Why should I bother outsourcing to Integral2?
We are able to bring to small businesses high quality expertise and robust financial control normally affordable only by large organisations. Because we are a shared service provider our total costs are shared across a portfolio of clients. Because we have scale, we are able to keep your costs low.
How do you charge for your services?
We charge a monthly retainer for all the routine, month on month activities expected from a typical finance function. The monthly fee is a function of complexity, not sheer scale of turnover, hence we base our fee at the outset on a combination of transaction volume, number of entities within the Group, whether there any overseas entities, whether there are any institutional investors or bank debt and other matters of a similar nature.
Who controls my bank account?
We control all aspects of your bank account as this is a vital control point for our solution. All cheque receipts from your customers will be sent directly to us. We will match these payments on the ledger and bank the cheques. We prepare all supplier payments and manage the payroll process.
What are the controls over my money?
All cheque payments require dual signatures with at least one of them coming from someone within your management team. Likewise, all electronic payments will require authorisation from someone within your management team. You will receive daily updates on your bank position as part of our start of day routines so you can keep a daily eye on your cash.
What happens with all the accounting documents? How do they flow and where do they go?
All supply related invoices must go straight to your business first for approval and coding then batched and sent onto us. This best works where there is an ‘accounts out-tray’ at a designated point in your office. We will organise for all sales receipts, HMRC and banking correspondence to come straight to us. We will store and file all accounting documentation here.
What if I need information on an ad hoc basis?
Your dedicated team will be on hand during working hours by phone or email to answer any of your queries or provide you with ad hoc analysis on a real-time basis.
What if I need an ad hoc urgent payment?
No accounting function likes ad hoc, unscheduled payments; payments outside agreed process tend to test financial controls and mess with cash flow plans. However, the real world does tend to throw these things in the air: in the age of electronic banking, we are able to make ad hoc payments quickly, securely and efficiently.
What happens to the petty cash?
If your business requires a petty cash float, we can leave a cheque book in the business for this purpose.
Will my data be secure?
Yes. We take data security very seriously and use robust servers, firewalls, virus control, on and offsite backup routines to ensure your data is only available to approved personnel.
Are there any Data Protection Act issues to consider?
No. We are registered with the DPA for this activity.
