Firm providing accounting services. Business plan accounting services

Providing accounting services is one of the most important and sought-after activities in a real market economy.

A huge number of organizations with various forms of ownership are engaged in economic activities, and many of them are faced with the fact that it becomes economically infeasible to maintain their own accounting department. And therefore, they hire an external accountant, who periodically appears to submit reports to various regulatory authorities, prepare the necessary documents and carry out other accounting services.

But hired accountants do not always have a high level of qualifications and knowledge of the necessary accounting programs, with the help of which the entire document flow in the accounting department is automated. Therefore, a reputable business needs competent accounting support provided by real professionals. And entrepreneurs who decide to engage in accounting activities must understand the full responsibility for their possible actions. Before opening a company, you should carefully think through your capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of your future business. And first of all, it is necessary to draw up a business plan for the provision of accounting services.

Determining the types of activities of the future accounting firm

To draw up a business plan for a future accounting firm, you first need to take into account the situation on the market for such services. This will help determine the competitiveness of prices. And the greater the competition for these services, the more carefully it is necessary to think through the company’s business plan.

Accounting includes many operations, the quality of which determines the successful functioning of any business. The business plan must include all the services that will be provided to clients. In addition, you will need to develop a business project strategy aimed at increasing profits by improving business organization.

The main activities of an accounting firm are:

development of accounting policies, financial plan of the organization;
preparation and submission of the necessary accounting and tax reporting in electronic form;
payroll for employees;
preparation and submission of reports to other inspection bodies, such as the pension fund, social and health insurance fund, state statistics bodies;
restoration of accounting.

In addition to the basic ones, an accounting services firm can provide additional services, such as:

auditing services;
registration and liquidation of organizations;
maintaining personnel records;
provision of legal services in tax disputes;
production of seals and stamps;
support of accounting programs;
accounting courses, etc.

Clients of a firm providing accounting services can be individual entrepreneurs, LLCs, as well as closed and open joint-stock companies.

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Organizational form of the company

There are two ways to register an accounting firm: individual entrepreneur and LLC.

The advantage of registering an individual entrepreneur is the simplicity of accounting, but there is also a disadvantage - individual entrepreneurs are liable for obligations arising from commercial activities with all their property. And in this case, taking out insurance is simply necessary, which should be included in the business plan.

When opening an LLC, you will need to submit a slightly larger report than when opening an individual entrepreneur, but the measure of liability here is limited to the assets of the company and the owner will not have to pay for any mistakes of his subordinates with personal property.

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Selecting an appropriate office and decorating the premises

The right office location is a fundamental factor in the success of a company. It is not necessary to choose an office location in the city center or near large shopping centers. It is best to find premises near tax or other regulatory authorities, large business centers where there may be potential clients.

The design of the room is also important. The environment should give clients a respectable impression. The room for 3-4 employees must have an area of at least 20 square meters. m. The premises should have comfortable furniture, personal computers and equipment necessary for work.

To provide accounting services, installation of specialized accounting software is required. Programs must be licensed. To service them, you will need to enter into an agreement with a specialized company.

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Selection of qualified employees

It is better to hire highly qualified accountants of various specializations for the company. For a small company, 3 accountants with experience will be enough. During reporting periods, if necessary, you can attract additional specialists on a piece rate basis. You will also need the services of a courier to deliver documents to clients.

It will be necessary to draw up an agreement between the company and the client, an example of which can be found in legal advice. If accounting services are provided to large companies, then the company will have to involve a lawyer.

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Advertising accounting services

No business can exist without advertising. This also applies to the provision of accounting services, especially in the first stages of work. You can advertise your services by submitting advertisements in print publications and magazines for entrepreneurs. A company’s website, which should list the types of services provided and contact information, can attract new clients.

Advertising should be submitted every month, since new companies needing accounting support appear every day. In the future, the professional work of accountants will become the best advertisement, as satisfied clients will recommend the company to their friends.

At the moment, the provision of services in the accounting field is one of the most popular activities. For many entrepreneurs, it is more profitable not to have a personal accountant on staff, but to contact companies providing accounting services. As a rule, such a company consists of several highly qualified specialists who can work with different sections of accounting. When drawing up a business plan for the provision of accounting services, it is important to take into account the situation on the market for such services in your city. This is necessary to determine competitive prices for accounting services. The greater the competition, the more carefully it is necessary to think through the company's plan. It is necessary to set prices that will compare favorably with clients and at the same time the work must be done at the highest level. Among the activities of an accounting firm there must be:

Submitting reports
Development of accounting policies
Restoration of accounting records
Filling out accounting registers
Accounting for primary documents

When developing a business plan, it is necessary to take into account all planned services, and it is also necessary to describe in detail the strategy of the business project, which should be based on increasing profits by improving the organization of the business.

Location

When choosing premises for a company providing accounting support services, it is not necessary to look for a place in the center or near shopping centers. This is not a store, so it is not necessary to be always in sight of customers. You can rent an office in the central part of the city, but you should understand that the rent will be very high, which is not advisable for a start-up company. Quite often, such companies are located at large shopping centers, where you can easily find potential clients. The premises are 40- 50 sq. meters is quite suitable for 4-6 employees. Accountants' places should be equipped with comfortable chairs and tables, as well as personal computers and the necessary equipment. The furniture should be comfortable, since accountants will have to work for several hours without a break.

Programs

An accounting firm must have specialized accounting software, which must be licensed. It will not be possible to save money on this item, since pirated copies of programs are not allowed in the accounting department. To maintain these programs, you can enter into an agreement with a programmer or a specialized company so as not to hire a full-time programmer.

Employees

Accountants in a company must be highly qualified, and it is also good if they have different specializations. Five or six professional accountants with extensive experience are sufficient for an accounting firm. It is important to remember that entrepreneurs often think about accounting at the end of the year or before submitting reports, so you should consider the possibility of involving additional specialists on a piece-rate basis if necessary. It is desirable to have a courier on staff who will deliver documents to clients and also travel to various authorities. When opening a company providing accounting services, it is necessary to develop a standard agreement between the company and the client. Since this is a one-time service, it is not necessary to have a lawyer on staff; you can order this service from a law firm. If you plan to work with large companies, then you still cannot do without an in-house lawyer.

Advertising

In the first stages, you can’t do without advertising. This could be an advertisement in specialized print media, for example, in magazines for accountants and economists. You can also place an ad in local media. An additional source of new clients can be the company’s website, where types of services and contact information will be listed. It is better to submit advertising regularly, every month, since new companies are constantly emerging that need accounting support. Good accounting work will subsequently become the best advertisement, since satisfied clients will recommend your company to their friends.

Results

The costs of organizing an accounting firm are relatively small, so according to experts, such projects pay for themselves within a year. If there are regular customers with large orders, profits will also be constant, and the payback period will decrease. If you successfully run a business, after some time you can expand the scope of your activity, for example, provide services for registering companies, recruiting personnel, or you can provide consulting services in various areas of commercial activity .First you need to calculate the costs, among which the main items are:

Salary to employees - from 1500 USD. monthly;
Premises rental - from 800 USD monthly;
Stationery - monthly from 100 USD;
Advertising costs - from 250 USD
Unforeseen expenses - 150 USD
Total: 2800 USD

Income can be different amounts, but on average they take about 400 USD from one client. To cover your monthly income, you need to enter into an agreement for accounting services with 7 companies, and in order to make a profit, this number must be increased significantly.

Company registration
Premises and equipment
Staff
Advertising
Income and expenses

In each of our articles devoted to how to open a small business from scratch, we advise our readers to hire an outsourcing accountant. This is really very convenient and allows you to save money on a full-time employee. If you yourself decide to organize a business in accounting services, then we will tell you where to start and how to promote your company!

What are the prospects for such income?

Accounting services as a business is a rather promising area, because... Most entrepreneurs, when they open a small business from scratch, do their own reporting and other paperwork. This is due to the fact that not all businessmen initially have enough start-up capital to hire an accountant. Therefore, the manager himself begins to understand zero reporting and other matters, devoting less time to his business. As a result, there comes a time when a lot of paperwork accumulates and you urgently need to look for a specialist who will help solve the problem.

In order not to complicate running a business, remote accountants have recently become popular; they handle company reporting from home or in their own office, earning slightly less than a full-time employee. The benefit is mutual - the businessman saves time and money, you get the opportunity to earn money on accounting services. Interested in the idea? Then read on to learn how to open your own accounting for a woman!

You may also be interested in our article: Ready-made business plan for a law firm.

Company registration

If you want to organize a business providing accountant services, first decide on the organizational and legal form. You can open an individual entrepreneur or LLC. To make money on accounting services, it is better, of course, to register an LLC, but opening an individual entrepreneur will require much less documents and, accordingly, initial costs. We still recommend registering yourself as an individual entrepreneur, and in the future, when you are able to build up a client base and earn solid money, expand your office and open an LLC.

Also at the registration stage you need to select the type of activity. For your own accounting department, we recommend OKVED code 74.12 - “Activities in the field of accounting and auditing.” It is better to choose the tax regime “simplified taxation, simplified tax system”.

As for the areas in which you can earn money, to begin with it will be enough to provide the following services:

Registration and liquidation of enterprises.
Accounting.
Preparation of reports to the social and pension fund, as well as the health insurance fund.
Personnel accounting, as well as payroll for company employees.
Zero reporting.
Development of accounting policies.
Maintaining a book of sales and purchases.

To begin with, this will be enough to organize a business in accounting services. In the future, you can also provide the services of an auditor, a lawyer (if you hire the appropriate employee) and even conduct accounting courses.

Premises and equipment

To organize a business providing accounting services, when opening an individual entrepreneur, it is not necessary to rent an office. At first, you can open an accounting office at home and meet clients on their territory. When the volume of work increases and there is a need to attract new employees, you can already think about an office with an area of 40-50 square meters. Such a room will be quite enough to accommodate 5 computer desks for your accountants.

You may be interested in: A new approach to opening an interior design studio

The best office location is close to potential clients. In addition, you should conduct a competitor analysis so as not to rent premises next to some well-promoted company that also provides accounting services. Another very good idea would be to rent a room next to the tax office, so that clients can do several things related to the company’s reporting in one place at the same time.

As for equipment, if you work from home for the first time, you will only need a computer, Internet, office equipment and licensed programs. For an office, you will have to allocate money to renovate the premises and purchase furniture.

Be sure, before you organize a business in accounting services from scratch, you need to acquire a working phone number, which you will need to advertise when promoting your office.

Staff

Opening your own accounting department at first may be possible without involving partners, but when business starts to improve, you will need to hire several qualified accountants. A mandatory requirement is work experience, because... Your little-known company should not be tarnished by unskilled workers. You can even find employees via the Internet. Many female accountants are interested in how to make extra money on their knowledge while on maternity leave. Look for appropriate forums and offer cooperation.

Advertising

Submitting an advertisement to local media, in the “Services” section;
placing advertisements on billboards around the city, as well as next to the tax office;
create your official website and promote it in the region in which you can offer outsourcing accounting services;
print out bright flyers and arrange with the tax office to leave them at the stand in the lobby.

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In addition, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that the best advertising for your business can only be positive customer reviews. If entrepreneurs are satisfied with your work, they will tell their colleagues about remote accounting services, and word of mouth, as you know, sometimes works better than advertisements on the Internet and on billboards.

Income and expenses

Well, the last thing I would like to talk about is how profitable a business is in providing accounting services. As for the initial costs, they depend on whether you will rent an office or whether your outsourcing company will initially be able to work from home. In addition, an important influencing factor is the legal form you have chosen.

As a rule, the payback period for accounting is about 1 year. In the first months of work, if you correctly analyzed competitors and selected a suitable place to open a company, you can earn about 25 thousand rubles per month. Subsequently, income increases to 70-100 thousand rubles. Successful companies that provide accountant services earn up to 500 thousand rubles per month. As for the costs of such offices, about 150-200 thousand goes to office rent, utilities and employee salaries.

That's all I wanted to tell you about accounting services as a business. We hope now you know where to start and how to promote your company. If you already have experience in this field of activity, please tell our readers about it in the comments!

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lady-business.ru

How to open an accounting firm?

Capital investments: from $10,000

Payback period for services: up to 12 months

If you have worked as an accountant for a long time, one day a logical question may arise: how to open an accounting firm.

Why not, because you know the intricacies of the matter from the inside!

But it may also be that you have a desire to organize the process, but have no experience at all.

Whatever the starting conditions, this article will become a guide for you that will put all the stages of starting a business on the shelves.

An accounting firm requires a relatively small capital investment, which can be recouped in less than a year!

This is an excellent indicator, so those who want to open such a business should not put off the decision for a long time.

Analysis of the accounting services market

Absolutely any business requires that the entrepreneur draw up a business plan for the company before opening it.

At least in order to analyze the current state of affairs in the chosen field and assess your chances in the market.

Just because you are good at your job as an accountant does not guarantee that there will be enough demand for your accounting organization's services.

When you study data about your competitors and development trends in the field of accounting services, you will be able to determine for yourself several fundamental points:

Who is your circle of potential clients?
What price should you set for your services, and what list should be present at the start?
How saturated is the market with similar offers, and what competitive advantages will help you gain the upper hand?

Where to start providing accounting services?

Interesting fact: Accounting originated in ancient times, when the earth was inhabited by humanoid Neanderthals. Primitive people kept primitive “records”, due to the fact that in those days numbers, as such, did not exist; they were designated in the form of notches on stones, cave walls, animal bones, pieces of wood. Later, ordinary ropes on which knots were made began to be used as a method of counting.

An important basic step that you must take to open a company is to choose between an individual entrepreneur and an LLC.

Usually the first option is preferable, but a sole proprietorship will never be taken as seriously as an LLC.

And in the field of accounting services, a strong reputation is especially important.

But at the same time, individual entrepreneurs can be registered faster and with less paperwork.

So everyone makes their own choice in this matter, having studied the available pros and cons.

Depending on the chosen option, you register: individual entrepreneur - at your place of residence, LLC - at the location of the company.

How to choose premises for an accounting business?

One of the significant advantages of the accounting business is that there is no need to rent premises exclusively in the most accessible places for the client.

Rent in the center will cost much more, but does not significantly affect the success of the accounting firm.

Therefore, you can safely open a business in a small room in a residential area.

For starters, 10 m2 is enough for you.

This is enough to equip one full-fledged workplace, or two - but then you will have to make room.

Finding such a site will not be easy, but a room in the office of another entrepreneur is quite possible.

When the business expands, and the staff along with it, it is worth looking for an office with an area of at least 40 m2.

This is already enough for a staff of 4-6 employees to operate normally.

It is important to provide your people with truly comfortable conditions.

After all, accountants work a lot and hard without breaks.

And if the environment distracts them or depresses them, the quality of their work will drop.

Equipment for an accounting services company

Buying equipment to open an accounting firm requires a significant portion of capital investments.

But for the first time, it’s enough to buy or use your regular laptop; you don’t have to spend money on something “sophisticated” and super expensive.

Likewise, the purchase of a printer along with a scanner can also be put on hold.

Having a mobile phone for business is not discussed, since at the stage of work as both an employee and a manager, you can safely use your personal device.

But when expanding your staff, you should worry about buying a separate mobile phone.

Some stores may hold promotions or offer discounts on office equipment.

Carefully study all offers, because at the opening stage there should be reasonable savings in everything.

You must install software on your computers to compile and submit reports.

Agree to connect to legal systems on a monthly payment basis.

How to open an accounting firm: personnel search

If you decide to open an accounting firm, based on your own extensive work experience, at first you can completely cope on your own.

But if you are just acting as an organizer, you will have to find an experienced accountant on whom you can completely rely.

In the future, it is worth expanding the list of services and recruiting staff so that everyone has their own specialization among the sections of accounting.

At the same time, a single requirement will be put forward to everyone - high quality work and experience.

And the willingness to complete tasks in a short time, because often clients will contact you “at the last minute.”

To be on the safe side, you can even have contact with accountants who are not on your full-time staff so that you can transfer orders to them if necessary.

The services of a courier, lawyer and security will also be useful to you.

But such people do not need to be hired for the position.

It is enough to delegate tasks to appropriate outsourcing companies.

It is imperative to conclude an agreement with a security service - install an alarm and a panic button in case of an emergency.

Interesting article: How to open a law firm?

Business accounting services also need advertising

Any business needs advertising, especially when you just decide to open it.

Accounting firms are no exception.

Moreover, a novice entrepreneur should not worry that this will take away a significant part of the starting budget.

Among the available options, some are quite affordable, or even free.

You don't have to come up with anything supernatural.

You need to monitor the effectiveness of the methods you already use and introduce new ones as your profits increase.

Even before you open an accounting firm, develop a high-quality and eye-catching business card design.

At the initial stage, a batch of 1500 copies is sufficient.

They should be left with all clients and distributed to friends.

It is also worth agreeing on placement in places where your potential clients may appear.

This may include tax authorities, banks and other similar institutions.

The Internet is a channel that makes it possible to promote a business even for free and at the same time gives an excellent effect with proper management.

It is advisable to create a full-fledged website on which you will place a list of your services, an approximate price list, and articles useful for clients.

This way you can use very effective contextual advertising for promotion.

But in this case, the following principle applies: if you don’t have the funds for a good website, it’s better not to start one at all.

Save money from profits, find highly qualified specialists and order a quality product.

In addition to the site, you can use other resources on the World Wide Web.

For example, post advertisements about the company’s services on free message boards or specialized forums.

These can be specialized magazines on economics and accounting topics.

Regional newspapers are also suitable for these purposes.

Although many consider this method outdated, cold selling also has its effect.

Arm yourself with a list of companies in the city and triple your calls to your potential clients.

You shouldn’t be too persistent, but learning the principles of increasing the effectiveness of active sales will not hurt!

You may not realize how many new businesses that could be your potential clients can open every month!

Therefore, it is important to constantly update advertisements.

Then clients will contact you again and recommend you to their friends.

Noteworthy article: How to open a recruitment agency?

What investments in an accounting business are needed at the start?

An accounting firm is a business option that does not require large initial investments from you to open it.

If you have some of the resources necessary to get started, this amount will be even less.

At the first stage, you can get by with modest volumes, further investing profits in the development and scaling of your business.

You will be able to hire new people on staff, strengthen your advertising campaign and expand the list of services provided.

If you have just decided to open a company, it is better not to take loans.

But when things are in order and you are convinced that this business model is working, then you can take out a small loan to promote services.

According to approximate calculations and practical data, the payback of an accounting firm will occur in less than a year after the start of its activities.

If you and your employees manage to build a large customer base earlier, then the payback period will decrease.

What are the advantages of running an accounting business?

and why entrepreneurs often turn to this type of service,

learn from the video:

How much should you invest in your accounting business monthly?

In addition to the costs of starting an accounting firm, we must not forget about the need to monthly finance the development of an organization to provide these services.

What amount can we talk about?

To understand how much money you will need to start a business, you need to add up the size of the starting investment and the amount needed to develop an accounting services company.

According to the average statistical data given in the tables of this article, to open such a business you will need at least $7,500.

The amount will vary for each entrepreneur depending on the scale of the business, the means of advertising used, the number of employees on staff, and so on.

To summarize, we need to remember that only a few companies can do without accounting services.

Even those companies that initially manage on their own, after a while delegate the solution of accounting tasks to outsourcing firms.

The reason lies in regular reforms and changes in financial accounting laws, rules for the functioning of organizations and the complication of taxation schemes.

To keep up with all these innovations and not lose money, accounting issues must be solved by highly qualified specialists who keep up with the times.

After all, in addition to paying wages, you also need to worry about the equipment of the workplace.

The combination of all these factors has led to the fact that business accounting services are now popular and in demand.

If you have the necessary resources to create a high-quality accounting firm, you can set up a cost-effective and profitable business.

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biznesprost.com

How to make money providing accounting services

The demand for accounting services is growing following the number of annual reports. The market in this area is far from saturated, especially in medium and small Russian cities.

In recent years, enterprises have been actively outsourcing accounting. This is driven by endless changes in legislation, an increase in the number of reports to the Federal Tax Service, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, and the transition to electronic document management. The services of specialists keeping records at home have become less in demand. Many of them would like to open their own accounting services business, but do not know how or where to start.

In most cases, for an experienced accountant who is accustomed to communicating with government agencies, including the Federal Tax Service, it is not difficult to register a company and choose a tax regime. One way or another, they have encountered this at work and know where to get advice. Another thing is the organization of the company's work. Many people have questions here:

How much accounting services are in demand, and where is this niche freer?
how to develop a client base, where to look for potential customers;
how to effectively organize the work of a company so that it generates income;

Brief overview: demand for services by region

Accounting outsourcing developed like an avalanche until 2013 (Fig. 1). During the recession, the number of organizations starting this business for the first time decreased. However, according to the Expert RA agency, the income of the 80 largest market participants in 2015 increased by 8%. In total, during the period from 2001 to May 2015, about 20% of newly opened companies ceased operations, and this indicates the stable operation of the vast majority of them.

Figure 1. Number of companies registered in Russia in different periods.

Demand has decreased mainly for the preparation of financial statements according to IFRS standards, as many foreign organizations have left Russia. The main group of services - accounting and tax accounting - are still in demand (Fig. 2). According to experts, the demand for them will increase.

Figure 2. Revenue structure of the 80 largest outsourcing companies in the field of accounting functions for 2015. According to the RAEX agency (Expert RA).

However, the number of open accounting firms in the country has increased significantly in recent years. In big cities there is significant competition, but in the periphery this niche is not filled everywhere. Small town entrepreneurs consider the lack of qualified services to be one of their main problems. Table 1 shows the number of companies in different regions operating in the field of accounting. Using these data, you can indirectly assess how free a niche is in a particular region.

Table 1. Number of LLCs engaged in accounting services by region. Information on the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of the State Medical Center of Rosstat, information collected by Elitbuh.

City, region

Total number of operating enterprises, organizations

Number of firms providing accounting services

Number of enterprises per one outsourcing company

Population


Moscow region
Saint Petersburg
Leningradskaya
Altai region
Arkhangelskaya
Amur region
Astrakhan
Bryansk
Belgorodskaya
Vologda
Volgogradskaya
Vladimirskaya
Voronezh
Ivanovskaya
Irkutsk
Kaluzhskaya
Kaliningradskaya
Kemerovo
Kostromskaya
Kirovskaya

Kurganskaya
Lipetskaya
Magadan
Murmansk
Nizhny Novgorod
Novosibirsk
Novgorodskaya

Orenburgskaya
Orlovskaya
Penza
Pskovskaya
Rostovskaya
Ryazan
Samara
Saratovskaya
Sakhalinskaya
Sverdlovskaya
Smolenskaya
Tambovskaya
Tverskaya

Tula
Tyumen
Ulyanovskaya
Chelyabinsk
Yaroslavskaya

An entrepreneur who is thinking about how to open an accounting firm should understand that you shouldn’t count on high incomes right away. One of the Kontur.accounting forums published the result of a survey of participants, from which it can be seen that about 30% of those who voted earn from 70 to 250 thousand rubles per month (Fig. 3). New companies often start by servicing individual entrepreneurs and small businesses, but as their potential and reputation grow, large customers appear.

Figure 3. Average income level of individual entrepreneurs engaged in accounting.

Organization of work of an outsourcing company

Registration of an enterprise, as a rule, does not cause problems for a novice accountant entrepreneur who has experience in dealing with the Federal Tax Service. It can be created either in the form of an individual entrepreneur or an LLC. The type of activity from July 11, 2016 is selected according to the new reference book OK 029-2014 (NACE Rev. 2): 69.20 - activities for the provision of accounting services, auditing, tax consulting, including maintaining, setting up, restoring accounting, submitting reports. Typically, a simplified tax regime is chosen. Entry to this market is still free. To open an accounting firm, you do not need to obtain a license and join an SRO, as for auditors.

Much more questions arise in terms of organization, because within a company it is very different from keeping records at home and the work of a chief accountant. Often a company begins with the fact that a high-level specialist cannot cope with the volume of orders and begins to look for assistants. He either organizes a new enterprise or buys out an existing one. Some clientele and at least a small cash flow are usually already available at the start. But very soon he faces two tasks:

searching for clients - employees need to be paid regularly;
building effective work - this determines the cost of services.

Several ways: where and how to look for customers

1. The search can be carried out using the open database of the Federal Tax Service among organizations and entrepreneurs who have submitted an application for registration (https://service.nalog.ru/uwsfind.do).

During the first 3–4 months of work, the issue with the accountant is often not yet resolved.

It is for this reason that many outsourcing firms engage in business registration. In most cases, if the service was provided with high quality, then the client orders accounting services from a trusted company.

As a result of the search, a list appears containing the OGRN.

2. Creation of a website describing services.

According to marketing research, individual entrepreneurs and small businesses are more likely to search for an accounting firm on the Internet. This is their usual way of obtaining information. Despite the fact that many automated accounting services are now offered, many are more accustomed to working with people. After all, not everyone is well versed in IT technologies; some do not want to spend time mastering programs.

They select the first 3-5 companies, then call them, compare prices, and evaluate the quality of communication. If the results of the first visit are satisfactory, they sign a contract for services; if not, they move on. Face-to-face negotiations are very important, after which the final decision is made. Therefore, for the site you need to carefully select key queries for which a potential customer searches. Information that matters when choosing:

price list for services - it is better when their cost is average between the salary of a “coming” accountant and a good full-time specialist;
location of the company - visits usually begin with companies located in their own or neighboring area;
availability of contact information - a valid telephone number must be indicated, verification begins with a call;
a sample contract with a comment - this allows you to draw conclusions about the quality of work and certain guarantees from the company.

The design style of the site and the reviews provided on it practically do not matter.

Articles in specialized publications and popular local newspapers have a good effect. And it’s better if this is not naked advertising, but publications on current issues of accounting and taxes. They are used to assess the level of competence of a specialist and inspire confidence. The same goal is pursued by making presentations at various presentations, meetings, seminars - business cards are left there and the necessary contacts are made.

According to surveys of marketers, medium-sized enterprises, when switching to accounting outsourcing, are more likely to rely on recommendations and reviews. Therefore, it is useful to distribute advertising brochures and business cards through clients, familiar members of the local business community. Not only commercial enterprises are interested in outsourcing. State and municipal institutions are increasingly placing such orders on the public procurement website - this search method should not be ignored.

Typical operation scheme

The price of accounting services depends on the salary of working specialists; it is almost impossible to reduce it. At the same time, a common mistake of beginning entrepreneurs is organizing work according to the principle: one accountant/one client (or several). This often results in:

the customer “entices” the specialist working with him;
The accountant quits and takes his clients with him.

In addition, the employee's workload has physical limits. It is considered optimal to distribute functions between specialists so that direct communication with the customer remains only with the manager or responsible specialist (Fig. 4). Group organization of work does not require equally high qualifications of all specialists, and this makes it possible to save on wages.

Figure 4. Scheme of distribution of functional responsibilities between company specialists.

It is very important to develop a flexible price list that provides differentiated tariffs for different customers, for example:

“zero” - for newly created organizations with a zero balance;
basic - for companies with a relatively small volume of documents;
negotiable - for those who order a full range of services.

The client base should be regularly replenished, since entrepreneurs who have found their feet often prefer to hire “their” accountant. For stable operation, it should grow by 20 - 25% per year. For example, if a company serves 20 clients, it is advisable to conclude 4–5 new contracts annually.

Outsourcing companies primarily compete on prices, but dumping has limitations. The strategies of successful companies have some kind of “zest”. This can be a narrow specialization: credit servicing, work with individual entrepreneurs, or, conversely, a wide range of services, including legal ones: registration, liquidation of organizations.

You can open a company providing accounting services and start a franchise business; there are such offers on the market (Billprof and others). The biggest success: entering the “blue ocean”, that is, a new untapped niche. One of these areas: aggregators in various market sectors, working with a large number of individual entrepreneurs and accumulating a significant volume of documents: online taxi services, insurance companies, Internet advertising platforms. Below is an example of a non-standard approach: an accounting service business was launched by a programmer and a bank employee.

Knopka LLC, Yekaterinburg, initial investment 1.5 million rubles.

The company was founded in 2013 by former employees of Bank24.ru and SKB Contour, headed by Eduard Panteleev. They created a mobile office for entrepreneurs, which takes care of all administrative, accounting and legal issues, working online. By mid-2015, almost 600 entrepreneurs had joined it, and the company already had 130 employees. The cost of the minimum package of services is 24 thousand per month.

The mobile team consists of 5 people, including 3 accountants, a lawyer and a business assistant, and serves 50 clients.

To summarize, we note: the need for accounting services will always be. At the same time, during periods of crisis there is a tendency: large companies lose customers, and small ones gain. The focus on saving forces customers to look for cheaper, “clean” services, without frills.

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Accounting services as a business

The importance of competently compiled accounting and tax reporting for any enterprise is difficult to overestimate. In the context of rapidly changing regulations from tax legislation and the constant increase in penalties, the need for high-quality accounting services is increasing significantly. But maintaining a full-time employee to carry out accounting is an unaffordable luxury for many companies.

The solution is to conclude an agreement for the provision of accounting outsourcing services. Today, an increasing number of medium and large enterprises are coming to this option, which means that business in this area can be regarded as in demand. But in order to correctly assess your capabilities and properly organize such activities, you will need a business plan. Providing accounting services as a business: where to start and what to be wary of?

Business registration

Before opening an accounting firm and promoting it, an entrepreneur will have to resolve many trivial issues. In addition to finding the right premises, hiring employees and finding clients, the company needs to resolve legal issues.

The right to provide accounting services is determined by the relevant license and certification of activities.

The choice of organizational form of activity is also an important issue. In this case, it is permissible to both open an individual entrepreneur and found an LLC. If an entrepreneur plans to act on his own behalf, in possible unpleasant circumstances he will have to pay for mistakes with his own property. But today you can get rid of risks with the help of insurance, then opening an individual entrepreneur will be recognized as a more economical and safe option.

Renting premises

Basic premises requirements for opening an accounting services company:

An area of at least 40-50 square meters for a staff of 5-6 people.
Compliance with sanitary standards and fire safety requirements.

The location of the office for an organization of this nature does not play a significant role. The main thing is that the office can be easily found.

A location in the city center or in a shopping complex is not a worthwhile expense. But you should think about finding premises near a shopping center where large potential clients are located.

Equipment

To organize the work of an accounting enterprise, you will need the following equipment:

tables and chairs for employees;
computers and office equipment;
stationery;
specialized software.

The most capital-intensive part of a business plan for opening an accounting outsourcing company is the purchase of equipment. In this matter, you should not save either on furniture for employees or on software. Chairs and tables should be as comfortable as possible, since specialists will spend most of their time sitting, working without interruption.

Purchasing a pirated version of an accounting program is unacceptable. The condition of computers also needs to be monitored, since most reports today are prepared electronically.

The average cost of outsourcing services is difficult to determine, since the total amount may vary depending on the organizational form of the client’s activity, the taxation system, and the presence of foreign trade activities.

Range of services

Let's move on to the list of services provided. Accounting services should be represented by the following proposals:

Filling out tax returns.
Calculation of wages and other payments to employees.
Drawing up the main provisions of accounting policies, as well as introducing changes and adjustments to them.
Carrying out financial accounting in accordance with the company's accounting policies.
Providing accountant services for accounting and tax accounting.
Preparation of tax reporting.
Turnkey accounting.
Consulting managers on financial issues.
Carrying out operations to open and close accounts
Registration of additional branches of the company.
Interaction with government authorities for filing tax and accounting reports.

When developing a list of services, it is necessary to focus on promising types of activities, as well as those that bring the most income to the company.

Productivity must be achieved, so specialists should not be overloaded with labor-intensive but low-paying work.

Staff

What's one thing you should know about accounting before starting your own business? Accounting services for organizations as a business area can generate significant income, but this type of activity involves serious liability, including criminal liability. Therefore, it is important to pay special attention to the qualifications and experience of employees who will deal with clients.

The legislation of the Russian Federation strictly regulates the rules for preparing tax and accounting documentation, and errors in this matter are extremely undesirable.

To minimize risks, it is recommended to hire 5-6 accountants with sufficient experience. Preference should be given to employees with different specializations, since modern accounting solves many problems and is not limited to monitoring expenses and income.

It is worth worrying about the possibility of attracting additional labor. Surprisingly, the provision of accounting services as a business is characterized by seasonality. Most entrepreneurs remember the importance of accounting issues only at the end of reporting periods, so the company can expect emergency work once a quarter or once a year.

The company's support staff are a courier and a lawyer. Courier services will be required for urgent and important client documentation, as well as for sending papers to city authorities. A lawyer is required to conclude contracts for the provision of accounting services between the outsourcing company and the client.

If the company does not work with large clients, then you can get by with one-time services from law firms.

Promotion

The opening of a company must be accompanied by coverage of this fact in the media. This can be either a full-fledged advertisement on radio or television, or an advertisement in print media, as well as in professional periodicals - magazines for accountants and so on.

Modernity dictates another obligation - creating your own website. This is also a powerful marketing tool; on the website you can post more information about the services that the company provides, as well as provide clients with contacts and price lists.

Today, new companies are opening every day, and each of them is required to be outsourced. Providing accounting services of the proper quality will be an excellent advertisement in itself. Satisfied clients will definitely recommend quality specialists to their partners and friends.

With properly organized activities, the enterprise will pay for itself within up to one year

Calculating expenses and profits

Organization of work of an accounting outsourcing company is based on the following costs:

Registration - 15,000 rub.
Risk insurance - 25,000 rubles.
Repair of the premises - 50,000 rubles.
Purchase of equipment - 160,000 rubles.
Advertising - 40,000 rub.

Total: 290,000 rubles.

Also, an entrepreneur should not forget about monthly costs:

Salary - 120,000 rubles.
Rent of premises - 40,000 rubles.
Consumables, office supplies - 20,000 rubles.
Advertising and marketing - 10 thousand rubles.

Total: 190,000 rubles.

The final calculation depends on many factors, as does the expected profit. The average cost of outsourcing services is difficult to determine, since the total amount may vary depending on the organizational form of the client’s activity, the taxation system, and the presence of foreign trade activities.

In some regions of Russia, the cost of monthly services for one company can exceed 70 thousand rubles per month.

To cover monthly costs, you must have at least 7 companies as regular customers. To make a profit, you will need to attract even more customers.

According to experts, this business has average profitability in the range of 20-30%, according to some estimates up to 100%. With properly organized activities, the enterprise will pay for itself in up to one year.

The demand for accounting services is growing following the number of annual reports. The market in this area is far from saturated, especially in medium and small Russian cities.

How much accounting services are in demand, and where is this niche freer?
how to develop a client base, where to look for potential customers;
how to effectively organize the work of a company so that it generates income;

Brief overview: demand for services by region

Table 1. Number of LLCs engaged in accounting services by region. Information on the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of the State Medical Center of Rosstat, information collected by Elitbuh.

City, region	Total number of operating enterprises, organizations	Number of firms providing accounting services	Number of enterprises per one outsourcing company	Population

Moscow region
Saint Petersburg
Leningradskaya
Altai region
Arkhangelskaya
Amur region
Astrakhan
Bryansk
Belgorodskaya
Vologda
Volgogradskaya
Vladimirskaya
Voronezh
Ivanovskaya
Irkutsk
Kaluzhskaya
Kaliningradskaya
Kemerovo
Kostromskaya
Kirovskaya

Kurganskaya
Lipetskaya
Magadan
Murmansk
Nizhny Novgorod
Novosibirsk
Novgorodskaya

Orenburgskaya
Orlovskaya
Penza
Pskovskaya
Rostovskaya
Ryazan
Samara
Saratovskaya
Sakhalinskaya
Sverdlovskaya
Smolenskaya
Tambovskaya
Tverskaya

Tula
Tyumen
Ulyanovskaya
Chelyabinsk
Yaroslavskaya

Organization of work of an outsourcing company

searching for clients - employees need to be paid regularly;
building effective work - this determines the cost of services.

Several ways: where and how to look for customers

During the first 3 - 4 months of work, the issue with the accountant is often not yet resolved.

As a result of the search, a list appears containing the OGRN.

Next, using the service https://egrul.nalog.ru/ you can get an extract indicating the size of the authorized capital, the legal address of the director, and telephone number.

2. Creation of a website describing services.

price list for services - it is better when their cost is average between the salary of a “coming” accountant and a good full-time specialist;
location of the company - visits usually begin with companies located in their own or neighboring area;
availability of contact information - a valid telephone number must be indicated, verification begins with a call;
sample contract with commentary - this allows you to draw conclusions about the quality of work and certain guarantees from the company.

The design style of the site and the reviews provided on it practically do not matter.

Articles in specialized publications and popular local newspapers have a good effect. And it’s better if this is not naked advertising, but publications on current issues of accounting and taxes. They are used to assess the level of competence of a specialist and inspire confidence. The same goal is pursued by giving reports at various presentations, meetings, seminars - business cards are left there, and necessary contacts are made.

Typical operation scheme

the customer “entices” the specialist working with him;
The accountant quits and takes his clients with him.

It is very important to develop a flexible price list that provides differentiated tariffs for different customers, for example:

“zero” - for newly created organizations with a zero balance;
basic - for companies with a relatively small volume of documents;
negotiable - for those who order a full range of services.

Outsourcing companies primarily compete on prices, but dumping has limitations. The strategies of successful companies have some kind of “zest”. This may be a narrow specialization: credit servicing, work with individual entrepreneurs, or, conversely, a wide range of services, including legal ones: registration, liquidation of organizations.

Knopka LLC, Yekaterinburg, initial investment 1.5 million rubles.

The work is aimed at offering services to companies that need them. Many organizations opt for outsourcing, since hiring an accountant on their staff is not always profitable. If the company employs experienced accountants, and the owner advertises the services provided well, then it will be possible to achieve high profits within a year.

Business demand

An individual entrepreneur is suitable for those who are starting a business alone, without planning much growth. Even if you are at a low or medium level, you can make a good profit. Among the advantages of choosing an individual entrepreneur are:

lack of a legal address (you can register a business even for an apartment)
no accounting required
smaller fines
opening and closing a company is easier

You can choose the appropriate option only after an in-depth analysis of your future business. To officially launch the organization’s work, you need to contact the federal tax service. They will be able to tell you what documents will be required and how much you need to pay for it.

Everyone who is engaged in business pays taxes. The Federal Tax Service provides several options to choose from. You can choose the appropriate one after studying each in detail.

A businessman has a choice of the classical taxation system, the simplified “income” system and the simplified “income minus expenses” system. When starting your own business, economists recommend choosing the simplified “income” option.
"Income" has the following advantages:

tax 6% of income (rate depends on the region)
no need to provide financial statements
filing a tax return only once a year

You should carefully study the features of all. Only based on personal requirements, you can choose the appropriate option. If you have any problems, you can always get advice from a specialist.

If a person opening a business providing accounting services has an economic education, choosing the appropriate type of taxation will not be difficult. In any case, it is advisable to acquire simple accounting skills and an understanding of economics in order to achieve success in the future.

Hiring workers

Hiring employees is considered an important stage, since the work of the company in the future will depend on it. They work alone if they have qualifications and experience as an accountant. If a person works alone, the development of the organization slows down. In any case, after a certain stage you will need to hire workers.

To create a promising outsourcing company, you need to invest a lot of money and hire educated workers. Typically, the staff consists of:

(if the budget is insufficient, limited to 1 person)
assistant accountant
courier

A large organization will need a system administrator who will maintain the equipment and keep it in the required working condition. Personnel must perform their duties responsibly. The company's reputation will depend on this. If low-quality services are provided, there will be significantly fewer clients. Some of them will want to solve the problem in the legal field, disrupting the work of the company.

You will need to do the hiring yourself. Selection criteria must be determined in advance. It is necessary to clearly communicate the duties and payment for them to the potential employee. If in doubt, contact a special agency. They will act as intermediaries and help find experienced workers.

Work room

If you plan to open a large company, then you cannot do without purchasing an office. It is recommended to choose property in the city center. Another place with a large crowd of people would also be suitable. There are no special requirements for the premises itself. The main thing is that all workers can comfortably accommodate it.

At the initial stage, only a small number of businessmen are able to purchase real estate, so the choice of the majority is renting. The rental agreement is drawn up together with a specialist. All the smallest details are taken into account. You need to choose an office based on your budget and your own preferences. The main requirement is that it must be neat and not scare off potential clients.

Equipment

Employees of the company through which part of the work will be performed. A company cannot do without computers and special software. You will need to provide an office:

computers
PC software
Internet access

The most popular utility that helps with accounting is 1C Accounting. Licensed software is purchased for each computer.

If the organization hires a system administrator who understands software for accountants, then there will be no problems setting up computers.

Licensing

The question of whether it is necessary to obtain a license is an acute one for all beginning businessmen who have decided to start providing accounting services. Most services are provided without a license. Only for a mass audit you will need to obtain the appropriate document.

Services for calculations and filling out papers. All samples are easy to find in the public domain. The contract is concluded only after advance payment. It is necessary to create in advance an agreement suitable for the company, if necessary adding your own changes to it that do not contradict the law.

Business development

To achieve success, you need to actively promote your own business. Without advertising, promotion will slow down significantly. Nowadays it is impossible to imagine a company that does not have its own website. It is through the Internet that people find the services they need. If someone wants to get help from an accountant, then first of all the search will be conducted through the network.

Don't forget about the classic methods of advertising through ads. You can place advertisements in newspapers or post them around the city. If the budget allows, they purchase advertising on regional TV.

Creating your own website

It is impossible to perform this action yourself. You will need to contact specialized companies or hire individual people who create websites.
Creating a website will take a lot of time and a considerable amount of money. Once launched, you will need to promote it. This is what SEO optimizers do. They will make sure that when searching for a company that provides accountant assistance, their customer will be in the first place.

The site contains useful information:

Contact details
price list
range of services provided

Useful articles may also be posted. This will help attract more visitors to the site. Some of them will use the company’s services.

A person through the site will be able to get acquainted with the prices in detail and decide whether he should seek help or not.

Classic advertising

It is possible through regular advertisements. You can post them on the Internet or in newspapers. They are also posted all over the city. This way you can attract customers. You should carefully study those who often turn to the company for help. Advertising must be directed to the target audience.

A person is engaged in advertising promotion independently. If there are extra funds, then specialized companies can handle turnkey promotion. The more starting capital you have, the better you will be able to advertise yourself.

Opening a company that provides accounting services is a profitable decision. This type of business is in demand and has high prospects. With simple steps you can easily expand in the future. As soon as there are too many clients, a new employee is hired.

You need to plan everything carefully. You will need a business plan that will take into account all the details. You will also need a starting capital of at least 500-800 thousand rubles. To save money, they begin to provide accounting services alone. If everything goes well, the business expands.

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