affordable bookkeeping for tech-savvy entrepreneur

The Rosario Group is the brainchild of Casandra Rosario, founder of popular NYC food blog Food Before Love. Cas founded Rosario Group to bring her brand of tech-saavy marketing to other businesses; her clients include acclaimed burger and milkshake restaurant Harlem Shake, upscale event space (and Hustle Creative client) Loft227, and other NYC taste-makers across the fashion, entertainment, and restaurant industries.

Cas has historically done her own bookkeeping, and anyone who knows her will know that she is organized and on top of it in every area of her life. As she took on more clients, she started to think

Am I missing anything? Am I doing it correctly? Every week, every time I have a transaction, am I going remember it and keep track of it and then at the end of the month to put it all together? And sometimes I didn’t remember.

She tried using Mint, spreadsheets and PayPal reports to streamline the work load, and found it overwhelming:

It’s information overload and it’s not a real person. If I needed to understand something, I had nowhere to turn. I just kept thinking, “I have no idea if I’m doing this right, and why am I still doing this myself?”

We were with Cas from the beginning of The Rosario Group, setting up a brand-new QuickBooks Online account with class tracking which allows us to house both Rosario Group and Food Before Love financial data and run reports for each singularly or as a total financial picture. Each month, after categorizing all expense and income transactions and reconciling all checking, savings, and credit card accounts associated with the businesses, we send her:

• a Google Sheet listing any unidentified charges, as well as any high-audit-risk expenses like restaurant or taxi charges so she can add more detail as to their business nature
• a Profit & Loss which breaks down income and expenses for each company
• a detailed Profit & Loss showing a description of every purchase, how it’s currently categorized and what company it belongs to.
• a balance sheet which details her Owner Draws and Contributions to the business, as well as any outstanding debt or receivables.

In addition to consistent reporting, Cas can email us anytime:

I love that if I have a question, even if it’s stupid, I can ask. Working with a real person who knows what they’re talking about is super helpful for me and relieves the stress of my business day. I just love getting my financial reports at the end of the month and everything is clear; there aren’t any gaps, I didn’t miss anything, and the things that I was confused about when I was doing it on my own that I wasn’t sure about, I know that it’s being taken care of. It’s a weight off my shoulders.

Now that she has a personal bookkeeper, Cas can’t imagine running her business without one:

I really like saying that I have a bookkeeper. I’m paying someone who I know is handling it for me.

My business is growing and it’s a good feeling.

Hustle Creative’s services affect so many different parts of my business and ensure the people that work with me and for me are taken care of. It’s worth the investment because you can focus on the things that you do well that will actually help your business grow.