Praxis Recruitment Case Study

Christina Stewart, Praxis Recruitment “When Alvarez does it, I know things are done correctly”

When Christina Stewart and her husband and business partner, Drew, founded Praxis Recruitment in 2014, they had minimal accounting needs. Praxis Recruitment, which connects employers throughout British Columbia with fantastic employees, started small, so a solopreneur accountant worked well for them in the beginning, with Christina and Drew taking on the bookkeeping end.

About six years ago, however, they realized their needs were evolving as their business grew. Their finances were becoming more complex and they had more business considerations to take into account when making vital decisions. Their accountant went on vacation for a month–at exactly the time they needed answers to important questions. It was then they knew they would need a larger accounting firm helping them.

“We needed help with a lot of business decisions,” Christina says. “We were looking at getting a new vehicle and we had questions about buying versus leasing. We were also looking at taking on an employee but at the time the business was a partnership. If the employee made a mistake, we could lose our house. So we had questions about incorporating when we started taking on employees. We couldn’t get those answers when we needed them.”

Finding Alvarez CPA

Christina knew Pia Lindstrom, who is the general manager at Alvarez CPA, and asked Pia if Nelson Alvarez would answer their questions. Nelson’s guidance was enough to convince Christina and Drew to sign on with Alvarez CPA for their business and personal taxes, and for their financial advice.

“I trust Alvarez CPA. I know things are handled. It’s reassuring that I don’t even have to think about it.”

More than five years later, Praxis Recruitment trusts Alvarez for their full bookkeeping, tax services, and advice. The onboarding process was simple and Christina says the team at Alvarez CPA makes sure everything is done properly.

Efficient bookkeeping and streamlined billing

That help has gone beyond doing taxes to showing Christina how she can make her books more efficient.

“Alvarez showed how I was making my invoicing more difficult, for example. I was doing it accurately, but there were ways of doing it differently that lead to clearer reporting. They make sure things are done correctly. The bookkeeping is great. Nelson does the bigger picture things for us. My husband is my business partner, so there’s a lot of crossover between our business and personal lives. Nelson answers all our questions.”

Christina says she and Drew also benefit from a streamlined billing process. Rather than making two lump sum payments to their accountant at tax time, they pay a smaller fee every month that covers all their accounting needs, which has greatly helped their cash flow.

“Yes, it’s an expense but the benefit of the expense is that I have more time. I’m not hunting down receipts or doing paperwork. They save me those hours. It’s an assurance. It’s not just about trust, it’s that it’s one less thing I have to think about.”