You've decided to sign the engagement letter for the outsourced bookkeeping firm. Now what? Here are my three top suggestions to ensure a smooth transition.

Regular Onboarding Meetings: Schedule consistent check-ins during the transition phase to clarify expectations, review processes, and address any questions or issues. Most top accounting pros will take the lead on this, but you should be ready to fill the gap if there is one.

Centralized Documentation: Organize all financial records, policies, and procedures in one location to ensure a seamless handoff to the outsourced bookkeeping team. The bookkeeping pros will need read-only access to all your bank and cc accounts, payroll, and any other software apps you use, like a POS system. The document gathering should include grant contracts, fee-for-service arrangements, or any agreements you think have fiscal implications. The firm will likely have a secure portal where you can upload these documents.

Staff Training and Communication: Educate staff and stakeholders on the new bookkeeping process to ensure they understand how to collaborate with the outsourced provider. Most accounting providers will have instant text and video chat on board to facilitate conducting meetings with ease.

The first steps are deciding on the outsourced provider and signing the engagement letter. The goal now is to build the relationship into a partnership. It will take work and time, but a mutual commitment to working things out will make all the difference when the rough spots come.