NPOWER GREATER DC REGION
“Pricing sealed the deal.…”

 
Julie Chapman
President
and
Terry Walsh Roberts
Chief Operating Officer

The first NPower opened its doors in Seattle in 1999, providing hands-on technology assistance to nonprofit organizations (hence the NP in NPower) in the Puget Sound region. In response to the need for similar services in other communities, and to enable the nonprofit sector to utilize the same technological breakthroughs as the for-profit world, NPower Seattle partnered with Microsoft Corporation in 2000 to develop other NPower programs around the country - and the NPower Network was born.

NPower Greater DC Region assesses the technology needs of nonprofits in the nation's capital, recommends the right technology solutions for their circumstances, and implements and manages their technology so they can better achieve their missions. NPower ON! provides comprehensive and continuous management of technology with online IT support exclusively for nonprofits.

While putting technology know-how in the hands of nonprofits, NPower Greater DC Region faces complex accounting, bookkeeping, project management, and invoicing needs. Several years ago, the individual who had maintained their books on a part-time basis relocated overseas. Finding it difficult to hire a multi-talented individual who could do everything, and already accustomed to the value of outsourced part-time accounting, it seemed appropriate to continue with this model. Several firms were interviewed.

"We really liked the fact that Your Part-Time Controller would be on our site. We knew whom we would be working with and that there would be a single associate assigned to us. When it came down to pricing, that sealed the deal," says Terry Walsh Roberts, Chief Operating Officer.

That associate is Vivian Fitzgerald, who handles the bookkeeping, accounting, payables and receivables, payroll, and maintains the financial records. "We appreciated the fact that Vivian quickly got up to speed with our system, and was willing to work with what we had," says Walsh Roberts. "She caught on quickly and helped us redesign our processes and record keeping. We were in pretty good shape, but now we're better.

"As a CPA, Vivian is a huge asset in helping us to streamline our accounting procedures and general ledger. I know that any suggestion she makes will pass muster with our auditors because of her expertise and credentials. In fact, we had our auditors in and out of here this year in record time - in large part due to Vivian's excellent prep work.

President Julie Chapman echoes the support for Your Part-Time Controller. "We really appreciate how professional the staff is," Chapman says. "They're able to come in and get up to speed very quickly and provide thoughtful guidance at a reasonable cost. We rely on them to keep our financial operations running smoothly. I would recommend them to any nonprofit that's considering outsourcing their accounting services. YPTC stands behind their product. You won't be disappointed."