indinero

Overview:

Williamsburg Learning provides inspiring, adventure-based online curriculum and mentorship opportunities to students in schools across the United States. They needed professional financial management when their internal team could no longer cope with their growth. That’s when they discovered indinero, starting a beneficial partnership that took their business to new heights.

The Problem: An Outgrown Internal Finance Team

Founded by Nels Jordan, Williamsburg Learning initially relied on an internal accounting team to manage its finances. However, as the company grew, so did its financial complexities. Nels realized they needed external experts to manage this, especially when they decided to switch from cash to accrual accounting in 2021.

Williamsburg Learning’s industry is unique because it runs on an annual cycle. They recruit students once a year, and the accounting department has to learn to think about their annual cycle – their fiscal year starting July 1. 

Williamsburg Learning has a parent company and three different subsidiaries, creating financial complexities. It’s critical that the company transactions are done correctly between those entities for liability, protection, and compliance reasons. 

The Challenge: Finding the Right Financial Experts at the Right Price

Nels needed a financial expert who could integrate seamlessly into his business while providing efficient services within the budget of his current internal team. They wanted to simplify their financial process and eliminate non-profitable business areas. Above all, Nels wanted the accounting team to be an integral part of the company rather than an additional burden.

Williamsburg Learning had a list of criteria for their new financial consultants. Here’s what they were seeking: 

Spend less on financial management
A faster, more efficient financial team
An expert who could simplify their financials 
A pro who would easily integrate with their internal teams

The Solution: Indinero’s Expertise

Indinero emerged as the best solution for all of Nels’ criteria. Nels first project to test indinero’s expertise was transitioning from cash to accrual accounting. Indinero’s representative, Brittany Stuggard, successfully managed the process, impressing Nels with her proficiency. Brittany was also tasked with providing cash flow projections and monthly reporting.

Brittany didn’t just provide accounting services but also worked closely with the company’s outside CFO, becoming a vital part of the Williamsburg Learning team.

The Results: Financial Efficiency and Significant Savings

As soon as Brittany integrated into the team, Nels noticed a drastic improvement in their financial processes. Nels was impressed at how quickly she got her head around Williamsburg Learning’s mission, including its financial history and goals. 

Brittany completely optimized Williamsburg Learning’s AP and AR workflows for their internal accounting staff. She also provided monthly consolidated reporting for all 4 entities with flex budget analysis.

Williamsburg Learning replaced their full-time employee with Brittany and indinero. Brittany streamlined their financials, providing tailor-made reports for stakeholders. Not only did this increase Nels’ peace of mind around finances, but it also led to significant cost savings.

Faced with Covid Shutdowns, Masterpiece Sought Opportunity in New Sectors

In 2019, Masterpiece Cuisine was a well-established catering company in Las Vegas. But like most businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on their business, prompting them to shutter their doors. 

Scott Mahan, Owner and Managing Partner, used the sudden business shift to seek new opportunities. 

The company entered new sectors like health care, hotel, and concessions. Though business revenue expanded with new contracts, internally, things became increasingly complicated. 

The Challenge: to Construct a Better Foundation for Financial Operations 

Masterpiece formed multiple entities and bank accounts because they hoped that by separating things out, it would be easier to get visibility into each division. 

But they didn’t have a proper system for tracking COGS or categorizing vendor bills and payment terms. Masterpiece was still using the cash basis accounting method, contributing to the greatest challenge of all: getting an accurate picture of their financial position. 

The biggest issues they were facing:

1. Scott needed to see revenue by income stream 
2. He didn’t know if they were profitable because everything was comingled 
3. They had 8 QBO accounts ( previous bookkeepers didn’t know how to give him what he asked for) 
4. P&L was useless because it wasn’t pulling accurate and complete information

Finding the Right Expertise

Indinero was not the first accounting and controllership Masterpiece sought out. In fact, he had been through 10 bookkeepers up til that point. Fortunately, right from his first onboarding meeting with Brittany Stugard, he knew he’d finally found the right team. 

“I’ve been through 10 bookkeepers in 16 years, indinero is the best we have worked with, and there is no close second. They are the first bookkeeper who successfully set us up for accrual bookkeeping. That seems a real struggle for food service companies because it is a lot of work.”

Scott Mahan, Owner

The Solution: Cleanup + Restructure

There were a lot of issues to address when indinero and Masterpiece joined forces, but fortunately, Brittany had seen it all before and quickly came forward with an action plan to get Masterpiece’s accounting and financial operations in order. 

Getting Organized 

Scott will be the first to admit that things weren’t very organized when they brought on indinero. After closing their doors during the pandemic and reopening with new business channels, they had lost their diligence on financial reporting. 

Masterpiece was still using the cash accounting method, which it had outgrown. So, the first project was to do a full clean-up, followed by a switch to the accrual method.

Brittany also implemented accounting workflows and automated invoicing and tracking in software like bill.com and dext.

Eliminating Unnecessary Costs by Combining Entities 

One of Masterpiece’s biggest issues was the separation of its entities and divisions. This made things far more complicated than necessary. 

Brittany took the time to understand what made Masterpiece’s business model unique. She devised a solution to help them combine their separate entities into one, saving the company time and money. 

By bringing all entities into one, Masterpiece shaved off redundant software expenses. In addition, the simplified management processes reduced the time required to manage the books and produce reliable reporting. 

Giving Up Control and Gaining Trust

Many business owners can identify with Scott’s trepidation when handing over control of their business finances. After all, he’d been burned before by bookkeepers who claimed to know what they were doing. In the end, he was left with more complexity than before.

From his first meeting with Brittany and indinero, Scott’s hesitance melted away. Her expertise, confidence, and savvy brought relief – he knew he could finally trust someone to take over. 

Brittany focused on improving workflow efficiencies instead of keeping with the status quo. By evaluating how things should be working and what Scott wanted to see, Brittany restructured his books and accounting processes to match.

“A great plan and all the knowledge are meaningless if it’s not executed properly. Small businesses like mine often need that initial push in the right direction. Indinero was the first company to give us that and once we had it we started to run with it because it was simple enough for us to grasp. Indinero earned our confidence very early in the process.”

The Results: Savings and Game-Changing Insights

1. Receiving timely and accurate financial reports
2. Masterpiece is saving $21,600 per year on accounting services
3. Scott personally saves 5-10 hours each week
4. Reduced software fees nearing $5,000/yr
5. One Quickbooks account instead of 8 

Williamsburg Learning provides inspiring, adventure-based online curriculum and mentorship opportunities to students in schools across the United States. They needed professional financial management when their internal team could no longer cope with their growth. That’s when they discovered indinero, starting a beneficial partnership that took their business to new heights.

The Problem: An Outgrown Internal Finance Team

Founded by Nels Jordan, Williamsburg Learning initially relied on an internal accounting team to manage its finances. However, as the company grew, so did its financial complexities. Nels realized they needed external experts to manage this, especially when they decided to switch from cash to accrual accounting in 2021.

Williamsburg Learning’s industry is unique because it runs on an annual cycle. They recruit students once a year, and the accounting department has to learn to think about their annual cycle – their fiscal year starting July 1. 

Williamsburg Learning has a parent company and three different subsidiaries, creating financial complexities. It’s critical that the company transactions are done correctly between those entities for liability, protection, and compliance reasons. 

The Challenge: Finding the Right Financial Experts at the Right Price

Nels needed a financial expert who could integrate seamlessly into his business while providing efficient services within the budget of his current internal team. They wanted to simplify their financial process and eliminate non-profitable business areas. Above all, Nels wanted the accounting team to be an integral part of the company rather than an additional burden.

Williamsburg Learning had a list of criteria for their new financial consultants. Here’s what they were seeking: 

• Spend less on financial management
• A faster, more efficient financial team
• An expert who could simplify their financials 
• A pro who would easily integrate with their internal teams

The Solution: Indinero’s Expertise

Indinero emerged as the best solution for all of Nels’ criteria. Nels first project to test indinero’s expertise was transitioning from cash to accrual accounting. Indinero’s representative, Brittany Stuggard, successfully managed the process, impressing Nels with her proficiency. Brittany was also tasked with providing cash flow projections and monthly reporting.

Brittany didn’t just provide accounting services but also worked closely with the company’s outside CFO, becoming a vital part of the Williamsburg Learning team.

The Results: Financial Efficiency and Significant Savings

As soon as Brittany integrated into the team, Nels noticed a drastic improvement in their financial processes. Nels was impressed at how quickly she got her head around Williamsburg Learning’s mission, including its financial history and goals. 

Brittany completely optimized Williamsburg Learning’s AP and AR workflows for their internal accounting staff. She also provided monthly consolidated reporting for all 4 entities with flex budget analysis.

Williamsburg Learning replaced their full-time employee with Brittany and indinero. Brittany streamlined their financials, providing tailor-made reports for stakeholders. Not only did this increase Nels’ peace of mind around finances, but it also led to significant cost savings.

“All in all, indinero’s team saved us about 30% on financial management. We’ve reduced our costs from $95,000 for in-house salary to under $6,000 monthly. The whole process with indinero is so much faster and more efficient, and errors have been significantly reduced. The service functions as part of my company and my team.”

Nels Jensen, CEO & Co-Founder, Williamsburg Learning

With indinero, Williamsburg Learning has found a long-term financial partner that aids their growth while ensuring financial wellness.

Ready to Focus on Your Business’s Financial Health?

If your business needs a financial expert who can grow with it, indinero can help. With years of experience supporting nonprofit and professional services businesses, we ensure your financial matters are in safe hands. Schedule a call with an indinero expert today to discover the integrated finance team your business needs.