FAQs

Find answers to your questions about outsourced accounting, financial health, working with All In One Accounting, and more. 

Working Together

What accounting systems and software do you work with?

Take a look at our Technology page

All of our team members are certified in QuickBooks Online. 

There are many benefits to outsourcing your accounting: 

  • Leveraging a strong, experienced team with industry knowledge to guide your organization to success 
  • Cost savings, as hiring a full-time resource may not be necessary 
  • Access to a collective team of accounting professionals, from accountants to CFOs, to help with the difficult accounting or industry-specific questions  
  • Improve productivity, compliance, and accuracy by leveraging a team of experts who specialize in accounting and have the tools and resources to assist


What’s
more, nonprofit organizations are under increased and intense economic pressures to attract and retain qualified staff in their critical finance and accounting functions, leading to instability and inaccuracies that could place an entire organization at great risk. By leveraging the expertise of a firm that understands and specializes in nonprofit finance and accounting operations, organizations not only sidestep the industry’s talent crunch but also improve productivity, compliance, and accuracy; it allows them renewed focus to develop strategies to ensure their communities and stakeholders thrive. 
 

We can get started with a kickoff call within days of paperwork being finalized. 

Yes! We have team members who go onsite for client needs on a regular basis. If there is a need or desire to transition tasks to be done remotely, we can assist with that, ensuring efficient and secure processes are implemented. 

Our team has weekly meetings with other experts doing similar work to bring up and resolve challenging client issues. Team members are also very active via chat throughout the week, quickly addressing time-sensitive items.  

One of the benefits that you will receive when working with All In One Accounting is access to the capacity and collective knowledge from the broader All In One Accounting team. Although you’ll have a primary team working with you, they may involve another All In One Accounting team member to help with a specific issue or to serve as a backup when a team member is unavailable for an extended time. In short, we have the flexibility to adjust while supporting your team. For needs outside of the scope of our services, we have a list of trusted referrals that we can provide. 

Our team is able to ramp up or down as needed. 

Clients can cancel at any time, but we commit to giving you 30 daysnotice if All In One Accounting initiates the termination of the relationship. 

During new client onboarding, you will be assigned an Onboarding Manager to ensure a smooth and timely experience achieving Clarity!  Although you’ll interact on a day to day basis with your Accountant, Controller, and CFO, this key leader will continue to be your point of contact throughout the relationship for any questions or problems that arise. 

General Accounting

What does it mean to have strong internal controls within my business or nonprofit?

Internal controls are financial management practices that are systematically used to prevent misuse (i.e. through theft or embezzlement) and misappropriation (i.e. through incorrect or inconsistent coding) of assets. The goal of strong internal controls is to create organizational practices that serve as “checks and balances” on staff, board members, and/or outside vendors, in order to reduce the risk of misappropriation or misuse.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations should be concerned and aware of financial risk. Being unprepared can lead to financial insecurity and hurt an organization’s reputation. 

For-profit businesses should evaluate and have a mitigation plan in place for the following risk areas:  

  • Clients not paying their bills, resulting in an aging accounts receivable balance 
  • Revenue declining, decrease in cashflow, and challenges in paying current liabilities such as accounts payable or payroll. 
  • Significant or increasing employee turnover. Costs of turnover are high and can create a disruption to business operations.  
  • Inflation and increasing costs from vendors 
  • Specific changes within the industry or economy that could impact your business. Our team can help identify these changes and keep you proactively informed on issues to address. 

 

Nonprofits should evaluate and have a mitigation plan in place for the following risk areas:  

  • Fraud and theft 
  • Investment fluctuation 
  • Tax liabilities 
  • Maintaining tax-exempt status 
  • Inaccurate financial reporting (or failure to report) 
  • Inaccurate (or absent) budget planning 
  • Fundraising, sponsors and partners 
  • Physical assets 
  • IT infrastructure 

There are several key performance indicators (KPI) and measures that a business or nonprofit can use to monitor performance in a meaningful way.  

 Some common KPIs for businesses include quick ratio, current ratio, days sales outstanding, AP turnover, inventory turnover, net profit/net profit margin, and customer acquisition cost.  

Some common KPIs for nonprofits include fundraising efficiency, net margin, savings indicator, management & fundraising expense level, days of cash on hand, current ratio, and unrestricted net assets to debt ratio.  

Other key performance indicators that are more industry-specific should be tracked as well, and those will depend on the industry and what is most important to the business or nonprofit organization. We can help determine what will be most impactful for you to be tracking. 

It is recommended that business owners are familiar with the following reports:  

  • Balance Sheet (shows the assets, liabilities, and equity of the business) 
  • Profit and Loss or P&L comparison to budget (shows the revenue, expenses, and net income of the business) 
  • Cash Flow Statement (shows sources and uses of cash) 
  • Accounts Receivable Aging (shows what is outstanding to be collected from clients) 
  • Accounts Payable Aging (shows the vendors that the business owes money to) 

 

The reports should allow the business owner to clearly see how the business is doing and if there are any areas of concern that need to be addressed. It is recommended to review these reports monthly. If cash flow is a concern or issue, it is recommended to implement a cash flow forecasting tool that can track cash on a weekly or more frequent basis. We can help customize a reporting package that will meet the specific needs of your business. 

Nonprofit financial reports should be on the agenda at every board meeting. At a minimum, the leadership of a nonprofit organization should regularly review: 

  • The organization’s statement of activities (showing revenue and expenses for the period compared to budget) 
  • A statement of financial position (showing the organization’s assets, liabilities, and net assets available compared to the prior fiscal year) 
  • A statement of cash flows 
  • A statement of functional expense 

 
These reports should be clear, concise, and provide insights into what’s going well, what’s not going well, and what needs to change from a financial perspective. 

Nonprofit FAQs

What are the fiduciary responsibilities of a nonprofit board of directors?

Nonprofit board members have three fundamental areas of legal and fiduciary responsibility, often referred to as the duty of care, loyalty, and obedience. The duty of care requires that a nonprofit board member participate actively in governance and oversight of an organization’s activities. The duty of loyalty requires that a nonprofit board member act in the best interest of the organization at all times. The duty of obedience requires that a nonprofit board member work to ensure that the organization complies with applicable laws and regulations, acts in accordance with its own policies, and carries out its mission appropriately. 

For nonprofit board members to be effective in fulfilling their fiduciary duties, they must have the opportunity to be completely informed about the programs, history, strategic direction, finances, and organizational structure of the nonprofit. The best way to do this is to provide a complete orientation to the board and to their specific responsibilities as a board member. The financial orientation should be conducted by the Executive Director (CEO), Chief Financial Officer, or board Treasurer. New board members should be given an overview of the organizational budgeting process, taken on a walk-through of recent financial reports and financial metrics, and provided with the most recent Form 990 and audit reports package.  

Federal, state, or even local governmental entities may require an audit or at least request a copy. Organizations that spend more than $750,000 a year in federal funds are also subject to specific requirements as called for by federal regulations. State laws and regulations may also require audits in certain cases. Also, many private funders require that grant applicants and recipients submit audited financial statements (or certified financial statements) in order to be eligible for funding.

There are several key reasons to have an audit performed. It demonstrates that the organization is committed to transparency and accountability and stewardship of the funds entrusted to it. Second, it inspires donor trust and helps maintain that trust. Finally, it helps the board have confidence in the organization’s finances.

Cash reserve funds are intended to be a “rainy day fund” that can act as an internal line of credit when unexpected shortages in revenue or unforeseen expenses occur, such as loss of a major donor, economic or inflationary shifts, demands for services provide by your nonprofit, competition with other not profits, and unexpected replacement of physical assets (just to name a few). Nonprofit organizations should avoid the temptation to repeatedly use those reserves to solve short-term problems.

To obtain a comprehensive understanding of your organization’s financial health, you should be evaluating the robustness of the following areas critical to effective financial operations:  

  • Policies and procedures 
  • Regular financial reporting to stakeholders 
  • Budgeting (including cash flow analysis) 
  • Audit readiness 
  • Financial literacy of governance (board) 
  • Strategic planning  
A group of young accountants meet around a laptop to discuss outsourced accounting services for entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations.

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