Small Business Outsourced Bookkeeping to Save Time & Focus on Growth

One of the many ongoing challenges for business owners is making sure the books are balanced. Within the chiropractic industry, that element of running a practice can be a particular pain point.

In a blog entry on Chiroeco.com, an online resource for the chiropractic community, Drew Stevens identified three prime areas – independent of the medical component – to which chiropractors must remain attentive in order to stay afloat. Number one, he indicates, is reviewing and understanding monthly expenses.

As Stevens, a chiropractic coach and consultant, says, “The issue is that not one chiropractor was born with an innate skill for business. Hoping that osmosis will gift you with business acumen is improper. The colleges and associations are doing all chiropractors a disservice in not providing such information.”

While the root of the problem that Stevens identifies can be debated, his point is clear: many chiropractors need to be especially vigilant of how they maintain their finances because their focus is where it should be – on their patients.

Dr. Jim Barbati, a chiropractor in Eastern Massachusetts, was always vigilant when he ran his own practice, beginning in 1987. A self-described “micro-manager,” he handled his own bookkeeping until 2005, when he began using the services of Remote Quality Bookkeeping and working with RQB’s president, Mark Kilduff. As it turns out, Barbati had already begun the process of selling his practice to a colleague, Dr. Craig Davies, when he first engaged with RQB.

“I love the patient care part, but I was starting to get burnt out with how much time I had to spend on the business side, including the bookkeeping,” said Barbati. “I joke with my colleagues and the people at RQB that if I had them on board just a year or so earlier, I probably wouldn’t have sold my practice.”

His discovery of a trusted partner for outsourcing the bookkeeping may have come too late for Barbati to take full advantage (he continues to see patients at the practice, which is now called Barbati & Davies Chiropractic), but Davies has certainly benefitted.

“RQB has made our lives so much easier,” said Davies, who also operates BD Physical Therapy out of the same Randolph, Mass., location as the chiropractic practice. “What they do in a day would take me weeks to complete.”

With so many complexities to be mindful of, including the categorization of insurance payments and invoices between the two entities, Davies feels fortunate to have RQB on his side. But what’s interesting about the relationship is that there is less emphasis on “remote” with Davies than there is for most RQB clients.

Every two weeks, Kilduff visits the practice, collects a binder with daily receipt logs from the front desk, and heads toward a conference room. That’s where he meets Davies, who arrives armed with a box filled with mail and other documents. They begin to go through and categorize every financial-related item from the previous two weeks and ensure that the numbers match up. In between each session, Kilduff manages the practice’s account from the cloud, while Davies is able to put his time and energy toward patient needs and practice growth, rather than toward administrative tasks.

“RQB has absolutely helped us get to the next level from a business perspective,” said Davies. “They’ve taken the pressure off of us in that we don’t need to spend time thinking about the bookkeeping. Jim and I can focus on growing in other ways.”

While RQB’s model allows clients anywhere in the country to upload documents and manage their books remotely, for some business decision-makers a one-on-one, in-person component is critical. What’s most important – and what Barbati & Davies have found in RQB – is that an outsourced bookkeeping partner is a trusted ally, whether in the cloud or in the conference room.

Remote Quality Bookkeeping provides specialized services for clients, including those in the chiropractic industry. If this story resonates with you, and you don’t have a good bookkeeping solution now, please consider reaching out to us. Free demonstrations are available, only cost is time.