Case Study: Nonprofit Goes Digital, Streamlines Processes With Fractional Accounting Team

A wonderful nonprofit organization came to us with a common problem: They were experiencing challenges recruiting, retaining, and overseeing sufficient internal accounting talent. This in turn was impacting their ability to maintain their external reporting requirements, inform effective governance, and to keep up with current technology and best practices. This $6M/year nonprofit is based in Southeast Texas and has faithfully served the community for more than 10 years. It has multiple revenue streams, and as a 501(c)(3) it has both ethical and legal requirements when it comes to audits and financial disclosures. The executive director reached out to kept.pro after hearing from other nonprofit leaders facing some of the same challenges, and we immediately knew we could help.

Stuck In The (Accounting) Dark Ages

As soon as we learned more, it was clear the nonprofit was stuck in the dark ages when it came to their accounting workflows. For starters, they relied heavily on hard copies such as checks, paper receipts, and paper expense reports, which diminished the efficacy of their financial controls. They lacked a consistent time accounting method/tracker across numerous programs, which was ineffective and risky as it opened them up to potential payroll fraud. Their outdated accounting platform was clunky to put it mildly. The old tech increased their chances of data loss and/or corruption, and also limited the amount of financial oversight from other members of the team. Finally, their annual budgeting process was manually driven and slow-moving. So when they lost a senior accounting employee, the nonprofit’s board of directors saw that as an opportunity to bring in outside expertise to improve reporting, controls, and efficiency.

Taking A Modern Approach

We knew a few strategic changes could have a big impact on the nonprofit’s effectiveness – and give them more time to focus on their important work in the community. The kept.pro fractional accounting team took the following steps to bring their accounting practices up to speed:

• Going digital. We modernized their accounting by leveraging digital documents and approval workflows wherever possible. We also designed a larger digitalization plan to streamline other operations within the organization, for them to roll out at their own pace so as to not overwhelm the team.
• Standardizing workflows. We flagged cross-department disparities and recommended standardizations such as budget templates to save time in the long run. Speaking of time…
• Keeping track of time. We sourced and recommended an integrated time accounting system to reduce error rate, improve automation, and provide greater analytical opportunities across programs.
• Moving to QuickBooks Online. As part of the transition to QBO, we configured and validated key integrations and automations to ensure the data is accurate and accessible.
• Providing additional oversight. Our fractional accounting team also regularly delivers controller-level oversight, and we have integrated both internal and kept.pro personnel into efficient workflows for maximum transparency.

Results: Increased Time, Transparency & Accuracy

We can sum up our work with this client into one critical word – efficiency. By streamlining and modernizing the nonprofit’s accounting processes, the kept.pro team quickly reduced error rates and improved financial controls. These new implementations also resulted in the creation of monthly financial reports for the executive director (as opposed to annual), and improved quarterly reports to the board. Finally, these updated workflows are now documented for audit compliance, as the nonprofit is required to have an outside audit conducted every year.

Time is the most valuable – and elusive – asset for every organization. At kept.pro, we know there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for your accounting needs. We truly view ourselves as your partner, and we will work with you to create a road map to success. Get started by scheduling a free call with our experts today.