Are you the owner of a business or company and don't know how to solve a problem? Do you need a fresh look at the problem or the help of a specialist? No need to hire a bunch of new employees - you can just contact the appropriate consulting agency that specializes in your specific problem.

What it is

Consulting is a type of activity aimed at conducting specific consultations for the management of the applied companies. In most cases, these consultations are related to commercial issues and production/process optimization. Most often, such services are provided in expert, technological, financial and legal activities.

Consulting will help your business in many situations

Why is it profitable to contact such companies? Because you do not need to look for the appropriate specialist, hire him, pay taxes and organize workplace- you just get answers to your questions from real experts with extensive experience in such work.

The main goal of such firms is to assist companies in managing the production and management process. The way to achieve this goal is to improve the quality of management by making certain decisions, removing “weak links”, etc.

How to understand it

Let's look at the term consulting - what is it in simple words why it is profitable and where to look for a similar service. This phenomenon involves the provision of consulting services by third-party specialists. Specialists act as independent persons - you do not need to register them at the enterprise, you simply enter into an appropriate contract for the provision of services. An even simpler explanation of consulting is to receive recommendations aimed at improving the conduct of business.

Consultations are given for a reason, but after studying the existing problems and analytics. Typically, experts consider the possibility of developing an enterprise or reorganizing it to increase profits and work efficiency, but it all depends on the nature of your problem.

Consulting is a simple and effective way to solve problems

When to Contact a Specialist

Now that you know what it does consulting company, let's analyze the question - in what cases it is worth attracting it. Situations can be completely different. Usually a consultant is brought in for a fresh look at an existing problem or as a link between different units/departments/branches. A specialist is also quite often involved in cases where the management and management do not have a common opinion on a particular issue and qualified assistance from a third party is needed.

Consultants are brought in to revise the structure of the company, to carry out the reorganization properly, to generate development ideas or help in difficult situations. Very often, an expert fresh look at the problem from the outside allows you to find the most effective solution.

Read also: open joint-stock company: what it is

Most Common Services

Having dealt with what consulting services are and when they are used, let's look at the main activities of these firms. We will highlight only the key species, but in fact there are much more of them:

1. Providing business consulting.
2. Providing advice on recruitment.
3. Lawyer consulting.
4. Educational consultations.

Let's look at them in more detail.

There are many types of consulting

Doing Business

Commercial assistance is very popular with both small firms and corporations. Consultations in the business sphere can be both one-time and permanent. Experts study the existing problem, conduct a detailed analysis of it and issue several solutions. They usually also control the process of implementation of their proposals, but this is not a prerequisite.

Business consulting also includes investment assistance. Consultants help solve problems with attracting loans and investments, with the revaluation of assets and their distribution. Also, investment assistants can recommend promising companies or projects in which you can invest finances to multiply them - they are engaged in everything that is somehow related to finance and business.

Recruitment

Recruitment is another rather interesting branch of the development of consulting services. Not many companies can afford full-fledged department personnel with specialized specialists involved in the selection of personnel. Therefore, they turn to such organizations. What is HR Consulting? He selects specialists in various specialties, holds meetings and interviews with them, tests them for compliance with the position held and creates his own database of applicants. Then companies that want to find employees turn to such firms, and they give out the most interesting options. Also recruitment agencies can work under the order, and not collecting databases - they receive the “technical characteristics / requirements” of the necessary specialists and conduct the selection of candidates. This allows the head of the company / department not to waste time on numerous interviews, but to meet only with trusted people. It is noteworthy that consulting services can appear not only at the search stage, but also when working with existing employees. Specialists from these companies can organize the process of training and advanced training, conduct trainings, courses personal growth etc.

The consulting firm will conduct for you the selection and training of personnel

Legal services

Legal consulting firm- a great option for those who do not want to introduce a lawyer to their staff, since his services are needed only periodically or if the work of a competent specialist is very expensive. You simply apply to such an organization, state the essence of the problem, and you are offered ways to legally solve it. This service may be provided on a one-time basis or permanent basis. For example, you periodically need to defend your interests in court, but the frequency similar appeals may be different. You enter into an agreement with the company, and it provides you with services as needed.

Consulting services are a comprehensive and comprehensive study of the current difficult situation in the affairs of an organization, company or any production and the provision of effective recommendations in the future, the implementation of which will increase the efficiency of this structure, bring it to a new level of development. To provide qualified assistance, one person is usually not enough. We need a whole staff of specialists competent in various fields. It was this need that gave rise to such companies, whose activities are aimed exclusively at providing consulting services.

Such firms can provide assistance not only to organizations, but also to individuals. For example, when applying for a job in a foreign country, it is consulting companies that take on the legal and legal support of foreigners, obtaining and renewing permits, searching for work and processing all types of documents.

About being in demand

The most relevant consulting services:

1. In the field of finance - an assessment of the state of affairs today and assistance in achieving financial well-being.
2. AT management- services for managers on problems arising in the course of strategic planning, as well as in matters of investment, various types of economic activity. Such assistance is designed to increase the efficiency of any company, to ensure its prosperity.

In a broad sense, consulting services are the provision of specialists to solve absolutely any problem that may arise in the course of doing business.

Professional activity in this area

The first attempts to provide assistance in management issues appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, but the market for consulting services was formed somewhere in the middle of the 20th century. The word consulting itself means "consulting". However, this does not exhaust the activities of such companies. The main thing in their work is the focus on business promotion and its optimization.

It is not always the case that one firm deals with all business-related issues at once. Often consulting services are specialization in certain areas, for example, assistance in production, personnel, law, and so on.

A little about the types

This activity can be divided into the following categories:

• Project consulting. It involves the collective work of representatives of the company, headed by management and specialists from a consulting company, on the development and implementation of decisions made to optimize the business.
• Expert. Diagnosis of problems with subsequent provision of recommendations for their elimination.
• Educational. A specialist from the executing company only provides information (theoretical or practical) necessary to solve the customer's problems: trainings, manuals, lectures.

Main clients of consulting companies

• Option one. The form of ownership has changed at the enterprise or it has expanded, or the direction of its activity is changing. All these issues require the provision of qualified assistance.
• Option two. The company plans to become a leader in the market, or perhaps wants to consolidate its already won leadership position, intends to create an image for itself in the eyes of customers and partners. Consulting companies are better than anyone to help you achieve these goals.
• The third option and it is also the most common. The company is already in a state of crisis. He lacks internal capacity to solve his problems, so he has to use the services of a consulting company. Along the way, the formation of new goals and methods effective work. This type of assistance is called "crisis consulting".

What should be the company providing services?

All specialists in it are required to have a high level of professionalism:

• be proficient in problem solving techniques;
• know all the methods of observation, subsequent analysis and forecasting for making adequate decisions;
• have skills in strategic planning and diagnosis of the current situation;
• be able to formulate an accurate diagnosis as a result of the audit of all levels and formations of the company.

It is extremely important that the employees of a consulting firm at all stages of cooperation with the problem structure remain independent, retain an objective view of the situation and the ability to make unconventional decisions.

This requires that the assisting company is not in any way influenced by the client company.

The executing firm must encourage the customer to use its own experience, as well as supply it with new technologies and methods for improving work.

A consulting company must have an excellent reputation, a large customer base, constantly improve, studying past experience and innovations in this area.

What are the types of interaction?

Since consulting services are a very diverse and diversified assistance, such companies are usually classified depending on the main area of ​​\u200b\u200bits activity or the variety of services provided.

1. IT services, that is Information Support business.
2. Administration - issues related to the management and staffing of the business.
3. Marketing - ensuring the conquest of the market segment planned by the company.
4. Services for the organization and support of production - all issues related to production and crisis management.
5. The sphere of finance is the provision of the optimal variant of the financial strategy.
6. Legal services - all issues related to legal side company activities.
7. Specialized consulting - special assistance, the need for which arises in the course of business development.

Legal regulation of relations between the customer and the contractor

Before the start of providing assistance to the company, a contract for the provision of consulting services is concluded. Outwardly, it looks like a regular contract, but in this case it is especially important to determine the nature of the relationship between the invited company and the customer. According to this indicator, the contract for consulting services may correspond to one of the options below.

1. Subscription. A representative assisting the company is periodically invited to perform certain, pre-agreed work.
2. Diagnostics. The task is to find out the problems and make recommendations.
3. An agreement to introduce something(may relate to both methods of work and the substantive side of the matter) and consultation.
4. Work on improving the level of company management.
5. Project development.
6. Integrated consulting on all issues, as well as the formation of an enterprise strategy.
7. Consultation on any specific situation, one-time service.

Sample contract

If the relief work is carried out by one person, it will be a labor agreement with him. If the task is entrusted to a group of persons, then a contract of consulting services is concluded with the entire team. A sample of such an agreement usually includes:

• legal address, company name and registration data;
• list of accepted obligations;
• conditions, plan and terms of work;
• protocol indicating the amount of payment;
• estimate of all expenses;
• the procedure for issuing an act of acceptance of work;
• other necessary data, depending on the specifics of the activity;
• signatures indicating positions.

Current trends in the consulting market

Despite the rapid growth in the number of organizations involved in this type of work, the need for their services, at least in our Russian-speaking space, still exceeds the supply.

If earlier some enterprises preferred to create structures that help develop business within their companies, today managers are increasingly turning to independent consultants. This turned out to be much more profitable for many reasons, since not every company can maintain a special staff of various specialist advisers.

One more feature modern development companies that promote entrepreneurship lies in their desire for integration, for the creation of large economic associations capable of comprehensively and quickly solving absolutely all the problems of doing business.

Today, more than ever, companies with an impeccable reputation are valued. Advertising is no longer so important when choosing a contractor, the main thing is the feedback from former clients and previous work results. This approach allows you to quickly and minimal cost achieve the set goals. The consulting business is one of the most profitable in the world, and it has excellent prospects for development.

To manage an enterprise or firm, it is important to know not only the basics in a particular area. Sometimes business leaders need the help of highly qualified specialists in various areas - from financing to technological issues. To help managers understand difficult questions consulting companies started their work. Consulting and what it is - we offer to understand.

What is consulting?

This concept has long been heard, but not everyone knows what it means. Consulting is the activity of advising managers on many issues in:

• financing;
• commercial activities;
• the legal field;
• technological area;
• technical
• expert.

The purpose of consulting can be called a certain assistance to the management system (management) to achieve the goals. The main task here is to analyze the development prospects, as well as the use of scientific and technical solutions, taking into account the subject area and problems of each potential client.

What does a consulting company do?

It is impossible to say unequivocally what a consulting company does. There are as many areas of consulting as there are many basic and additional functions, or departments in a large company. The main purpose of the functioning of such a company is to optimize, increase the effectiveness of the clients' business. The help of the company can be not only in the right advice, but also in practical assistance in the work of clients.

Types of consulting services

Each consulting firm provides the following range of services:

1. Financial consulting is a set of services that are aimed at building an effective, reliable system management. Thanks to him, the calculation, explanation, evaluation of a group of material indicators that characterize the company's activities is carried out.
2. managerial consulting - with its help you can timely detect weak sides and make them strong by adjusting the focus of the company.
3. Accounting– advises on new methods of accounting and activities in computer programs, informs employees and managers about new things in accounting.
4. Legal– provides timely and appropriate support to the organization during regular changes in legislation.
5. Tax consulting– helps in working out the systematic payments tax collection, avoiding violations in the field of taxation, eliminating the resulting errors.
6. Marketing consulting - consultations for any branch of the operating business.
7. Expert consulting - consulting services, implying the implementation and development of solutions for their implementation after diagnosing the company.

Management consulting

Management or as it is also called business consulting is an activity aimed at improving the forms of management and doing business. This type of consultation consists of providing recommendations and comprehensive customer support. It is understood as a certain set of services that are provided by specially trained and qualified people. They assist in the discovery and analysis of the problems of the organization.

Financial consulting

Experts say that financial consulting is the creation of a sustainable system financial management firm. It carries out:

• qualified analysis and audit of all areas of work, manufacturing and investment;
• advice regarding ;
• development of ways to develop and strengthen the financial system.

Investment consulting is associated with the design, creation of specific plans and programs for investment activities. Strategic financial consulting is understood as consulting on the development of strategies, the choice of the optimal composition of capital and the increase in its value. This trend is associated with management accounting, which implies the creation of a financial, budget and investment management structure and an economic services department.

IT consulting

What consulting services are provided in the field of information technologies not only managers need to know. This term means project activities associated with information support of various business processes. Thanks to her, you can give independent evaluation the effectiveness of the use of information technology.

HR consulting

exist different kinds consulting. One of them is personnel. It is no less important than the rest. HR consulting is commonly understood as a system of organizational and psychological measures regarding the diagnosis, correction organizational structure, or enterprise culture to improve production performance, optimize the social and psychological climate, strengthen .

Legal consulting

Legal or as it is also called legal consulting is the provision of services in legal sphere and is advisory in nature. Managers know that consulting is not only getting answers to certain questions, but also providing one-time or comprehensive assistance during problem solving. This includes helping company leaders develop complex and systemic solutions to problems.

Investment consulting

Under the concept of strategic consulting, it is customary to understand investment activity, which consists in substantiating effective areas for investing funds. It is based on a carefully considered investment policy. Managers and investors, when choosing schemes for investing and raising capital, pay attention to professional recommendations that provide investment consulting.

Logistics consulting

Concepts such as logistics and consulting are interrelated. Logistics consulting is understood as a certain type of management activities, which provides for the detection and analysis of problems in the system logistics management with further development of measures to eliminate them. The success of this type of counseling will be necessary knowledge consultant, his ability to offer the customer reasonable approaches that can prevent the occurrence of difficult situations.

Thanks to the work of a professional consultant, it is possible to define and formulate one basic logistics ideology for the management of the organization, to discover a set of common key values ​​that will be both conscious and large-scale. Provided that the management of the enterprise and the consultant act purposefully, it is possible to achieve the set goals.

Environmental consulting

Many managers in the field of ecology know that consulting is such consulting services that are related to environmental support work of construction and design firms, companies of all fields of activity, administrations of municipalities, regional entities, which are in resource saving projects and in projects to reduce pollution environment enterprises. Services in this area may include:

1. Environmental certification of equipment, companies, enterprises, production and natural facilities and territories
2. Integrated environmental and economic analysis functioning of current and planned industrial facilities.
3. Advising on the environmental activities of organizations.
4. Development of activities and evaluation of their activities.
5. Improving the effectiveness of the waste management system.
6. Selection of optimal technologies and equipment for environmental protection for organizations.

Restaurant consulting

Anyone who plans to run a restaurant business and wants to calculate everything in order not to be left without money and time, it is advisable to ask about consulting what it is and contact a consulting agency. Often, the concept of "restaurant consulting" includes such important services provided:

1. Full management of the restaurant under the contract.
2. Support and implementation of the restaurant organization at all stages, from idea to opening.
3. Analysis of an already functioning catering point.
4. Implementation of new standards.
5. Use of new concepts for business optimization.

White salary This is the only legal form of wages. Many job seekers also face illegal types of payment when looking for a job: black and gray salary. In order to figure out whether the salary of this employer is legal, you need to pay attention to the following signs.

Signs of a white salary:

• The full amount of the salary is indicated in the documents when applying for a job.
• The accrual of bonuses and other incentive allowances is carried out by order.
• Money is transferred to the card or issued through the cashier. Cash payment must be made according to one of the following documents: cash receipt, payroll or payroll. Documents must be signed by the head, chief accountant or an authorized person. Opposite the name of a particular employee should be the amount that is handed out.
• No additional amounts in envelopes are issued.
• The actual amount of income is reflected in the 2-NDFL certificate and on the payslip.
• All deductions are made from the entire amount of the employee's income.

What is the official salary

Many people do not even think about the fact that they receive illegal income. They work without registration or receive part of the payment in envelopes, but do not understand that part of their income is hidden. For most employees, it does not matter that the amount of their actual income according to documents is less than their real earnings. Employees pay attention to the fact that the money arrives on time, without delay.

The official salary is accrued either according to the time sheet, or according to the fulfilled standards. An employee should not be registered for a salary less than the minimum wage established by the state.

Salary Structure

• Salary. For the calculation of which the actually worked time is taken into account according to the time sheet, or the actually fulfilled norms.
• Bonus (for length of service, qualifications, seniority, rank or others).
• Surcharges for work on weekends, for night time, for replacing an absent employee, and others.
• Incentive payments, including bonuses.
• The district coefficient established in a particular region.

When an employee is on sick leave, he is paid temporary disability benefits. When you are on a business trip - business trip. And when you go on vacation, vacation pay is paid.

Features of employment for work

When hiring an employee, a hiring order must be made. An employment contract is another fundamental document describing the position, working conditions, rest, as well as the amount of remuneration for acting duties.

You need to be familiar with the following internal documents organizations:

1. Collective agreement.
2. Award provisions.
3. rules internal regulations.
4. Job Descriptions.
5. Taxes and wages.

You need to understand the difference between accrued and paid wages. The difference between them is the personal income tax withheld (tax on income individuals), trade union dues, alimony and other deductions under the writ of execution.

Additionally, the employer pays mandatory contributions from all accrued income of employees to the following off-budget funds:

1. Pension Fund Russian Federation (FIU).
2. Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (FOMS).
3. Social Insurance Fund Russian Federation(FSS).

Illegal types of wages

On the territory of the Russian Federation there is only one type of remuneration - official wage according to Labor Code RF. In a common folk way, such earnings are called white wages. No other types of wages are legal, there are no legal concepts of black or gray wages.

Black salary

An employment contract is not concluded with an employee, an order for hiring is not made and there is no documentary registration of a person in an organization. Such an employee receives earnings in cash in an envelope.

Obvious disadvantages of illegal sources of income:

• Not protecting the employee by law.
• No tax payments.
• Impossibility of official leave on vacation, sick leave or maternity leave.

The employee does not have a length of service and there are no deductions to either the MHIF, or the PFR, or the FSS. In case of illness or in case of dismissal, the employer often does not make the due payments. When it comes time to receive a pension, payments will be minimal.

The only advantage of such a source is a higher amount of illegal income. This option is convenient for business areas with a regular turnover of cash, which later go to pay earnings.

This method is also convenient for real estate organizations. In such firms, only a few people are registered, and the rest receive only a percentage of sales.

Gray salary

Partially official salary is called gray. At the same time, employees are registered for the minimum wage. It is from this amount that the employer pays all taxes. Sometimes an employee is issued for a position with a lower salary. The rest is paid in an envelope.

This scheme allows the employer to reduce the cost of taxes and allows you to increase wages. However, sick leave, maternity, vacation, as a rule, are calculated according to the minimum wage and their size is minimal. It is highly likely that after the decree, the employer will offer to quit, and if he disagrees, he will leave only the white part of the salary.

Another disadvantage of partly illegal earnings is that the employer regulates the amount in the envelope on his own and can set various fines and illegal deductions.

Scheme of illegal salary disguised as dividends

Another way to pay wages is a scheme that includes a minimum wage and dividends. Each employee is given the opportunity to purchase shares of the organization, which he must sell upon dismissal.

These conditions are specified in the employment contract. A smaller part of the salary is processed and paid in fixed time. An employee periodically receives most of the income in the form of dividends, which in fact make up the bulk of his earnings.

Taxes are transferred only from the minimum salary. The frequency of dividends is not monthly, but quarterly. In this scheme, dividends are a good cover for illegal income. To identify this scheme, reconcile all employment contracts, minutes and documents of shareholders' meetings, shares of employees and the amount of payments.

What is the employer's risk?

Often, the employer is calm and confident that employees will not complain, because they will not be able to prove anything without official documents. However, illegal schemes are detected quite simply. To do this, an unscheduled inspection is carried out and simply compares the number of employees at the workplace and in staffing.

Complaints of employees to inspection bodies and testimonies can contribute to the identification of this scheme. Illegal wages and tax evasion threatens the employer with large fines and even criminal liability.

Advantages and disadvantages of official earnings for an employee

• The main advantage is the social security of the employee. If there is a violation of labor obligations, then you can file a complaint with the regulatory authorities.
• Registration of workers and payment of white wages is a sign of a stable organization.
• All earnings are subject to taxes. In the future, the amount of pension payments will be calculated from these taxes transferred to the FIU.
• Temporary disability benefits and vacation pay are calculated on the basis of all earnings.
• When you go on parental leave, it will be easier to return to your position while maintaining your salary, since the registration is official.
  You can confirm your income with a certificate, this is sometimes necessary to obtain a mortgage or loan.
• The salary is fixed, the employer does not have the right to reduce it at will.
• In the event of dismissal of an employee, the employer must pay all due payments.
• You can return part of the personal income tax from the budget using tax deductions. This is beneficial in the case of buying an apartment or house in a mortgage.

The disadvantages are not so obvious, but still there.

• Official income, as a rule, is less than illegal. Since the employer reduces part of his expenses by cutting salaries.
• Most vacancies in private business are offered with illegal earnings, so it is more difficult to find a job with an official salary.
• Alimony and debts on enforcement orders are withheld from official earnings, illegal income is easier to hide. In this regard, when registering an employee, the deduction from the salary will be in full.

Advantages and disadvantages of a white salary for the employer

• The obvious disadvantage is the cost of taxes.
• Complex financial statements.
• The impossibility of dismissing an unsuitable employee, since according to the Labor Code this is difficult to do.

The advantages for the employer are much less:

• No liability for illegal wages and tax evasion.
• Good reputation and stability of the organization.
• Accounting transparency.

How to check if an employee is officially paid

If an employee has doubts about whether he has official income, then this can be checked as follows. You need to register at personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service and download the 2-NDFL certificate there. Organizations are required to submit these certificates annually by last name. Having received a similar one in accounting, you can compare income by months.

Despite the obvious merits of a white salary, most employers and employees opt for the gray option. When making such a choice, one must weigh all the risks, since more often than not, employees lose more than they gain. It must be borne in mind that with an illegal salary, the employer may delay its issuance for an indefinite period, pay it incompletely or not pay at all.

Each company and business strives to develop and conquer its part of the market. But far from always this is possible without huge investments and only on our own, especially at a time when there are problems in the country's economy.

To remain a popular and competitive company, you need to constantly change, develop strategy and tactics. And if there are no resources for this within the company, then you have to use external services - consulting. What is consulting services? What types of consulting are there? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

What are consulting services and why are they needed?

Even large international companies often face difficulties in their work. This may be related to both external factors as well as internal problems. Most often, problems arise due to price fluctuations in the market, the appearance or departure of a competitor, but in firms there are difficulties with the very relations between employees within the enterprise. Because of this, there is no opportunity and strength within the company to fight for its survival, so an excellent solution in this case would be to use consulting services.

Consulting is a type of service that essentially means counseling. One company or person provides services to solve certain problems to another company.

The issues that can be solved with the help of consulting are very diverse. Sometimes it can be a whole range of tasks, and sometimes it is provided only in a narrow area. For example, accounting consulting is the involvement of a specialized company or employee to solve problems related to accounting. That is why when they talk about the concept of consulting, there is no clear definition.

Consulting services are a solution of organizational or managerial tasks within the firm with the help of external experts. Professional consultants in a certain area are invited to work in the company. Specialists assess the condition, see the cause of problems and create a system for solving these errors.

The company turns to consulting not only when it experiences difficulties in development. Often the manager decides to expand, so it is urgent to increase the number of specialists. But even if you hire them, it will still be necessary to spend months on training, monitoring the implementation of tasks, and only after that put complex tasks in front of them. And in a growing company there is not so much time.

Consulting firms are specialized companies that provide consulting services. There may be a staff of employees who simultaneously cooperate with different organizations.

Stages of ordering consulting services (infographics)

Types of consulting services

• IT consulting is one of the newest and most demanded types of consulting in Ukraine. This is consulting and assistance in the field of information technology. In fact, IT consulting solves all issues related to the Internet and information business processes.
• Marketing consulting. Not all companies can afford to open a marketing department or hire professional employee who will address these issues. And it is necessary to engage in advertising today, because this is the only way to stay on the market and be a leader. In many cases, marketing consulting services are provided along with IT consulting.
• Legal consulting associated with the solution of current problems that are relevant to the law of the state. This will allow you to correctly evaluate the activities of the company and make the most profitable decisions. Legal advice is especially important during the expansion of the enterprise, when it will be necessary to open new branches or conclude agreements with intermediaries, suppliers.
• Financial consulting- services related to effective management funds, the distribution of the budget within the firm, as well as the right external investments.
• HR consulting undertakes the establishment of internal relations between employees, the selection of new specialists who will meet the requirements of the company.