Nonprofit Audit Requirements, Recommendations & Pro Tips!So, your nonprofit is being audited - don't panic!
Do All Nonprofits Require An Audit?First, we must say that our team at Blue Fox is pro-audit for nonprofits. We know that financial oversight helps develop sustainable and transparent financial management practices. Is an audit intimating? It can be. But your organization will come out stronger on the other side. We encourage you to heed the advice in our audit readiness checklist so you can be as prepared as possible for a smooth and successful audit. But, is it required? The answer is more complicated than yes or no. According to the Council of Nonprofits, there are "circumstances that may trigger the requirement for an independent audit." Click here for that full article. For further questions, feel free to contact our team of nonprofit financial gurus. We can help your organization get sorted year-round and in the event that your nonprofit is being audited. We cheerfully serve our clients with customized financial and back office services ranging from standard bookkeeping and accounting, payroll and tax, to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services.
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Does Your Organization Have What It Takes? Recently, our team at Blue Fox spent a weekend deep in strategery (a.k.a. strategic planning). During a caffeine-induced brainstorming sesh, we set out to identify and define our ideal social good niche. It turns out that our team's expertise is aligned to serve organizations with the traits outlined below. We call them: Our Ideal Clients. And, because we like to be funky and unique, we wrote it up as a job description. Take a read and if your organization fits the bill, apply to be a Blue Fox client today :)
POSITION OVERVIEW Blue Fox is seeking nonprofits and social enterprise organizations that are interested in taking their back office operations and financial stewardship to the next level. As our Ideal Client, you will be responsible for putting your trust in Blue Fox to seamlessly manage your day-to-day financial operations and provide you with expert level financial guidance. Periodic virtual coffee breaks together are encouraged. :) WE ARE SEEKING:
KEY PERSONALITY TRAITS FOR SUCCESS
TIME COMMITMENT The Ideal Client position requires is 1-2 hour/month (wow, that’s way less than you spend on your books now)! Client on-boarding may require 3-5 hours/week for a 4-week time period. After that, Blue Fox will manage your financial back office so you can focus on program development, fundraising, marketing and making positive contributions in the community you serve. THE APPLICATION PROCESS: Complete this form to schedule a complimentary consultation so we can discuss you needs. While you're here, meet some of our clients, the Changemakers of Today! We think you'll enjoy what they have to say about our Blue Fox team. About Blue Fox: Our team provides customized financial and back-office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email hello@yourbluefox.com, and visit www.yourbluefox.com. Let’s face it….the last two years have kind of been a dumpster fire. The last thing you want to add to your list of “things I never want to experience again” is a data breach. If your nonprofit organization falls victim to a data breach and you find yourself screaming #WHATTHEFOX, don’t worry, help is on the way. Our team [that’s us] of numbers nerds, cybersecurity champions, and FinTech experts compiled this handy data breach protocol resource list to keep your organization at its best defense. [Make sure you download our FREE Blue Fox Bank Fraud Protocol checklist.] (BLOG) Cyber Attack: What to Do After a Security Breach (WEBSITE) Have I Been Pawned? (GUIDE) What Nonprofits Need to Know About Security (TOOL) Website Privacy Inspector (RESOURCE) 6 Data Security Practices For Nonprofits in The Digital Age (ARTICLE) How Your Nonprofit Can Protect Donors’ Valuable Data (VIDEO) Cybersecurity Training For Your Nonprofit (TECHNOLOGY) RoundTable Technology for Cybersecurity Support (DOWNLOAD) Blue Fox Bank Fraud Protocol Thanks for stopping by to read our picks for top nonprofit news this month! If you’re interested in hearing more from us, subscribe to our newsletter today! About Blue Fox: Our team provides customized financial and back-office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email hello@yourbluefox.com, and visit www.yourbluefox.com. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
Why Should My Nonprofit Outsource Its Accounting? Worried About Identify Theft? IRS Recommends This for Identity Theft Prevention Don’t Ignore This Nonprofit Financial Management Advice From NTEN Inform, guide, motivate, and recognize your board members and watch them become your fundraising heroes!Grab your pumpkin spice latte! Fall is in the air. That means fundraising season is right around the corner. Many nonprofits (most?) depend on giving season (and Giving Tuesday) to raise a significant chunk of their annual funding. In 2020, U.S. nonprofits raised $2.47 billion dollars. What was your piece of that ‘pumpkin’ pie? Let’s talk 2021! Is your staff prepared to make the asks, attend the events, mail the collateral and try some Facebook fundraising ads? What about your board members… are they fired up for fundraising season? So often, nonprofit fundraising efforts are facilitated and driven by staff members. What’s wrong with that? Well, have you considered how to leverage the power that each of your board members bring to the table? Chances are, there’s a ton of leverage there, including relationships, clout, high-level thinking, connections, strategic thinking and more. You can inform, guide, motivate, and recognize your board members and watch them become your fundraising heroes (seriously call them that, they’ll like it). To get you started, we’ve compiled a list of 40+ ideas, broken down into categories, to help you get the job done! 40+ Ways Empower Your Board Members for Fundraising Season Inform
Guide
Motivate
Recognize
How does this list strike you? Don’t feel overwhelmed. Remember that fundraising is not comfortable for most people, including your board members. Use this list to support them through the fundraising process. Make it easy and fun for them, touch their hearts, and give them some love. And don’t forget to shoot us an email and let us know how it’s going. Happy fundraising season! How Blue Fox Can HelpAs we are an accounting firm, we would be remiss to ask if your financials are up-to-date and prepared for giving season? It’s difficult to plan where you’re going if you don’t know where you are now. That’s why our team of nonprofit gurus created this resource to help you get organized: The Ultimate Nonprofit Finance Checklist for Giving Season (it’s free to download). As always, if your team could use assistance in your back office, just ask for help! Blue Fox services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services, to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
Financial Dashboards – Capture Attention, Create Conversations, Drive Results! How to Help Your Board Members From Getting Bored 3 Financial Metrics to Watch Closely Each Month For Your Nonprofit "Getting actionable financial data for grant writing all comes down to the setup of your financial systems."You sit at your computer staring blankly at the screen. You know that you need to finish this grant request, but you’re stuck. The narrative is coming along, but your roadblock is the financial justification for the grant. You open QuickBooks, flip through spreadsheets and you try to interpret the financials from the last month. But your eyes are crossed – you’re just not seeing what you need to make the case. Grant writing is stressful enough without the added burden of working with bad (or at least useless) financial data. If you are a nonprofit executive director or a development professional who’s tasked with writing grant proposals, you’ve probably thought to yourself: there must be a better way. There has to be a better way to set-up QuickBooks for your nonprofit's specific needs! And you’re right. Getting data you need for a grant request all comes down to the setup of your financial systems. Most US-based small to medium-sized nonprofits use some version of QuickBooks for their accounting. It has its quirks, but it’s a solid piece of software. One of our favorite features of QuickBooks is chronically unsung and under-utilized. It’s called CLASSES. Prepare to be wowed and be sure to check out Blue Fox's entire tech-stack that we use to serve our clients. So, what are CLASSES in QuickBooks Online?Well, according to the folks over at Intuit, " Classes represent meaningful segments in your company, like store departments or product lines." Here's a class tracking overview with more details and instructions on how to set up classes and get started. (If you need help, that's what we do at Blue Fox, so give us a shout!) Here's how we describe it: In the for-profit world, classes are often used for cost center or location-based tracking of revenue and expenses. Easy example: a retailer with more than 1 store. The management needs to see what stores are profitable, right? Here’s what a (very simplified) profit and loss report using classes might look like in that case: PROFIT & LOSS BY CLASS (LOCATION) YTD Being able to analyze income and expenses according to location allows management to make better decisions about where to invest staff, time, and money to ensure profitability and sustainability. Brilliantly, this same classes tool in QuickBooks can be used to track a nonprofit program revenue and expenses. (Can you feel the excitement building?? #nerdalert) Using this method, you can allocate a percentage of staff salaries, general overhead, and direct program costs to each program WITHOUT adding a gazillion lines to your Chart of Accounts. Here’s what that might look like for an environmental education nonprofit: Now, that's a 'QuickBooks for nonprofits' application we can get excited about! Please allow us to elaborate!Do you see the leverage and empowerment that comes with this kind of accounting setup? If you were writing a grant for this organization’s adult programs, you’d be able to easily make the case for shortfall and demonstrate the need, right? On the other hand, if you were writing a grant for the expansion of your K-12 programs, you could evaluate the estimated cost of that expanded reach based on the annual spend in that class. Once you have your accounting system set up in this way, you can budget by class, run regular reports by class, and get valuable insights as to what is/is not sustainable from a revenue perspective. This not only assists with grant writing, but it will also lead you to have deeper and more honest conversations about things like program fees, fundraising goals and campaigns, and program budgets. Bonus Read: Meet One of The Most High-Functioning, Financially Sustainable Nonprofit Organizations We Know: STARability Foundation (You guessed it, organizing this clients QuickBooks class structure was part of their transformation). By the way, we love our clients!! How game-changing would this type of reporting be for you? Imagine the possibilities. A couple of caveats and words of caution:
Does it sound like we know our stuff? We do! The Blue Fox team will help get those financials in order and make grant writing a breeze! Is your organization ready to outsource your accounting function? Here’s how you know when. Have you considered the benefits? Here are 10 of the most important reasons. If anything, let’s review your chart of accounts and class set up. We can start the conversation with a free consultation! Editors Note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
QuickBooks Online Is Implementing Usage Limits WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Key Takeaways [and Great Resources] From QuickBooks Connect 2020 Conference How Small Businesses Can Stay Afloat (and Grow) During Uncertainty If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, Virtual CFO's may be called outsourced, part-time, or fractional CFOs.Nonprofit trend alert: Enter the virtual CFO (that's us, meet our team)! Chief Financial Officer. Head Honcho of All the Numbers. If you’ve ever met one, your mental picture of a traditional CFO is likely one of a middle-aged white guy wearing glasses, khakis, and a button down shirt hunched over a computer with paperwork all over his desk. Let’s call him Bob. We’re happy to report that, while Bob lives on in many businesses, a growing trend in finance that's disrupting the C-suite for good. Enter the outsourced, virtual CFO, or vCFO. Virtual or in-office, here's what to look for in a nonprofit CFO. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, vCFOs may be called outsourced, part-time, or fractional CFOs. Google those terms and be amazed at the number of results. We think that 2022 will be another banner year for outsourced CFOs everywhere, so we thought it might be time to break it down for you. [Bonus read: 10 Reasons to Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting] Here’s what you need to know: (1) WHO Virtual CFO's may either be a firm or an individual. Usually they are CPAs, senior accountants or bookkeepers, or other experienced and educated individuals who’ve held CFO or senior finance or accounting roles in the past. Likely female (more than half of all accountants in the US are women), these folks are highly skilled numbers nerds who can fill the CFO role just as well as (better than?) Bob. (2) WHAT What does an outsourced CFO do? They may be charged with a variety of tasks including bookkeeping, accounting, month-end closes, payroll, and financial reporting. But the real leverage in a Virtual CFO is the strategic guidance and financial planning she provides. Interpreting financial data in a way that makes sense to other members of the C-suite is job #1. The rest of the job is to take a proactive approach to finance with sustainability in mind. A vCFO helps organizations streamline its financial systems and processes, develop strategic budgets, manage financial risk, raise capital, and figure out exactly what is needed to get from where your business or nonprofit is today to where you would like it to go. (3) WHY A growing number of nonprofits (like our Fox-tastic clients) turn to vCFOs for these reasons:
(4) WHEN When to hire a vCFO is something we covered in this blog, but a different type of when question we get about Blue Fox is: when can we call you? The answer is: anytime. One big bonus of a vCFO is that, in most cases, they are available to support you, ask questions, present at meetings, and generally do whatever you need them to do anytime. 100% uptime, to poach a tech industry phrase. That’s because vCFO firms like ours pair a bookkeeper and a senior accountant on each client’s work. You can always reach someone on your virtual finance team and you’re never left in the lurch. Again, our singular agenda is: support you and your organization to the best of our ability at all times. (5) WHERE & HOW This is an easy one – outsourced CFOs can be remote and tend to deliver their services through cloud-based technology. It’s actually the recent evolutions in cloud-based accounting tech that make what we do possible – 10 years ago, the tech just wasn’t there. But now we can work with any client anywhere at any time. As a vCFO client, that also means you can pick from the nation’s top service providers, rather than just your local market. You can source vCFOs who specialize in your industry, and they can work for you from anywhere. Video and conference calls bridge the communications gaps, and our cloud-based tools allow us to securely exchange data and provide live, real-time accounting information all day long. Hopefully, now you can see why one the hottest business trends will continue to be the rise of the virtual CFO. Will your nonprofit be an early adopter? Our Team at Blue Fox Can Assist You Today!Whether your nonprofit is seeking a full-service Virtual CFO or basic accounting services (we also offer payroll, tax and consulting), our team of nonprofit gurus at Blue Fox are ready to assist you! We serve our clients with exactly the right mix of services to support their back office operations. And guess what?! We were recognized among the Top 5 Accounting Firms In Florida in 2021 by DesignRush. What does your organization need help with? Editors Note: This post was originally published in December 2019 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
10 Reasons to Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting Why Should My Nonprofit Outsource Its Accounting? When to Hire an Accountant For Your Social Impact Organization A Not Boring Resource Round-up! Your next board meeting is a week from today. You open up the agenda, update the new date, and make a few changes. Each monthly meeting is hardly different than the next. Truthfully, you’re bored. And your board members feel the same. Does this sound familiar? If your board members hit the snooze button during meetings, this will reflect in their commitment to fundraising, advocacy efforts, and follow through on assigned tasks. You’ve come to the right place for ideas to jazz up board meetings. [Related read: How to Engage Your Board of Directors in Financial Conversations] Let’s inspire your board members, keep them engaged and boost their productivity! When planning for your next board meeting remember to:
We also curated some valuable resources to help engage your board members from nonprofit leaders and organizations we trust. (ARTICLE) – 12 Ways to Liven Up Your Board Meetings – And Your Board (VIDEO) – How to Engage Your Nonprofit Board in Just 15 Minutes per Month (WEBSITE) – The Board Doctor (ON-DEMAND) – Effective and Engaging Virtual Board Members (ARTICLE) – Are Your Board Members Bored? How to Inspire, Excite and Direct Your Board to Success (E-BOOK) – The Board Engagement Playbook: 7 Tenets for Success (BLOG) – Run a Productive, Fun Nonprofit Board Meeting Thanks for stopping by to read our picks for top nonprofit news this month! If you’re interested in hearing more from us, subscribe to our newsletter today! About Blue Fox: Our team provides customized financial and back-office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email hello@yourbluefox.com, and visit www.YourBlueFox.com. Here are some recommended reads that you also might enjoy….
3 Financial Metrics to Watch Closely Each Month For Your Nonprofit The Hidden Cost of Wearing Too Many Hats Nonprofit Leaders – Talk Finance and Empower Your Staff Starting a nonprofit can be equal parts exciting and overwhelming while you navigate the ropes. However, it is an extremely fulfilling experience. Serving the needs of others, the underserved, the voiceless, and the community is no easy task but it is an essential part of our humanity. We wanted to share some of our favorite startup resources from nonprofit leaders and organizations we trust to help you as you start this new endeavor. Check out this round-up of nonprofit startup resources: (ARTICLE) 9 Things Every Nonprofit Startup Needs To Know (WEBSITE) Nonprofit Startup Resources (WORKBOOK) Start Up For Success Workbook (BLOG) Why Should My Nonprofit Outsource Its Accounting? (WEBINAR) Building Lasting Growth in the Digital Era (ON-DEMAND) Financial Best Practices For Your Board Thanks for stopping by to read our picks for top nonprofit news this month! If you’re interested in hearing more from us, subscribe to our newsletter today! About Blue Fox: Our team provides customized, financial and back-office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services, to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email hello@yourbluefox.com, and visit www.YourBlueFox.com. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
How to Engage Your Board of Directors in Financial Conversations 40+ Ideas to Light a Fundraising Fire Under Your Nonprofit Board Members How to Help Your Board Members From Getting Bored An Interview with MIB Agents Executive Director and Treasurer
Q: What made you decide to seek outsourced financial services? What challenges at your nonprofit were you looking to remedy? Ann: We needed knowledgeable and efficient support across all financial aspects of MIB Agents. In addition, accurate and timely financials were a priority. Laura: We didn’t want to parse out the 990 and bookkeeping to several different providers. The pandemic put strain on our incoming funding and made us realize we had to improve upon our financial sustainability and oversight. We were looking for a true financial partner. Q: What was your initial conversation with Chantal like? Ann: Friendly, clear and helpful. Laura: She really impressed me that she seemed to care and wasn't running me through a process. She took time to listen. Not many people do that these days. I felt comfort from the initial call and thought Blue Fox offered high value and reasonable pricing. Q: What ultimately made you decide to work with Blue Fox? Ann: Chantal listened and understood what our challenges were and she was confident, as were we, that she could get the job done. Finally, that she had never lost a client was appealing. Laura: I would describe my decision as being led by 4 C’s: (1) competent - they’ve never lost a client, (2) credible, (3) cost effective, and (4) caring. We mattered. Q: Describe the support you receive from Blue Fox in 3 words. Ann: Accurate. Timely. Flexible. Laura: Personalized. Professional. Patient. Q: Can you paint a picture of your back-office operations before and after working with Blue Fox? Ann: Before, we were not able to make timely decisions as financials were regularly coming in the middle of the following month. Additionally, we did not have all financial components of our organization under one streamlined and accessible roof. Now, everything is working seamlessly and on time. Laura: Before working with Blue Fox, everything was fragmented or even non-existent. Now it just works. We have a budget and follow the budget. We have the ability to focus on our donors and those we serve verses an inward focus on financial infrastructure. Q: Anything else you'd like to add? Ann: With the Blue Fox team, we have been able to make good decisions and even take a deeper dive into understanding and responding to our financial state of affairs. We are grateful for their expertise and responsiveness. Laura: The tenor at Blue Fox as a whole is patience and getting over whatever financial hurdle we are facing. We're trying to grow to a formidable operational nonprofit and I think Blue Fox is the perfect partner to get us there. We're Honored!Our team at Blue Fox is grateful to receive such positive feedback. We think of ourselves as true partners with our clients. Their success is our success. And, we love to highlight the beautiful work they do to improve the communities they serve. To learn more about MIB Agents and their efforts toward “Making It Better” for children with Osteosarcoma, visit www.mibagents.org. Want to learn more about how we help our clients? Check out a recent case study we published: Meet One of The Most High-Functioning, Financially Sustainable Nonprofit Organizations We Know. And, if your organization could use assistance ‘outfoxing’ your back office, call (321) 233-3311 and email hello@yourbluefox.com. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
10 Reasons to Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting The Hidden Cost of Wearing Too Many Hats Why Should My Nonprofit Outsource Its Accounting? Life during the pandemic can be summed up in a few words: lock down, quarantine, and masks. But if you look beyond the struggles, you will also find generosity, community, and volunteerism. While many nonprofits have reopened their doors for volunteers to safely resume serving, other organizations are continuing to engage with volunteers virtually with board/committee meetings and fundraising events. Whether your volunteers are serving in-person, virtually or as a hybrid, we know navigating your organization post-pandemic comes with a lot of questions. We wanted to share some of our favorite volunteer resources from nonprofit leaders and organizations we trust: (CONSULTING CORPS) Executive Service Corps-United States Directory (STUDY) The New Value of Volunteer Time (NEWS) Official National Volunteer Week (TRENDS) 10 Nonprofit Sector Trends for 2021 (STATISTICS) Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics (VIDEO) Will Volunteering Increase in 2021? Thanks for stopping by to read our picks for top nonprofit news this month! If you’re interested in hearing more from us, subscribe to our newsletter today! About Blue Fox: Our team provides customized financial and back office services for social impact organizations. Services range from standard bookkeeping and payroll services, to coaching and consulting, to comprehensive virtual CFO services. Our mission is to disrupt the traditional accounting model through technology, innovation, and a radically client-focused approach that truly empowers nonprofits and social enterprises. For more information call (321) 233-3311, email hello@yourbluefox.com, and visit www.YourBlueFox.com. Here are some other articles you might enjoy reading:
Why Outsource Your Accounting & Back Office? Because You’re a Change Maker, Not a Change Counter! Nonprofit Leaders – Talk Finance and Empower Your Staff 3 Vital Resources for Nonprofit Start-Ups |
Our BlogWelcome to the Blue Fox Blog! A fairly entertaining source of info and news related to our company, nonprofits, social sector trends, and, of course, accounting. Enjoy! Top ArticlesBack to Basics: How to Set Up Your Nonprofit Chart of Accounts
How "Small" Payroll Mistakes Cause Multi-Year S#!t Storms for Nonprofits Behind the Scenes, New Client Onboarding Call When to Hire a Tax Professional - 10 Factors to Consider 40+ Ideas to Light a Fundraising Fire Under Your Nonprofit Board Members Why Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting to Blue Fox? Ask One of Our Newest Clients Client CASE STUDY: One of The Most Financially Sustainable Nonprofit Orgs We Know The Magical Nonprofit Financial Ratio Matrix 10 Reasons to Outsource Your Nonprofit Accounting How to Make Your Nonprofit Recession-Proof How to Engage Your Board of Directors in Financial Conversations QB Tip of the Month: How to Use Classes for Painless Grant Writing When to Hire an Accountant for Your Social Impact Org Are You Paying Too Much for Payroll? Company NewsBlue Fox Teams Up With Bloomerang to Develop Nonprofit Resources
Blue Fox Earns Better Business Bureau Accreditation Blue Fox Launches Protected By Logo Blue Fox - The Origin Story Categories
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