Philippines
Global
CloudCfo offers bookkeeping and finance services for businesses across the Philippines! We manage the accounting books for small businesses, startups and SME companies across a wide range of sectors and industries.
Our bookkeeping services differ to the traditional bookkeeping firms! We leverage cloud accounting solutions and other technology across all of our services. We are driven by process. We are focused on output!
Are you seeking bookkeeping and finance services for your PH business? We have outlined below some of the key ways by which CloudCfo can add real value for your company’s finance function!
Contents
The CloudCfo Way
If you have been reading the CloudCfo Insights Blog over the last few years, you will hopefully, by now, have a clear picture of how we perform our accounting, bookkeeping and finance services here at CloudCfo!
If not and before we dive into the various ways in which CloudCfo adds value for businesses here in the Philippines, we have included below a very brief background on CloudCfo and how we support PH businesses.
Established in 2015 and based in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, CloudCfo offers end-to-end outsourced accounting, bookkeeping, compliance, financial reporting and payroll services for startups, SME and larger corporate businesses in the Philippines!
We currently manage the books, accounts and compliance for 100+ clients across a range of industries here in the Philippines. Our Team is very familiar and experienced working with all business models, their related compliance requirements and financial pain points!
We use cloud accounting systems as well as other online solutions to perform our accounting and finance services. We also use our own in-house developed process management system to monitor deliverables, track timelines and maintain service level quality – more on this below!
If you haven’t yet spoken to the CloudCfo Team about bookkeeping and finance services for your PH business, feel free to email us at hello@cloudcfo.ph or Contact Us for a consultation on your company’s finance requirements.
In the meantime, we thought it would be helpful to outline below some of the key elements about the CloudCfo service so you can better understand how your PH business can really benefit from a process-driven, output-focused and tech-empowered approach to outsourced bookkeeping and finance services!
Onboarding
Here at CloudCfo, one of our key objectives is to ensure that our clients have a finance function that can scale as the business grows!
As such, we help all of our clients to establish and run an efficient and streamlined accounting and finance function for their business – a finance function that also aligns with business operations and the compliance framework in the Philippines.
That’s we have developed and fine-tuned a unique Onboarding Process for all of our clients! Our Onboarding process is designed specifically to enable maximum efficiency, transparency and collaboration for businesses and to ensure a seamless transition to the CloudCfo bookkeeping and finance services.
So, what’s involved in the CloudCfo Onboarding process?
First off, we will assign a designated CloudCfo Team to work with you and your business! This means that, throughout the entire engagement with CloudCfo, you will be working with the same accountants and bookkeepers who will really know and understand your business model and finance needs!
Our Team will then perform a detailed and thorough review of your business model. We want to understand how your business runs operationally. We want to explore your business functions and understand each trigger point that might have an impact on your finance or compliance requirements. We want to identify existing pain points and explore areas for improvement!
We will then perform a review of your company’s existing bookkeeping and finance processes and controls. We want to know how your finance function is currently set-up and who is responsible across each area, including revenue, expenses, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Tax Compliance and Financial Reporting.
By the end of the Onboarding, our team will have an in-depth understanding of your business model, your existing bookkeeping and compliance processes and your financial controls!
For the CloudCfo Team, this is a crucial stage of our engagement as it identifies the starting point for moving forward!
The next stage is definition and establishment of your finance and accounting processes and controls!
Financial Processes and Controls
There is no doubt that if a company has in place well established and robust finance processes and controls, company management will have a lot more confidence that any commercial or financial decisions they make will be based on accurate underlying financial data.
The CloudCfo Onboarding process is the basis for establishing these processes and controls!
Once we have performed our initial review of your company’s existing business model and current finance processes, we will then provide our recommendations on best practice for your specific business model. In doing so, we will break down your finance function across a number of individual finance and accounting workstreams and identify specific tasks and responsibilities within each workstream. Below are just some of the areas we will explore in order to establish the best practice processes and controls for your business model:
Sales/Revenue
How does the business generate revenue? Does the business sell goods or services? How are sales being captured? How many sales channels does the business have? Who is in charge of consolidating and reconciling sales platforms? Does the company use payment gateways? How does the company issue sales invoices or official receipts? How are sales booked in the accounts? How often do receivables and deposits need to be reconciled?
Expenses/Disbursements
How many disbursements/expenses does the company process each week or month? Are expenses processed via cheque vouchers, online bank payments, credit card payments? Perhaps it is a mix on a monthly basis? Who is responsible for ensuring an official receipt or sales invoice is received for each expense transactions? How are cost of goods being captured and computed?
Tax Compliance
How often are receipts and invoices delivered to the accounting team? How regularly are the accounting books updated? For which taxes is the company registered (Hint: check the company’s BIR2303 (Certificate of Registration))? Is withholding tax required on payments to vendors and suppliers and if so, what is the relevant rate of withholding tax? Is the company registered for VAT or Percentage Tax?
Financial Reporting
Is management receiving financial reports on a regular and timely basis (i.e. monthly or quarterly)? What types of financial reports are they receiving? Balance Sheet? Cashflow statement? Profit and Loss Statement? Do the financial reports provide any analysis or assessment for management to review? Is the company confident that the financial reports show the true financial health of the business?
The CloudCfo Web App
We hope it is clear by now – CloudCfo is 100% process-focused!
Our commitment to process is so integral to our bookkeeping and finance services that we developed our own process management system specifically to support companies here in the Philippines with their accounting, finance and compliance obligations!
The CloudCfo Web App has been designed by our own accountants and bookkeepers to align with the local Philippine compliance and reporting framework and can be customized for each of our clients’ business models.
Once we have established and agreed the right processes and controls for our clients (see above), we will manage these processes through the CloudCfo Web App.
The CloudCfo Web App ensures that these processes and controls are followed, monitored and that deliverables are completed on a timely basis.
In the coming weeks, we will be presenting more details on how we leverage the CloudCfo Web App to ensure maximum efficiency, transparency and accountability across our services!
So, watch this space……
Cloud Accounting and Online Finance Management
At CloudCfo, we are strong believers that the future of outsourced accounting revolves around streamlined processes and controls empowered by cloud accounting systems and other cloud platforms.
Cloud accounting systems are now a common solution utilised by finance teams across the Philippines. Cloud accounting solutions can be used effectively by businesses of all sizes – from small business to startup to SME to larger corporates!
When working with our clients, our team will leverage cloud accounting systems to manage the company books and accounts. Such systems might include Quickbooks Online and Xero, to name just two. However, our team are experienced across a wide range of cloud accounting systems!
If your company does not currently use an accounting system – no problem! We have supported numerous companies with the move from a manual finance function (usually excel sheets) to a more efficient cloud accounting system. Our Team would first discuss the benefits for your business of transitioning to a cloud accounting system. Our Team would then also be responsible for setting up the accounting system and ensuring it is fully optimized!
What do we mean by “fully optimized”? We would ensure the cloud accounting system is aligned with a) your business model, and b) the compliance framework in the Philippines – for example, the PH withholding tax framework.
In short, if you are seeking to transition your company’s finance function to digital or online, the CloudCfo Team can support your business every step of the way – from set-up, to integration, to financial analysis to annual financial reports!
Accurate and Timely Financial Reports
Once the finance processes and controls are established, up and running and importantly, being followed(!) – the company is already on the right path from a finance perspective!
Time to focus on qualitative output!
However, while it is always helpful to know that the company books are being updated regularly and that business taxes are being filed, management should require much more than this!
In short, company management needs accurate financial information presented in such a way as to help management make key financial and commercial decision about their business with 100% confidence!
At CloudCfo, we provide this financial information through the full suite of financial reports – including Balance Sheet, Cashflow Statement and Profit & Loss Statement. We also customize financial reports based on management’s preference (KPIs, financial ratios, etc).
At CloudCfo, we call this “joining the dots”. We help companies to translate what is happening within the business into accurate financial data so that management teams can get the full picture on the financial health of their company.
Frequency of reporting will usually depend on either management preference or type of business model. For example, high transaction business models such as e-commerce businesses, fintech/lending companies and marketplace platforms will generally need to see their financial reports on a monthly basis. With so many transactions each day, a full quarter can be a long time to wait to make changes – particularly if the business is not performing as anticipated!
So, how does CloudCfo support with ensuring financial reports are provided on an accurate, timely and regular basis? A key starting point is process….again!
In short, with our constant focus on process (as outlined above) during the months of the fiscal year, we are in an excellent position at the end of each reporting period to show management exactly how their company is performing!
Check out one of our previous articles for more detailed information on the importance of receive accurate financial reports on a regular basis and the key to understanding the true financial health of your PH business!
Find Out More About How CloudCfo Supports PH Businesses
If you are seeking bookkeeping and finance services for your business here in the Philippines, the quickest way is to just Contact the CloudCfo Team directly! Let’s set up a call and let’s discuss!
You can also check out our Frequently Asked Questions page where we have outlined responses to all of the most commonly asked questions about the CloudCfo accounting, bookkeeping, tax compliance and financial reporting services in the Philippines!
