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SaaS Accounting: How Can You Tackle Its Unique Challenges?

05/23/2023

In the world of cloud computing, SaaS (software as a service) has become a popular way to do business. 

But what challenges do SaaS businesses often encounter? What is software as a service (SaaS) accounting? How can you choose a skilled SaaS accounting firm? 

What is Software as a Service (SaaS)? 

SaaS accounting is a method of providing software through a cloud-based platform. It’s also often referred to as “cloud accounting” or “online accounting.” 

The main benefit of SaaS is that it allows clients to access their accounts from anywhere, at any time. They can log in and make adjustments or payments at the click of a button and access their information wherever they are. 

What Financial Challenges Do SaaS Businesses Often Encounter? 

One primary challenge SaaS companies must contend with is determining how to account for their revenue and expenses when they don’t have to deliver products to customers physically. In the SaaS world, users constantly use your services, generating revenue for you. Accounting can be tricky because you must ensure your reports are accurate and up to date. So how do you track that revenue? 

The key to doing this is proper bookkeeping. You need to know how much of your revenue you can attribute to specific services and what costs are associated with each service.  

A wise solution may be to outsource SaaS accounting to a firm that has expertise in this area and can help you develop a personalized strategy to track your revenue. 

How Can SaaS Organizations Choose a Skilled Accounting Team? 

When working with SaaS accounting, choosing a firm with the experience and expertise to handle your business’s unique challenges is important. Here are some things to look for: 

  • Familiarity with the software-as-a-service model and experience working with other companies in this unique space. 
  • A team that can help you identify and analyze any errors or bugs in your software since product quality and customer satisfaction are critical to the success of any SaaS company. 
  • A team that can provide various services, including accounting, bookkeeping, payroll management, strategic planning, and financial health checks so that you can make better business decisions. 

Schedule a Free Consultation with an Experienced Oregon SaaS Accounting Firm  

If you’re a SaaS-based company and looking for accounting services, Perpetual CPA can help. Our team has, on average, over a decade of experience in SaaS accounting, and we know that your needs are unique. That’s why we offer comprehensive services that scale with your company’s growth—from bookkeeping to acting as virtual CFOs. 

We understand the complexities of revenue recognition in a SaaS environment and how to control other critical key performance indicators (KPIs). We can help you track the performance of your SaaS business strategically and sustainably. 

To learn more about our SaaS services or to schedule a free consultation, call us at (503) 217-4114 or use our online contact form. 

We serve Portland, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Wilsonville, Happy Valley, and the surrounding Oregon communities. 

 

Perpetual CPA 

111SW Fifth Ave. 

Suite 3150 

Portland, OR 97204 

(503) 217-4114 or (503) 217-6101 

Email: [email protected] 

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frequently asked questions

  • What Is A Virtual CFO & How Can It Transform My Business?
    • a. A Virtual CFO can be a much-needed sounding board, coach, and guide. Outsourced Virtual CFO is generally not just one person, but an experienced team of professionals providing a full-stack Accounting and Finance Department at a fraction of the cost that it would otherwise cost a business to hire even just one full-time CFO internally. The right virtual CFO service team, such as the one at Perpetual CPA, can deliver timely, detailed, comprehensive financial reporting, interpret the financial data, prioritize recommendations, give expert guidance on how to execute those recommendations, and ultimately give a better path to business success.
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    • a. A growing number of small businesses are opting to outsource services such as IT, human resources, or accounting. The benefit of a Virtual Accounting Department is that the company can reduce or increase services to accommodate current business needs. Because the service provider has multiple clients they can absorb fluctuations in workflow more easily than the average small/medium business can on its own.

      b. A Virtual Accounting Department can integrate with a company’s own accounting department to create a blended solution or provide a full-stack accounting department, including Accounting Staff, Manager, Controller, and Virtual CFO. By using a Virtual Accounting Department Small business owners don’t have to worry about hiring, training, figuring out compensation, and payroll compliance for the internal accounting team. Also as the business grows and new and more complex accounting and tax issues come up, the outsourced Virtual Accounting Department can provide all the needed expertise to facilitate continued business success.
  • What are the benefits of hiring a CPA firm?
    • a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do a lot more than just crunch numbers and prepare taxes. They provide valuable expertise and strategies to help businesses and individuals achieve their business and financial goals. A CPA firm can help small businesses with management financial reporting, tax compliance, strategic business advice, and much more. Firms like Perpetual CPA, that specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve growth, can also provide Virtual CFO services, that help the business owners have the foresight into the short-term future cashflows and be able to more successfully navigate their business performance.
  • What are the best strategies for small business growth?
    • a. A business growth strategy is, simply, a plan of how a business gets from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future.

      b. Some of the questions to consider when coming up with a growth strategy are:
      i. Where will the business get new customers from?
      ii. How will the business expand into new markets?
      iii. What new products could the business offer?

      c. In reality, what happens with many small businesses, is that they generally achieve a specific level of business activity or sales and then the business growth trend flattens. In those cases, working with a firm like Perpetual CPA, which provides Virtual CFO services, can help small businesses avoid stagnation. Virtual CFO services, aside from providing timely accounting and tax reporting, can also provide valuable insight into the current performance of the business, as well as, foresight into the future cash flows for the business. Perpetual CPA Virtual CFO team helps small businesses interpret their financial information and come up with business strategies to help improve business performance and achieve growth.
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    • a. A risk management plan helps a business develop a detailed strategy to deal with certain risks that are particularly important for the businesses’ success.

      b. For many small and medium-sized businesses, the easiest way to develop and implement a business risk management plan is to work with a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA. Large corporations invest a lot of resources and time into managing risk, which is a material factor that allows those large corporations to continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year. Small businesses, however, almost never manage any business risks, which is the major reason that over half of all the small businesses do not survive for more than 5 years. Generally, small business owners are not experienced corporate business professionals and lack the needed business knowledge, yet they often have to wear many hats while trying to get their businesses off the ground. In those situations, a CPA firm such as Perpetual CPA, can help small businesses better manage tax compliance risks, cash flow, internal controls, business administration, financial reporting, and much more.
  • What is Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO? / How do Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO services work?
    • a. When small businesses start spinning wheels, it is a good time to consider hiring a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA, which can provide both Strategic Advice and Virtual CFO services.

      b. As a strategic advisor, the CPA firm will work with business management to improve the effectiveness and profitability of the business. They will look holistically at the business and find ways to operate the business more efficiently, increase customers through additional or improved marketing or improve customer touchpoints and service.

      c. As a Virtual CFO, the CPA firm is like a part-time version of a traditional CFO or Chief Financial Officer plus a full Accounting support team. They perform the tasks that in a larger organization would be performed by the CFO, Controller, and Accounting Staff such as preparing and overseeing the budget process, identifying and analyzing current and future trends, and developing strategies for the business growth.
  • How can timely financial visibility and management reporting help with better business decisions and growth?
    • a. A simple way to a successful business is to prioritize the timely financial visibility and management reporting as it means:
      i. Timely financial information and analysis are essential for making informed decisions, evaluating your company’s results, improving financial performance, and ensuring you are on the path to meet your strategic goals.
      ii. Management reporting is a source of business intelligence that helps business leaders make more accurate, data-driven decisions. But, these reports are most useful if they are available timely and the management receives proper interpretation of the business financial information.

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