Gather
A fresh approach.
Every good batch of lemonade starts with knowing what you have to work with.
Before I recommend changing anything, I need to understand what is actually happening.
Gather is a focused assessment of your ministry’s current accounting environment. I meet with your leadership and accounting team, review your financial information and systems, and map the processes your organization actually uses—not simply the ones everyone thinks are being used.
That includes key accounting cycles such as revenue and receivables, accounts payable, payroll, bank reconciliations, and month-end close, along with how your accounting software, donation platforms, payment systems, and expense tools fit together.
Questions I’m asking along the way
- Are responsibilities appropriately separated?
- Are the right people approving transactions?
- Is supporting documentation complete?
- Are people duplicating work manually?
- Are processes happening consistently and on time?
- Can leadership rely on the financial information those processes produce?
What you receive: a Findings + Solutions Report
The Solutions portion lays out the recommended path forward: what needs to change, what should happen first, and a 90-day implementation roadmap. I walk your leadership through it in an executive debrief.
Gather is a complete standalone engagement. You can take the findings and implement them yourself—or continue to Mix.
Mix
A clear vision.
The right ingredients, in the right amounts, in the right order.
Knowing what needs to change doesn’t actually change it.
In Mix, I step in as your Fractional Controller and lead the work of implementing the approved priorities, rather than handing your team a report and expecting them to figure it out. Mix begins with an initial 90-day engagement.
Depending on what we found in Gather, that can include:
- Correcting transaction coding and documentation
- Training accounting and non-accounting staff
- Strengthening approval workflows and spending approvals
- Completing accurate bank reconciliations
- Identifying designated versus available cash, and creating cash reports for leadership
- Building reconciliation schedules and templates
- Setting deadlines for invoices, credit-card transactions, and reimbursements
- Moving toward a consistent monthly close date
Processes alone aren’t enough. People throughout the ministry need to know what financial information they’re responsible for, how to submit it, who approves it, and when it’s due. That often means building new habits beyond the accounting office.
Establish a Reliable Monthly Close
By the end of the first 90 days, we work to:
- Bring bank reconciliations current
- Produce an initial balance sheet and income statement
- Establish a cash visibility report, including designated and restricted funds
- Begin a consistent monthly financial review with leadership
From there, we keep building toward a fully closed, audit-ready month.
Serve
A bright future.
Lemonade is made to be shared. So are reliable numbers.
Once the foundation is in place, the work shifts. We’re no longer spending our energy figuring out what happened. We’re building a financial rhythm your leadership can depend on.
Serve is the ongoing Fractional Controller relationship. The goal is consistent monthly closed financial statements, fully reconciled bank accounts, and clear visibility into designated funds and special projects.
- Monthly close, reconciliations, and financial statements on a predictable cadence
- Cash visibility and designated/restricted fund reporting
- Accounting-team leadership and internal controls
- Department-level financial visibility and regular financial reviews
- A structured annual budgeting process
- Year-end close, audit preparation, and audit support
Leadership can finally ask a more valuable question: “Where do we want to go from here?”