Reports the finance committee can act on.
Many congregations are running a financial framework designed two decades ago for software they no longer use. The numbers come out, but nobody quite gets them.
What I work on
Chart of accounts
Rebuilt so that funds, restricted gifts, dues categories, and program revenue land where they belong — and so the statement you hand the board answers the question they're actually asking.
Dues, pledges and billing
Consistent treatment of dues, fair-share arrangements, abatements, and pledges, so aging reports mean something and the annual renewal cycle doesn't generate a month of corrections.
QuickBooks cleanup
Many QuickBooks files carry years of legacy structure: accounts added one at a time, categories that overlap, an income statement nobody can read. I help clients:
- Reconfigure the chart of accounts, including parent and sub-accounts, so reports answer the questions your board actually asks.
- Streamline by retiring unused accounts, removing duplicates, and simplifying what staff have to choose from.
- Consolidate accounts that drifted apart over the years into one consistent framework.
- Update legacy financial information for modern synagogue needs: dues, pledges, restricted funds, and school and High Holiday income.
I also do this work for organizations outside the synagogue world.
QuickBooks and your platform
Extensive hands-on experience with QuickBooks, both cash-basis and accrual-basis, and with getting it to agree with your management platform — including how and when data moves between them, and who reconciles what.
Close and audit readiness
A fiscal close that's a process rather than a scramble, with the documentation your auditor asks for produced as a byproduct of normal work.
Sound familiar?
- Your ShulCloud and QuickBooks totals don't match, and nobody is sure which one is right.
- Income gets entered in two places, so reconciling takes too long.
- The books are behind, and the cleanup keeps getting put off.
- The security fund, the building fund, and the capital campaign all run through one income account, and no one can say what belongs where.
- The person who set up the original general ledger left long ago, and the institutional memory left two staffers after them.
I'm a consultant, not your accountant or auditor — I work alongside them. What I bring is knowing how these frameworks have to be built inside synagogue management platforms specifically, which is a narrower and more unique problem than general nonprofit accounting.
"Temple Sholom has worked with Joseph since our transition to ShulCloud, and he has been an invaluable partner in helping us bring clarity and order to our school registrations and finances. His deep understanding of synagogue finances, combined with his knowledge of ShulCloud, allows him to work seamlessly with our seasoned financial team. He understands both the system and the needs behind the numbers—and is a pleasure to work with."
Lori Baden
CEO & Executive Director, Temple Sholom, Greenwich, CT
Twenty years of accounts, and nobody remembers why
I'll sort out what's still needed, what can be merged, and what should go.