Free Agent CFO™

Does a Part-Time CFO Need an Accounting System?

by Mark Gandy

This discussion falls under the category of what I do in my practice. You are probably a better accountant than I am, so who am I to advise on this topic? Additionally, this is geared more toward the brand-new CFO starting a consulting practice.

The Reason I Use QuickBooks

I didn’t always use QuickBooks. I implemented Peachtree for my first client in 1993 while working full-time for another employer. I implemented it again in 2000 for another business. I never saw QuickBooks until 2001, and I hated it. I never bought into the program until about two years later.

You can probably guess that I used Peachtree when I started my practice full-time in 2001. I made the switch to QuickBooks near the end of 2003. I still didn’t love the program, but Intuit is great at marketing, and I saw the small business CPA world moving in that direction. Plus, Peachtree wasn’t getting any better.

Even if I didn’t use QuickBooks, I’d still use an accounting system instead of tracking costs in Excel or a database like Access. I also like having balance sheet reporting as I have other investments outside my practice that my brand owns.

Frequently Asked Questions

I will do my best to answer every question you might have. If not, leave me a message in the comments section, and I’ll add the question and answer to the list below.

I use the desktop version so that I can use it for my personal financial management. Even as a subscriber to the Pro Advisor program, I’m not sure if I can have two online versions at no extra cost. The online version is tempting, but I’m still okay with the desktop version.

I don’t want this post to be date sensitive. Accordingly, check out the pricing page on Intuit’s website. I’d also strongly encourage you to subscribe to the Pro Advisor program. I don’t take advantage of all the benefits, but I’ve been in it since 2004 or 2005.

If you need the Enterprise version, you are doing something right or have a big practice. I use the Premier version.

I’ve been using this tool for a very long time. Are there new features? Yes. But the basics are nearly the same. I’d suggest around every three years, then be prepared to upgrade your current version.

That’s your call. I still do my income taxes, and having files for my business and one for my family makes tax time much easier than if I tracked everything in Excel. I suppose I could make that work, but the structure of the accounting system simplifies compliance work at tax time.

I had never used QuickBooks until one of my first clients used it for AP and their GL. I never opened a book or took a class. If you can work in SAP, Dynamics, Oracle, or some other ERP solution, you can figure out QuickBooks. If you need more guidance, here’s a short checklist on what to search for on YouTube:

  • Learn how to create a new file (company)
  • Learn the most important settings on a new company
  • Learn how to enter cash and credit card transactions
  • Learn how to reconcile cash and credit cards
  • Learn how to set up clients, bill them, and collect from them
  • Learn how to enter bills to be paid later

That’s probably 90% of what you’ll need to learn when setting up a new file.

The way I’ll answer that question is in the way I bill my clients. Most are set up via monthly ACH, and so I send them bills about every quarter for each month covered. For the others, I use an Excel template that I can customize better than what I can do in QuickBooks. Otherwise, the accounting system does everything else I need it to do.

Don’t Forget the Month-End Close

This may seem overkill, but I use a short checklist which means I do my accounting quickly and move on to real work afterward. I despise admin work, but I have no desire to delegate this work. Plus, I can do my monthly administration in about 30 minutes or less.

If you set up your credit card charges and cash transactions to hit your account automatically, there’s very little data entry you have to do. Here’s my short monthly checklist:

  1. Ensure all transactions have been entered.
  2. Reconcile the two cash accounts, MMA and brokerage accounts.
  3. Reconcile credit card accounts.
  4. Bill clients (I do this once a month only).
  5. Clear out any bill payments in Outlook and convert to PDF and save.

I wish I didn’t have to do any of the above. Administration is not my thing, and I bet it isn’t yours either. But everything I’ve done above leads to peace of mind, and it helps that I have a simplified system that works for me. Customize your administrative practices accordingly.

Categories: Administration

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