Sole in-house finance role: grant reimbursements, bookkeeping, cash forecasting, and payroll COMPANY OVERVIEW
Prepare + Prosper (P+P) is a nonprofit with about 25–30 year‑round staff (and a larger seasonal team during tax season) that works with people to build financial well-being and address financial inclusion. Harnessing the power of community, volunteers, and partnerships, we provide free tax preparation and financial services, products, and coaching, and work to change systems to create economic opportunity for everyone. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work and are particularly interested in receiving applications from people of color and those with lived experiences similar to the people who use our programs.

Learn more about P+P at prepareandprosper.org.

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@prepareandprosper.org with the subject line "Senior Accountant." Position will be open until filled.

About your cover letter:
Write in a conversational style -- not formal business language. Imagine you're explaining your experience to a thoughtful colleague who's genuinely curious about how you work, not submitting a document to a faceless committee.

In your cover letter, quickly speak to these 2 prompts (≈1 paragraph each is perfect):

• Tell us about a time you had to organize a messy set of financial records, receipts, or documentation into something clean and submission-ready. What was the situation, how did you approach it, and what did the final product look like?
  
• Describe how you handle a hard deadline when the information you need isn't fully in your hands yet -- maybe you're waiting on receipts from coworkers, data from another department, or approvals that are running late. What's your approach?

Your thoughts can be simple and genuine -- we're looking for people who are real and thoughtful.

JOB SUMMARY
This is P+P's only in-house finance position, and it's a substantial one. You'll be the financial backbone of the organization -- handling the full month-end close (bank and credit card reconciliations, journal entries, coding, and clean‑up) along with complex grant reimbursement documentation and payroll, while an external accounting firm provides oversight and prepares the final financial statements.

Here's why this matters: P+P receives significant grant funding from the State of Minnesota and these are reimbursement-based -- we spend the money first to run our programs, then submit detailed expense documentation to the state to get reimbursed. Until those reimbursements come through, we're floating that cash. So accuracy and timeliness directly affect our ability to operate. This reimbursement work is not a side task -- it's roughly 40% of your time and the most mission-critical piece of the role.

The other 60% is everything else: deposits, bill payments, credit card management, journal entries, payroll processing, and completing the monthly close in QuickBooks (including reconciliations and adjustments) so an outside firm can run financial statements and handle releases of restrictions. You’ll help leadership understand cash timing (when money goes out, when it comes back in, and what that means for decisions). You’ll also play a key role in preparing for the annual audit: pulling schedules and support, organizing documentation, and working directly with the auditors, while the external firm handles specialized pieces like release‑of‑restriction work.

In your first weeks, you'll be learning our grant processes and getting up to speed on QuickBooks and our existing workflows. By month two or three, you should be owning the reimbursement submissions, driving the month‑end close through to audit‑ready books, and building confidence in the cash forecasting work. Payroll will likely roll to you in the first few months as you settle in.

This role requires someone who is detail‑oriented, independent, and comfortable being the only finance person in the building. You'll need to know when to ask questions and when to problem‑solve on your own. You'll also need to communicate clearly with non‑finance staff who rely on you to track their expenses, get them reimbursed, and translate the numbers into plain language.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Grant reimbursement documentation and compliance (40%)

• Assemble, categorize, and submit reimbursement packages for Federal and State grants (VITA, TAG, TCO, and similar) -- including converting receipts to PDF, annotating documents, and building the supporting spreadsheets
• Break out payroll expenses into grant-allowable categories for reimbursement reporting
• Prepare monthly and quarterly grant reports for submission to the state
• Support the grant application process by preparing budgets and ensuring financial information is accurate and complete
• Maintain organized grant files that are audit-ready at all times
• Communicate with the Department of Revenue and other grantors as needed regarding submissions and compliance

Day-to-day bookkeeping and financial operations (40%)

• Deposit checks and record them in QuickBooks Online
• Pay bills and manage accounts payable
• Post journal entries and ensure they're clean and accurate
• Monitor the bank account and flag any issues
• Assign and track employee credit cards; approve expenses and follow up on missing receipts
• Coordinate with our external accounting firm (controller) to support a clean monthly close

Payroll (10%)

• Process payroll via Gusto and maintain payroll records
• Support benefits administration (data entry into Gusto, some coordination with providers)
• Back-up I-9 completion for new hires

Cash flow support and financial forecasting (10%)

• Prepare inputs and scenarios for cash flow forecasts (e.g., timing of reimbursements, major payments, seasonal fluctuations)
• Communicate to leadership about cash timing and implications for organizational decisions
• Flag potential cash flow issues early so leadership can plan accordingly
  
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Overall, P+P seeks candidates who are smart thinkers, are self-directed yet collaborative, care about making people's lives better, and demonstrate strong judgment with the ability to know when to ask questions and when to take initiative.

• 4-6 years of experience in bookkeeping, accounting, grant accounting, payroll, or financial operations - nonprofit experience is a plus but not required
• Strong proficiency with QuickBooks Online (or similar accounting software) and Excel/spreadsheets
• Experience assembling documentation for audits, reimbursements, compliance reviews, or similar -- you've built a submission package, organized a set of receipts by category, or reconciled a set of records to supporting documents
• Payroll processing experience (or strong willingness to learn)
• Demonstrated ability to manage deadlines with precision, especially when you're depending on others for information
• Comfortable working with PDFs -- converting, annotating, combining, and organizing digital documents
• Ability to work independently; you'll be the only finance person on staff, so you need to be self-directed while knowing when to ask questions
• Proven ability to work effectively and build relationships with people whose identities and backgrounds may differ from your own

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with government grant reimbursement processes (state or federal)
• Background in nonprofit fund accounting or restricted fund tracking
• Familiarity with Minnesota Department of Revenue grants (TAG/TCO) or similar state grant programs
• Experience running payroll through an online payroll platform
• Experience with cash flow forecasting or financial projections
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related field (or equivalent work experience)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This position operates in an office environment that is accessible
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to move around the office; grab, move, and manipulate objects; and operate a computer.

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
P+P continues to work towards a more inclusive workspace, and as such, we are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, skin color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood.