The responsibility matrix: what to check before you sign
Read the matrix before the price. It tells you what is still yours after the handover (sample).
Hand over your back office, and see who does what
Halden Rowe Partners (sample) runs finance operations, payroll and compliance for companies of 50 to 500 people. Every contract starts with a matrix like this one: what we do, what you sign off, and where the handover sits.
Month-end close, 140-person distributor
Sample matrix
Activity
Your companyHalden Rowe
Your leadYour teamOur leadOur team
Bank reconciliations
Every working day
I (your lead is told after)I (your team is told after)A (the Halden Rowe lead signs it off)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
Supplier invoices coded and posted
Within three working days
I (your lead is told after)C (your team is asked first)A (the Halden Rowe lead signs it off)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
Purchases over $5,000 approved
Stays with you
A (your lead signs it off)R (your team does the work)I (the Halden Rowe lead is told after)C (the Halden Rowe team is asked first)
Payroll journal
Each pay run
I (your lead is told after)C (your team is asked first)A (the Halden Rowe lead signs it off)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
Cash forecast and funding decisions
Weekly
A (your lead signs it off)I (your team is told after)C (the Halden Rowe lead is asked first)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
Management accounts pack
By working day 8
C (your lead is asked first)I (your team is told after)A (the Halden Rowe lead signs it off)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
Sign-off of the month
Your finance lead
A (your lead signs it off)C (your team is asked first)R (the Halden Rowe lead does the work)I (the Halden Rowe team is told after)
R does the work A signs it off C is asked first I is told after
Services, and who does the work in each
Each row shows the usual split for the service as a whole. Your own matrix is agreed line by line in the proposal.
Service and what it covers
Your companyHalden Rowe
Your leadYour teamOur leadOur team
Fee
Payables, receivables, bank reconciliations, the month-end close and management accounts by working day 8.
A (your lead signs it off)C (your team is asked first)R (the Halden Rowe lead does the work)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
From $4,800 a month
Payroll for every pay run, starters and leavers, contracts, absence records and the HR inbox.
C (your lead is asked first)I (your team is told after)A (the Halden Rowe lead signs it off)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
From $16 per employee a month
Policies, registers, the compliance calendar and the paperwork your auditors and insurers ask for.
A (your lead signs it off)I (your team is told after)R (the Halden Rowe lead does the work)C (the Halden Rowe team is asked first)
From $2,900 a month
Supplier onboarding, purchase orders, three quotes where your policy asks for them, and a contract register.
A (your lead signs it off)C (your team is asked first)I (the Halden Rowe lead is told after)R (the Halden Rowe team does the work)
From $2,200 a month
The monthly board pack: figures, a short commentary and the questions the board is likely to ask.
A (your lead signs it off)I (your team is told after)R (the Halden Rowe lead does the work)C (the Halden Rowe team is asked first)
From $1,800 a month
A financial controller, HR manager or payroll lead who works inside your team for three to nine months.
A (your lead signs it off)R (your team does the work)C (the Halden Rowe lead is asked first)I (the Halden Rowe team is told after)
From $720 a day
R does the work A signs it off C is asked first I is told after
Example prices, before tax. Fixed monthly fees, reviewed once a year.
What stays with you, and what we take on
The line in the middle is the handover. Decisions stay on your side; the routine work moves to ours.
Stays with you
- Approving spend above your limits
- Hiring, pay rises and dismissals
- Signing the accounts and tax returns
- Choosing banks, lenders and suppliers
- Anything your board has to decide
We take on
- Posting, reconciling and closing the month
- Running payroll and keeping HR records
- Keeping policies, registers and deadlines current
- Preparing the board pack and its commentary
- Answering your staff's day-to-day questions
How an engagement runs
Five steps, in this order. Nothing moves to us until both teams have closed a month together.
1
Scoping call
45 minutes, free
We ask what you want to hand over, which systems you use and what has to stay with you.
2
Proposal
Within 10 working days
A written scope, the responsibility matrix, the service levels and a fixed monthly fee.
3
Transition
90 days
We map your process, write it down and close two months alongside your team.
4
Run
Every month
We do the agreed work and send a service report against every target.
5
Review
Once a year
Scope, matrix and fee are checked against what the work really took.
Service levels you can check
Every contract lists its targets and where you see them. If we miss one, the monthly report says so and says why.
Activity
Target
Where you see it
Supplier invoices posted
Within 3 working days of receipt
Weekly payables list
Management accounts pack
By working day 8
Monthly service report
Payroll paid
On the agreed date, every run
Payroll sign-off sheet
Questions from your staff
Answered within 1 working day
Ticket log, monthly
Compliance deadlines
Flagged 20 working days ahead
Compliance calendar
Example targets (sample). Your own are agreed in the proposal.
Industries we know from the inside
Most of our clients make, move or build something. Each industry has its own month-end, and we have closed it before.
Manufacturing
Stock valuation, work in progress and supplier terms that run to ninety days.
Usual first services
- Finance operations
- Procurement support
- Board reporting
Distribution and logistics
High invoice volumes, fuel and freight costs, and shift payroll across several sites.
Usual first services
- Finance operations
- HR and payroll
- Compliance and risk
Technology firms
Subscriptions, deferred revenue, share options and teams that hire in several countries.
Usual first services
- Finance operations
- HR and payroll
- Interim specialists
How we charge
Monthly service
Fixed fee for the agreed scope, reviewed once a year
from $1,800 a month
Transition
The 90 days of mapping and parallel running
one month’s fee
Projects
Year-end support, a system change or an audit
fixed quote
Interim specialists
Placed with your team for three to nine months
from $720 a day
Example prices, before tax.
In every contract
- The responsibility matrix, line by line
- Service levels and how each one is reported
- A named lead partner and a deputy
- Your data stays in your systems, under your accounts
- Ninety days' notice on either side (sample terms)
What we need to write a proposal
A scoping call of 45 minutes with the person who owns the work today. After it we send a written proposal within ten working days, and nothing is signed until you have read the matrix.
- Your last month's management accounts
- A list of the systems you use
- Head count and how often you run payroll
- Any dates that matter, such as a year end or an audit
Briefings
Closing the month by working day 8
A management pack on day 8 is mostly about what happens before the month ends (sample).
Service levels worth putting in a contract
Good service levels are few, measurable and reported without anyone asking (sample).
The Springfield office
200 Commerce Street, 4th floor, Springfield (sample)
Two minutes from Central station
Office hours
Mon to Fri, 8:00 to 18:00
Scoping calls
Mon to Thu, 9:00 to 16:00
Payroll desk
Open until 19:00 on pay days
Opening times (sample).
