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Selectmen consider outside consultant to reconcile town payment records; $40,000 cap proposed
Summary
Board reviewed a proposal from consultant Barry Dunn to reconcile InvoiceCloud and QuickBooks records with a proposed cap of $40,000 for 2025; staff said internal reports do not match and recommended outside help while the board agreed to inquire further.
The Effingham Board of Selectmen discussed a proposal from consultant Barry Dunn to reconcile the town's credit-card and invoice processing records (Invoice Cloud) with its bookkeeping (QuickBooks). The proposal included a maximum fee cap of $40,000 for work covering February through December 2025.
Matt (S4), a town staff member, told the board that a day-long internal review found the clerk's office reports, Invoice Cloud records and QuickBooks did not reconcile: "the reports from the clerk's office are not matching what Invoice Cloud is showing, which is not matching what's in QuickBooks. It's this giant mess of numbers, and there's no clear explanation to what the numbers mean," he said.
Board members weighed the proposed consultant (Barry Dunn) against other vendors, including MRI, and expressed concerns that an outside consultant might not provide on-site training or that a consultant using a different municipal software would decline to assist. Fiscal constraints were raised: Selectman (S2) said the town does not have an easy $40,000 available without budget adjustments.
The board did not approve the expenditure at the meeting. Instead, staff (S4) agreed to reach out to Barry Dunn and to inquire about alternatives and timelines so the board can revisit the proposal and, if needed, incorporate costs into the next budget cycle.
