Business Process Review

As our clients grow and change, so do their business flows, processes, staff, and structure. One of the best times to document these changes is during a software change or upgrade. One of the most valuable services we offer to clients is a Business Process Review.

Sometimes this need comes from a desire to switch from another software to QuickBooks. Other times it arises from a staffing change, fraud, or an audit that opened up areas of concern to a client accountant or other trusted professional.

When we’re asked to do a process review, it starts with the key players in the business sitting down in a room and going through, from start to finish, the processes that run the business. We use giant three-foot post-it notes that stick to walls, and we use as many as we need in a meeting. Often the sessions are broken down by either departments or key players in the business, but at some point, there is a representative from every department in the room. There’s a lot of flowcharting going on! Any (or all) of these areas or departments can be discussed:

• Sales
• Invoicing
• Inventory
• Payables
• Receivables
• Collections
• Human Resources
• Reporting

In every process review that we’ve done, two things have happened: some people at the table are doing the same work as others; others at the table had no idea what their peers were doing. It gets every single process out in the open so that everyone knows who’s doing what. It also allows for streamlining – who is the most logical to handle a task? Who shouldn’t be involved? What paper pushing is happening that is a waste of time, money, payroll, and effort?

The information gleaned from these sessions is very valuable to the business and streamlining saves both money and time.