Lincoln Labs:
Building Bold
Ideas, Backed
by BookSmarts
BookSmarts streamlined Lincoln Labs’ finances leading to a 100% increase in recurring revenue over the past year.
Introduction
Lincoln Labs is a venture studio for the world’s most ambitious (and coolest) companies, with majority ownership of seven brands and major minority ownership of four others. Specializing in executing R&D to create modern technical interfaces—websites, mobile applications, APIs, software, and more—Lincoln Labs brings transformative ideas to life.
Through experience with previous enterprises, founder Eric Hoopman and his team knew that a full-time bookkeeper was not the right fit for Lincoln Labs. Instead, they were in search of a fractional solution to handle financial operations efficiently while allowing them to stay focused on innovation and growth.
Challenges
Before partnering with BookSmarts, Lincoln Labs had not engaged professional bookkeeping help. As a result, they faced some challenges with their financial tracking:
- Generalist Role Inefficiencies: In previous ventures, a generalist handled bookkeeping, HR, benefits management, and even recruiting and hiring. This approach stretched resources thin and did not provide high-level financial data they could rely on.
- Disorganized Financial Structure: Initially, the chart of accounts was not set up effectively, leading to disorganized financial records.
- Lack of Decision-Ready Financial Insights: As the business grew in unconventional ways, it took time to establish a structured financial framework.
“We identified early on that we had limited bookkeeping needs, so we looked for a fractional service and it took off from there. A marriage between BookSmarts and Gusto works really well for us.”
“I can get really high-level questions answered without hiring a separate CPA. Questions or problems can be resolved within our relationship with BookSmarts.”
The Solution
Initially, BookSmarts was brought on to manage seven accounts, with transactions for 30-40 vendors. Starting from scratch, the team built up a financial foundation through:
- A Highly Experienced Team: The depth of expertise within the BookSmarts team is unmatched. Many bookkeepers hold CPA credentials but choose this work for personal and professional reasons.
- Seamless Integration with Gusto: BookSmarts facilitated a smooth collaboration, ensuring efficient payroll processing, benefits administration, and compliance.
- Revenue by Channel Tracking: Implemented a structured system to break down revenue streams by channel.
- International Business Support: Ensured financial systems and reporting structures were optimized for global operations, managing currency considerations, tax implications, and compliance with international financial regulations.
- Historical Data Organization: Built up structured historical data, transforming previously disorganized records into clear, concise books.
The Results
BookSmarts streamlined Lincoln Labs’ finances, driving efficiency, revenue growth, and smarter decisions.
- Financial reorganization of one account under Lincoln Labs led to a 100% increase in recurring revenue over the past year.
- 70% Improvement in financial processes.
- Lincoln Labs was so confident in BookSmarts’ expertise that they expanded the partnership to four more entities.
- With clean books, leadership can now run cost takeout analyses, identify savings, and make data-driven financial decisions with confidence.
“It’s the consistency. BookSmarts is pretty hands free and it’s competitive on the pricing side, as opposed to having in-house people. It always feels like there’s someone that can pick up things in the background if your point person is indisposed for some reason. It has a really good cadence. It’s a 10+ in terms of would I recommend this to another business.”
