The Client:
A US-based nonprofit organization working with children and adults with physical, developmental, and economic challenges in a marine environment.
Scope of Work
End-to-end bookkeeping services including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, General Ledger, Fixed Assets Accounting, Budgeting.
Process Bottlenecks
The existing Chart of Accounts had become redundant and irrelevant to the organization’s statutory reports submission requirements. This needed urgent correction. Additionally, the client sought Cogneesol’s help to rectify:
- Unsystematic allocations for programs’ revenue and expenses against received grants
- Overdue financials greater than 65 days
- High external audit cost and overtime associated costs
Cogneesol’s Optimization Solution
Considering this was a not-for-profit client, we sought to keep costs low from the very outset. We fixed and migrated QB files to a new platform with an updated and relevant chart of accounts that were in sync with nonprofit reporting requirements. In addition, we took the following steps to effect sustainable changes in the overall accounting:
- Switched to project-based accounting, allocating administration costs, revenue and expenses to respective programs
- Enforced budgeting for programs
- Implemented a weekly program performance reporting for the board’s and sponsors’ assessment
- Introduced a process of maintaining invoice and check back-ups to reduce external audit costs
Our programs are now budgeted and accounted for scientifically and as per accounting principles. Being compliant with regulations adds to the pride of our work. All thanks to Cogneesol!
Impact Delivered
Cogneesol’s suite of solutions has resulted in:
- Accurate and timely financials for internal as well as external stakeholders
- Books closure time reduced by 15%
- External auditor cost reduced by 20%
- Internal error rate reduced from 25% to 0.50%
Client Testimonials
It is always a pleasure to learn that the work we do has positively impacted our clients and that they are happy to share their experiences.
Cogneesol increased our operational efficiency with timely payments and efficient management of our working capital. We are impressed with the dedication of the team and their professionalism. Most importantly, the team is professionally qualified and has the technical expertise to guide the accurate and compliant management of the payables process. Thanks to them, we have a non-manual AP function that functions seamlessly and has brought us significant cost savings.
We had a huge pile of outstanding receivables that had blocked huge amounts of cash. We hired Cogneesol to help clean up our account sand support, especially with the receivables. The team charted a collections plan, segregated receivables as per their DSOs, and allocated the collections to their team with set targets. It took the agents under two months to collect close to 90% of our receivables!
Cogneesol transformed our Accounts Receivables processes, freed up cash, and optimized our working capital position. The team does a thorough job of checking the accuracy of their bills, invoices, or credit terms, apply for cash payments correctly, do not override credit limits, follow up with customers in a timely manner when payments are past due, collect and apply cash correctly. These have made our Accounts Receivables position very efficient!
We used to suffer from huge volumes of duplicate invoices and missed vendor payments. Cogneesol streamlined our Accounts Payable process by centralizing data, eliminating data entry, and streamlining the invoice workflow. This has not only eliminated the problem of duplicate invoices but has also standardized the payment system and has regulated our working capital management, making us financially stronger and in-control of our operations.
We automated our Accounts Payable division with the help of Cogneesol’s team of qualified accountants. They came in with game-changing process improvements, including the elimination of data-entry errors with automated OCRs, the establishment of a ‘No PO No Pay’ policy, ensuring a system of timely payments, and elimination late fees. All of these have changed the face of our AP books. We are now in a great position to make strategic decisions.
Our customer master data was in complete disarray, slowing down our receivables considerably. Cogneesol assigned us a dedicated resource to help with customer data maintenance and streamline all the other sub-processes of Accounts Receivables. The resource immediately set to task with correcting payment terms, centralizing data maintenance, implementing controls, and conducting regular audits. Soon we were able to do away with more than 80% of customer disputes!
