All business consultation and advisory services are supposed to help establish, improve and expand client businesses in general or in a niche sector. The real question is, what is it that they do exactly? Let’s take a brief look over the general facets of a high-quality business consultation and advisory service, so that we can get a better understanding of what they do and how those actions help their clients.
Business Advisory Services Must Provide More than Just Consultations
While there are overlapping points between the services provided by a business consultancy and a business advisory group, the latter offers a much wider range of services to help client companies improve their financials, marketing, HR, online presence and more. The entire range of services provided by advisory firms is wide and highly variable of course, as a lot depends on the specific firm we are discussing.
For example, business advisory services from Brown Smith Wallace are more comprehensive in nature, as compared to the average business consultation and advice firm. Companies like these are vastly experienced in covering everything from initial planning and insurance consultation, to process improvement and software resource evaluation, but similar end-to-end services are not always the norm for every business consultancy out there.
What Should You Expect Then?
As we are trying to pin down the specific roles which a business advisory and consultancy firm plays, let’s take a closer look at them next.
Strategic Planning
Strategic planning caters to old, new and soon-to-be businesses, albeit for different purposes. Established businesses are helped to strategically assess, plan and execute their immediate and future expansion plans. To fresh entrepreneurs who are still in the process of planning and registering their company, business consultation and services can be invaluable. Both soon-to-be and new companies are provided with a consultant’s invaluable experience and relevant contacts, so that their budding clients can avoid steep learning curves.
Insurance Consultation and Advice
Choosing the right type of insurance policies and the right insurance providers can be a difficult process, especially without prior knowledge regarding the market. The insurance advice generally involves:
- Evaluating whether the client is paying more for insurance policies than they must
- Evaluating whether the client is paying for insurance coverages that they have no need for
- Presenting a review of the client’s present insurance plans, complete with their findings and suggestions for improvement
- Suggesting and negotiating better insurance deals, when that is indeed a viable option
CARES Act Loan Consulting
Not every business advisory group can help their clients with this one, but those that can, will:
- Explain the SBA’s spending and documentation requirements for assessing the company’s eligibility for debt forgiveness
- Apply for loan forgiveness on behalf of the client, with all necessary documents
- Make all the necessary calculations which are necessary, if the client has to qualify successfully for the debt forgiveness plan
- Assist in facing bank inquisitions during their review process of the client’s application
There are also a whole range of other services that were not even mentioned here, which includes bookkeeping, data analysis, marketing assessments, software consultation and the list goes on. Consider your business advisory firm to be the company’s professional guide for all things related to business.
