Wendelyn Duquette

About Wendelyn Duquette

FROM SAILING TALL SHIPS TO ACCOUNTING While the two may not seem related; here’s my story of how one led to the other and how I provide unique value to my clients. During college, I spent a semester at sea taking courses in my majors: education (teaching) and geology. Later, I took my teaching experience back to the ocean on Landmark School’s, school ship “TeVega” tutoring kids challenged by dyslexia, an intense laboratory for the importance of teamwork. My love of the outdoors not only included sailing but skiing and hiking, too, which brought me to Stowe, another teaching job, then eventually work in higher education. At the same time, I managed the accounting for our real estate business and took accounting, finance and tax courses. From sailing and teaching, to business and accounting, each role involved educating, teamwork, and collaboration. QuickStart opened in 1996; and shortly after I joined the first class of Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors. Clients called to “clean up the messes” in their financial systems, and train them to manage their accounting with QuickBooks. I designed elegant solutions, which were manageable and worked for each client’s work style. Today, I’m focused on solving the accounting and bookkeeping puzzles for nonprofits. As a co-founder of a non-profit, and board member of many, I appreciate the challenges they face. I start with an assessment of the organization’s needs and develop systems to meet those challenges, then work with management through each step of the process. I HELP CLIENTS: • Take their skill level; whether simple or robust • Work with their style and build a strong relationship of trust and comfort • Put manageable, usable systems in place for their organization I partner with you to understand the “big picture” and deliver systems, which meet your needs. I have in-depth knowledge and experience for the industries and types of clients we serve. My client work is confidential, non-judgmental and supportive.

Experience

1. President

   Quickstart

   Apr 1998 — Present · Stowe, VT, US

   I established QuickStart in the mid-\'90s to supplement my income as an educator and teacher. As I taught myself how to use Quicken and QuickBooks, I realized I could help small businesses learn to use the software to run their businesses more efficiently. In that same year, I became certified as an Intuit ProAdvisor and have consistently been named one of the Top 100 ProAdvisors in the country. Putting my skills as a teacher to work with businesses and organizations was where I discovered my talent for helping people in the business world.Four years ago, we made a shift in focus for the type of clients we wished to serve, and targeted our services to nonprofit organizations.After serving as a volunteer for many statewide and local nonprofits, I realized I wanted to use my business to help nonprofits develop and optimize their financial systems. While I\'ve worked closely with nonprofits in Vermont, I also work virtually with clients from all over the country. Outsourced accounting is one of our primary service offerings, too. Solving financial puzzles for nonprofits and providing manageable solutions for them to implement and maintain is what we do at QuickStart.

Education

• University of Vermont

  BA

  1976 — 1981

• University of Vermont

  BS

  1976 — 1981

• Antioch University New England

  Masters of Science

  1989 — 1990

Skills

• Public Speaking
• Business Planning
• Outsourced Accounting
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership
• Start-Ups
• Training
• Budgets
• Operations Management
• Budgeting
• Strategic Planning
• Accounting
• Quickbooks
• Small Business
• Financial Analysis
• Management Consulting
• Designing Accounting Systems
• Non-Profit Consulting
• Accounts Payable
• Proadvisor
• Financial Reporting
• Program Management
• Payroll
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Nonprofits
• Consulting