Fiscal Foundations serves three main types of clients: Existing Businesses, New Business Owners and Nonprofit Organizations. Our highly experienced staff have the expertise and background you need to handle whatever phase of business you are in.
Scroll down to learn more about how we help those three main types of clients whom we serve.
Existing Business
Your first call to Fiscal Foundations brings us to your office to learn more about your business and what services you are looking for. Then we will jointly develop a plan to best achieve your goals and objectives. All of our services are completely customizable to fit your needs and budget. We are happy to work at your business location or home office, or perform the work off site.
If you are like most businesses, you don't need a full time bookkeeper or controller on staff. However, you do need help from someone with business financial expertise and advanced bookkeeping skills who can make sure your books are up-to-date and accurate and knows how to get helpful information that you can use to run your business out of your QuickBooks system. We work with every size business; those who haven't yet hired their first employee to those with 70+ employees. That said, most small business require only a few hours per week to do all the bookkeeping! Our people are experts and they work as fast, without compromising accuracy and completeness.
In some cases, we do all of the bookkeeping for a client. In others, we may come in on a less frequent basis, doing just the more difficult tasks and reviewing the work done in-house for accuracy and completeness. For some clients we do clean up/catch up work (in some cases several years worth). We also provide QuickBooks training for those who want to do all or a portion of it themselves. Our services are flexible. We are happy to change the level or frequency of our services as the needs of your company change. In seasonal businesses, we can provide more help when their is more work to be done and less when it isn't as busy.
We've also are the 'back office' for a number of CPA firms in the Twin Cities. If you currently have your CPA doing your day-to-day bookkeeping, we are amost always a less expensive option. We love CPAs. They are experts at doing your taxes and tax planning. However, they are not generally experienced bookkeepers or QuickBooks consultants, and they hardly ever provide training. More often than not, they won't come to you. You have to go to them. We excel at performing the day-to-day bookkeeping tasks for small businesses. We think it is critically important to have checks and balances built into your systems. For this reason, we think your CPA should not be responsible for both your record keeping and your taxes.
We recognize that chemistry and good communication skills are as vital as is having exceptional bookkeeping knowledge and experience in the small business environment. We strive to find the right consultant or bookkeeper for your needs based upon industry expertise, software program, location, availability, and personality. Our knowledge, experience and advice will assist you in establishing and maintaining a framework of administrative processes, document management, and business performance information that will enhance the efficiency and stability of your organization. Once you've been assigned a consultant, it's like having a Controller on staff - just when you need it and only a phone call away.
Unlike individual contract bookkeepers, we have a depth of staff, E&O insurance and guaranteed quality. You can be assured of their expertise, as we have put them through our testing process prior to being hired, and have at least 10 years of bookkeeping or business consulting experience. They've also undergone our extensive background check and screening process so you can be sure they are trustworthy.
Best of all, you can enjoy worry-free bookkeeping. While we ensure your bookkeeping is done accurately, completely and on time, you can spend your valuable time growing your business.
Ready to find out how we can help you?
Drop us a line today so we can help you personally!
New Business
Get your business started off on the right foot and drastically improve your chances of success. You may think it premature to concern yourself with bookkeeping before you’ve even begun any start-up activity, but it is essential that you do.
Here are the reasons you need an bookkeeping system from Day 1:
- As soon as you start doing anything, including meeting with people to discuss or plan your business, you’ll incur tax deductible expenses (i.e. the cost of coffee at meetings, mileage to drive to meetings, legal fees, purchasing checks for your bank account, buying office supplies or equipment). No point paying more taxes than you have to. You need the money for your business and your family.
- You’ll need a budget, a projection of start up costs, for your own assessment, if not for potential partners or lenders (or your spouse who needs to know you’re not going to wreck the family budget with this crazy idea!).
- You’ll need to know how you’re doing financially as you progress with your start-up.
- You’ll have the information to make solid business decisions as you need them. Small business owners have little room or time for error. In all likelihood, you don’t have endless resources. The ability to act quickly and effectively is paramount to your survival!
Choosing the right software for your business and obtaining professional help for set-up, training and support can prevent endless nights of worry and lack of sleep. An exaggeration? Not according to the many business owners we work with everyday! Most of our small business clients use QuickBooks® software. It’s comprehensive, affordable, and user-friendly. Unless your type of business requires an industry-specific application, it will likely suffice for your needs. Our professionals can confirm this for you.
The second task is designing and setting up your Chart of Accounts. This must be done by a professional unless you have the skills yourself. An accounting degree and/or significant experience is required. The Chart of Accounts provides the framework for your system and reports. Customizing the Chart of Accounts and management reports ensure you can stay on top of your business performance and manage for success.
We also recommend you engage professional help for:
- Training for yourself or new employees as needed
- On-going bookkeeping support or periodic reviews if you don’t have a qualified staff person to perform these duties
- Answering questions and resolving problems about bookkeeping or your software
Most small businesses simply don’t have enough work to justify hiring an employee. Though professional support bears a higher hourly rate, you will save money on payroll taxes, benefits, and insurance, and you’ll only pay for the time it takes to get your work done. Because of advanced knowledge and experience, a professional will be more efficient than an employee in general. This type of assistance is best provided by a professional bookkeeper. CPA’s do not offer these services, or only offer them on a very limited basis, and charge about twice as much as a professional bookkeeper.
Following these steps will significantly increase your chances for success. A statistic you hear frequently is that 95% of new businesses fail within the first five years. Our clients are having a different experience. In contrast to the statistic above, while 32% of our clients are still within their first five years, 10% have been in business 5–10 years and 58% have been in business over 10 years. Having a well designed QuickBooks file and on-going support has significantly contributed to their success. Ask successful small to mid-sized business owners you know how important QuickBooks is to their business.
Ready to find out how we can help you?
Drop us a line today so we can help you personally!
Non-Profits
Carrying out your mission requires a bookkeeping system that is more complex than most for-profit companies. In addition to providing customized QuickBooks system setup, training and bookkeeping services, we can help streamline your processes, improve internal controls and eliminate the need for multiple time-consuming spreadsheets.
Most nonprofit directors spend far too much of their valuable time trying to figure out their numbers instead of utilizing the numbers to help them make critical decisions. We make sure that you have your financial status and current data at your fingertips and provide you with well designed, accurate and comprehensible reports for you and the Board.
Fiscal Foundations currently works with a number of nonprofit clients, including several 501(c)(3) organizations. It doesn't matter if your organization is big or small, new or established; Fiscal Foundations has the knowledge and experience to help you achieve your goals and solve your challenges. We have several people on staff with amazing nonprofit bookkeeping and consulting backgrounds that understand the special requirements of nonprofit organizations. Whatever your situation, we'll match you up with the right professional for your needs.
It is always a pleasure and privilege to work with nonprofit organizations. We appreciate the contribution you make to our society and lives.
Ready to find out how we can help you?
Drop us a line today so we can help you personally!