Disclaimer
Statements of fact and opinion are the authors’ responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of PICPA officers or members. The information contained in herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For professional advice, please engage or consult a qualified professional.
CPA Now

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Accounting & Auditing

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Ethics

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Leadership

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Practice Management

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Technology

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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Tax

Think Fintechs when Planning Accounting Service Expansion

Jul 28, 2017, 05:16 AM by Matthew McCann
With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

Brent MeyersBy Brent Meyers | Nvoicepay


Today, a typical CPA firm does more than taxes and financial statements. And as firms seek to diversify and grow by offering clients value added-services, they are engaging in a wider range of activities. Some are serving as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, handling day-to-day tactical accounts payable and accounts receivable. Some are getting into technology consultation and implementation by helping clients look at their existing systems to see if they can improve security and simplify processes.

With the rise of business-to-business (B2B) financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past. They’re also much easier to use, and offer far greater agility than what was possible in an on-premise server environment.

Helping clients make their processes faster and more transparent usually makes the firm’s job easier too, freeing up resources to provide more value-added work. It’s time for accounting firms to see what’s out there that they can bring to their clients.

Fintechs

Data cloudFintechs are moving into every aspect of B2B financial services. Where people used to look to QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP, there now are cloud-based accounting and ERP options like Xero, Freshbooks, NetSuite, and Workday. You probably know about those.

What you may not know is that fintechs are moving into e-invoicing, expense reporting, data sharing and protection, compliance, tax management, and fraud control. They’re executing specific parts of the banking value chain better, cheaper, and faster, including lending, trade finance, and payments.

Out Innovate the Banks

Banks haven’t come up with many new offerings since virtual cards (essentially credit cards without the physical plastic) more than 10 years ago, and they’ve never been able to provide a complete payment solution. Card programs and the automated clearing house each solve only a piece of the payment puzzle, and there’s a lot of manual work that has to happen to use those products, such as managing all the supplier information and creating the files to send to the bank. That’s why, even as the consumer world is moving away from checks and cash, you see companies still writing so many checks.

Fintech solutions solve the whole thing: all types of payments and all the work that goes along with the payments. Companies can make 80 percent or more of their payments electronically, and that saves a lot of resources, especially if you’re a BPO writing hundreds of thousands of checks on behalf of your clients.

The bigger benefit over the long term, though, is visibility. Because the solution is in the cloud, payments are visible throughout the process, which is nice for people counting the money or following the virtual paper trail.

For outsourced accounting organizations that are processing payments but don’t have visibility into the customer’s bank account, they can go into a portal and see all the transactions and know when the checks clear. They can get payment information daily, weekly, monthly, or however often they need it, and a lot of those audit boxes are prechecked.

Now they can do reporting and analysis throughout the year, rather than waiting for a mass data dump or a big manila envelope full of documents. If the firm is doing taxes too, that helps alleviate a big tax time crunch.

Seeing the Opportunity

What better visibility really does, however, is open up more opportunities for CPA, audit, or BPO firms down the road. If you’re a BPO, visibility into payments could potentially help you work better with vendors. If you can see who’s being paid what and how often, you have information that could help you negotiate better payment terms, maybe tying in a fintech solution for managing dynamic discounting or supplier finance. There’s a lot going on around more nuanced strategies in these areas. It’s hard to manage these types of programs in a manual environment.

Some companies automate closing the books and the reporting process. Others may offer something further upstream, such as purchase order matching or invoice automation. These newer solutions are easier to integrate than their predecessors, freeing you up to think beyond historic limitations.

The more you can help clients automate, the more nimble they are and the more nimble you are. You have the ability to look at a lot of solutions and consulting work that maybe you didn't before, and that opens up a new world of opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.

There’s a Fintech for That

Successful CPA firms realized long ago the benefits of diversifying to create a year-round income stream and to keep customers around longer. It’s hard to differentiate yourself by just preparing taxes and financial statements. Offering value-added services strengthens relationships, lets firms create new revenue streams, and promotes growth along with their clients. Clients get expert help from a trusted adviser who knows their business intimately. Clients today want that.

The solutions you can bring to them have changed, and it’s time to explore the world of fintechs to see what you might be able to offer. Chances are, from compliance to closing the books to vendor payments, there’s a fintech for that.


Brent Meyers is vice president of national sales for Nvoicepay. He is an accredited payables solutions consultant through The Accounts Payable Network and a certified purchasing card professional through the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals.

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