High Rock Accounting, founded in 2013, had a goal from day one:

Provide businesses with a progressive experience for client advisory services. The firm helps its clients succeed by utilizing cutting-edge technology that increases business efficiency and competitiveness. In doing so, High Rock becomes a trusted partner to clients by relieving them from the stress of running back-office operations so they have the time and energy to focus on growing their business.

According to Melissa Diaz, CPA, CFO and shareholder of High Rock Accounting, “Most of our clients didn’t think they could outsource these services. After they outsourced to us, they say it has changed the entire way they think about accounting. They now have confidence in their financials and don’t worry about accounting anymore.”

Diaz explains that BILL plays a critical role in the firm’s ability to offer CAS. “BILL is a great place to start for CAS. If someone isn’t quite ready, it is a significant step towards getting them to a fully outsourced accounting system. It helps clients get over the hump of ‘It’s scary for me’,” explains Diaz.

AP challenges for SMBs

Many small and medium-sized organizations share common challenges when it comes to accounts payable. A lot can go wrong in traditional manual systems, from routing bills correctly for review, data entry, and approval to executing each of those steps both timely and accurately.

In BILL, High Rock found a robust, comprehensive solution that simplifies the bill payment process. It offers the convenience to approve and pay from anywhere but with internal controls necessary to effectively manage a business.

“What we found is that clients have a hard time managing bills. If you get a bill, hopefully the clerk got it and entered it correctly. Sometimes, there isn’t even a separation of duties. BILL allows us to be involved in the approval and coding process and its automation ensures the proper approval processes are taken. The ability to pay and approve from anywhere is huge for the firm and our clients,” comments Diaz.

Leading by example

Advising their clients to implement BILL is easy for High Rock because the firm is using it both for accounts payable and receivable. Since the monthly invoices they receive from High Rock are via BILL, most of their clients are not only familiar with the platform but appreciate the system’s simplicity and accuracy. Clients can click a button to approve a digital payment.

Regarding accounts payable, one of the BILL features High Rock most values is the ability to set their own effective payment dates. This allows the firm to pay immediately, or at a future date to better manage cash flow while still taking advantage of vendor payment terms.

Benefits for High Rock clients using BILL

BILL is included in High Rock’s CAS offering, as its recommended solution for bill payment because it brings unrivaled efficiency and cost savings to clients:

• Streamlined workflow — BILL simplifies data entry, routing, approval and processing. Bills are paid on time without late fees. Clients stay involved in approvals and payment processing, while High Rock ensures everything is coded properly and correctly synced to their accounting platform. Busy managers and executives who travel frequently find significant value in the ability to handle bill review and approvals while they’re mobile.
• Improved cash flow management — Payment scheduling in BILL and the ability to see what is being paid when helps businesses better manage their cash flow.
• Automated record keeping — Pulling records from BILL is quick and easy, taking only a fraction of the time it would from manual or paper systems. In addition to retaining bills and other records, the system captures W-9s and attaches them to vendor files. Not only does automated retention save enormous time compared to filing paper, it saves money on storage and simplifies the retrieval of necessary records at tax time or during an audit. Diaz estimates that an audit that would take a whole day was compressed into 10 minutes, thanks to BILL.

The firm itself also discovered an important BILL benefit—saving time.

Tips from High Rock to firms looking to grow or improve their businesses

High Rock accountants embrace technology and encourage their clients to do the same—starting with a practical solution like BILL:

1. Understand the software, including how it works in addition to how it integrates with other platforms, and how to resolve errors. BILL offers valuable training and implementation assistance, along with ongoing customer support, so take advantage of it.
2. Don’t be afraid! The cloud environment may seem confusing or scary to some traditional accountants but get over the fear and embrace the modern tools that will help your clients improve their businesses.