FAQ - Skylight Financial & Accounting Solutions
Whether you’re exploring outsourced accounting or strategic financial guidance, this page will help you understand how we work and what to expect.
FAQs
Where is Skylight Financial based?
We’re based in Brooklyn, New York, and operate on a remote-first model that allows us to serve clients nationwide. Our team works across time zones to ensure responsive, consistent support regardless of where your business is located.
Does Skylight Financial specialize in any particular industries?
Yes. While we work with scaling businesses across a range of sectors, we have deep expertise in SaaS & technology, construction, eCommerce, telehealth & healthcare, professional services, and nonprofits. Our industry-specific knowledge means we understand the nuances of your financial landscape — from revenue recognition for SaaS to job costing for construction.
What accounting software do you recommend?
We recommend QuickBooks Online for most of our clients. As certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, we know the platform inside and out — from setup and customization to ongoing optimization. If you’re already on QBO, we’ll work within your existing setup. If you’re starting fresh or need a migration, we’ll handle that too.
How do you communicate with clients?
We adapt to what works best for you — typically email or Slack for day-to-day communication. When we first start working together, we meet more regularly to make sure everything is aligned and progressing smoothly. As we establish a rhythm and operations stabilize, we widen the cadence to once a month, for example, so you’re always informed without it being a burden on your schedule.
What does a typical client engagement look like?
Our engagements follow a three-phase approach. First, we remediate — cleaning up your existing books and resolving any outstanding issues. Then we implement — setting up the right processes, systems, and reporting structures. Finally, we move into ongoing operations and reporting, where we manage your accounting and deliver the financial visibility you need to make informed decisions. Each client gets a personalized scope based on their needs.
Will we have a dedicated team, or does our account rotate between staff?
Every client gets a dedicated three-person team for the price of one hire: an advisor, a senior accountant, and a support accountant. This team stays consistent throughout our engagement, so you’re always working with people who know your business. You get the reliability of hands-on daily support combined with strategic oversight from senior-level professionals.
What happens if someone on our assigned team leaves the firm?
Because every engagement is supported by a three-person team rather than a single individual, there’s always continuity. Our processes, documentation, and systems are designed so that no single person is a bottleneck. In the rare event of a team change, the transition is seamless because the rest of the team already knows your business inside and out.
How long does onboarding take?
It depends on the state of your current books. If everything is relatively clean, we can be up and running quickly. If there’s a backlog or cleanup needed, the remediation phase takes longer — cleanups tend to be more involved than most clients expect. During our intro call and initial review, we’ll give you a realistic timeline based on what we see.
How does the transition work if we're switching from in-house accounting?
We make the transition as smooth as possible. We start by reviewing your current books, systems, and processes to understand where things stand. From there, we handle the migration — setting up our workflows, reconciling any open items, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. Throughout the transition, we stay in close communication so there’s no disruption to your day-to-day operations.
How does pricing work? What does a typical engagement cost?
Every business is different, so we start with an intro call to understand your needs. From there, we review your documents and QuickBooks file (if applicable) to assess the scope of work. This gives us a clear picture of what’s involved — cleanups, for example, tend to be more involved than most clients expect. After that review, we provide a custom quote tailored to your specific situation. The best way to get started is to book an intro call with us.
Are you just a bookkeeping firm?
No. While we absolutely handle bookkeeping and transactional work, that’s just one layer of what we provide. Our services span the full finance function — from day-to-day accounting operations all the way up to strategic finance advisory and fractional CFO services. Think of us as your complete accounting and finance department, not just a bookkeeper.
Do you handle payroll?
Yes. Payroll processing can be included in your engagement depending on your needs. We work with leading payroll platforms to ensure your team gets paid accurately and on time, and that all payroll-related compliance is handled.
Do you handle accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R)?
We can, depending on your needs. Some clients need full A/P and A/R management — vendor invoice processing, payment scheduling, invoicing, collections follow-up, reconciliation — and we handle all of it. Others manage some of that in-house and lean on us for oversight and reconciliation. We tailor the scope to what makes sense for your business.
Do you handle tax preparation and filing?
We handle everything leading up to filing — tax provisions, reconciliations, and making sure your books are tax-ready. For the actual filing, we partner with trusted local tax professionals. This approach gives you the best of both worlds: our team keeps your financials accurate and organized year-round, and a dedicated tax specialist handles the compliance filing.
Do you provide strategic financial guidance, or just accounting?
Both. Beyond keeping your books accurate, we offer fractional CFO services, strategic finance advisory, KPI tracking, budget forecasting, and financial dashboarding. Our goal is to give you the insights and analysis you need to make confident business decisions — not just a set of financial statements at month-end.
Can you help if we need to go through due diligence for fundraising or an acquisition?
Yes. Financial due diligence is one of our core service areas. Whether you’re raising capital, going through an acquisition, or preparing for a transaction, we help get your financials organized, accurate, and presentation-ready so you can move through the process with confidence.
What is the Strategic Finance Dashboard?
It’s a real-time financial reporting dashboard we build and customize for each client. Rather than waiting for month-end reports, you get live visibility into your financial health whenever you need it.
What does the Strategic Finance Dashboard include?
It depends entirely on your needs — the dashboard can include as much or as little as you want. As a starting point, every dashboard includes a rolling three-statement financial package: profit & loss (P&L), balance sheet, and cash flow statement. From there, we can add KPI tracking, budget-to-actual comparisons, revenue breakdowns, departmental reporting, or anything else that’s relevant to how you run your business.
How is Skylight Financial using AI and automation?
We’re actively integrating AI and automation into our workflows to make our processes more efficient and our services more responsive. From automating routine data entry and reconciliation tasks to using intelligent tools for anomaly detection and reporting, we leverage technology to reduce manual work and deliver faster, more accurate results. This means our team spends less time on repetitive tasks and more time on the strategic work that actually moves your business forward.
What security measures do you have in place to protect our financial data?
We take data security seriously. Our team follows industry-standard practices including encrypted file sharing, role-based access controls, and secure cloud-based tools. We limit access to client data on a need-to-know basis, and all team members follow strict confidentiality protocols to ensure your financial information stays protected.
What's the best way to get started?
Book a free intro call with us. We’ll learn about your business, understand your current pain points, and walk you through how we can help. From there, we’ll review your financials and provide a custom proposal. Click the free consultation button on our website to schedule a call.
How do I know if outsourced accounting is right for my business?
If you’re a scaling business spending too much time on financial operations, struggling to get clear reporting, or finding that your current setup can’t keep up with your growth, outsourced accounting is worth exploring. Most of our clients come to us when they’ve outgrown DIY bookkeeping or a solo accountant, but aren’t ready to build a full in-house finance team. We give you that full-team capability at a fraction of the cost.
Passion Is What Drives Us
We’re not just dedicated to excellence in accounting—we thrive on solving complex financial challenges and are passionate about empowering our clients through precise, innovative solutions.
We are proud to partner with clients in SaaS, Construction, eCommerce, Telehealth, and Professional Services, leveraging cross-sector expertise across diverse industries
