S01 E04: Audit Flags Exposed, AR vs. AP Hacks, & Chargeback Secrets! 🔥

Roman Villard
Okay, perfect. We’re back with another episode of the Workflow Roast—a discussion between Kellie Parks and myself, Roman Villard. Ideally, we’re roasting workflows, but honestly, Kellie, we spend more time trying to help build better workflows and support people with the questions that come up during the firm-building process.

Kellie Parks
Yeah, for sure. Especially this week, some of the questions aren’t exactly workflow-related, but they’re definitely relevant. I see these questions a lot, so we’re game, right?

Roman Villard
Oh, I’m game for anything. This week, we’ve got questions about lawsuits, chargebacks, audits, AR processes, employees, bookkeeping—basically, we’re covering a lot. And that’s kind of the beauty of this: we crowdsource questions, answer the things that keep people up at night, and try to be as supportive as we can. The intent is for this to be engaging and conversational. I’m not sure how many people we have live right now, but we’ll plug it again soon to submit questions. Shall we dive in?

Kellie Parks
Yep, I’ll let you pick the order of topics.

Roman Villard
It’s nice to see you, and really nice to see you. We’re going to do this again in two weeks at Workflow Con, right?

Kellie Parks
That’s right! And then we’ll see each other live at Intuit Connect. You’ve got a pile of sessions there, and I’ve got one too. But I’m going to come and heckle you from the front row at yours!

Roman Villard
I hope you do! I just found out I have the most sessions of any speaker this year, which is wild. I’m wearing that crown with gratitude and just hope it’s helpful for people—just like what we’re doing here.

Kellie Parks
That’s awesome! I remember at one Intuit Connect, I had three sessions, but in Toronto, I’ve had up to ten hours of content in one year. It was a lot, but anyway, let’s get on with what we’re supposed to be doing today. Pick the first topic.

Roman Villard
I’ll just go down the list. Also, I’ve included a link to Workflow Con at the bottom of the stream, so people can register for that. Workflow Con is virtual this year, so no need to travel. It’s free, so all it costs you is your time, however much you want to invest.

Kellie Parks
Exactly! Hopefully, we’ll have live questions that day. We love that kind of engagement.

Roman Villard
Absolutely. Let’s jump into these. First, we have a question about a lawsuit. Quick disclaimer: we are not attorneys, and nothing we say should be taken as legal advice. Consult your professional.

Kellie Parks
Right. And I’m Canadian, so some of these things might be different up here. This sounds like a case where you’d need proper insurance and credentials before getting involved.

Roman Villard
Let’s frame the situation for our listeners. The comment says, “I have a prospect involved in a lawsuit, and the court is requiring them to provide a trace of money moving from their checking to savings account. Apparently, their son is being sued for funneling business funds to her, but she wants to prove the money was just hers moving between accounts. I have a call with their lawyer soon to get more information, but I think this requires more of an attestation agreement. Do you agree?”

Kellie Parks
100%. This is an attestation case. Don’t provide anything without the proper documentation in place. And, Roman, did you catch that they said it’s a prospect?

Roman Villard
Yes, exactly! Don’t take them on as a client.

Kellie Parks
Right! Unless you specialize in this and are insured for it, steer clear. And definitely don’t join the call with the lawyer without the client present.

Roman Villard
Exactly. You could be putting yourself at serious risk without the right legal protections.

Kellie Parks
Who’s their current accountant? I’d be reaching out to them right away.

Roman Villard
They might have stopped communicating because of the lawsuit, but the bottom line here is: don’t take them on, don’t get involved without legal protections, and probably recommend they get a forensic accountant involved for the attestation.

Kellie Parks
Totally agree. Next?

Roman Villard
Okay, the next one is about chargeback protection providers. The person asks, “I’ve been paranoid about chargebacks since I charge higher prices for my accounting services given the clientele I work with. Any recommendations?”

Kellie Parks
My first thought? Don’t take credit cards. If it’s ACH, the funds are automatically pulled. I wouldn’t want to deal with credit cards in this situation. Chargebacks can get messy.

Roman Villard
Yeah, I think that’s what they mean by chargebacks—when clients mark something as fraud or reverse the charges. Given that they mention higher prices and specific clientele, it sounds like they’re working with higher-risk industries.

Kellie Parks
Exactly. But if this is a concern, tighten up your processes. Have clients pre-authorize payments, ensure you’re paid ahead of time, and draft really tight engagement letters. A solid onboarding process will not only protect you but also justify your pricing and create a smooth experience.

Roman Villard
Agreed. You could also include a clause in your engagement letter that says they have a certain window to dispute an invoice before you draft payment. After that, they can’t dispute charges beyond a certain point.

Kellie Parks
Yeah, definitely. And also, I put in clauses that limit the window for disputing charges—especially for project work. Protect yourself, and make sure they understand the payment process upfront.

Roman Villard
Absolutely. And for anyone listening, feel free to chime in with questions or comments! Alright, moving to the next topic: “My doctor friend said I shouldn’t get my effective tax rate below 25% because it’s an audit flag.”

Kellie Parks
Oh, boy. Okay, I have a thought: my accounting friends say that a headache is a 100% symptom of how much nonsense you’re hearing.

Roman Villard
Yeah, this sounds like someone got tax advice from a doctor, which probably isn’t the best source. I’m not a tax professional, but I doubt the IRS flags you based on your effective tax rate. There are so many other factors that could trigger an audit.

Kellie Parks
Right. And in Canada, I’ve never heard of this being an issue either. Clients often get advice from random sources—friends, family, you name it. But that doesn’t mean it’s valid.

Roman Villard
Exactly. It’s important to have processes in place for handling these types of questions, and educating clients can turn these moments into opportunities. If you give them the right information, they might end up referring you more business.

Kellie Parks
Totally. And this is why having niche knowledge helps. If you’re targeting a specific industry, like doctors, being prepared with responses like this can help you stand out.

Roman Villard
Agreed. Let’s move on to the next one. “When you say you handle AR and AP for your clients, what exactly does that look like? Are you sending out payments, invoices, etc.?”

Kellie Parks
Great question! This totally speaks to workflow efficiency. I had a client with heavy accounts payable—before technology, it took hours each week. Once we introduced tools like Pluto and OCR, the whole process shrank to a fraction of the time, and we didn’t even change the price. The value for the client was immense.

Roman Villard
Yeah, it’s about understanding what parts of AR and AP are most valuable to your clients and using technology to streamline them. You still need to decide what you like doing and what your business model supports—whether it’s full-cycle AR or just the basics.

Kellie Parks
Exactly. For instance, I don’t handle full-cycle AR because I run a lifestyle business. It’s all about balance and choosing the work that aligns with how you want to run your firm.

Roman Villard
Yep, and this speaks to the importance of having clearly defined services and scopes of work. You need to be precise about what you offer so your team knows what they’re doing and doesn’t get bogged down.

Kellie Parks
Right. It’s about finding the right balance for you and your team. And when scope changes—like adding international payments—you need to have menu pricing or a workflow in place to handle out-of-scope work efficiently.

Roman Villard
Exactly. You want to avoid scope creep by being clear upfront and having the right systems in place. Let’s move on. “When you first started hiring help, did you go with contractors or employees? How did you provide tools, training, and equipment?”

Kellie Parks
If they’re contractors, you need to be careful about supplying equipment because that starts crossing the line into employee territory. If they’re employees, I’d provide equipment to ensure you have control over the technology they’re using.

Roman Villard
Yeah, you definitely need to be aware of the regulations around that. We’ve found that having employees gives us more control over security, systems, and building a company culture. But contractors can offer flexibility for scaling up and down as needed.

Kellie Parks
Exactly. And when it comes to training, I think documenting everything—whether it’s with checklists, workflows, or videos—is crucial. That way, your team knows exactly how things should be done.

Roman Villard
Totally agree. Training is key, and having well-documented processes can make all the difference, whether you’re working with employees or contractors.

Kellie Parks
Yes, and no matter what, make sure you have security measures in place. Whether you use geo-fencing or password management tools like 1Password, protecting your data is essential.

Roman Villard
We use Dashlane for passwords and Practice Protect for security and access controls. It gives us peace of mind, especially with remote teams.

Kellie Parks
I love Practice Protect for remote teams. It’s essential for managing security when you’re working with people in different locations.

Roman Villard
Definitely. That wraps up the six topics we had lined up today. Thanks to everyone for joining, and don’t forget to submit more questions for next time!

Kellie Parks
Yes, and if anyone wants to share workflows they love or need help improving, we’d be happy to see those at Workflow Con. It would be great to feature some examples!

Roman Villard
Absolutely. We’ll see you all at Workflow Con on October 22-23 and at Intuit Connect the following week. Looking forward to it!