Frequently Asked Questions
Here are expert answers to the questions we get the most from optometry practice owners
Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page. Whether you’re curious about how our services can benefit your practice or the specifics of our benchmarking process, you can find the valuable insights you’re looking for here. If you don’t see your question here, or you’re looking for more detailed information about how we can assist your practice, don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team.
Why should I use a bookkeeping service versus letting my CPA produce my financial statements?
Every business needs financial statements in order to file taxes, but tax filing is not the only purpose of financial statements. Books & Benchmarks delivers monthly financials that give your CPA everything they need to plan for and file taxes and meaningfully improve your understanding of your business.
A CPA only needs a net income number to file taxes. Our financials help you make sense of your practice’s expenses and cash flow.
Why should I use a bookkeeping service versus doing the books myself?
As a practice owner, you may be facing a staff shortage like many other practices today. By trusting us with your bookkeeping, you’ll free up valuable time to focus on caring for the patients in your office.
Our team of professional bookkeepers understands the ins and outs of double-entry bookkeeping. Over 95% of the practices we work with needed significant revisions to their financial statements, especially their balance sheets. We can ensure you have accurate, timely, and meaningful financial statements. Your specialty is patient care; ours is bookkeeping. Let our experts manage your books so you can focus on what you do best.
Can I do my own bookkeeping and only use the benchmarks?
While we have no doubt that you’re the exception that proves the rule, our experience is that if we don’t control the data entry in the books, we can’t trust the data being fed to our benchmarks.
Additionally, we understand that you and your team (including your CPA) have many important responsibilities. Let us take care of handling categorizations and reconciliations, so you can prioritize patient care.
Will you make sure QuickBooks and my practice management software match?
We focus on QuickBooks as the most reliable and truest indicator of practice performance. Financial statements, reconciled to bank, credit card, and loan statements are simply more reliable and meaningful than practice management software.
For various reasons—data entry errors, timing, or the volume of check deposits from insurers—there is usually a small discrepancy between PMS numbers and QuickBooks. We will provide bank deposit reports that our clients can use to ensure all their expected insurance deposits have hit the bank account.
Will Books & Benchmarks run payroll?
Yes. Most of our payroll work is keeping the payroll software up to date: adding and removing employees, managing benefits, ensuring tax reports are filed, and helping resolve other issues. For most practices, inputting employees’ hours and running their regular payroll is easier than passing those hours on to us.
But for practices that have historically delegated payroll to their CPAs, we are more than happy to push payroll.
Does Books & Benchmarks pay bills?
We are not providing Accounts Payable (A/P) or Bill Pay support at this time, but plan on providing these services in the future.
Do I need to clean up my current books before joining?
What if I’m not currently using QuickBooks Online?
Will Books & Benchmarks file my taxes?
You’ll need to use a CPA for your federal, state, and local tax returns. Books & Benchmarks will generate 1099s and help with Sales & Use Tax fillings (see ‘Services’ for more details).
What is the relationship between Books & Benchmarks and IDOC?
Books & Benchmarks is a fully-owned division of IDOC. We work happily with all private optometry practices.
Do I have to be a member of IDOC to use Books & Benchmarks?
No! We welcome any and all independent optometry practices. IDOC members do receive preferred pricing, but we work with any private practices.
“I use Books & Benchmarks for four businesses and love it! Definitely one of the best business decisions. It has allowed me to better understand my practice financials and take more of a CEO approach to growing the practices. Your time is too valuable to do it yourself.”
— Dr. Matthew Shirley
Shirley Eye Care
Benchmarks
Bookkeeping
Payroll support
Books & Benchmarks Resources
Welcome to your go-to resource for tips on growing your business and gaining a deeper understanding of your practice’s performance. In our blog, you’ll find valuable insights on topics such as managing your practice more efficiently, assessing your financial position in the eye care industry, and making smarter decisions for your business.