Graphite

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a digital native B2C pantry essentials company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

We hired them for accounting and finance when we started the company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Graphite - Accounting for Startups manages bookkeeping, tax preparation, and accounts payable.

What is the team composition?

We usually have 1–2 people working on our account.

How did you come to work with Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

I heard great things about them from other entrepreneurs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’re thrilled with their work. Since bringing them on board, I don’t have to worry about our accounting. They help us run efficiently.

How did Graphite - Accounting for Startups perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is very straightforward, which is very helpful. We use email and spreadsheets to keep everything in order.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always willing to jump on a call if we need to talk through something. They’re good at what they do and are very reliable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients should communicate openly with them. They should be able to leverage Graphite – Accounting for Startups for what they need. Their team is very flexible.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Rebel Ventures, a marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graphite – Accounting for Startups?

Graphite –Accounting for Startups is filling a need we had internally. We were looking for dependable closes of our monthly accounting books. It was a mix of both accounting and bookkeeping support, along with basic finance and HR support functions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team is doing our bookkeeping. They’re managing our general ledger, accounts receivable, and account payable services. They’re dealing with our customers and vendors.

They’re managing our cash position and debt position, keeping us up to date on our liquidity. They’re also sharpening most of our employee benefits and exploring 401K plans for our employees.

They’ve also reviewed our books from previous years and making a note of anything that looks unexpected. In the future, they’re going to be working with us on new business planning, pipeline planning, and client level profitability reports.

What is the team composition?

I’m working with two people – an account lead and a day-to-day bookkeeper.

How did you come to work with Graphite – Accounting for Startups?

One of the investment funds we worked with in the past referred them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with their team started in September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The quality of the work is extremely high. Along with being great communicators, their team is dependable. They’re diligent, responsible, and reliable. Their team also has a great sense of humor.

How did Graphite – Accounting for Startups perform from a project management standpoint?

Along with a weekly meeting, we keep track of everything through Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is incredibly experienced and responsive. They’ve handled a lot of situations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. I don’t have any constructive criticism for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s good if you know what you need. They might not be the best fit if you’re figuring out what your needs are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Finmark, a startup that provides financial planning software. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

I hired them to keep our books up to date and I essentially outsourced all of my accounting needs to Graphite - Accounting for Startups .

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle our bookkeeping, accounts payable (AP), payroll, reconciliation, and more. The team also does tax preparation for us and they collaborate with us on planning. We’re a brand new business so 2020 is the first year they’re going to file our taxes for us.   

What is the team composition?

They provide a team depending on the service we require. One person is mainly responsible for AP. Another person runs payroll, bookkeeping, and reconciliation.

How did you come to work with Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

We conducted a bidding process and received bids from a couple of different firms, but I found that I could trust Graphite - Accounting for Startups the most. I’ve used them in my past company and I completely outsourced all our accounting to them. Most importantly, they had the most favorable terms. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2020, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

It’s nice to not have to think about things and so far we’ve not had any issues with their services. 

How did Graphite - Accounting for Startups perform from a project management standpoint?

I don’t know what tools they use on their end and I think that’s one of the things I like the most, I don’t have to manage the project with them. I give them something and they get it done. There’s a trust factor between us where I know they can follow my requests.

I can set up a process once and never have to worry about it again — in reality, 'how often do people talk to their accountants?' I think most of us never do. We mostly communicate with Graphite - Accounting for Startups through emails and we also have periodic phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

To be specific, they understand startups and that’s super helpful. They’re not just a general accountant that doesn’t understand our business — they get us and get things done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, I don’t think they have any areas they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Build processes and handoff things. If you try to overly manage it, you won’t get the value of it. I think the best value out of this is that I get time back. I don’t have to think about things. The more mundane that you can let go of, I think the better off you will be. As a company, you can focus on more value-added stuff. Above all, look for ways to not overly monitor and figure out ways that you can just set up a process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dashbot provides deep analytics for conversational interfaces such as chatbots & voice skills. I'm the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

We hired Graphite to manage all of our accounting needs.

What were your goals for this engagement?

Monthly financial accounting & other financial/accounting duties (e.g. handle PPP forgiveness process, generate invoices, etc).

SOLUTION

How did you select Graphite - Accounting for Startups?

They are associated with ff Venture Capital, which I am a team member of.

Describe the engagement in detail.

They do our monthly financials, generate invoices, handle the PPP forgiveness process for us, and any other financial/accounting duties we need to delegate.

Describe their billing or cost structure.

Fixed payment per month.

What was the team composition?

I have around 3–5 team members I regularly interact with from their side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

They've done a great job so far. The company is in a much better position financially thanks to their help and they have been very helpful with other duties that I need to delegate.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Effective - communication is done through Slack or email and the response time is quick.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their efficiency in delivering what we need is impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not any so far.