“The bookkeeping just became too time-consuming.  My business was growing and I didn’t have the time to do everything anymore.”
-- Norm Belle, Founder and Consultant,
NMB Signs dba FastSigns

When Norm Belle founded FastSigns seventeen years ago, it made sense for him to do the bookkeeping himself.  The company, which produces signs and graphics for both small and large corporations, was in its inception and he needed to devote all of his capital to growth.  After a few years, however, he felt he needed professional help.  “The bookkeeping just became too time-consuming,” he recalls.  “My business was growing and I didn’t have the time to do everything anymore.”

He decided to outsource his bookkeeping to Bookminders, and from the beginning appreciated the one-on-one relationship he had with his bookminder.  “We’ve had several bookminders over the past twelve years, and we’ve had a good relationship with all of them,” he says.

As time progressed FastSigns grew rapidly, and in the late 1990’s Belle made the decision to hire a full-time bookkeeper.  “We had gotten pretty big and I thought it would probably be easier to just bring the accounting function in-house and have someone sitting in the office.  It’s a decision that I regret,” he adds.

“We had a succession of bookkeepers that didn’t know what they were doing.  Turnover was a problem.  The turning point was a very bad experience with one bookkeeper in particular,” he remembers.   “After that, we dug ourselves out of a hole and went back to Bookminders.”

Today FastSigns has grown to the sixth largest business in the national franchise, and Belle enjoys the simplicity of outsourcing to Bookminders.  “Your bookkeeping function is pretty important,” he says candidly.  “If Bookminders is doing it, I don’t have to worry about it, and that means something to me.  I check financials after the month is closed, and if changes need to be made, I’ll send them on and make sure they’re made.  It’s pretty fast.  Pretty simple.  I like that.”


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