Accounting Services
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Outsourced Accounting

Expertly trained accountants with a deep understanding of the software and your industry,

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Family Office Accounting

High-touch technology family office accounting services that ensure security and privacy.

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Bill Pay

Outsourced bill pay solution with cash flow reporting and tracked expenses.

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What Are Outsourced Accounting Services and Do I Need Them?

If you are asking yourself these two questions, you've come to the right place.

What’s the Difference Between CFO and a Controller - and What Do I Need?

Although these two important roles are sometimes viewed as interchangeable there are important differences between them.

Industry Expertise
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Our Key Industries

Expert knowledge and high-quality software solutions for our 5 key industries.

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Construction & Real Estate

Real-time financial data and integrated job costing to generate reports and improve accountability.

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Manufacturing & Distribution

Track billing of materials, implement inventory control systems, manage supplier base, and reduce unnecessary costs.

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E-Commerce

Our team has the expertise needed to navigate deposits, refunds, chargebacks, and processing fees to maximize efficiency.

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Professional Services

Streamline financial operation and increase overall profitability to enable faster and smarter decisions.

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Family Office Accounting

High-touch technology family office accounting services that ensure security and privacy.

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Why does industry expertise matter?

Industry focus allows us to be experts in the accounting needs of the companies that operate within these industries.

Why Plumb Works With These Industries

This is another one of our favorite questions. The answer is easy: we know these industries.

Software Expertise
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Sage Software

Innovative software to manage your accounting, people, payroll, payments, and more.

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NetSuite Software

Integrated cloud business software suite, including business accounting, ERP, CRM and ecommerce software.

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QuickBooks Software

Scalable solutions for reporting, transactions, month-end close, analysis, and more.

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QuickBooks to NetSuite Migration: A Comprehensive Guide

Migrating from one accounting software platform to another is a critical undertaking for businesses. This is especially true when considering a transition from QuickBooks to NetSuite.

How do I know which Software is right for my company?

Selecting the "right" software for your company might seem like an overwhelming task, but we'd like to help make this process easier for you.

Sage
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Sage Software

Innovative software to manage your accounting, people, payroll, payments, and more.

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Sage Intacct

Automate the critical processes, reduce the spreadsheet headaches, and get greater visibility into real-time business performance.

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Sage 300 CRE

Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate connects finances and operations to help ensure maximum profit.

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Sage 100 Contractor

The all-in-one construction software that goes beyond basic accounting to put you in total command of your projects.

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Sage Estimating

Build bids quickly and precisely, plus integrate with other Sage software solutions to streamline operations.

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Sage Paperless

Easily store, retrieve, and route documents for accounting and operations.

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Sage Service

Streamline service calls and construction projects from start to finish with web-based real-time information.

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Additional Solutions

Add-on these services to improve workflow and enhance data and analytics.

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How and When to Choose Construction Accounting Software?

The right tools can help you manage your construction projects efficiently, provide clarity of your finances, and ultimately help improve profitability and job success.

5 Types of Visibility Every Construction Firm Should Have.

Here we list 5 key elements to help capture insights that are pivotal to running an efficient and lucrative constriction firm.

ABOUT
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About Plumb

Plumb seeks to empower business owners and leaders to gain clarity about their financials to grow their business.

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Case Studies

Learn more about our work with clients in a variety of different industries.

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Meet the Team

Learn more about the Plumb leadership team.

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The Plumb Promise

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Careers

Want to join us? Check out our current open positions and apply today.

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What can Plumb Do for Your Business?

At Plumb we pride ourselves on providing "clarity in accounting and stewardship in service." But what does that actually mean?

What's the Plumb Promise and What's in it for You?

We're on a continuous journey to go above and beyond for our clients. Here's how we do that.

To Hire, or Not To Hire: Employee vs. Independent Contractor

Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:33 PM
Written by Plumb

You’re an ambitious small business owner with a steadily growing operation. Lately your human capital is spread thin – you and your small staff are getting overwhelmed. The imminent future: your growth is going to plateau and turn south. The easy fix: hire additional workers. The hard decision: employee or independent contractor?

In order to avoid a sticky IRS worker classification audit, be proactive in your hiring process. To help you understand what your business might need, I’ve developed a Pros and Cons list for hiring an employee or independent contractor. Misclassifying your workers has some hefty penalties, but is easy to prevent if you plan ahead. Here are the Pros and Cons to keep in mind, and help you hire correctly:

Employee: Pros

1. Loyalty = Productivity:

Making the commitment to hire an employee can result in having an individual with stronger loyalty than an independent contractor. Added loyalty can result in more productivity. Your loyal staff will be ready to take on additional roles to help your company grow.

2. Role Flexibility:

Staff in small organizations will often perform a variety of roles. This provides various learning opportunities for staff and flexible, diverse workforce for the company.

3. Improved Work Flow:

With a steady stream of business, having an employee can be much easier to coordinate projects. Trying to juggle multiple freelancers to meet project deadlines can be a challenge.

Employee: Cons

1. Added Responsibility:

The burden of your small business providing for your family becomes even greater as you have to make payroll for your staff and help them provide for their families.

2. Increased Overhead:

Not only are there the costs of employee benefits and payroll to consider, do not forget that your tiny home business or small office will probably have to move to a bigger space, sign a lease, and purchase equipment.

3. Becoming a Manager:

As your small business grows in staff, you become less involved in practicing your trade and more involved in people management issues. Your company will be exposed to worker-related lawsuits. Independents will often require less management due to more motivation from being self-employed.

Independent Contractor: Pros

1. No Health Benefits:

A burden on small business is the uncontrollable costs of employee health benefits. The average total cost of health benefits for U.S. employees was $9,562 in 2010, according to the Mercer 2010 National Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Plans.

2. Reduced Overhead:

The attraction of hiring an independent contractor is the reduced costs in: expenses, payroll, benefits and other overhead. Lower overhead means less stress to bring in new business revenue to cover costs.

3. Just-In-Time Worker:

Hiring an independent contractor offers flexibility to the changing work demands of your company. You have the ability to take added opportunities as they arise, and during slow periods, have greater cost control. Your contract workforce often comes fully trained and highly specialized.

Independent Contractor: Cons

1. Misclassification Penalties:

If you make an error in classifying an employee as an independent contractor, you will be liable for employment tax, interest, and a penalty. Use caution and keep current with the legalities.

2. Less Control:

Part of what makes a contractor independent is their ability to choose the control over the work performed. Contractors may have additional projects and may have less commitment than an employee.

3. No Fixed Rates:

Your small business may find the perfect independent contractor to work with but the rates charged can vary by project and overall market demand. With an employee you can usually set the pay rate until the next review date.

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