Financial Operations services

System

Xero, ArtsPool app

What ArtsPool staff does

We use our custom web application (the “ArtsPool app”) to get your approval on any payments and to receive information on any cash receipts and receivables, which are then recorded in Xero.

We can send receivable invoices to your contracting parties via Xero when you request it or provide you with a PDF invoice to send.

What member staff does

You are responsible for responding to requests for approval to make payments within the ArtsPool app and should submit bills for payment and receivable invoices by sending that information into the ArtsPool app.

We are not involved in collections for open receivables, so you should be prepared to follow up on expected payments. We do not communicate with your vendors or customers directly, aside from sending invoices and bill payments.

System

Xero, ArtsPool app, Checkeeper

What ArtsPool staff does

Once you approve payments through the ArtsPool app, we make those payments through Checkeeper, an online check fulfillment service that integrates with Xero. Alternatively we can provide PDF checks for you to print in house on your own printable check stock. We also process online electronic payments as required by vendors. When necessary, we periodically review uncashed checks with you.

We make payments on bills at the time that approval is received. If payment is required at a later date (e.g. for cash flow purposes), you should approve the bill for payment at that time. We do not make any payments without explicit approval from your bank signatory or other authorized user in the ArtsPool app.

What member staff does

You provide a digital signature of an authorized check signer for check processing by Checkeeper during onboarding. You can view the status of payments in the ArtsPool app and/or in Xero if desired but we handle the payments as soon as approval is received. If you want a PDF check to print on your check stock, just let us know when submitting the bill for payment.

System

Xero

What ArtsPool staff does

We access your bank activity through a bank feed linked directly to your books in Xero and reconcile your accounts monthly. We also access your bank and credit card online logins through our password manager (see below) in order to access monthly statements or to research transactions. We do not take over any authority on your account.

What member staff does

You can view the reconciliation status of your accounts in Xero, and/or request a report from us through the ArtsPool app.

System

Xero

What ArtsPool staff does

When possible we will activate Xero bank feeds for credit card(s). We will request supporting documentation for these transactions from your staff as new items come into these bank feeds. Reconciliation is ongoing and matching monthly card statements are stored as supporting documentation.

What member staff does

It is important for you to tell us which of your staff or board hold company credit cards, so that feeds from these cards can be set up for reconciliation in Xero. Any person holding a company card will be asked to provide receipts, coding, and/or other details to reconcile these transactions.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

If your payment processor does not already integrate with Xero, assuming that costs are equal or better, we may suggest using a service that does integrate. Otherwise, we will download CSV files from the payment processor and prepare reconciliation, allocation, and general ledger entries.

What member staff does

You should consider using payment processors that integrate with Xero to facilitate our work with you. If you use payment processors that do not integrate with Xero, you will need to provide us with the information that we need to access, categorize, and reconcile data from the payment processor.

System

Xero, your donor management system

What ArtsPool staff does

We provide information from Xero for you to reconcile your donor management systems, and we will recode donations based on information you provide. We can also advise on best practices to manage donor databases and keep them up to date with the books.

We can distribute Board pledge documents for signature annually and enter signed pledges in the books, provided that your pledge form can be templatized for bulk sending via our digital signature system. We are not, however, responsible for tracking Board pledge fulfillment.

What member staff does

We will not use the books as a donor management system. If you want to track donations on some level of data beyond the Charts of Accounts and Program/Activity level, you must do this in a separate donor management system. You must provide accurate coding of donations, particularly with regard to separating individual contributions from fundraising event purchases; we are not responsible for determining this distinction based on dates, backup materials, or other sources.

You are responsible for tracking pledge fulfillment and following up with Board members regarding payment Board pledges that we have circulated to Board members for digital signature.

System

Xero, Google Drive, state filing portals

What ArtsPool staff does

We track New York State sales tax on taxable sales in your books and assist you with required New York State sales tax filings, but we do not track or manage inventory. ArtsPool will record changes in inventory and cost of goods sold based on the data you provide annually, or more often as desired. Currently, we can support tracking and filing sales tax in New York State only.

What member staff does

Member is responsible for maintaining inventory, including the number of items on hand and the original cost. Member is responsible for counting inventory and providing an updated total value of inventory to ArtsPool on at least an annual basis, for purposes of year-end reconciliation. Members may provide data on inventory movements on a quarterly or monthly basis if desired for more up-to-date data in the books and budget. If taxable sales are a significant part of your earned revenue, we can recommend systems that you can use for your internal inventory tracking.

Because we currently only support sales tax tracking and filing in New York State, you are responsible for tracking and filing sales tax in other states or countries if you are doing business outside of New York. You are also responsible for ensuring that you are collecting sales tax on taxable goods and reporting these sales to your ArtsPool team.