Back-Office Partnerships, With An Eye On Dinero And Beyond

Can entrepreneurs be expected to juggle all functions with aplomb? Bringing a firm from dream to reality takes hard work and persistence, along with an eye on all moving parts. But human endurance and oversight have their limits.

In one recent announcement, Justworks, which bills itself as a turnkey HR and payroll platform, said that it had formed partnerships with LawTrades, an online legal services marketplace, and inDinero, which offers accounting and tax services across its own platform, to become what has been described by the firms as a “one-stop shop” for back-office solutions.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Steve Kornreich, regional sales manager of inDinero, said that the partnerships between the firms are such that the combination of the trio and cross-pollination are geared toward startups. Entrepreneurs, said Kornreich, have traditionally tried to wear many hats at once, in an attempt to develop expertise in far-flung areas that may divert them from core competencies.

With the advent of platforms such as those offered by inDinero and its peers, the startup executive need not “function as their own bookkeeper, human resources professional or lawyer … they do not have to know everything” across all aspects of the business.

Common back-office functions have been often cobbled together from platforms, such as QuickBooks, with legal services provided through in-person meetings when warranted (and likely in pressing situations). Relying on an accountant, said Kornreich, can be a dicey proposition if, for example, a startup has not been tracking its tax liabilities until the last minute and then rushes to get all documentation in just before a deadline. And with reliance on a single office or person for such important information flow and advice, he added, “a single point of contact can also become a single point of failure.” Thus, automation of some processes becomes a key conduit to streamlining processes and also taking paperwork out of day-to-day business efforts. As noted by Justworks, compliance automation and health insurance enrollment topped entrepreneurs’ to-do lists for outsourcing efforts moving forward. And, said Kornreich, the three firms’ sales teams are working together to direct existing and new customers towards their respective partners to cross-sell offerings.