Site Visits
What is a site visit?
During a site visit, Melanie Hodgdon will come to your office to accomplish pre-determined objectives. Site visits provide opportunities for an intensive training experience. Clients benefit from site visits in that much can be accomplished in a very short period of time. Transfer of information is very efficient.
What can I expect a site visit to accomplish?
Each company will identify different objectives. There is no such thing as a “typical” agenda for a site visit. However, popular objectives include
- QuickBooks file setup, customization, data entry, and training
- Assistance with creating policies and procedures
- Creation of procedural manual for common office practices
- Financial analysis
- Creation of customized Excel spreadsheets (especially estimates)
- Review and revision of paperwork flow
- Review and reassignment of office tasks (job descriptions)
How long will the site visit be?
Site visits can be of any duration but are frequently three days in length. During the visit, clients should expect to be available for the duration. This means that interruption to the normal flow of business will probably occur.
Who should be involved during the site visit?
Owners or company principals should prepare to participate in the site visit. Although it is tempting (especially when the emphasis is on QuickBooks) to leave the visit in the hands of the bookkeeper, a major component of any site visit is decision making. Therefore, it is critical that the decision makers are part of the meetings and available throughout the duration of the visit.
In fact, if one objective of the visit is to create a QuickBooks file, it is more important for the owner/principal to be involved than it is for the bookkeeper, even if the bookkeeper will be solely responsible for data entry. After all, owners/principals will be responsible for reviewing, interpreting, and making decisions based on reports generated from QuickBooks. Therefore, they must be the ones to determine which reports are important, and what information they will contain. These decisions must not be left to the bookkeeper.
Training in the use of the QuickBooks file, however, is more appropriate to the bookkeeper than to the owner/principal, unless the owner/principal is still wearing the bookkeeper’s hat.
What do I need to do before the site visit?
A site visit will be preceded by at least one meeting to
1. determine whether the services provided by Business Systems Management, Inc. are a good match for the client’s needs
2. identify the objectives of the visit
3. identify what the client must do or have available prior to the visit
The results of this meeting will dictate any specific preparations required.
How much will it cost?
Costs will include actual consulting time plus travel charges. Consulting is generally charged at the hourly rate; discounts for packages are available. Please contact us for current rates or a custom quote.