Your first step would be to dig down and build the best possible foundation, to make sure your new house was based on solid ground. Only then would you start building on top, adding rooms and creating the perfect living space for you and your family.

The same is true of your business planning.

If you start developing grand plans for the future of your enterprise without getting your fundamental accounts and finances in order, you’re building your organization on extremely shaky ground – and that’s not an advisable plan for the long-term attainment of your goals.

Getting your financial house in order

 At Checkbox, we believe in getting our client’s financial house in order before any further strategic planning or business restructuring takes place.

When a business or nonprofit comes to us looking for our professional assistance, we will always encourage them to come aboard on one of our more basic service packages first. There’s a real method to this approach when it comes to delivering value for our clients.

By starting with the basics of good bookkeeping, streamlined financial processes and fundamental accounting, we can work with each client to ensure they lay the proper foundation. Once that’s done we can then move on to more aspirational, advisory-based services and guidance – all safe in the knowledge that the key numbers are in place.

For us, there are three fundamental elements to consider if your organization is going to be ready to move forward:

1. Your bookkeeping must be accurate and timely.
2. Your tax planning must be up to date and in order.
3. Your organization must be 100% legally compliant.

With that trifecta of bookkeeping, tax and compliance in place, you have the strength and structural integrity to start building, with the best possible foundation beneath your strategic business plan.

Don’t run before you can walk

When you’re running your own business, or heading up a nonprofit, it’s understandable that you’ll be filled with enthusiasm for your enterprise.

You’ll have big ideas and grand plans for expanding and growing your organization, so you’ll be keen to start strategic planning right away and begin the journey towards these goals.

But unless you have good numbers behind you, you don’t have a base to plan from. With your three foundational elements of bookkeeping, tax and compliance providing the internal strength, you have a robust starting point for any future plans. And because those three areas are all functioning at a high quality, you have the agility and flexibility to change your plans, pivot to meet new markets or to reach out and grasp those high-value opportunities.

Whether you’re a small business, a trade association or nonprofit organization, you have to master these fundamentals first if you’re planning to grow and scale your operations.

Get the support and advice you need

Getting complete control over the fundamentals is always our starting point when we work with your organization. So if you’re looking to begin your growth journey, please do come and talk to us first.

• We’ll work with you to streamline and improve your bookkeeping systems.
• We’ll review your tax situation and will create a tax-planning strategy that delivers the best possible profits for your organization.
• We’ll make sure every regulatory box is checked and that you’re completely legally compliant in every area of the enterprise.

When you partner with our team, we’ll set the strongest possible foundation before moving you through the next steps needed to achieve your goals.

Contact us at Checkbox to gain a partner in getting your accounting fundamentals in place.

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-The board members are responsible for overseeing and governing all the organization’s affairs.

-The mission and strategic direction of the organization are set through the board along with the CEO and Senior Staff. And the results should be used as a guide for future decisions.

-Having the policies clear is important to help guide and to protect the organization and its board members.

LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES

-All state laws make it a requirement for nonprofit organizations to have a board of directors.

-Through the IRS Form 990 has a set of questions that concerns the board and its governance practices and a question concerning whether the IRS Form 990 was provided for review to the board.                                                                                         

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