Financial management service for busy professionals

[GeoffP]

Hi everyone. I have a project I'm working on that I need some feedback on. Basically, I'm designing a financial management service for busy professionals that I'm hoping to use to springboard a hybrid Local-Virtual CFO service.

The way this works is lets say you're a new real estate agent. In exchange for a nominal monthly fee, we come in and set up your banking, accounting, and mileage apps and automate it as much as possible. We monitor the accounting either monthly or quarterly and depending on the service level also handle taxes.

We are targeting professionals in industries that are fairly simple to do the accounting for, but have high burn rates, because many of these people will start businesses once they fail out of real estate or insurance. We can then transition these people into new business owner training programs and a Virtual CFO service for businesses.

The long term goal here is once this is a system to franchise it to other professionals and then set them up as authorities in their local market.

Does this seem like a viable business idea? If so, do you have any resources or suggestions we should look at when structuring it?

 

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[Camaro68]

I don't understand what your business is.

"we come in and set up your banking, accounting, and mileage apps and automate it as much as possible. We monitor the accounting either monthly or quarterly and depending on the service level also handle taxes."

Will I be using YOUR banking,accounting, and mileage aps? Or are you setting it up for me? Two totally different businesses, I'm going to assume that you are not developing banking, accounting and mileage aps because it would be a huge project to develop just one of them. So you are a service business?

I don't need anyone to set up my banking, accounting and mileage aps, they are extremely user friendly and if anyone needs to pay you a monthly fee to set up those extremely user friendly products that literally walk you through step by step, they probably aren't going to be in business very long or a customer of yours lol. I also don't understand what you mean by "we automate it as much as possible", all the currently offered aps for each area are designed to be automated already. It's already out there, mileage is automatically calculated and recorded and syncs with tax software, tax software syncs with banking software, its all connected and to "set it up" just requires a simple typing in your bank name in the search function of the program, clicking your bank and entering in your account info, very simple, very quick.

Also, you say that many people will fail out of their original endeavor...so you are developing a business plan that benefits from customers failing?

I guess I just don't see what your competitive advantage is, there is nothing that you stated you could do for me, that a reasonably intelligent individual couldn't very, very easily do for themselves. And I'm going to assume that if they are selling real estate or insurance they are the self sufficient/self reliant type of individual that wouldn't have a problem setting up their books and related themselves than paying someone to do it for them monthly.

"depending on the service level also handle taxes", so now you are also in the tax business? So you are a concierge, IT, CPA, training, development, franchise? Just my .02 but it sounds like a jack of all trades, master of none. I don't understand how you're differentiating yourself from what is already out there, and what is out there is pretty darn good. Maybe more clarification on your competitive advantage or how you will create more value for the customer than they are getting with current offerings in the market.

 

[GeoffP]

I don't understand what your business is.

"we come in and set up your banking, accounting, and mileage apps and automate it as much as possible. We monitor the accounting either monthly or quarterly and depending on the service level also handle taxes."

Will I be using YOUR banking,accounting, and mileage aps? Or are you setting it up for me? Two totally different businesses, I'm going to assume that you are not developing banking, accounting and mileage aps because it would be a huge project to develop just one of them. So you are a service business?

I don't need anyone to set up my banking, accounting and mileage aps, they are extremely user friendly and if anyone needs to pay you a monthly fee to set up those extremely user friendly products that literally walk you through step by step, they probably aren't going to be in business very long or a customer of yours lol. I also don't understand what you mean by "we automate it as much as possible", all the currently offered aps for each area are designed to be automated already. It's already out there, mileage is automatically calculated and recorded and syncs with tax software, tax software syncs with banking software, its all connected and to "set it up" just requires a simple typing in your bank name in the search function of the program, clicking your bank and entering in your account info, very simple, very quick.

Also, you say that many people will fail out of their original endeavor...so you are developing a business plan that benefits from customers failing?

I guess I just don't see what your competitive advantage is, there is nothing that you stated you could do for me, that a reasonably intelligent individual couldn't very, very easily do for themselves. And I'm going to assume that if they are selling real estate or insurance they are the self sufficient/self reliant type of individual that wouldn't have a problem setting up their books and related themselves than paying someone to do it for them monthly.

"depending on the service level also handle taxes", so now you are also in the tax business? So you are a concierge, IT, CPA, training, development, franchise? Just my .02 but it sounds like a jack of all trades, master of none. I don't understand how you're differentiating yourself from what is already out there, and what is out there is pretty darn good. Maybe more clarification on your competitive advantage or how you will create more value for the customer than they are getting with current offerings in the market.

Hiya, so basically what we will be doing is offering CFO/operations concierge services for self-employed people and small businesses. We've developed three levels of service based on feedback from local professionals. My goal here is equip busy people with the tech they need to be successful, either as a real estate/insurance agent or as a business owner.

The process we go through with professionals is educating them on their banking and accounting options, what they can and can't write off, and how to track mileage. We get them set up with appropriate business banking, connect it to an appropriate accounting package, and then monitor it for them. We also can handle all tax obligations and connect them with other services as needed.

The problem most new real estate and insurance agents have is that they don't have time to set this stuff up properly, because they are busy making money at a side job while trying to sell either real estate or insurance. So by having us do it, they are able to focus on making money rather than routine tasks.

Does this make more sense?

 

[BradD]

I like the idea, and there's a need- a lot of it comes down to execution- there's typically a market for anything that saves business owners time/hassle.

In my experience, there's a huge variance in quality among these Virtual CPA type services- I would checkout the following-

https://bench.co- mainly bookkeeping (VC backed startup)
LiveCA • Online Chartered Accountants, Canada (ex of a full service solution- I have direct experience with them if anyone has questions)

 

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[Camaro68]

Sure that makes a little more sense, I guess this is where I struggle, I attribute my own ambition to a market, I often find myself saying, why would people pay to do something they could do themselves very quickly and very easily. If I owned an Ap that was developed to service small business owners I would make it as user friendly and integrated as possible, and I think those available do this. I would never commit to a monthly fee to have someone do this for me, but perhaps most people don't think this way and there is a market there.

It just seems redundant to me, my CPA already does everything you said you will offer, and they do it very well, and we have a long relationship together, and I trust them. I think it might be a challenge to get people to leave a CPA that already does everything that you are offering. They almost have a protective moat. I pay what I consider a premium for my tax prep, personal and business. I know that I could get the same or quality service probably from another company, but the fact that I have been with them for years and years and we have developed plans (depreciation, harvesting losses, carrying over etc) makes me reluctant to shop them because we have such a history. I know others who think the same way.

What I like about your idea is a subscription based service. Love that idea in a variety of markets. I think it wouldn't take you much time or overhead to get a customer on board and set up. What I think would be challenges is finding sources for your other offerings, a CPA etc if you aren't one yourself, you are at the mercy of a quality CPA for taxes and accounting services, unless you plan to subcontract that portion out, complicates things. Tracking mileage etc is so easy today its ridiculous as is online banking and connecting accounts.

Although I wouldn't be interested in the service myself that doesn't mean there isn't a market for it, or that it cant be successful. If you can find customers I think its a good idea. Streamline everything for them might be of value, but once people better understand how to use the Aps they already have to do everything, I think there is risk that they will feel that your services aren't needed? I.E. I hire you to set me all up because I am reluctant to jump in, once you set me up and I see how easy it is to integrate everything and Im doing it all on my own now that I understand it better, what do I need to continue paying you monthly for? The first sign of a slow market (feast/famine) I'm gonna cut costs and I would worry that your redundant service would be on the chopping block, now that I as a customer understand how to use the tools I already have and pay for, and a CPA to take care of the rest.

 

[GeoffP]

Sure that makes a little more sense, I guess this is where I struggle, I attribute my own ambition to a market, I often find myself saying, why would people pay to do something they could do themselves very quickly and very easily. If I owned an Ap that was developed to service small business owners I would make it as user friendly and integrated as possible, and I think those available do this. I would never commit to a monthly fee to have someone do this for me, but perhaps most people don't think this way and there is a market there.

It just seems redundant to me, my CPA already does everything you said you will offer, and they do it very well, and we have a long relationship together, and I trust them. I think it might be a challenge to get people to leave a CPA that already does everything that you are offering. They almost have a protective moat. I pay what I consider a premium for my tax prep, personal and business. I know that I could get the same or quality service probably from another company, but the fact that I have been with them for years and years and we have developed plans (depreciation, harvesting losses, carrying over etc) makes me reluctant to shop them because we have such a history. I know others who think the same way.

What I like about your idea is a subscription based service. Love that idea in a variety of markets. I think it wouldn't take you much time or overhead to get a customer on board and set up. What I think would be challenges is finding sources for your other offerings, a CPA etc if you aren't one yourself, you are at the mercy of a quality CPA for taxes and accounting services, unless you plan to subcontract that portion out, complicates things. Tracking mileage etc is so easy today its ridiculous as is online banking and connecting accounts.

Although I wouldn't be interested in the service myself that doesn't mean there isn't a market for it, or that it cant be successful. If you can find customers I think its a good idea. Streamline everything for them might be of value, but once people better understand how to use the Aps they already have to do everything, I think there is risk that they will feel that your services aren't needed? I.E. I hire you to set me all up because I am reluctant to jump in, once you set me up and I see how easy it is to integrate everything and Im doing it all on my own now that I understand it better, what do I need to continue paying you monthly for? The first sign of a slow market (feast/famine) I'm gonna cut costs and I would worry that your redundant service would be on the chopping block, now that I as a customer understand how to use the tools I already have and pay for, and a CPA to take care of the rest.

I am a CPA (so I get the benefit of the cartel ) . These are very valid points that we'll be working on as we roll out the services. Most of our target clientele don't have accountants so we don't think it will be a conversion issue.