McCormick's offices connect remotely to the shared database at Hudgins Humphrey Moore over either T1 or ISDN connections. Internally, Hudgins Humphrey Moore staff connects to the database over the firm's TCP/IP network.

"There's been a few bumps along the way," says Annette Hargis, CPA and network administrator at Hudgins Humphrey Moore, "but overall, it's working out really well." McCormick staffers log into the database to add and track jobs, enter purchase orders, and manage media. Time is entered into timesheets in Clients & Profits from paper time slips. "I like it that way," Kathy explains. "I don't know why. Since time records are the heart of our profitability, having originals on paper gives me some comfort as a last resort back up if computers fail."

But once the time is entered, Hudgins Humphrey Moore coordinates the entries with their payroll department. Since Clients & Profits doesn't do payroll, time entries are added to the General Ledger quarterly so the costs show up on quarterly unbilled cost reports.

A productive relationship

Rick and Kathy both agree that the arrangement is working out great. The agency has access to a full accounting department of blue chip caliber with CFO, controller, financial analyst and clerical skills -- without actually having to hire the whole team. Together, they've been able to achieve McCormick's financial and economic goals, like cash management. ("They used to pay bills monthly," Rick says, "so they had a lot of cash sitting around. Then they'd pay a big media bill and then the money was gone.")

While every bill was always paid, some vendors that should have been paid right away had to wait, while others who could've waited got paid right away. "We've been able to streamline the process so that bills are paid when they should be," Rick says, adding that they use the auto billing feature in Clients & Profits.

The result? McCormick's average cash balance increased to the point that they've made an excellent profit on the cash they've had in the bank. "Now they know what their bottom line really is," Rick says. Kathy adds, "Outsourcing our accounting brings a professional level to the software. It was the right investment."

A perfect fit

When James L. McCormick founded McCormick Company in 1926, he insisted on hard work and high quality. Although there's no longer a McCormick in the agency, J.L. McCormick's standards live on, evidenced by the long-term relationships the agency has developed. "We've had some clients for 15 to 20 years," Kathy says.

The agency specializes in agricultural, natural resources, and bioscience advertising, and boasts some of the top clients in the industry, such as Pioneer Hi Bred International, Inc., ASARCO, and Elanco Animal Health. The agency's success is built on their philosophy: hire the best people, focus on measurable results, minimize overhead and provide extra value, commit to superior satisfaction, and operate with ethics and professionalism. So Jack's proposal that Hudgins Humphrey Moore handle all of the back office accounting was a perfect fit with McCormick Company's business philosophy.

Mark Perrin, president of McCormick Company, sums it up nicely: "If you can find a group of people who work harder, who are more sincere in what they do, or who know the business better, hire them." And that's exactly what McCormick did.

The right investment

The whole package -- Hudgins Humphrey Moore, Clients & Profits, and McCormick Company -- is the right mix. "It was the right investment," Kathy says, "and it's a great way to allow agencies to do great work while the business is being taken care of right."