HomeAhead is preparing to transition from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online at the same time that our longtime volunteer bookkeeper is retiring. This creates an opportunity to improve our bookkeeping systems and determine the most sustainable way to manage the work going forward.

Our current processes have evolved over time and rely heavily on one person’s knowledge and several manual steps. We need help simplifying and documenting those processes, identifying where QuickBooks Online can improve efficiency, and determining the right division of responsibilities after the transition. We are particularly interested in understanding which bookkeeping tasks could reasonably be handled by staff, which might be appropriate for a skilled volunteer, which should be outsourced to a professional bookkeeper, and whether a combination approach would be most effective.

Our goal is to come out of this transition with a clear, practical bookkeeping structure that is accurate, efficient, appropriately controlled, and sustainable for a small nonprofit.

By the end of the project, we would like to have a stronger, more sustainable bookkeeping system implemented. This would include:

- Completing the transition from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online and setting it up appropriately for our nonprofit
- Improving and documenting key bookkeeping processes, including invoicing, payments, payroll, reconciliations, reporting, and in-kind furniture accounting, with appropriate automation and internal controls
- Establishing and beginning the transition to a practical ongoing bookkeeping model, with clear responsibilities for staff, volunteers, and/or an outsourced professional

Success would mean that HomeAhead has improved systems actually in place, responsibilities clearly assigned, and a sustainable path forward as our longtime volunteer bookkeeper retires.

Organization Mission

HomeAhead believes everyone deserves a furnished home. We provide essential furniture and household goods to individuals and families with limited financial resources, helping them create comfortable, stable homes while giving donated furniture a second life.