Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in Orland Park, IL

Delre & Associates is a CPA practice based in Orland Park, Illinois, led by owner and president Maria D. Delre. The firm works with business owners, executives, independent professionals and individuals, pairing tax and accounting work with financial advisory support. Buyers comparing accounts payable providers should know that this is a traditional accounting practice rather than a software vendor.

Its website does not describe a standalone AP outsourcing package or an AP automation platform. Instead, its bookkeeping, QuickBooks and internal control services cover much of the back-office record work that supports how a company tracks and pays its vendor bills.

Business Accounting Services

For companies, the firm lists a wide set of offerings that bear on day-to-day finance operations and oversight:

• Bookkeeping and small business accounting
• Payroll processing and help with payroll tax problems
• Part-time CFO support
• Cash flow management and bank financing assistance
• Internal controls reviews
• Audits, reviews and compilations
• Forensic accounting and litigation support
• Business valuation, succession planning and new business formation
• Business tax preparation and tax planning

QuickBooks is a central part of the practice. The firm helps clients choose the software, set it up, learn to use it, answer ongoing questions and clean up existing files through tune-up work. For a smaller organization that manages payables inside QuickBooks, this support can help keep vendor records and outgoing payments organized. Cash flow management and internal controls work can also help owners plan payment timing and reduce errors in how bills get approved and recorded.

How the Firm Works With Clients

The firm describes a personalized approach in which it studies each client's situation and builds a plan around that client's goals, stressing consistency and follow-through over time. New clients can request an initial consultation at no charge. Existing clients get a password-protected online portal for storing and retrieving financial documents, and the firm also offers SecureSend for exchanging files.

Its team says it is available to guide clients through hard life events such as a death, serious illness, divorce or bankruptcy.

Industries Served

The site highlights experience with construction companies, dental practices, healthcare providers, hospitality businesses, law firms, manufacturers and real estate clients. It also serves non-profit organizations.

Background and Credentials

Maria Delre has worked in financial services for more than 25 years. She earned an accounting bachelor's degree and a master's in taxation from DePaul University. She holds the CPA credential and has also earned the PFS, CFS and CEP designations.

The firm states that it is licensed in Illinois and that each of its CPAs holds a current Illinois certificate. Maria is a member of the Illinois CPA Society, the AICPA, the Financial Planning Association, NATP and an association of independent accountants in Illinois. She has also served on community boards, including St. Elizabeth's Catholic Worker.

The firm presents itself as a small practice that offers the range of services usually found at larger firms, and it describes its rates as affordable. It is likely to suit local small and mid-sized businesses that want one CPA relationship covering bookkeeping, QuickBooks support, payroll and tax work. Organizations that need a dedicated high-volume AP department or invoice automation software would need to confirm directly whether the firm can meet those needs.

Overview

Richard J. Fox & Associates, Ltd is an accounting practice in Orland Park, Illinois. It offers tax work, bookkeeping and business advisory support from one office. The firm serves both individuals and companies in the area. Its business clients range from self-employed owners working from home to growing employers with staff on payroll. For buyers comparing outsourced accounts payable options, it is a small, owner-led alternative to large outsourcing centers and software-only vendors.

Accounts payable within outsourced bookkeeping

The firm does not sell a standalone AP automation platform. Instead, it handles payables as part of its outsourced bookkeeping service for small companies. Under that arrangement, the firm records vendor bills and pays them. It can also handle receivables, including customer invoicing, deposits and collections. Year-end vendor reporting is included as well, with preparation of 1099 and 1096 forms for owners who pay contractors.

• Accounts payable entry and bill payment
• Accounts receivable, invoicing and collections
• Bank reconciliations and general ledger upkeep
• Inventory management
• Payroll processing
• Cleanup of disorganized or neglected books
• 1099 and 1096 information returns

For startups, the practice sets up reporting and recordkeeping routines from the outset so owners can see clearly where their money goes. For established companies whose records have fallen behind, it offers a cleanup engagement. That work streamlines existing processes and adds internal checks and balances, which a payables process needs before it can run reliably. The firm says it uses current technology and payroll software for this work.

How the firm works with clients

The practice stresses direct, personal service, and the principal describes his own hands-on role in client work. Business owners can choose how often they meet with him: monthly, quarterly or once a year. The goal is to give smaller companies the kind of financial oversight a senior finance executive would provide, without the cost of hiring one.

Clients can exchange documents through a client portal and a secure messaging tool on the firm's website. The site also offers financial calculators, a newsletter, guidance on how long to keep records, and state tax forms.

Broader advisory and tax capabilities

Beyond day-to-day bookkeeping, the firm offers cash flow management, help with bank financing, new business formation and business advisory work. Its financial planning service for companies covers reporting and analysis, spotting trends, forecasting from past results, profitability analysis, budgeting and business modeling. It also helps leadership teams set performance metrics and benchmarks.

On the tax side, it prepares individual and business returns and provides tax planning. It also handles estate and trust matters, including gift, estate and trust income tax returns, trust administration and business succession planning.

For buyers comparing AP providers, the firm is best suited to small, owner-managed businesses. It fits companies that want bill payment and vendor records handled by the same advisor who prepares their taxes and financial reports, rather than a high-volume automated payables system.