend conferences featuring sessions on current and emerging technologies.
Set up RSS feeds with specific technologies as keywords.
Join and become active in technology user groups.
Collaborate with other CFOs at companies that use the same technologies.
Meet with fellow CFOs or outsourced CFO firms to discuss technology issues.

How do you keep up with the pace of change in technology at your business? Do you employ any of the methods listed above?

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