“When it comes to accounting, you can use your accountant back at home who has no experience in the service industry or in pest control, or you can hire a professional company that specializes in pest control, like PCO Bookkeepers, and let them guide you.”

Galvin Murphy Sr. has no problem admitting when he’s not the right man for a job.

“In the pest control industry, we suggest to homeowners that spraying pesticides around your house isn’t a hobby and they need to use a professional,” Galvin says. “When it comes to accounting, it’s the same thing. You need to start focusing on what you do well and let others do what they do well.”

As he’s grown his 30-year-old company, Yankee Pest Control, based in Malden, Mass., Galvin says he’s learned it’s better to outsource some services — one of them being accounting. In the early days, he hired a local accountant.

“He swore he was really good at what he did, but somehow I kept paying all of these astronomical taxes,” Galvin says. “He didn’t charge me much money, but he didn’t do much for me either.”

About a dozen years ago, Galvin turned to Dan Gordon and the team at PCO Bookkeepers instead. Yankee Pest Control has grown threefold since then and has seen profitability improve, as well. “I think it’s one of the better decisions we ever made,” he says.

“I completely trust them and it’s made an incredible difference in our bottom line. There’s no sense bringing money in if you’re not going to keep it.” Since working with PCO Bookkeepers, Galvin better understands his books and can concentrate on other areas of his business.

“Before we worked with them, we shot from the hip,” Galvin says. “Now, we understand the numbers, such as how much it costs to run a route, how much it costs to acquire a new customer and how many customers we’re going to lose.” Not only does the Yankee team know its own numbers, it knows how those figures compare to industry averages, thanks to the detailed monthly reports PCO Bookkeepers provides.

“The industry may have other cost surveys from trade magazines or associations, but you don’t really know where those numbers are coming from,” Galvin says. “PCO Bookkeepers’ reports are the actual numbers from their customers.”

If, for example, Yankee were to spend 12 percent on materials one month and the industry average is 7-8 percent, Galvin’s accountants will alert him about the anomaly. PCO Bookkeepers also has helped streamline some of Yankee’s processes, such as adopting receipt-tracking software that seamlessly flows data into the accounting system.

“They keep me in line so I can understand where to cut back and save money,” Galvin says. “Dan and the team have resources to help. You can call them up and they will take you through it step by step.”

PCO Bookkeepers has been there for Yankee Pest Control when it comes to other business-related advice, such as Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application process, as well.

“Beyond accounting, Dan is a fabulous businessman and understands the service industry as well or better than anybody I know,” Galvin says. “He’s only a phone call away if you have a question.”