At Forwardly, our Certified Partners are some of the most forward-thinking accounting and bookkeeping professionals in the industry. The Forwardly Partner Spotlight series gives them a chance to share their story: how they built their firms, how they think about technology, and what they have learned along the way. 

Jessica has been in accounting since college, twenty years ago. What drew her in wasn't spreadsheets for the sake of spreadsheets; it was the chance to use an eye for detail and a fondness for rules to help people actually succeed inside the US financial system. That's the lens she brings to We Numerate, her firm built around a simple idea: serve the people who serve other people.

An accountant for the people building the business

We Numerate works with small businesses that do things for their customers, whether that's cutting hair, selling insurance, or running a construction crew. Jessica calls it working with growing businesses "as they start out on their journey," and that mindset shapes how the firm operates.

Clients don't get slotted into a package on day one. Jessica starts every relationship with a 45 minute to hour-long call, learning the business before recommending anything.

"We'll find out if they've already moved past that stage, whether they're ready to look ahead instead of looking at what has already happened."

The problem with legacy payments

Ask Jessica about her clients' biggest headache and she doesn't hesitate: slow, clunky payment rails. A construction client subcontracting part of a job can hand over a paper check that takes three days to clear, or push his subcontractor through a clunky signup process on a legacy platform. Neither builds the vendor relationship he actually needs.

It gets riskier when clients shortcut the problem with apps like Zelle or Cash App. They feel fast and familiar, but they weren't built for business.

"If you haven't signed up that way, you're actually violating the terms of agreement with that provider, and you can end up in trouble having your account shut down."

For Jessica, that's not just an inconvenience; it's a security risk dressed up as a shortcut. And a payment sitting in limbo for days hurts both sides.

"You're waiting six days to find out: did I get paid, or did I pay my vendor? And no one has that money. It's not doing its job."

Why We Numerate chose Forwardly

Jessica isn't looking for the flashiest tool on the market. She wants something safe, easy to implement, and sized right for the business in front of her.

"You maybe don't need a system that's built for an enormous enterprise. So ease of safety, ease of implementation, ease of use."

Speed and fee caps sealed the deal. Forwardly's instant option comes at a reasonable cost, with free options for clients who don't need money moved right away. Just as important: caps on paid services, which matter more to small businesses than to enterprise ones.

"If you're capped at 200 in your fees and your average project is a thousand dollars, that's a very significant portion of your income that can be lost."

She's also not interested in a payment tool built for seventeen layers of approval when a client is one guy and his general manager.

"You need some layers of approval, you can't lose control, but you maybe don't need a system built for an enormous enterprise."

Technology with a human still in the loop

Jessica has spent years bridging systems that were never designed to talk to each other, and she's cautious about the AI wave sweeping the profession. Security comes first.

"The biggest importance for us is: is it safe for our clients' data? There are a lot of new shiny things that are not SOC 2 certified."

That caution extends to automation replacing judgment. We Numerate won't become, in her words, "the online bookkeeper in a box."

"I wouldn't want someone to marry me based on the information in my bank feeds. Keeping that human connection in context is vital, I think probably even more than ever now."

Advice for firms on the fence

Jessica's advice to anyone weighing a new payment solution: test it before you commit, and commit once you've tested it.

"You don't have to go all in. Pick a certain vendor, see how the experience is. But once you've made that decision, be ready to go all in, so you don't get confused between which method are you using here, which method are you using there."

Underneath it all is a belief that relationships, not just tools, keep a business moving. Software buys back time. What you do with that time is what builds loyalty.

"Building and nurturing that client communication and relationship; you can try to outsource it, but it's just not the same authenticity as showing up yourself."

You can get in touch with Jessica and We Numerate at wenumerate.com.

Want to be featured in a future spotlight? Forwardly Certified Partners are eligible to be profiled in this series, with their story shared across our blog and social channels. Certification is free and comes with enhanced referral rewards, a public digital badge, and the kind of visibility that helps great firms get noticed.

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