Gray Gill, Southside Creative
Paying bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, errands – we all have to spend time on these life admin tasks. They aren't glamorous, but they have to get done, especially the financial ones. Luckily, Freight Depot Accounting can help. Not with your laundry (sorry) but with day to day money management.
Freight Depot, an affiliate company of HHM Certified Public Accountants, has already made a name for itself supplying startups and small businesses in Chattanooga with a host of outsourced bookkeeping services.
Now, the local outfit with big firm experience is using its acute detail-oriented skills to provide families with a new service called SimpliFi. Pam Morris, founding partner at Freight Depot, created SimpliFi to be a daily money management tool that takes the stress off daily financial tasks.
Chances are, everyone has gotten a notice for an unpaid bill or even come home to find that the power’s been turned off. Morris shared a story about a lawyer client whose demanding schedule nearly led to him getting booted from his nice neighborhood.
“He was so busy he would forget to pay the lawn guy. So, they eventually stopped cutting his grass. His lights got turned off multiple times because he forgot to pay the bill.”
SimpliFi can help you avoid similar situations.
“We’ll make sure your bills get paid on time, or if clients still want to handle that, but just need a gentle reminder, we’ll make sure nothing falls through the cracks,” Morris says. “And while we aren’t tax preparers, we can work with them to help you prepare for year-end tasks, such as categorizing information for tax purposes such as summarizing rental income and expenses.”
While SimpliFi personnel are not financial advisors, Morris says they’re happy to work with them for their clients.
“For example, we could summarize their investments by looking at quarterly statements to see the activity for each investment. Again, we’re not advising, we’re just summarizing information so that when you sit down with your advisor, you’re better prepared.”
So, how does one go about handing over these financial responsibilities to the SimpliFi team?
“When we have a client who is local, we’ll meet with them face to face,” Morris says. “They can bring us all their records for that month or that week. We can even go to their home if that’s easier—especially if they’re elderly or disabled. If someone is running a business and they have a busy schedule, we’ll go to their office and help them gather their documents to review what we’re going to do for them.”
Individuals who don’t live in Chattanooga can rely on SimpliFi, too. Communication can happen via email, text or phone and is based entirely around what works best for the client. Morris says they have a few long-distance clients that they’ve only spoken to via phone. For instance, Morris helps three siblings who aren't local but support a physically challenged relative who lives here. They all pitched in to use SimpliFi to ensure his finances are in check. Morris and her staff have also helped a family whose spouse typically handled daily finances but couldn't while deployed with the military.
Whether work gets in the way or managing a relative’s finances feels like a full-time job, SimpliFi is a daily money management solution designed to make life more carefree. Morris and her team at Freight Depot started this new service to meet demand. In early 2018, several people came to them asking if they could help with daily financial tasks. They decided they had the skills and experience to lighten the load for individuals of all ages.
Pricing for SimpliFi ranges based on services, but most clients pay monthly, and electronic payments are an option.
In 2019, Morris and her team look forward to working with even more families to assist them with daily money management tasks so they can focus on enjoying life. If you'd like their help keeping your finances organized, contact them here.
