Drew, that is exactly the lesson I've been working on getting. I'm a good lawyer. I'm not so great at those other things and I don't really want to be.

eta: and Typo, that's a really good way to think about it.

Well, and if that's $10K over six months, do you have to pay it all at once, or part by part? Is it easier to think of it as a $1200 a month or something? And if she can implement a couple things quickly, would those things being implemented de-stress you? Is being de-stressed for 40 hours a week worth $1200 a month?

Are there any parts of it that can be doing by online services, such as Shoeboxed for receipts and FreshBooks for invoicing?

$10,000 will pay for itself in how many months? That's what I would say.

Will it add to your quality of life? No-brainer. Especially if it pays for itself within 6 months.

Of course, the irony here is that I won't know if it's worth it until she does the audit because I don't currently have systems in place to monitor that stuff.

In the consultants we use, we always treat the audit and the implementation as two separate jobs - basically, we hire them to tell us the problem and then reserve the right to hire them to help us solve the problem. Some consultants push back out of a concern that we'll take the audit results and shop for a better deal but we generally handle that through a confidentiality agreement and a reminder that they have the best shot at the implementation since there is an existing relationship. Also, I think a $10k commitment to a vendor without a track record is risky so splitting it out would give you a chance to see if this is someone you can work with on the implementation portion.

lcat, makes a lot of good sense.

I also like the idea of splitting up tasks to see how you like her implementation of part of her plan before you commit to the whole enchilada.

So this is the only thread where I am not zillions of posts behind!

Lots happening on the business front which makes me more crazed than my normal crazed level.

We are moving our offices out of an office/warehouse space and into an office space in a shiny Bank of America building. Pluses include: 1) a mile from the house 2) forces me to sort through crap that we have kept for decades because we had warehouse space 3) more appropriate corporate image 4) much cheaper with bonus of no more bathrooms to stock and clean and electric included.

We also are setting up our datacenter where we are moving a number of our client/server practices and utilizing the technology for backup services for our practices that stay in house. In a couple years we will no longer support client/server which will result in a vast decrease in tech support issues. Big technical transition that is all good stuff.

So yeah, I am exhausted and overwhelmed. But as I explained to DH recently, this is the first time in years that I have felt like things were happening, with real movement, in an actual direction. I have been just going through the motions and saying we needed to do something for a long time. So big changes and I hope when we celebrate our 25th year in business next year we will look like a new company.

Laura, that is all very exciting!

I'm so glad for you, Laura!

This sounds like a 'profitable' change on every level...physical, financial, and emotional.

Burdens lifted.

How wonderful.