The Outsourced Finance Team Behind 200+ Growing Businesses — and What They Look for in a Bank

Black Ink Business Services has spent 18 years embedding itself inside clients’ teams as their full finance function — from day-to-day bookkeeping to fractional CFO work — serving creative agencies, pre-revenue startups, and professional services firms across the U.S. and abroad. With that much exposure to banking relationships on behalf of clients, their founder has a sharp perspective on what actually separates one bank from another.

Why a firm that manages finances for 200+ businesses prioritizes customer service over rates and products
What outsourced back-office support actually looks like when it’s done right
How Black Ink Business Services has grown from a solo founder to three offices across New York, Austin, and India

The Outsourced Finance Team Behind 200+ Growing Businesses — and What They Look for in a Bank hero

We spoke with Colin Barnhart, Founder of Black Ink Business Services, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and the strategies that have fueled his own company’s success.

What role does Black Ink Business Services play in the financial services industry?

Black Ink Business Services is an outsourced back office that works as an integrated part of our clients’ team.

Unlike similar companies in our space, we typically play the role of a full-time finance team — including day-to-day bookkeeping up to fractional CFO work. While we are industry and platform agnostic, our clientele tends to fall into three buckets: creative agencies, pre-revenue start-ups, and professional services from architecture firms to sub-manufacturing companies.

Every client has a different journey, but common scenarios where we’ve been able to add value include:

A business reaches a stage where scaling rapidly becomes a priority, and we can quickly put a team in place, allowing them to take time growing their permanent, internal team with intentionality.
A company has outgrown their part-time bookkeeper and needs a full finance team set up to meet their growth needs.
A founder who previously focused on financials must reallocate their bandwidth to another area of the business, like revenue or operations.

What sets Black Ink Business Services apart?

Financial clarity.

We give our clients the insight they need to make sound business decisions. Whether that is to scale up, scale down, hire at a faster pace or reduce expenses, we help demystify what their financial picture looks like and how it can best inform their future.

How has Black Ink Business Services evolved since its inception?

I founded the company 18 years ago because I saw a gap between financial service providers and critical, actionable guidance. When you’re an entrepreneur just starting out, access to high-quality guidance has a huge impact on your business decisions, your time and ultimately your success. In the hospitality industry and then as an entrepreneur myself, I saw people hiring lawyers and accountants who were strong in their core competencies but limited in their ability to give sound advice because they didn’t understand the work at ground level.

Initially, I thought we would help companies set up their back-office operations and then move on. Then clients wouldn’t let me quit. Today, our engagements are open-ended. Our average engagements are five-plus years. We’re not a behind-the-scenes service provider; we work alongside our clients as an integrated part of their team. We speak with our clients every day, are accessible to every one of their employees, and see ourselves as an extension of their team.

Our average client engagement lasts more than five years. Over time, most clients replace us with in-house teams as they continue to evolve. It’s usually a very happy day when we send our last invoice to a client and we get to cheer on their continued success.

Today, Black Ink is in a new iteration of our growth. We’ve expanded to three office locations: New York, Austin and Ahmedabad, India – all of which serve clients in the US and abroad. To date, we’re proud to have worked alongside 200+ businesses to help them reach their full potential.

How does Black Ink Business Services play a part in the broader community?

As a company, we’re involved in several philanthropic causes and make it a priority to focus on the communities where we operate.

When we opened our office in Austin, we started working with Flatwater Foundation — a local organization that provides access to mental health therapy in the wake of cancer. I can’t think of a person whose life hasn’t been touched by cancer and its ramifications. I personally got involved, and we proudly support this as a company.

In India, we’ve focused on direct disaster relief and recovery — from support following the COVID-19 pandemic to critical medical supplies. In the past, we also worked with clients on their social ventures, with an eye toward local economic development.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur starting their first business?

Be OK that your idea might be a bad idea.

The success rate of businesses is low and you need to be able to get up to bat more than once to be successful. Great ideas don’t work out for lots of reasons. You must be OK walking away from your idea to get to the next one.

What impact has having the right banking partner had on your business?

Because of our client base, we have a lot of exposure to banking partners. The products and rates provided by most banks are similar, so for me what matters most is the customer service.