Grounded is built for a particular stage of business.
We would rather tell you honestly than take on work we cannot do well. Here is the business Grounded is designed around, and the situations where someone else is the better answer.
The businesses we fit best.
None of these is a rule. They describe the shape of business where our monthly service does the most good.
- Ownership
- Founder-owned or closely held, with an engaged owner making the decisions.
- Team
- Five to fifteen people, often a mix of employees and contractors.
- Industry
- Professional services, agencies, consultancies, education services and similar people-led businesses.
- Finance team
- No internal finance employee. The owner, an office manager or a basic bookkeeper currently carries the work.
- Systems
- QuickBooks Online plus payroll, bank and card feeds, and a cloud-based operating stack.
- Attitude
- Financially curious. You do not want to perform the accounting, but you do want to understand performance.
- Trigger
- Your time has become too valuable, the finance stack has become messy, and basic reports no longer answer operating questions.
- Working style
- Comfortable working online — documents, scheduling and meetings all run through cloud tools.
What that looks like in practice.
An eight-person agency. Someone reconciles QuickBooks, but the owner cannot see client profitability, does not know whether cash supports another account manager, and cannot explain why revenue growth is not appearing in the bank account.
The questions we hear
- Can I hire, and when will cash support the decision?
- Which clients and services are actually profitable?
- What percentage of revenue is going to labor?
- Why is revenue growing faster than cash?
- What should I pay myself without weakening the business?
- Where are we overspending, and what should I pay attention to this month?
Where we are not the right fit.
If your situation is on this list, Grounded is not the best use of your money — and we will say so on the call rather than after you have signed.
You need a tax return, not a finance function
If the goal is preparing a return, or keeping books purely so a return can be compiled, a tax preparer serves you better. We are glad to coordinate clean books with them.
You want the lowest-cost transaction coding
Automated bookkeeping services start well below our pricing. If categorized transactions are all you need, paying for interpretation you will not use makes no sense.
You are only looking for payroll
Payroll processing on its own is a different service. Grounded works alongside your payroll provider rather than replacing it.
High-volume ecommerce
Thousands of monthly transactions with inventory and multi-state sales tax is real specialist work. It does not belong inside a starting monthly plan, and we would be setting you up to be underserved.
Venture-backed and raising
Fundraising models, board reporting and startup-specialist accounting need a firm built for that work.
Complexity that warrants an internal hire
Where scale or regulation demands an internal finance function, you need your own controller. We would rather help you plan that hire.
The systems will not be maintained
Our work depends on appropriate accounting systems and timely information from you. Without both, the reporting cannot be reliable.
You would rather not work online
Document submission, scheduling and meetings all happen through online tools. If that is not how you want to work, we are not a comfortable match.
Sounds like your business?
Book a call and we will tell you straight whether this is the right stage for Grounded.