Supporting Strategies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Quala. We’re a venture-backed startup. Our product is a customer success platform. Right now, we’re pre-series A with dozens of customers and growing quickly.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Supporting Strategies?

They do my monthly books.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They pull up my bank and QuickBooks and reconcile all my expenses every month, including monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports. They have other services, but I don’t leverage them too much right now. I will as I scale, though.

What is the team composition?

I have one point of contact and then an escalation option.

How did you come to work with Supporting Strategies?

One of my CEO friends recommended them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

I spend less than $1,000 per month, but they scale with your business.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t need to worry about balancing the books, which is something my auditors and investors care about.

How did Supporting Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

I also use Gusto for payroll, and they integrate whatever system you use.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve done my own books before, and It’s horrible. When I started this company, they were one of the first people I called.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I know of yet.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of a web design and branding company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Supporting Strategies?

We needed a partner to take care of our bookkeeping.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Supporting Strategies assigned our company a bookkeeper who manages all the responsibilities related to accounting except our taxes. We don’t need to get together physically so she works remotely. We email back and forth daily and talk on the phone once a week.

What is the team composition?

We work with a designated bookkeeper who has been great since the get-go. I’ve been fortunate that she has stayed on our account and I haven’t had to get another person up to speed.

How did you come to work with Supporting Strategies?

A colleague in my industry recommended Supporting Strategies. We met with them and it was clear that they understood our business.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Number one, they’re incredibly trustworthy, which is important because Supporting Strategies has access to everything financial. Number two, if I’m in a crunch such as a client needs something that I can’t figure provide, they’ll jump in and help me. Their team’s customer service is really good. Five years ago, I felt shy moving all of our financials to digital, but they made the process smooth and easy.

How did Supporting Strategies perform from a project management standpoint?

Our bookkeeper’s reliable and it’s been great to have the consistency of one person. She knows my style such as how I like to receive deliverables and communicate. We mostly connect by email. If there’s a technical challenge such as with our bookkeeping system, I’ll talk to them verbally by phone. Supporting Strategies exceeds my expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re accurate and detail-oriented. Their team has never missed something and doesn’t take up my time to do so.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, no. They’re good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’ll assign a person to work on your account so make sure that you’re comfortable with the dedicated bookkeeper because you’ll have a close working relationship with them.