America’s CPA pushes outsourced finance for churches and small nonprofits

Brad Jacobs of Charlottesville-based America’s CPA was featured on Close Up Radio as the firm promoted a back-office finance service for churches and small nonprofits. The model packages bookkeeping, payroll, bill pay, donor tracking and reporting into one outsourced system meant to free leaders to focus on ministry and mission.

Why it matters: - America’s CPA is targeting a pain point for churches and small nonprofits that often lack full finance staff but still need reliable books, donor reporting and compliance. - The firm’s model could shift routine accounting work out of ministry and board leadership and into an outsourced back office. - Jacobs says the goal is to let leaders focus on mission while the firm handles the money.

What happened: - Close Up Radio featured Brad Jacobs, founder of America’s CPA, in an interview with Doug Llewelyn on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. Eastern. - America’s CPA is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and offers tax preparation and nonprofit financial services nationwide through virtual service. - Jacobs presented Nonprofit Financial Solutions, a service built for churches and small nonprofits.

The details: - The package starts with bookkeeping and month-end reporting. - America’s CPA also handles accounts payable, bill pay, payroll, gift reporting, Form 990 preparation, annual policy and procedure updates and related financial work. - For organizations that undergo audits, America’s CPA prepares annual reports under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. - Jacobs says accurate books are the foundation of good decisions and that many boards receive reports too late or in formats they cannot use. - America’s CPA builds customized “Razzle Dazzle Reports” from the same ledger, with one version for management and another for the board. - Jacobs also designed GiftReporter software to track donor gifts. - GiftReporter tracks standard gifts such as cash, checks and credit cards, along with donor-advised fund gifts and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. - The software can sort donors by how recently and how often they give. - Jacobs says many year-end statements from donor management systems contain frequent errors. - To move money, the firm uses the RAMP platform. - America’s CPA queues vendor and contractor payments so a pastor can approve them from a phone. - Volunteers can use RAMP credit cards with different spending limits. - After each purchase, a text message prompts the user to upload a receipt photo that flows into the accounting system. - The nonprofit earns 2% back on card spending. - Reserves moved to a RAMP treasury account can earn around 4%, or about $4,000 a year on $100,000. - Payroll runs through Gusto, which Jacobs says integrates cleanly with the accounting system. - Employees can enter direct deposit details and download pay stubs and W-2s through the Gusto portal. - New clients start with a one-day VIP onboarding session at the Charlottesville office or at the client’s site. - America’s CPA sets up the chart of accounts, gift reporting software, payroll, bill pay, credit cards, treasury management and policies during onboarding. - A team leader and three or four other accountants handle the ongoing work after setup. - Jacobs says the fee is about 6% of total revenues, including software subscriptions. - Jacobs argues that many clients already spend that amount through bookkeeping staff and outside CPA fees. - Jacobs says the cash back and higher returns on reserves can help offset the fee. - Jacobs earned an accounting degree from the University of Northern Iowa and has worked for nonprofits since 1990. - Jacobs also spent 10 years as a finance director at CFA Institute. - America’s CPA prepares about 500 individual tax returns. - The firm has a 4.9 Google rating from 94 reviews and offers a 100% money-back guarantee. - Jacobs says the firm was started after seeing everyday Americans turned away by large accounting firms focused on high-net-worth clients. - More information is available at America’s CPA. - The podcast interviews are available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify.

Between the lines: - Jacobs is packaging accounting, payments, payroll and donor tracking as a single outsourced system, which could appeal to small organizations that need institutional-grade finance tools without hiring a full staff. - The emphasis on software, automation and card-linked receipt capture suggests the firm is trying to reduce volunteer burden and improve audit readiness. - Jacobs’ comments on tax policy and accounting quality show the firm is also positioning itself as an advocate for simpler financial operations, not just a service provider.

What’s next: - America’s CPA is likely to keep expanding its nonprofit and church client base through its bundled service model and virtual national reach. - Jacobs said the firm will continue using its software stack and onboarding process to standardize how clients manage money. - The company’s next growth lever appears to be convincing more small nonprofits that outsourced finance can replace a patchwork of internal staff and outside vendors.

The bottom line: - America’s CPA is betting that churches and small nonprofits will trade scattered accounting tasks for one outsourced finance team that handles the books, the bills and the donor records.