Jasmine - Stellar Consulting, CFO

23/09/2026

I'm a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and I still won't tell you QuickBooks is always the answer. Here's the plain-English rundown of QuickBooks vs Xero vs Wave, compared on fit, not hype, so you pick the tool that matches where your business is headed (and don't pay for features you'll never use). Read it here: https://thestellarproadvisor.substack.com/p/quickbooks-vs-xero-vs-wave-which?r=3gmexy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

18/09/2026

"It's all on the bank statement."

I hear this constantly and I need to tell you the truth, because I want your business to thrive.

The bank statement is a list of movements, not a set of books. It shows what came in and went out. It does not show what was profit, what was owner's pay, what was a loan, or which project actually made money.

So every time you reconcile, file taxes, or ask "am I really making money?" - someone rebuilds all of that from memory.

And that rebuild is the expensive part. Here's what it's actually costing you:

💸 Your books take 3x longer
💸 You can't trust the profit number
💸 Deductions slip through unclaimed
💸 Every deadline becomes a scramble instead of an export

Which of these is hitting your business hardest right now? Drop it below. 👇

None of that means you're disorganized. Nobody handed you the system. So I built one.

I offer full services and I still built the DIY version, because I believe every owner deserves a working system at every stage.

The Small Business Bookkeeping Bundle is the full month-end system, from $27 — https://www.stellarconsulting.us/small-business-bookkeeping-bundle

Categorize as you go, reconcile to the bank, and pull a profit number you can trust in minutes.

Save this and set up your month-end this week.

17/09/2026

Let's talk about the word that makes every nonprofit leader's stomach drop: audit.

Here's the reframe I give every client — and I need you to actually take it in.

For a growing organization, an audit is usually a milestone. It means you crossed a threshold, won a bigger contract, or a funder wants audited financials before the next check.

The audit itself isn't the threat. Being caught unready is.

Here's the good news: audit-readiness isn't a frantic project you do before an audit. It's five small monthly habits.

✅ Reconcile every month and keep the report
✅ Keep a receipt and an approval behind every expense
✅ Build grant files that stand on their own
✅ Track restricted funds live
✅ Keep the governance record current

Do a little each month and "are we ready?" always answers yes.

Which of these five habits is your weakest right now? Drop it below. 👇

If reconstructing a year of records under a deadline sounds familiar — that's a missing system, not a character flaw. 💛

Save this, and send it to an ED who needs the reframe.

Here's the link to your free Grant Audit-Readiness Scorecard — https://www.stellarconsulting.us/audit-ready

a 3-minute check on whether those habits are already running, so the next time you hear "audit" you feel proud instead of panicked.

16/09/2026

A client called me after receiving an email from a program officer she'd had a great relationship with for years. $4,200 of expenses charged to a federal grant that the grant language didn't cover.
She'd been a great steward of that grant in every other way.

Here's what happened, and the system we built so it could never happen again. Restricted fund violations almost always come down to one thing: the restriction wasn't visible at the moment the spending decision was made.

https://www.stellarconsulting.us/post/restricted-funds-vs-unrestricted-funds-the-distinction-that-could-make-or-break-your-next-grant

By Jasmine Thompson | Stellar Consulting Inc.A client called me after receiving an email from a program officer she'd had a great relationship with for years. The email was about $4,200 of expenses she'd charged to a federal grant that the grant language didn't cover. She'd been a good steward of th...

16/09/2026

The word "audit" makes most nonprofit leaders stressed. Here's the reframe I give every client: for a growing organization, an audit usually means you succeeded. You crossed a threshold or won a bigger contract.

The audit isn't the threat, being caught unready is. And ready isn't a frantic month of digging up records, it's five small monthly habits. This week's newsletter breaks down all five, plus a 10-minute test you can run on your own books today.

Read it here:https://thestellarproadvisor.substack.com/p/audit-ready-when-youve-never-been?r=3gmexy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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11/09/2026

If grant reporting eats your whole weekend, hear this: the report isn't the problem. The scramble is.

Most leaders end up reconstructing months of activity at the deadline — hunting receipts, remembering why each dollar moved, re-deriving how they split shared costs.

That's not reporting. That's rebuilding.

Here's the shift: a grant report should be a byproduct of your books, not a project you start from scratch.

Here's what that looks like:

✅ Tag every expense to the right grant and budget line the moment it's entered
✅ Keep a budget-to-actual you can pull anytime
✅ Attach the receipt and approval with the expense as you go
✅ Track restricted funds live so "how much is left" is always a 30-second answer

Do all four and the report becomes a 20-minute export. You also catch problems in month three instead of in the final report.

No shame, no jargon. 💛

Here's your free Grant Audit-Readiness Scorecard - https://www.stellarconsulting.us/audit-ready

A 3-minute check on whether your books are report-ready, so your next deadline stops costing you a weekend.

Save this for your next reporting deadline, and send it to an ED who's dreading theirs.

11/09/2026

"I'll deal with the books later" is the most expensive sentence in your business.

Every month you wait, the catch-up gets bigger and the "am I actually profitable?" question gets louder.

It was never a discipline problem.

It's whether your month-end lives in your head or on the page. The owners with calm books aren't more disciplined — they have a system doing the remembering.

I offer full services and I still built the DIY version, because every owner deserves a working system at every stage.

The Small Business Bookkeeping Bundle is the full month-end system, from $27 — https://www.stellarconsulting.us/small-business-bookkeeping-bundle

What's your go-to excuse when the books pile up? Drop it below. 👇

Save this for the next time you promise to catch up "this weekend."

11/09/2026

“I’ll deal with the books later” is the most expensive sentence in your business.

Every month you wait, the catch-up gets bigger and the “am I actually profitable?” question gets louder.

It was never a discipline problem.

It’s whether your month-end lives in your head or on the page. The owners with calm books aren’t more disciplined — they have a system doing the remembering.

I offer full services and I still built the DIY version, because every owner deserves a working system at every stage.

The Small Business Bookkeeping Bundle is the full month-end system, from $27 — link in bio.

What’s your go-to excuse when the books pile up? Drop it below. 👇

Save this for the next time you promise to catch up “this weekend.”

09/09/2026

Has anyone walked you through 2 CFR 200?" In 20+ years of working with nonprofits and CBOs receiving federal funding, the answer is almost always no, even from organizations that have been receiving federal grants for years.

This post is what that conversation looks like. What 2 CFR 200 is, who it applies to, what it requires, and what most organizations are getting wrong.

By Jasmine Thompson | Stellar Consulting Inc.One of the first things I ask a new nonprofit client is: "Do you receive any federal funding?" If the answer is yes, the next question is: "Has anyone walked you through 2 CFR 200?" In almost every case, the answer is no, even from organizations that have...

09/09/2026

"I'm just not a numbers person." I've heard it a thousand times, and it is almost never true.

You do not need to be a numbers person. You need six plain words nobody ever sat you down and taught you.

This week's newsletter hands you all six, in plain English, no finance degree required, plus the one habit that separates calm, clean books from a shoebox.

Give it 5 minutes and steal the whole foundation: https://thestellarproadvisor.substack.com/p/bookkeeping-101-for-people-who-hate?r=3gmexy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Let me guess how bookkeeping got introduced to you: never.