increased organizational performance

Outsourcing to Boost Operational Efficiencies

“You can’t be everything to everyone.”

Have you heard that saying? It’s an old proverb that has a deep ring of truth to it.

Many people try to cut corners and save money by doing everything themselves. Sooner or later, however, you realize that you can’t do everything well. By trying to be everything to everybody, you fail to be the best you can be in one specialty area. Your organization can suffer as a result.

Nonprofits often suffer from this problem. Founders try to handle their marketing, fundraising, and operations, as well as the mission of the nonprofit. Faced with ever-increasing duties, burnout is common as too many tasks pack into the same 24 hours. And since you can’t be great at everything you set your hand to in a given day, something, somewhere, has to give.

The Flip Side: Hiring Too Many People

Faced with such a dilemma, many nonprofits turn instead to hiring people to fill specialized roles. They hire someone to handle fundraising, and someone else to manage grants. Before long, they have many employees, but now feel the pinch of not enough cash because it’s all going to salaries. While they’re getting more work done, efficiencies suffer as organizations become staff-heavy.

What’s a nonprofit manager to do?

Outsourcing for Operational Efficiencies

Outsourcing is a great option for nonprofits to improve operational efficiencies. In today’s virtual, digital world, you can outsource almost any role at your nonprofit. Of course, the actual work that you do may be hands-on; visiting nurses must still care for patients, teachers must teach, and an animal shelter has animals that need to be fed. But many other roles, like communications, marketing, fundraising, and even accounting can be outsourced.

Outsourcing improves operational efficiencies by:

Reducing overhead and staff redundancies.
Finding and working with highly experienced specialists in their respective disciplines.
Offering flexibility so that you can tap into expertise when you need it, rather than hiring someone full time.
Providing access to top talent without the expense and time of recruiting, hiring, and training.

Outsourcing provides you with the flexibility to find and work with the best people in the nonprofit world. It also frees up your time so that you can focus on what’s critical to your organization.

Everyone’s core strengths are different. When you can work solely with your own strengths and outsource other tasks to someone else, your entire organization benefits. Not only is your time better spent on what you do well, but you can tap into a wealth of information and experience when you outsource specialized tasks.

Finding the Right Outsourcing Partner

Once you’ve made up your mind to find a company to outsource work to, it’s time to make some phone calls or emails. You can find potential vendors through a variety of channels.

Ask other nonprofits for recommendations. Many are happy to help out a fellow organization by recommending great companies, consultants, or individuals to you.
Review trade association memberships. Many associations include fine companies that provide outsourced services to nonprofits.
Search online. Be sure to read testimonials, case studies, and other third-party reviews of the organization.

Evaluate several companies so that you have an apples-to-apples comparison of their experience, approach, and other critical information about how they work and how they approach their projects.

Outsourcing is a great option for finding experienced professionals to help you with tasks that aren’t your strong suit. It can save time as well as add value to your organization. Whether you outsource fundraising, grant writing, or accounting, finding a great outsourcing partner is a step in the right direction.

Measure Your Results

How do you know that your nonprofit is working efficiently? Measure your outcomes. Leading nonprofits use outcome measures to demonstrate success to donors and stakeholders. Learn more about specific outcome metrics for nonprofits at this free webinar, Outcome Measures: Metrics that Matter for Nonprofits held Friday, September 16 at 2 PM ET.

Beck & Company

Established in 1987, Beck & Company is a CPA firm serving the Washington, D.C. and Eastern Seaboard area. Our services are personalized to your organization’s needs. We provide independent auditing, accounting, tax services, and consulting to help keep your organization’s finances running smoothly. Fund accounting is just one of our many specialties. Contact us today or call 703-834-0776

Relax the Rules and Increase Employee Productivity. Yes, It’s Possible!

When you think about employee productivity, chances are good that you think about driving home the message that the faster and better you can get people to work, the more productive they’ll become.

Yet such employee productivity messages often backfire. Employees are adults, and hearing messages about working harder, smarter, and better often have the opposite effect. Instead of saying, “Yes, Boss!” and forging ahead, they slack off. It’s as if you’ve issued them a challenge instead of a request.

If you’re tired of giving workers the same message about employee productivity, we’ve got good news for you. Relaxing, instead of tightening, the rules at work may boost productivity.

Three Low-Risk Rules to Relax for Productivity

Although most of the evidence about relaxing to boost productivity is anecdotal, you can still try a few simple ways to lighten up and get more done. These three low-risk, high-potential-benefit changes can be tested in most nonprofit workplaces.

Extend casual Fridays to casual summers: Casual Fridays offer even the most conservative offices to relax the dress code once a week. Casual summers take this a bit further, offering employees the chance to ditch the neckties or high heels in favor of casual, professional attire. Speak with your organization’s human resources department on how to craft a policy about casual attire to make sure people understand that ‘casual’ doesn’t mean ‘ready for the beach.’ You may also want to specify exceptions, such as meetings with clients, donors, directors, and the public that require a more polished, professional appearance.
Relaxed working hours: While it’s necessary to have enough staff to handle routine business during your regular working hours, allowing people to come to work early and leave early on a beautiful summer’s day may help productivity. Instead of feeling trapped at work, they may work harder and faster to get their work done and get out the door. Relaxed hours, flex time, or even working from home may help people focus so they can obtain the reward of more free time.
More breaks: Frequent breaks, even if they’re just to walk around the block, help boost productivity by giving people a change of scenery and a chance to clear their head. Banish the stigma of taking a break. Allow your employees a chance to actually have a lunch break, and give them a space away from their desks to eat. Breaks are part of work, and the less you hassle people about taking a few breaks here and there, the more productive they can become.

So which one of these ideas will you try? Choose one or try them all. The more you can reward, encourage, and inspire people, the better they will perform. Gone are the days of the Industrial Revolution when a mean supervisor was the way to get more work done. Instead of being the stick, offer a carrot. It’s the 21st century way to increase employee productivity.

Survival Guide for Nonprofit Finance Teams

Looking for more ways to enhance productivity of your team? Join us for this free webinar on Wednesday, August 31, at 2:00 PM ET. Survival Guide for Nonprofit Finance Teams will discuss ways you can increase productivity while facing the challenges facing nonprofit finance teams. Register here.

At Beck & Company, we can help you increase productivity when it comes to your accounting by taking the weight off your shoulders. Our experienced CPAS understand the nuances of nonprofit accounting and love helping great nonprofits succeed. We offer auditing services, tax and accounting services, and more. Contact us today or call 703-834-0776.

A Smooth Transition to a New System Begins with Training

Changing to a new system can be exciting. Many people on staff will be happy to say good-bye to the old system and its quirks. Others, however, may not be as quick to embrace change. A smooth transition to a new system begins by helping everyone see the benefits of change and working with them to understand its importance.

Why Do People Resist Change?

Entire books have been written about the human propensity to resist change. Some people just prefer things to be the same, day in and day out. Others love change and seek excitement. These are all quirks of human nature, and it’s almost a certainty that your staff includes people on both extremes of the change-spectrum as well as many people who sit squarely in the middle.

Five Best Practices to Prepare Your Team for Change

There are many best practices from the world of corporate training and adult learning that you can put into place to help your team ease through the transition. We’ve put together five of our favorites, techniques that we’ve seen work time and time again. Try these to help your team embrace change and move forward.

Identify the “Nellie Nay-Sayers”: Nellie Nay-Sayer is the pessimist in the bunch, the one who loves to say “I told you so” when something doesn’t work out. Nellie doesn’t want an idea to fail, but she’s sure it will. To help the Nellie Nay-Sayers in the bunch embrace change, make them part of the change. This way they have a vested interest in the outcome. Invite Nellie to be part of the team to find a solution and to learn about the new system. Include her in the discussions. The more you can make her feel part of the solution, the more you’ll dampen her negative attitude and fuel the positive.
Explain the reasons why: Give your team plenty of information and time to understand the reasons why you’re choosing a new system. Most will already understand the importance, but some do not. Host meetings, lunch and learns, and staff briefings to help people understand and recognize the importance of the new solution. Don’t spring the information on them at the last minute, but ramp up to the introduction of the new software with plenty of information for all.
Ask for input: Be sure to ask for input from multiple groups within your organization. Include members from each department so that everyone has a voice in the decision. Each group brings their own needs and concerns to the table. Including everyone ensures that the new solution you choose will meet the majority of needs in your organization.
Offer plenty of training: Training in a new system is more than a one-time workshop. Train small groups of people in the new system, and provide additional follow-up training and support. Invite participants to bring in work-related projects to use in the training so that the information they apply is both meaningful and useful. The more hands-on training you can provide to adults, the better they learn.
Train an expert: Another way to make the transition easier is to choose one internal expert from each department, someone who will receive advanced training and support. The onsite expert can then be the point person for questions and to help staff use the more advanced features of the system. This helps everyone use the new system to its fullest capacity, and gives people a friendly face from inside the organization to go to with questions.

It may take weeks to ramp up to your new system’s launch, but when it’s in place, and everyone has been training, you’ll find that people make the transition easier when these techniques are used to help them adjust. Change is hard, but with information, participation, awareness and training, it becomes a lot easier.

Beck & Company Training Opportunities

Beck & Company offers certified public accounting as well as business advice, with an emphasis on the world of nonprofit organizations. We understand the nuances and challenges that nonprofits face and can help you with accounting, business advice and more.

We offer many free training opportunities for your nonprofit organization. Join us for this exciting webinar, The New Roadmap for Nonprofit Finance, on August 16 at 2:00 PM ET. Check out the full list of upcoming webinars here.

Thinking of Making the Switch? Now’s the Time for a New Accounting System

No matter how much you may love your current accounting system, there comes a time when you need to make a change. It’s like a favorite pair of shoes that have simply worn out. No amount of patching or polishing is going to fix them. If that’s how you feel about your current accounting system, now is a great time to make a change.

Is It Time for a New System?

Change is always hard, and changing accounting systems can be a little bumpy for some companies. Employees are used to working a certain way. The current system is familiar and comfortable. They know precisely how to run reports, input data, and find what they need.

But there are certain signs and signals that let you know when it’s time for a new accounting system. Do any of these sound familiar?

Expansion: Your organization has grown since you implemented your original accounting system. Now you’ve got several locations, additional staff and more volunteers. The current system can’t accommodate all of its users. You’re constantly paying more money for additional site licenses so that telecommuting workers and new locations can access the same data.
Out-of-synch data: Separate systems at numerous locations mean that you’re regularly updating databases so that the information is in sync. You’re feeling frustrated because changes made to one database don’t flow through to others.
Changing priorities: When you installed your current system many years ago, you just needed to replace a paper-based accounting system with a computerized system. Now, however, you need to track different funds. You’ve expanded your operations, and offer more services, but your system can’t handle the newer information. Priorities have changed, but your system hasn’t.
Forever fixing: “Forever fixing” or “constantly patching” means that you’re always patching, fixing, or tweaking your existing system to get it to work. Maybe it crashes a lot. Perhaps it was infected with a virus last year which your IT people were able to remove, but it hasn’t worked the same way since. It stalls, freezes, or otherwise doesn’t work the way it should.

If you recognize your organization in any of these scenarios, it’s time to consider a new accounting system. You’ll be amazed at what’s available now for small to mid-sized businesses.

Newer accounting systems on the market are cloud-based. Cloud-based systems run off of the internet, so there’s no software to buy and install. These systems are also accessible wherever you have internet access. You can continue working whether you’re at home or at the office, and you can add additional locations quickly and easily.

Because such systems run off of the internet, the data streams in “real time” to the main database and back out to the users. This means that changes made in one location in your company flow through to all users. No more accessing data in one part of your company and finding it differs from data in another part.

Lastly, newer accounting systems synchronize with other systems such as membership systems, donor tracking and more. Your nonprofit can integrate multiple systems into an accounting system and track all of its operations.

Learn More

Learn more about an accounting system perfect for nonprofits by joining us for this free webinar, Intacct Product Tour for Nonprofits, on Tuesday, August 9, at 1:00 PM ET.

A nonprofit organization today needs a sophisticated database system. If you’ve put off changing to a new system because you were afraid of the downtime or expense, please contact Beck & Company today. We work with nonprofits to transition them into new systems and help them enhance their business and accounting processes. We can help you select the best accounting system for your needs and help you transition to a new system with minimal disruption and downtime. Contact us today or call 703-834-0776.

To Telecommute or Not to Telecommute? Telecommuting May Drive Productivity for Non-Profits

Telecommuting may call to mind images of pajama-clad workers surfing the net, but new information indicates that offering telecommuting as an option for non-profit workers increases employee productivity.

BizTech magazine reports that remote employees tend to work 20 percent more than on-site employees. They typically clock more than 40 hours per workweek, too.

Mobile technology has revolutionized how many companies view their workforce. Onsite workers clocking an average 40-hour workweek seem to be a remnant of our country’s industrial past, when workers punched a timecard and were paid hourly. Today’s workforce is more likely to seek flexibility in working hours and a better work-life balance, but are willing to work longer hours in exchange for that flexibility.

Currently, 45 percent of nonprofits offer some type of telecommuting policy. The benefit to employee productivity is enormous. Telecommuting employees are 20 percent more likely to work longer hours when engaged in projects from home, and will easily clock more than 40 hours when working on creative projects.

Nonprofits seeking to enact telecommuting-friendly policies need to understand the potential technology and budgetary ramifications. The technology needed to support a mobile workforce includes cloud-based applications, which can be easily accessed from any Internet browser, mobile phones, and laptops.

Some nonprofits have a ‘bring your own device’ policy, allowing workers to use their own smartphones, tablets and laptops to access company data, but with that policy comes a price. Nonprofits who allow workers to use their own devices to work on company systems must have higher security protocols in place to prevent accidental data breaches, viruses and malware from corrupting important systems and inadvertently sharing sensitive donor information, such as credit card numbers.

Telecommuting Employees Are Happier

Studies show that telecommuting employees are generally happier and more satisfied with their jobs than their onsite coworkers. Satisfied employees tend to stay in their jobs longer, leading to reduced turnover and greater productivity.

TinyPulse, an employment survey startup, assessed 509 full time remote employees and data from over 200,000 other employees to create a portrait of the happiness and satisfaction of remote workers.

Remote or telecommuting employees ranked their happiness and job satisfaction much higher than their onsite coworkers. The only drawback to telecommuting they noted was a decrease in coworker relationships and a feeling of connection with coworkers. For some, this was a drawback. For those who are tired of office politics, it may be a benefit.

The Future of Nonprofit Employee Productivity

By 2018, it is projected that more than 2.5 million nonprofits will embrace mobile workforce management solutions. This reflects a 21 percent increase over today’s numbers. With that growing use of mobile technology, specific steps should be considered by nonprofit managers.

Create a structured telecommuting policy for employees. A written policy sets a common understanding of what is allowed (and what isn’t), and also provides a good recruiting benefit when attracting talent to your organization.
Update your software and systems with cloud-based solutions that are easily accessed via mobile devices.
Discuss security issues with your IT staff or consultants now. Make sure that sensitive data, such as donor lists, accounting and fund data, and employee data is protected with the best security you can install. Close the barn door before the proverbial horse escapes, not after.

The future seems to be one in which work, however it is defined, can be conducted just as easily from the bleachers at a child’s Little League game to an office downtown. Higher job satisfaction, flexible work arrangements, and personal investment into a nonprofit’s mission are all benefits for employees working at nonprofits. When employee productivity increases too, it’s a win-win for both employees and their organizations.

An upcoming webinar will be discussing how the demands on nonprofit finance teams have continued to increase. Also, how you must create greater levels of transparency and visibility, enhance the governance of the organization, and strengthen decision-making and strategic focus – all while improving productivity. Click here to register for the Survival Guide for Nonprofit Finance Teams Webinar On Thursday, June 3rd at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET.

Beck & Company provides nonprofit accounting and consulting services nationwide. Founded in 1987, our staff of CPAs and seasoned nonprofit experts can help you with audits, tax compliance and more. Please call us at 703-834-0776 for an appointment today.

Motivate Nonprofit Stakeholders with a Strong Vision and Mission Statement

Are you using your nonprofit organization’s vision and mission statement to motivate your stakeholders? Employees, volunteers and donors should all know your vision and be working together to attain it. Likewise, an effective mission statement, properly communicated, should help your organization stay focused on the goal.

Why are Vision and Mission Statements Important for Nonprofits?

A nonprofit organization needs both vision and mission statements to inspire, define and communicate to its stakeholders. Clear, agreed-upon goals are a characteristic of successful organizations. Without vision and mission statements, nonprofits may be wasting time chasing after unrelated goals.

A vision statement for nonprofit organizations should be more than just empty words. Instead it should draw a picture of what the world will look like if your organization’s purpose is fulfilled. When you have a strong vision statement it should motivate employees, volunteers and donors to strive for a common purpose.

The mission statement for nonprofits lays out how your organization is going to make your vision happen. Without the “how”, your nonprofit vision is just words. Your mission statement should serve as a motivator, but in addition, it should provide clear direction on how employees, volunteers and donors are a part of fulfilling your purpose.

A simple way to explain the difference between a vision and mission statement is that a vision statement is why the organization exists and the mission statement is how your organization is going to make that vision happen. Jack Welch said, “You’ve got to eat while you dream. You’ve got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both walking and chewing gum, if you will. Getting it done in the short-range, and delivering a long-range plan, and executing on that.”

How to Create a Vision Statement

If you don’t have an effective nonprofit vision, it’s time to make one. If you do have a vision, is it effective? Consider these these questions in creating or revising your vision.

Does your vision inspire enthusiasm and commitment?
Is your vision unique to your organization? Does it reflect your values?
Is your vision ambitious enough to be a worthy goal?
Is your vision future oriented?

How to Create a Mission Statement

Your mission statement should clearly state the business of your nonprofit. It should be concise and short and address these questions:

Who is your organization—your name and type of agency?
What does your organization do?
Who are the beneficiaries of your services?
Where do you provide your services?
What are your values—the beliefs you hold in common and endeavor to put into practice?

Communication is Vital for Success

Your vision and mission statements can only motivate and guide your stakeholders if they are communicated well. The vast majority of nonprofit employees and volunteers cannot state their organizations purpose. When your vision and mission are clear and articulate, they are memorable, understood and supported by the entire organization. Not only should they be communicated to your internal organization, but they should be broadcast to your constituents and potential donors as well. Consider a broad marketing plan that may include social media, posters, brochures, web pages and advertisements to promote understanding and motivation.

Beck & Company, Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors, wants to be your partner in accomplishing your vision and mission. One way we do that is to provide convenient, easily accessible, monthly webinars for your organization. This month, take a look at this webinar, Financial Reporting—Is Your Nonprofit Seeing the Full Picture? In this live presentation on Thursday, May 11, 2016, you will learn ways to provide clear, accurate information on budgets, grants, outcomes and more to your stakeholders. Register here.

Contact Beck & Company today for a nonprofit business planning consultation. We want to put our many years of professional expertise to work for your organization.