Your organization probably fits if two or more of these are true
None of that means anyone did anything wrong. It means the organization outgrew its systems, which is what happens to organizations that succeed.
Six areas, tested rather than discussed
Financial architecture
Whether your chart of accounts and QuickBooks setup can actually produce the functional expense reporting your 990 and audited statements require, or whether someone rebuilds it by hand every year. We measure how much of your activity is coded to nothing and show you the number.
Restricted fund integrity
We build a grant-by-grant roll-forward: what you started with, what came in, what was released, what remains. Then we check whether it agrees with your balance sheet. When those disagree, your auditor will find it. Better that you find it first.
Federal and state award readiness
Your total federal expenditures including pass-through funds, which still count. Whether you can produce a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. Where you stand against the $1 million Single Audit threshold. Whether you are claiming the 15% de minimis indirect cost rate you are entitled to. Whether the required written policies exist. Whether spending falls inside each award’s period of performance. Whether you monitor any organizations you pass funds to.
Compliance calendar
Every filing and reporting deadline you are responsible for, in one place, with owners. Including whether your books currently agree with your most recently filed Form 990.
Controls and continuity
Realistic internal controls for an organization your size, which is not the same as textbook separation of duties. Who holds administrative access to the accounting system and the bank. Whether your month-end close is documented, or lives in one person’s memory.
Payroll and cost allocation
Whether salaries are allocated across program, administration and fundraising in a way you could defend, and whether staff paid from federal awards have the time and effort documentation the rules require. Misallocated personnel cost is the most common source of costs a funder later refuses to pay.
A written report you can hand straight to your board
The report is yours. Share it with your auditor, your funders or your board as you see fit.
Two weeks, start to finish
What we need from you
That is the full ask. Everything else is on us.
An assessment, not a cleanup
We identify and document. We do not correct entries, restructure your chart of accounts or rebuild prior periods as part of this engagement.
That is deliberate. You get an independent picture of where you stand, at a known price, with no obligation to buy anything further. If you want help implementing the roadmap, we can talk about that after you have read the report and decided for yourself whether it is worth doing.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing before we begin
Base
Under $1M revenue, no government funding, a small number of restricted funds.
Standard
Multiple restricted grants and funders, no federal awards.
Federal
Federal or state pass-through awards, SEFA preparation, Uniform Guidance policy review.
No hourly billing and no change orders.
Fifteen questions. No email required.
These are drawn straight from the review. Answer honestly, including the ones you are not sure about, because not knowing is usually the finding.
1Can you say today, without building a spreadsheet, how much is left on each restricted grant?
2Do your restricted grant balances add up to the restricted net assets line on your balance sheet?
3Do you record a net asset release on a regular schedule?
4Can you produce a program, administration and fundraising expense split directly from your accounting system?
5Is less than 5% of your activity sitting in an uncategorized or “not specified” bucket?
6Do you know your total federal expenditures for the year, including funds passed through a state agency or another nonprofit?
7Do you know where you stand against the $1 million Single Audit threshold?
8Are you either claiming the 15% de minimis indirect cost rate on federal awards, or have you deliberately decided not to?
9Do you have written policies for procurement, cash management and allowable costs?
10Can you show that grant spending fell inside each award’s period of performance?
11If you pass funds to other organizations, do you monitor them as subrecipients?
12Do your books agree with your most recently filed Form 990?
13Are staff salaries allocated across program, administration and fundraising rather than sitting in one bucket?
14Do employees paid from federal awards have time and effort documentation?
15Could someone other than your current bookkeeper close your books next month if they were unavailable?
0 of 15 answered
Not sure which tier fits?
Book a short scoping call. We will tell you which tier applies and what the fee would be before you commit to anything. If a review is not what you need, you will leave the call with a straight answer about what is.