The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plains, which has 17 clubs spread across seven counties, provides after-school and summer programs to help young people flourish. Through a unique
arrangement, the nonprofit outsourced all its accounting and payroll requirements to Goodwill Industries, which did the work pro-bono. Then things changed.
As the Boys & Girls Club grew, its accounting needs surpassed what the small team at Goodwill could accommodate. Plans were made to establish an in-house accounting function, and Carrie Purnell was brought on in November 2019 to be the first CFO. Everything seemed aligned for a seamless transition from outsourced to in-house accounting. But it had to happen fast.
THE CHALLENGE
Goodwill planned to end its accounting services starting on Jan 1, 2020. Before the deadline, Carrie needed to get years of historical accounting data plugged into a new system. In addition, Carrie needed to establish accounting functions for a multi-entity nonprofit with complicated financial flows. Months of work needed to be completed in weeks of time, and the stability of the nonprofit and the mission it
serves depended on getting it right.
Carrie was up to the challenge. But one thing was certain – she needed to bring a partner onboard.
The Solution – a team that meets the moment
Fortunately for Carrie, leadership had already selected Sage Intacct as the inaugural accounting software. After consulting with other nonprofits and discovering that many of them used and liked Sage Intacct, it was an obvious choice.
The Boys & Girls Club needed a team that could implement Sage Intacct, help establish an accounting department around it, and meet short deadlines. It also needed consultants who understood the unique accounting needs of nonprofits.
Carrie had worked with Dean Dorton in the past and knew what they could do. An introductory conversation confirmed that Dean Dorton had the technical skills and industry-specific expertise the job called for. It was a large-scale, fast-paced, high-stakes project and Dean Dorton didn’t flinch.
The system went live at the start of the new year, less than 60 days after the implementation began and exactly before time ran out. What seemed impossible at first, a seamless transition from outsourced to in-house accounting, went off without a hitch.
Results – robust accounting from day one forward
The most obvious result of implementing Sage Intacct with the help of Dean Dorton was the ability to run from day one and skip over the crawl-and-walk phases. That is not to say there were no stumbles along the way, but for an organization new to accounting, the Boys & Girls Club hit the ground running. So not only was the transition nearly seamless, but accounting immediately improved.
Carrie singles out the ability to slice and dice data with providing valuable new perspectives on financial performance. She also credits Sage Intacct with transforming the organization from the top down thanks to integrations between Sage Intacct and separate systems for expense reporting, AP automation, and payroll processing. Now, the 17 individual clubs are more integrated than ever before, more efficient with their financial management, and more empowered with their financial decision-making.
Why Dean Dorton?
Accounting has never been better, but neither has the Boys & Girls Club as a nonprofit.
The addition of Sage Intacct has helped the organization maximize the impact of every
donation it raises and every dollar it spends.
I have nothing but love for Dean Dorton. I have really enjoyed working with them.
Carrie Purnell, CFO at Boys & Girls Club of the Coastal Plains
Carrie continues to rely on Dean Dorton for technical support, and she is planning for
them to build an API between Sage Intacct and a system the resource development
team uses. Her appreciation for all they have done to support her nonprofit accounting
technology needs is unreserved.