AccountingWeb.com recently completed research that showed the “seven keys” to successful accounting firms. These “best practices” lead accounting companies – both brick-and-mortar and virtual accounting companies – to the top of the pack.

None of the seven keys came as a surprise to us here at AccountingDepartment.com, but we’d like to share a few of them with you, as they may help you select an accounting firm.

Values matter: Here at AccountingDepartment.com, our values are clear. We value our clients and our workers. We place emphasis on the people, the processes and the procedures. In other words, we hire the right people to do the job, establish best practices for consistency across our company, and do what it takes to provide the accurate data you need, when you need it.

Written plans are essential: Again, this comes down to the processes and procedures and is exemplified in our client procedures manual, the custom document we write just for your company shortly after you sign on with AccountingDepartment.com.

Success doesn’t happen alone: Anyone who is successful in any industry knows that teamwork is essential. Here at AccountingDepartment.com, we have invested our time and resources to build a top team of bookkeepers, financial controllers and software specialists to serve our clients. Because we all follow the same processes and procedures (there are those accounting best practice terms again!), if your bookkeeper is ever sick, on vacation or otherwise out of her home office, another bookkeeper can step in and seamlessly fill her shoes. Can you say that about your in-house bookkeeping staff?