Accounting Services

Our goal with EVERY client is to EXCEED your expectations of a CPA.

How have we built our tradition of excellence at Cavett Accounting? It starts with a commitment to service that places the needs of the client at the forefront. There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solution to the accounting needs of our clients. In fact, it’s just the opposite. In our experience, we’ve learned that clients have goals and career paths of all different shapes, sizes, and colors that evolve over time.

We keep up, while you keep on.

Whether you are growing a business, climbing the ladder in your workplace, or are simply busy with the daily demands of life, we understand your life is too busy to even begin to keep up with ever-changing tax code.

Year in and year out, laws and regulations to local, state, and federal tax systems are added, abandoned, and altered. As these changes occur, Cavett Accounting is your partner in the journey, analyzing your financial situation with the scope of ever-changing factors.

Along the way, as forms and paperwork with names like 1040, Schedule C, 1099, W-2, and W-4 stack up, we keep you organized and on point. Our goal is to utilize our decades of experience and expertise to take the guesswork out of individual and business tax returns, estate planning, investment analysis, and beyond.

Quality accounting and advice, delivered on time.

How much do services cost? How quickly can accounting services be delivered? What are other advantages of entrusting my financial demands into the hands of the professionals at Cavett Accounting?

Our firm’s objective is to provide premium-quality financial services to serve your immediate and long-term considerations. Cavett Accounting emphasizes three factors:

● Business and Individual tax returns provided at reasonable cost to the Fargo-Moorhead area.

● Accounting services that are completed in a timely manner.

● Individualized accounting advice offered through the lens of YOUR needs.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a partner that serves eastern North Dakota, western Minnesota and beyond with relationship-based service, while seeking to develop creative solutions tailored to demands of your situation, Cavett Accounting eagerly awaits the opportunity to meet with you.

We provide an extensive list of services, including the following below:

Business Consulting

Every business is burdened with strategic, financial, operational and technological challenges. Business planning requires continual monitoring and evaluating whether you are starting, maintaining, or in the process of a business transfer. You need a solid financial plan in place to turn a profit. We want to help you manage your business, establish internal controls, and use appropriate technology to improve functional performance. We have positive experience in a plethora of industries to move you in the right direction.

Tax Preparation

Tax laws are confusing. There is no easier way to say it. Unless your financial situation is simple, it is impossible to stay abreast of all the changes to the tax laws. Even the use of tax software gives no guarantee you will receive the proper savings. It is easy to overlook deductions and credits. Why not use every legal means available to minimize your taxes? We can help you understand tax implications — whether you are an individual or a business - before you make them. Our staff monitors changes in the tax laws. The recommendations we give will create strategies that can be implemented to save you money.

Financial Statement Preparation (Business/Personal)

Financial Statements are a great tool for both individuals and businesses in making financial decisions. Statements can be used as a basis to evaluate businesses, catch potential problems, and for future planning. By using financial statements properly businesses and individuals can increase profitability in their industries. Immediate impacts of a financial statement allow industries to operate at full capacity on a daily basis. We can customize financial statements to meet monthly, quarterly and yearly concerns and expectations.

Accounting Software

There are several great software packages to help individuals and businesses. Often times packages are used without any educational training and mistakes are made. We can help train and educate individuals and businesses on how to use Quickbooks before mistakes are made. Questions arise and we are there for your support. We have time-saving tips to help you use accounting software more efficiently.

Retirement Planning

In today's world people are working longer into their golden years. Working gives a person a feeling of independence. Proper financial planning will ensure financial independence now and through retirement. We can offer advice on retirement plans for both individuals and businesses. Once the plans are set-up we can effectively and periodically review your plans to ensure independence. It is never too early to start thinking about your future!

Tax Planning (Charitable or IRA Contributions)

Tax planning is beneficial for individuals and businesses. It is important to have your tax situation evaluated to ensure you do not have to pay penalties and to avoid tax liability. The IRS says you need the smaller of 90% of the current years total tax or 100% of the previous years totals taxes paid in by the end of the year to avoid penalties. We are aware of the changes in tax law occurring throughout the year in order to minimize your tax liabilities. Your needs are our concern. We can accommodate you to maximize your future.

Investment Analysis

Investments often require long-term strategies. As a client you want these strategies to be cost-effective while being easy to develop and maintain. Our personalized investment analysis is tailored to your financial assets and goals. Tax implications, affecting your portfolio now and in the future, are taken into consideration. This allows us to readjust strategies when necessary. We develop customized strategies for a full range of investment vehicles. Our freedom is your freedom.

Estate & Trust Planning

Sometimes it is a challenge to get financial affairs in order. It is important to have a solid plan in place for your future. We can offer Estate Planning that maximizes on legacies. Our firm stays on top of current legislative changes and proposals, rules and regulations and all other federal and state taxation laws. Whether you are looking at minimizing taxes on a transfer of assets or trying to provide security for your family, it is in your best interest to have professionals guide you through the complex process of getting your financial affairs in order.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a process with an integrated set of activities or actions aimed at developing sustainable, competitive advantages for your practice. The process involves reviewing the current structure of your practice, developing projections, and working out a plan to accomplish the goals and objectives of the practice. Everyone in the business must be on board with implementing changes. Successful implementation must be ongoing. Businesses must adjust (the planning process) and remain committed to the future courses of action when conditions change. Within the business, it is vital to understand that some developments are controllable and some are not. Control what you can, but do not bother with what is uncontrollable. There needs to be a consensus within the business on the future direction. The clients being served need to be identified and a plan to better serve them needs to be put in place. The needs of the owners and employees also are vital to the success of the business. There needs to be an understanding of how to meet those needs. Key areas to address are: expectations, governance, administration, compensation, and financial issues. We have helped businesses start and restructure business practices in order to grow.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping services are essential for businesses of all sizes, helping to keep financial records accurate and up-to-date. They encompass a variety of tasks that contribute to a business's financial health, ranging from daily transaction recording to in-depth financial reporting and tax preparation.

Key Aspects of Bookkeeping Services:

Accurate Record-Keeping: Meticulously capturing and organizing all financial transactions to provide a clear picture of a business's financial standing. This helps avoid costly mistakes and simplifies tax preparation.
Transaction Categorization: Instantly sorting income and expenses to provide immediate insights into cash flow. This empowers businesses to make informed decisions quickly.
Financial Statement Preparation: Generating professional and comprehensive monthly financial statements like balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports. These reports are vital for tracking progress, securing funding, and future planning.
Bank Reconciliation: Matching business records with bank statements to ensure accuracy and identify any discrepancies.
Accounts Payable and Receivable Management: Tracking and managing vendor bills and customer invoices.
Payroll Processing: Managing payroll for employees and potentially contractors.
Tax Services: Providing assistance with tax planning, preparation, and filing. Some services also offer tax defense and advice on entity structure.
Reporting & Analysis: Generating financial reports and dashboards to provide insights into business trends and performance.

Benefits of using Bookkeeping Services:

Time Savings: Outsourcing bookkeeping allows business owners to focus on core business activities.
Improved Accuracy: Professional bookkeepers ensure accurate and compliant financial records.
Enhanced Financial Understanding: Bookkeeping services provide insights into financial performance, empowering better decision-making.
Tax Readiness: Timely and accurate bookkeeping ensures a smoother tax season.
Scalability: Services can often be tailored to accommodate business growth and changing needs.

Types of Bookkeeping Services:

Online Bookkeeping Services: These offer remote services, often via cloud-based platforms and dedicated bookkeepers. Examples include Bookkeeper360, Pilot: Bookkeeping, and QuickBooks Live.
Freelance Bookkeepers: Individual professionals offering bookkeeping services on a contract basis.
Accounting Firms: Companies offering a range of accounting and bookkeeping services, often catering to businesses of various sizes.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Service:

Accounting Method: Consider whether the service supports cash basis or accrual basis accounting, depending on your business's needs.
Software Compatibility: Ensure the service integrates with your existing accounting software, especially if you use popular platforms like QuickBooks or Xero.
Required Services: Determine if you need basic bookkeeping, or if you also require add-on services like payroll, tax planning, or advanced reporting.
Catch-Up Bookkeeping: If your records are not up-to-date, check if the service offers catch-up bookkeeping and associated costs.
Communication Style: Decide on your preferred communication method with your bookkeeper (e.g., virtual or in-person).
Budget: Online bookkeeping services generally range from around $200 per month upwards, with costs potentially increasing based on business size and complexity.

By carefully evaluating these factors, businesses can choose the bookkeeping service that best aligns with their needs and supports their long-term financial success.

Payroll

A payroll service is a company that manages the payroll process for other businesses, handling tasks like wage calculations, tax withholding, and payment distribution. They act as a third-party provider, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while also managing compliance with labor laws and regulations.

Key Functions of a Payroll Service:

Wage Calculation: Accurately determines employee wages based on various factors like hourly rates, salaries, overtime, bonuses, and deductions.
Tax Withholding: Withholds the appropriate amount of federal, state, and local taxes.
Payment Distribution: Processes payments via direct deposit or checks to employees.
Compliance: Manages compliance with labor laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.
Reporting and Recordkeeping: Provides reports, maintains payroll records, and assists with audits.

Benefits of Using a Payroll Service:

Reduced administrative workload:

Businesses can outsource the payroll process, freeing up time and resources for core business activities.

Improved accuracy and timeliness:

Payroll services ensure employees are paid accurately and on time, minimizing errors and delays.

Enhanced compliance:

Payroll services stay up-to-date with changing tax laws and regulations, minimizing the risk of penalties.

Access to specialized expertise:

Payroll services often have specialized knowledge in handling complex payroll situations, such as multi-state payroll or international payroll.

Outsourced Accounting

Outsourced accounting involves a company hiring a third-party accounting firm to handle its finance and accounting functions, including tasks like payroll, tax preparation, and financial reporting. This allows businesses to focus on core activities while benefiting from specialized accounting expertise.

Benefits of Outsourcing Accounting:

Cost Savings:

Outsourcing can reduce costs associated with hiring, training, and maintaining in-house accounting staff.

Scalability:

Businesses can easily scale their accounting needs up or down as their business grows or changes.

Access to Expertise:

Outsourcing provides access to specialized accounting knowledge and experience.

Improved Efficiency:

Outsourced accounting can streamline accounting processes and improve efficiency.

Focus on Core Business:

By outsourcing accounting, businesses can focus on their core competencies and strategic initiatives.

Services Typically Included in Outsourced Accounting:

Bookkeeping: Recording and managing financial transactions.
Payroll Processing: Calculating and paying employee wages and salaries.
Tax Preparation: Preparing and filing tax returns.
Financial Reporting: Creating and providing financial statements.
Account Reconciliation: Ensuring accuracy of bank statements and financial records.
Budgeting and Forecasting: Developing and managing budgets and financial forecasts.
Compliance Support: Ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulations.
CFO and Controllership Services: Providing leadership and guidance in financial management.
Audit Support: Assisting with audit preparation and implementation.
Technology Implementation: Helping businesses transition to cloud-based accounting systems.
Transaction Processing: Streamlining transaction workflows and electronic payments.

Outsourced CFO

What is an Outsourced CFO?

An outsourced CFO is a finance leader outside of your organization that provides top-tier finance, business, accounting, and operational guidance for your business. An outsourced CFO can be used full-time, part-time, or as an interim for the duration of a project.

Why Do Companies Use Outsourced CFO Services?

From start-ups to private equity-backed firms and all businesses in between, there are several scenarios where outsourcing CFO services is the best way to address business owners' challenges. Circumstances that call for outsourcing the CFO function are varied but can include the following scenarios:

You’re an entrepreneur. Your business is taking off, and you have a lot of balls in the air – you simply don’t have enough time for budgeting, forecasting, and analyzing financial results.
You run a small- to mid-sized business. You know your customers and your services or products inside and out, but you’re less focused on dissecting the company’s financial side. As a result, you sometimes make decisions based on instinct instead of financial data and other objective inputs.
You’ve raised some venture capital to expand your business (congratulations!), and you need to update your investors about profit margins, customer acquisition costs, and other key performance indicators, but you’re not sure how to put that together.
Your business has been getting along with a one-person finance department, and that person just gave two weeks’ notice. While you have a bookkeeper, you don’t fully understand the financial statements they prepare. You’ve felt like you could use more in financial planning and analysis, but you’re not entirely sure what you need.
You have a bookkeeper or controller who does not understand the financial statements they are preparing and presenting.
The business is not performing as well as you think it should. An objective third party can help you understand where it falls short and where action is required to turn the business around.

How Does an Outsourced CFO Provide Value?

Consider a business that offers both a product and service contracts to support the use of the product.

The owner doesn’t have the financial information needed to allocate expenses appropriately between the two and doesn’t know the critical metrics or KPIs for a software business versus a service business.

In this situation, the owner simply cannot know whether both sides of the company are profitable.

Managing a business with inadequate financial information is like being given critical news scrambled or written in a foreign language.

You need a capable translator to help you interpret the data and take appropriate action. If you do not have that translator on your staff, an outsourced CFO could be the right solution.

Business owners make decisions every day, but they are not optimal if they are based on insufficient or incorrect inputs.

The implications of faulty financial inputs, including quantities, costs, margins, inventory, cash flows, and so on, can be profound, affecting profitability, market share, and access to capital.

If your financial data is not well organized and presented, it is not as valuable as it could be. If you are getting inadequate or inaccurate information, that is even worse.

Outsourced CFO services add significant value to all types of businesses in numerous ways, including:

Ongoing financial planning and analysis (budgeting, forecasting, assessing long-term and short-term financing needs)
Analysis of overall financial strengths and weaknesses, with suggestions for improvements

Assessment of the financial viability of new product ideas, including projections and NPVs, and IRR calculations
Analysis of pricing and cost structures to improve margins
Evaluation of financial data capture and reporting systems, with recommendations for improvements
Assistance with raising capital, advising on debt/equity mix
Preparing financial presentations for the Board or investors (e.g., pitch decks)
Assistance with quarterly financial reporting
Negotiate with banks on behalf of the company
Analysis of M&A opportunities, including financial forecasts of BAU and post-acquisition operations

What would it cost to create a more robust in-house finance and accounting team?

Another way to look at “What does an outsourced CFO cost?” is to turn the question on its head and ask, “What would it cost to create a more robust in-house finance and accounting team?”

In addition to the ongoing salaries, employee benefits, and payroll expenses involved, you would incur costs associated with the following:

hiring/recruiting (which may include headhunting fees)
onboarding time
“learning curve” time, and
replacing someone if they do not work out, which means you repeat these steps and pay for them again.

Using outsourced CFO services avoids all those expenses, and you only pay for the hours and services needed to accomplish what you need from a CFO.

In other words, using an outsourced CFO eliminates the problem of hiring a full-time, in-house CFO when you do not have enough legitimate CFO-type work to keep that person meaningfully occupied.

If you think about it, the value an outsourced CFO can provide by creating accurate assessments of your company’s financial health and providing answers to the abovementioned questions should far outweigh the out-of-pocket cost of their services. In that sense, your business is profiting from the arrangement.

So, the right answer to the question, “how much does it cost to have an outsourced CFO?” could be, “Nothing – because it pays for itself.”