Non-Profit Case Studies

An Actual Case Study with a $2 Million Human Services Agency

Funded by 10-12 Grants & Government Contracts

Background

Looking at the bleak financial prospects brought on by the post-recession economy, the new executive director realized that the financial accounting system he inherited needed to provide clearer management reporting. He wanted himself and program managers to be more involved in financial decision making. With no prior QuickBooks experience the incumbent controller set-up QuickBooks and converted the organization’s accounting from Peachtree in 2006. She had led the organization to a very healthy financial situation with about five months of operating cash and had just tendered her resignation. QuickStart was hired to: compete a needs assessment based on the defined problems, redesign QuickBooks to create efficiencies and improve reporting, and provide outsourced controller services for the organization as they defined their staffing needs.

Problems

1. Executive director wanted to assess the staffing needs in the business office.
2. Quarterly reports, produced exclusively in spread­ sheets, were difficult to interpret, and took 40-60 hours per quarter to produce.
3. Reports were difficult for anyone but the controller to understand and of limited use as management tools
4. Reporting focused primarily on grant reporting requirements.

Solutions

1. Review the accounting systems and provide interim controller services.
2. Redesign the accounting system to focus first on the programs that supported the organization’s mission.
3. Develop secondary reporting to generate grant reports, some of which may have very different formats than their accounting system used.
4. Develop a budgeting process that allows for input from the director and program managers.
5. Assess the long-term staffing needs of the business office.

Results

1. Determined that the staffing needs for the business office could be reduced.
2. Quarterly budget to actual reports for both programs and grants (including space and administrative allocations) are now produced in 4-6 hours.
3. Managers and executive director are now reviewing reports on a monthly basis.
4. Board of directors receives quarterly reports.

QuickStart knows how to make QuickBooks perform! They helped us develop systems and streamlined our existing QuickBooks accounting/reporting processes, which has resulted in significant efficiencies to the ongoing management of our business office. QuickStart has been effective and a pleasure to work with.” –Scott Johnson, Lamoille Family Center