When I started my career, I didn’t know what the word “deliverables” meant. To me, deliverables were physical things that people brought and delivered to your house, like mail or pizza or Amazon packages. Not accounting services.

But after working in the trenches for a few years, I started to really like the word. Why? Because it encourages accountants to think in concrete terms about the results they’re trying to achieve for their clients. All of a sudden, deliverables became one of my favorite words.

When I started Scooter, I made a list of five key deliverables I wanted to focus on. There are a million details that go into the accounting job but overall, I’d say these are the big things that accountants should be focused on:

Deliverable #1: A reliable, cost-effective accounting system

This is your accountant’s first and foremost responsibility. It involves choosing the right software and apps, setting everything up correctly, maintaining your QBO file and chart of accounts, and creating workarounds when things don’t work the way they’re supposed to (which happens all the time in the accounting world). In short, your accountant’s job is to build the accounting machine and keep it running.

Deliverable #2: A set of clear, consistent processes that will keep your accounting and financial operations running smoothly

This is the meat-and-potatoes of every accountant’s job. It’s called “operational accounting” and it includes things like managing your bank feeds and bank rules, overseeing your bank and merchant accounts, handling invoicing and customer payments, entering and paying vendor bills, and making sure all your employees and contractors get paid on time. When you have a strong set of processes in place, the business runs smoothly. When you don’t, the same problems keep happening over and over again.

Deliverable #3: Accurate, on-time financial reporting

As I mentioned in my e-book, the whole point of accounting is to get accurate, timely financials that tell you exactly how your business is doing. Doing this consistently isn’t as easy as it sounds. The financials need to be prepared and organized correctly (in accordance with standard accounting practices), key accounts need to be reconciled, any problems or irregularities need to be reviewed and fixed before the reports hit the owner’s inbox, and everything should be delivered on-time while the numbers are still fresh (not 30-45 days later). If you’re not getting this type of reporting from your accountant, it might be time to look for a new one.

Deliverable #4: A stress-free year-end close and tax preparation process

If you read my article about classic accounting mistakes, you know that the “year-end accounting cleanup” is a major problem for small businesses. Not only does it create stress for business owners, it prevents you from doing any type of tax planning with your tax accountant (like accelerating expenses, deferring income, or pursuing specific tax deduction strategies). Basically, your accountant should be doing specific things all year long to fix problems and keep your accounting on track for a smooth year-end close. There will still be extra accounting work in December and January (there always is), but it will all be do-able and you won’t need to file an irritating tax extension.

Deliverable #5: Useful feedback, analysis, and advice

For many accountants, this is the most challenging part of the job: taking all the boring stuff they do day in and day out and translating it into useful advice that helps business owners make better decisions. Your accountant should know the numbers inside and out (so you don’t have to), keep an eagle eye on monthly expenses, highlight key issues and trends you need to be aware of, and provide quick answers whenever you have questions. Above all, they should look at your business and financial reports with an objective, skeptical mindset and point out things you might not necessarily see be aware of (because that’s what good accountants are supposed to do).