When CPA Jake Koontz worked at a Big 4 accounting firm conducting private audits, he was struck by a strange contrast he saw over and over—accounting operations that were incredibly robust yet untenably messy in their day-to-day practice and in the data produced.

Eventually, he left the Big 4 to serve as the director of finance for a real estate investment firm. There, he discovered what small business accounting often looks like from the inside.

“I was surprised yet again by how messy accounting can look in the real world—and how tedious and inefficient it can be to create the kind of financial data I had once audited,” Koontz says.

“I was surprised yet again by how messy accounting can look in the real world—and how tedious and inefficient it can be to create the kind of financial data I had once audited.”

The challenge: To provide affordable CPA-quality reporting without the tedium—or the headaches

At the real estate firm, Koontz used a combination of BILL’s automation and offshore labor to turn a 4-person, $250k-per-year headache of a department into a streamlined operation that ran like clockwork, producing the highest level of accounting quality and accuracy.

The firm was ecstatic, but Koontz wasn’t satisfied running that well-oiled machine. Frankly, it was just too easy. “I was hungry for another project,” Koontz says. “I needed another challenge.”

After seeing the transformation he had achieved once, Koontz wanted to know whether it was repeatable. He had made great accounting easy for one firm, but could he do it for ten? Twenty? And did he have to be on the inside to make it happen? 

“That set off the lightbulb,” Koontz says. “I wanted to make it easy for more companies to get the reliable accounting data they need to make short-term and long-term decisions. Quality data without the mess—transforming what accounting looks like for every client that walks in the door. Now that felt like a challenge.”

“I wanted to make it easy for more companies to get the reliable accounting data they need to make short-term and long-term decisions.”

The solution: BILL Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable

Today, Koontz owns New Age Business Solutions, an outsourced accounting firm dedicated to revolutionizing the way small businesses manage their financials. By leveraging technology and the best available software, the firm specializes in providing efficient, streamlined financial solutions.

For accounts payable and accounts receivable automation, New Age Business Solutions chose BILL for its financial operations platform.

“Because we do this for so many different companies,” Koontz says, “one of the biggest challenges we face is building processes and procedures that mesh well with our clients’ current environments while meeting our own high standard—providing CPA-quality reporting at affordable prices. For AP and AR, the choice is easy. BILL integrates seamlessly with the biggest players in accounting software and ERPs, and onboarding is a breeze.”

But that was only the beginning. New Age Business Solutions expanded its client offerings from day one beyond bookkeeping and accounting into finance advisory services, business process outsourcing, digital transformation, and tax compliance services. 

“My firm’s offering would not be possible without BILL,” Koontz says. “We’re highly involved in each client’s operations—BILL makes us incredibly efficient ‘super employees.’ Without it, we wouldn’t have a business.”

“BILL makes us incredibly efficient ‘super employees.’ Without it, we wouldn’t have a business.”

The benefits: CAS for every client, at a fixed monthly fee

On top of the data, reporting, and efficiency benefits, BILL also helps New Age Business Solutions offer client advisory services (CAS). Koontz’s team has been so successful in this area that 100% of their clients receive some form of CAS.

“CAS is a core offering for us, included in our monthly fee,” Koontz says. “The whole CAS side developed from being able to get out of the weeds—BILL makes that clerical work go away.”

“Bottom line, AP is a great entry point for CAS.”

Getting rid of clerical work is just as big a draw for the firm’s clients as it is for Koontz and his team. 

“I sell my clients on taking over their AP,” Koontz adds. “Most clients hate dealing with all the physical check cutting and mailing, so it’s been a great way for us to get in the door. We’ve onboarded 11 new AP clients in the past 6 months, essentially doubling our business. I’m anti-paper and my team works remotely, so BILL is the only reason that service offering is possible for us.”

BILL also makes it easy to manage multiple clients, helping Koontz and his team to expand and scale their operations.

“BILL’s centralized dashboard is fantastic,” Koontz says. “It’s great to manage all my clients and staff from one place. We can set each client’s unique approval rules and workflows, giving them individualized service in a standardized, automated system. BILL is a single, out-of-the-box solution that works for every client because it isn’t trying to be one-size-fits-all.”

“BILL’s centralized dashboard is fantastic. It’s great to manage all my clients and staff from one place.” 

The integration: QuickBooks Online

With BILL Accounts Payable, data flows seamlessly into QuickBooks Online. Koontz first took advantage of the integration when he was in-house at the real estate investment firm—and he never looked back.

“I was able to re-engineer the entire back office,” Koontz says. “Even using BILL for the first time and getting familiar with QuickBooks Online, the integration helped me build fast, repeatable processes, then bring in automation and offshore labor to lower costs. That’s how it all started.”

Summary: BILL makes AP the perfect entry point for CAS

“Bottom line, AP is a great entry point for CAS,” Koontz says. “It's important for clients to know how the numbers are being produced—so they know what we’re relying on when we offer advice. Once that’s in place, we become part of that client’s team. We can push forward together on the advisory side, improving their financial position, knowing the bookkeeping, AP, and AR are solid.”