Monthly Archives

January 2014

Abila MIP Fund Accounting Training

By | Abila, MIP Fund Accounting, Nonprofit | No Comments

Hands-on Classroom Training Overview:

Abila MIP Fund Accounting Classroom hands-on training offered in Seattle (Kirkland) area at the premier training facility in the area.  Learn best practices of your MIP Fund accounting system by taking classroom training from a CPA and Certified Trainer.  Please contact Vicki Welter (vicki@welter-consulting.com or 206-605-3113) if you have any questions or need additional information to determine what training class(es) are best for you.

iStock_000028079722SmallClass Location:

Computer Classrooms in Seattle
10604 NE 38th Place, Suite 118
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 576-9747 Ext 0

For directions – http://www.computerclassroomsinseattle.com/Pages/directions.htm

 

Class Details:

  • Classes held from 8:30 to 4:00 daily
  • Free parking (check in at front desk after your arrival and you will be shown to the classroom)
  • Breakfast, snacks & beverages served all day (lunch on your own – a list of restaurants and directions will be provided or you can bring your lunch).
  • Individual workstation and class materials are provided for each student.  Access to complimentary WiFi throughout the training facility.
  • Bring examples of reports or specific issues you have, so we can discuss/resolve in class.
  • 6 hours of CPE for each day of class and completion certificate provided to each student
  • There must be a minimum of 4 attendees to hold each class.  As soon as the minimum attendance is met, you will receive confirmation me by email, including an invoice to remit payment.
    • In the event of class cancellation from low attendance, communication will be sent by me via email, no later than 2 full weeks prior to the class date, which will include alternative training options.
    • Cancellation policy requires written notice be given to Welter Consulting from registrant by email (vicki@welter-consulting.com) 2 full weeks in advance of the class date for a full refund.  If cancellation is necessary within 2 weeks of class date, a credit will be issued to your organization for full amount if minimum attendance was met or 50% of registration fee to use against future trainings by anyone at the organization.
    • Out of town guests should wait to book travel until the class is confirmed (minimum of 4).

MIP Fund Accounting Classroom Training (Kirkland) – Report Writing Fundamentals: $400/person ($320 if on User Support Plan)

Register for this class by clicking on the link below and selecting the date you want to attend at the top of the registration form.  Fundamentals in Report Writing

  • iStock_000017057771XSmallMarch 10, 2014
  • June 16, 2014
  • November 10, 2014

Those attending this class will gain an understanding of:

  • How each of the tabs on the report set-up work
  • Transaction entry fields within the system and how they help us pull the most efficient reports
  • Report naming and archiving
  • Other important tips to make reporting a breeze (common errors, fitting to a page, etc
  • Export module and how to export reports into different formats – including email, excel and pdf
  • Overview of the scheduler module and how it can cut down on your report distribution time
  • Executive View users and how this type of licensing is useful in conjunction with the advanced security module
  • Benefits of using the process manager (favorites) to store and organize reports

MIP Fund Accounting Classroom Training (Kirkland)-HR Management & Employee Web Services:  $500/person ($400 if on User Support Plan)

Register for this class by clicking on the link below and selecting the date you want to attend at the top of the registration form.  HR Management & Employee Web Services

  • February 26, 2014
  • May 29, 2014
  • October 16, 2014

Those attending this class will gain an understanding of:

  • How to use and set-up employees in the HR system and all the utilities to make HR tracking easy including FMLA tracking, certifications/credentials, EEO Reporting and much, much, more.
  • The set-up of Employee Web Services (EWS) module, including all options available to track timekeeping, expense reimbursements and leave requests and/or leave entry to have the information flow directly to payroll and eventually the general ledger, without manual intervention.  We will review the set-up for EWS system settings that is stored on the server.
  • Manager approval and employee submission/approval process for electronic timesheets
  • Other employee options, including access to reports in the EWS module
  • Mass Update feature in HR and options to cut down on manual entry and adjustments
  • Best practices with payroll processing to ensure an accuracy (payroll checklist provided)
  • Queries and reports in the system HR system and a brief overview on how to use the custom report writing utility 

MIP Fund Accounting Classroom Training (Kirkland) – Accounts Payable Expert: $450/person ($360 if on User Support Plan)

Students at the libraryRegister for this class by clicking on the link below and selecting the date you want to attend at the top of the registration form.  Accounts Payable Expert Training

  • March 13, 2014
  • June 19, 2014
  • November 13, 2014

Those attending this class will gain an understanding of:

  • Best practices for processing A/P and other disbursements in the system include prepaid transactions to get audit schedule from system, credit card transactions, sweeps between bank accounts, etc.
  • When to use each of the transaction entry screens
  • How to use and set-up the electronic attachment feature in MIP
  • Set-up and use of memorized documents, recurring documents, entry defaults and other areas within the application that can reduce transaction entry time to process and reduce the potential for errors
  • Use of 1-time vendors and associated audit trails, use of rename/merge feature and best practices for setting up vendors, including 1099 information.
  • A/P sub-ledger reports and other disbursement and reconciliation reports that are most commonly used in the system and their purpose
  • The purpose of using a requisition module/PO module and/or encumbrance module to track commitments whether utilizing MIP or another system and the benefits of utilizing such tools
  • Recording of prepaid transactions to product audit schedule from accounting system

MIP Fund Accounting Classroom Training (Kirkland) – Budgeting: $400/person ($320 if on User

Support Plan)

Register for this class by clicking on the link below and selecting the date you want to attend at the top of the registration form.  Budgeting

  • March 12, 2014
  • June 18, 2014
  • November 12, 2014

Those attending this class will gain an understanding of:

  • Budget Versions and use in reporting to show multiple budgets and/or reporting on revisions and changes in budgets
  • Budget controls that can be set up in MIP to warn you when transactions exceed budget amounts based on time period and combination of budget segments and GL grouping option for these controls.
  • The different options available to get budget data into our system by import, manual entry, budget worksheets, and copy/paste
  • How to enter budget by grant/contract period in order to do cross fiscal year reporting and still be able to report on budgeted data by fiscal year
  • Best practices on reviewing budget data after entered in system and how best to revise posted budget amounts
  • The available budget reports in the system to report on budgeted data and or budget to actual comparison data.  We will set-up samples of the most popular budget reports in the system

Fund Accounting Software: A Necessity for Nonprofits

By | MIP Fund Accounting | No Comments

When a Nonprofit is initially formed, it’s usually developed by creative, humanitarian type people who want to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. These “right-brained” individuals seldom have any interest in accounting or any desire to push numbers or calculate expenses.

Although this is perfectly understandable, the reality is that a Nonprofit must have responsible oversight of fund management and lucid accounting practices in order to productively function and actually achieve their goal of helping others. It is essential to your organization’s financial security to be in compliance with government stipulated regulations, which require Nonprofits to meet specific criteria in order to operate legally.

These guidelines combined with the fundamental obligation to show solvency and quality fund management practices to your Nonprofit’s Board of Directors virtually demand that your association utilize professional accounting processes. The question is how to accomplish this efficiently and effectively without losing sight of the primary focus of your Nonprofit’s mission to be a charitable resource that benefits the disadvantaged, poor, or other targeted group.

Fund Accounting Software provides one extremely beneficial, technologically savvy method to ensure your organization’s ethical, competent financial management strategies. Commercial software packages used by businesses that are not 501c organizations are dramatically different and fail to provide the precise features specific to the needs of a Nonprofit group.

By leveraging the promising technology of Fund Accounting Software products, your organization can remain competitive and gain access to government and private grants. In addition to helping the public by offering unequivocal services in fulfillment of your group’s mission statement, every Nonprofit is also held accountable to the public. Operating with financial transparency allows your organization to gain the public’s trust that their donations will be used legitimately and appropriately.

3 Nonprofit Management Tips To Maximize Results Without Sacrificing Passion

By | Nonprofit | No Comments

Colored PencilsIf you work in a managerial position at a nonprofit, you know that there are certain issues that are unique to the nonprofit world.  Many nonprofits have to work with the funds they have, not the funds they would like to have.  And although many talented workers are interested in working for nonprofits, the lower salaries tend to result in a high turnover.  Of course, there are nonprofits which don’t face these problems but, by and large, many of them do.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to nonprofit management:

  1. Passion vs. Practicality.  It sounds like a Jane Austen novel (Sense and Sensibility) but passion and practicality are two qualities that are often in conflict with each other.  Often, people who are passionate about a certain cause enter the nonprofit world because they’re looking to make a difference.  People who are practical generally go for the for-profit world since this is where they are likely to get better salaries.  However, it can really be beneficial to a nonprofit organization to have both, passion and practicality in its employees.  This is something that you can look out for at the managerial level.
  2. Creating a Feeling of Family.  It helps to create a familial feeling in any kind of organization, whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit.  However, it’s particularly beneficial to a nonprofit organization because you’re already working on a tight budget and with employees who are likely to get disillusioned after a while due to the heavy workload.  Prevent this from happening by creating a friendly, congenial atmosphere around the office.  Let employees know that they are appreciated with little gestures.  Even a company mug or a small cake on someone’s birthday can help them to feel like they belong.
  3. Preventing Burnout.  Employees often leave nonprofit organizations because they start feeling burnt out.  This is especially true if they are constantly in contact with people who are in need of help.  If your nonprofit organization works with victims of domestic violence or the homeless, this can take an emotional toll on your employees.  Encourage employees to be good to themselves by preventing them from working too much overtime.  Everyone needs a vacation or a day off now and then, but this is especially true with nonprofit employees.

It can be immensely satisfying to work at a nonprofit and know that you’re helping people.  Contact us for more nonprofit management tips that will help make sure your workforce shares this optimism.

For Improved Nonprofit Transparency Look to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

By | Nonprofit | No Comments

iStock_000022227728XSmallThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act or “The American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act of 2002” was originally passed to address corporate malfeasance but has since been used by many organizations to improve their nonprofit transparency and internal controls.

The components of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that are relevant to nonprofits are:

  • The Act governs the Board of Director’s Audit Committee. It requires that each committee member be on the board and that each member receives no compensation or benefit from the company. Also, each audit committee is required to have a financial expert.
  • The Act governs the responsibilities of auditors. The lead partner of the auditing company is made to rotate off audits every five years. In addition, non-audit services cannot be provided to the company during the audit. The audit firm is also required to report to the auditing committee critical accounting policies and procedures.
  • The Act requires the chief financial and chief executive officers certify the company’s financial statements, attesting that they are appropriate and accurate. Nonprofits are encouraged to have a capable chief financial officer to certify the financial condition of the company. The CEO will ultimately be responsible but most haven’t the knowledge needed to sign off on financial matters.

Some other points of interest for the nonprofit in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include:

  • Disclosure or transparency to the public.
  • Whistle-blower protection.
  • Insider transactions and conflicts of interest.
  • Document destruction.

Nonprofit transparency is such a crucial part of the nonprofit organization in this day and age due to the ever watchful eye of the wary public. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act can be used as just another guide to help your nonprofit organization reach its goal of nonprofit transparency that will bolster your reputation and ensure trust with donors and your supporters. If you have questions and/or concerns about your organizations nonprofit transparency feel free to contact us.