Bookkeeping Clients (partial list)
All Out Adventures, Inc.
Easthampton, Massachusetts - 12-15 hrs/month, since 2006
I was brought in to All Out when their executive director went on maternity leave. A small non-profit which provides full inclusion of people with disabilities in outdoor recreational activities, including biking, hiking, kayaking and camping, they needed someone to keep up with their Massachusetts DCR and State Head Injury contract services billing, A/P, and development of a budget for fiscal year 2007. The executive director left permanently after the birth of her daughter, and Sue Tracy, the program director, took over many of her duties in addition to maintaining the web site, running programs, training instructors, acting as liaison on the state service contracts, etc. She had an extremely full plate! In 2008 the organization hired Karen Foster, who, as the Executive Director and Development Officer of this small nonprofit, also wears many hats! Philippe Galaski, Board Chair, has been very active in assisting the two of them, while I continue providing bookkeeping and budget development assistance and prepare materials for their accountant.
Amherst Writers & Artists
Amherst, Massachusetts - 30-40 hrs/year, since 2009
Amherst Writers & Artists is a small nonprofit which provides outreach writing groups and workshops for authors. I was brought into the mix when their new Executive Director took over in 2009. They didn't have (or need) a dedicated staff bookkeeper, but were having difficulty getting their books in shape for their accountant to file their 2008 tax returns.
The Executive Director pays the bills or makes deposits as needed. Once a quarter (or more often if there are questions), she gives me the bank statements, paid bills, payroll reports and bank deposit records. I enter them into Quickbooks, allocate the income and expenses between the various program categories, and reconcile all accounts. At the end of the year there is a nice, neat package ready for the accountant, without the need for a staff person with bookkeeping knowledge, and at minimal expense.
Amherst Building Company, LLC
Amherst, Massachusetts - 40-45 hrs/year, 2001-2009
Builders of the Eastman Meadow development in Amherst as well as the Phelps Settlement in East Granby, CT, Amherst Building Company specialized in custom homes with an historic feel but all the modern amenities. I worked with ABC on a quarterly basis, catching up bank account reconciliations, entering property closings, and reviewing all materials at fiscal year end. However, the most important service I provided for them was preparing for their annual workers' compensation and liability audits (see the Employee vs. Subcontractors article). This saved thousands of dollars in insurance premiums over the years - they knew which vendors did not carry their own insurance (allowing them to compare estimates from various subcontractors with an awareness of the insurance costs they will have to carry at audit), and at audit they had proof of coverage for all vendors who had their own insurance. For those vendors who didn't have separate insurance, reviewing the Quickbooks file and 'splitting' payments between labor and materials wherever applicable meant ABC paid comp premiums only on labor, not materials.
Hilltown Land Trust, Inc.
Huntington, Massachusetts - 10-12 hrs/year, since 2004
The Hilltown Land Trust preserves and protects rural land in the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Their bookkeeping needs are minor, so their treasurer, Ruth Pardoe (AMAZING! lady - met her when we both served on the board of the now defunct Hampshire Community Action Commission - volunteered at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts from its inception thru 2005, probably has given to the community in so many other ways I've never heard about) pays things as they come up and mails me the bank statements, paid bills, etc. every quarter for entry into Quickbooks. A few times a year I prepare reports for board meetings, and at the end of their fiscal year I prepare all materials for their accountant. I also maintain and update their website, which provides information about their organization and the land they are responsible for protecting.
Thomas Douglas Architects, Inc
Northampton, Massachusetts - 4-5 hrs/week, since 1997
If you've spent any time in downtown Northampton, chances are good you've eaten in a restaurant Tom and his staff designed. Projects include the Toasted Owl, Spoleto and Spoleto Express and Sylvester's. He did the award-winning design work on the Calvin Theater restoration and the conversion of the old Firehouse building into the Media Education Foundation (with the Woodstar Cafe located in the bottom front), as well as several projects for Smith College. I have been providing his firm with project time and expense tracking, client invoicing and full payroll services, as well as more basic bookkeeping functions such as accounts payable and bank account reconciliations.
Stop It Now! Inc.
Florence, Massachusetts - 6-8 hrs/week, 2005-2009
Stop It Now! is a mid-sized nonprofit on a tight budget whose mission statement is to prevent the sexual abuse of children. As a non-profit at their income level, they are subject to full accountant audit and review, which requires more detailed bookkeeping than a for-profit or a smaller non-profit might need. I worked with them from the fall of 2005 until the spring of 2009, tracking restricted grant income and expenses, allocating expenses between Administrative, Development and the various programs they run, and providing vendor research and recommendations to help keep their costs down.
Sunraise Printing, Inc.
Hadley, Massachusetts - 4-5 hrs/week, since 2002
When I first started working with Sunraise they faced some real challenges. The founder, Bob Salvini, had been ill for over a year. Since he handled all money matters, Sunraise had fallen behind on vendor and credit card payments; many suppliers were insisting on COD delivery, while interest rates on their credit cards had skyrocketed, creating terrible cash flow problems. Adding to this, their invoicing system was antiquated and difficult to use. Several customers owed them money but weren't being followed up on, and were putting Sunraise at the bottom of the list of things to pay when their own cash was tight.
It took a good couple of years to dig out of the hole. However, Sunraise has now paid off 100% of their credit card debt and re-established credit with their suppliers. They monitor receivables and contact customers when needed, so 'slow payers' are less of a problem. Based on a cost analysis I did, they moved their apparel printing from Northampton back to Hadley, saving thousands of dollars a year in costs at the separate location, which was not generating enough income to cover the expenses of a separate location. I noticed their electric bills were high compared to other clients - it turned out a large press was being left in 'stand-by' mode but this was unnecessary for the amount it was used. Turning it off instead of leaving it in 'stand-by' mode saved them $200-300/month on their electric bills. Liability insurance also seemed expensive compared to other clients - I brought it to their attention, and the new carrier is providing the same coverage at about 30% lower cost.
Rob and Gineen Salvini, Bob's children, worked extremely hard to bring the business back. With Bob's death in 2006, Rob took over many of the marketing and general management functions, and Gineen handles most of the A/R. I take care of all other bookkeeping functions, manage cash flow, and assist Rob in planning for large equipment purchases or other costly expenses. It has been incredibly satisfying to watch a business that was struggling so hard come back so strongly. I enjoy working with them a great deal.
With better cash-flow management and a handle on where their business stands financially, they have been able to offer company health insurance to their employees and invest in new equipment, allowing their business to continue to grow and stay current, even with the terrible economy.
West Cummington Congregational Church
Cummington, Massachusetts - 12-15 hrs/year, 2008-present
Although the building burned down, the West Cummington Congretational Church is still very active!
I work with them on a quarterly basis, entering information their treasurer provides from her paper ledgers into Quickbooks, allocating income and expenses to various programs, reconciling the bank accounts, providing them with various reports, and preparing annual materials such as 1099's. Although they don't need to file tax returns, the information is helpful to their budgeting process and lets them easily compare prior years to the current one.
Yes Computers, Inc.
Northampton, Massachusetts - 4-6 hrs/week, 2005-2009
I started working with Yes Computers in the spring of 2005, when their general manager left. She had been handling most bookkeeping duties, but it was not her primary job responsibility, nor was she trained for it. As a result, there were several discrepancies in the books and cash flow and inventory management were not being handled well. It made a huge difference to Yes to have me come in. The only things I was responsible for were bookkeeping and cash-flow management, so it was attended to consistently, vendor payments were going out on time, and shorted deliveries were caught and followed up on. Once the books were in reasonable shape and cash flow stabilized, I built a Filemaker database for the service department to track repairs which linked to the retail customer database (both systems were replaced in August 2007 by a LightSpeed database), assisted the owner in establishing and expanding lines of credit with major suppliers to have better control over inventory and cash flow fluctuations, and took over ordering Apple brand product.
In 2008 I became involved in a large project with another client and hired and trained an assistant for Yes to assist me. At that point, I went from 12-15 hrs/week down to 4-6 hrs/week, letting my assistant handle data entry while I continued to manage cash flow. In the fall of 2009, with credit and cash flow in very good shape, I stopped working with Yes on a regular basis, though I still provide payroll services.