We’re creative thinkers, problem solvers, and really good accountants.

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We love helping founders and operators solve one of their biggest pain points - are the books right? If you can trust your financials and you know your cash runway, you can focus on building your brand.

So what makes us special?

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This isn’t our first rodeo

We’re ex-controllers, consultants, and auditors. We’ve worked with founders, investors, and CFOs at consumer goods companies for over a decade, setting up finance operations for small and medium sized brands. So you could say we have some experience.

Computer keyboard with pastel colored keys and interesting words.

We geek out over expense management systems so you don’t have to. We use Slack and Google Sheets and Airtable and Notion and whatever other cool new tech your team uses. And we’re Quickbooks Online experts.

We’re Tech forward

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We are brand enthusiasts who care about the company you’re building and the products you’re making. Our attention to detail and passion for our work will parallel your team’s passion for your products and brand. We’ll be your Controller and your brand ambassador.

We drink the juice

The word on the street.

  • “If I had to describe my Controller in three words, they would be: problem solver, supportive, detail-oriented. She was dedicated to helping us, provided valuable professional insights, and was a pleasure to work with.”

    -Former client, CEO of a beauty company

  • “Our Controller stands out by identifying gaps in our processes and our work and takes the initiative to fill them. For example, she identified that we were outgrowing our company spend policies, so she didn't just introduce a new policy -- she articulated the philosophy behind it, spent time educating teams on why it's important, and rolled out a thoughtful change that landed well and made an impact on the business."

    -Former General Counsel, travel company

  • “[The Books] started working with us when we were a tiny start-up just getting off the ground, and continued with us as we more than 10x in size and became more complex. They helped us build our processes from the very beginning, and continued to adapt and adjust them as we grew (sometimes having to change things up multiple times a quarter).”

    -Former client, CEO of a product sentiment platform

Still not convinced?

Check out some examples of our impact:

Featured
Case Study: DTC Travel Brand
Case Study: DTC Travel Brand

A travel brand outsourced their accounting and ended up with a lot of baggage. Read about how we helped them clean up their financials, and how we can help you prevent the same issues.

Read More →
Case Study: Ecommerce Beauty Brand
Case Study: Ecommerce Beauty Brand

An internet-born beauty brand outsourced their accounting and ended up needing a serious makeover. Read about how we helped them clean up their financials, and how we can help you prevent the same issues.

Read More →
Case Study: Luxury Retail Fragrance Brand
Case Study: Luxury Retail Fragrance Brand

A fragrance brand left finance as an afterthought, and when they got acquired, their books stunk. Read about how we helped them clean up their financials, and how we can help you prevent the same issues.

Read More →

 FAQs

  • Our sweet spot is consumer goods brands, but we’re also great with ecommerce and marketplace companies. You must be a US-based company with a US bank account, but you can ship internationally or have foreign subs. Most of our clients use Quickbooks Online, but we have experience in Netsuite as well if you've already made that leap. You must have a point of contact that will liaise with our team, so that we have a balanced partnership. We’re on this financial wellbeing journey with you, not for you.

  • We work hard to get your books setup right, but they will only be as right as the information we get from you and your team. There is a time commitment up front to onboard us to your business, systems, and bank (around 2-3 hours) and then an ongoing commitment to reviewing your weekly cash flow and monthly financial package and providing feedback when needed, to ensure a valuable partnership. We follow your lead on meetings; we provide at least 1 hour per month of financial review and strategic discussion, but are available for short weekly calls as well to review cash flow.

  • Our outsourced services provide a very cost-effective way to get expert support without hiring an expert in-house. Our prices are based on the complexity and transaction volume of your business. We will hold an initial scoping call, and perform a free diagnostic of your transactions, to create a proposal for you. Our pre-revenue bookkeeping and Controller services start below $1,000 per month, and services that include revenue and cost accounting range from about $4,000-$15,000 per month. For comparison, a strong senior accountant with CPG background and good technical skills starts at $100,000 salary (although in our experience, you’ll pay more) and a Controller with our level of expertise is at least $175,000 - plus benefits. Add in an AP/AR clerk and you're easily spending $30k/month.

  • We invoice monthly on Net 15 payment terms. We accept wire or ACH payments. As your bookkeeper, we can easily set up our invoicing and payment as part of normal AP services.