About Blue Magnolia
Blue Magnolia is a woman-owned, woman-run business. We’ve been serving small businesses since 2012 by providing accessible bookkeeping and back office solutions. We value flexibility. Most business owners are inspired by freedom, but they quickly see how easy it is to get bogged down in administrative tasks. If that’s not the part of owning a business that you love, get help! We’re a small business too and know how important finding that ever-elusive work/life balance is. We fill the gap when you’re overwhelmed managing sales tax or bank reconciliations or invoicing but don’t need a full-time staff person.
The Team
Martha Adele Powell – Owner/Founder
Meet Martha: the Southern charm behind Blue Magnolia Consulting — a savvy bookkeeping pro with a green thumb, a soft spot for gloomy days, and a playlist ready for risotto night. With a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration and experience in public accounting since 2008, Martha brings both heart and know-how to her work. She’s a certified Advanced ProAdvisor with QuickBooks and specializes in helping small business owners untangle their finances with clarity and care. Whether she’s coaching clients through IRS quirks or crafting a newsletter that actually gets read, Martha’s the go-to for making money stuff feel a little less intimidating and a lot more human.
Rachel Barnett — Bookkeeper & Trainer
Meet Rachel: the Pacific Northwest puzzle queen behind Gentle Frog — a bookkeeping pro with a soft spot for messy QuickBooks files, DIY business owners, and her local library’s holiday card list. Rachel’s been using QuickBooks since 1995, became a ProAdvisor in 2012, and leveled up with her QBO Advanced certification in 2023. In 2024, she was named Top QuickBooks Author/Educator ProAdvisor by Insightful Accountant.
After selling her first bookkeeping business in 2018, Rachel launched Gentle Frog to focus on content, courses, and training that make numbers less scary. In 2025, she joined Blue Magnolia to team up with a longtime friend and keep doing what she loves—helping small business owners get clarity, confidence, and clean books.
When she’s not deep in QuickBooks or screen-sharing with a client, Rachel’s probably on her bike, knee-deep in a jigsaw puzzle, or happily splashing through an aqua fitness class. She reads a few hundred books a year, just to stay in her library’s good graces.
Matt Barsalou — Bookkeeper
Meet Matt: a passionate part-time bookkeeper who supports several clients at Blue Magnolia Consulting. With professional roots in youth mentorship, leadership development, and community-building, Matt’s background is shaped by mission-driven work and a deep commitment to clarity and care. As a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, he brings precision to every set of books — always looking for the story beneath the numbers and a structure that makes sense.
Jessica Ralph – Admin Assistant
Meet Jessica: the operations wizard behind the scenes at Blue Magnolia Consulting. From wrangling bank statements and proposals to setting up new software and welcoming clients, Jessica is the one keeping the wheels turning so the bookkeepers can focus on what they do best.
She’s the go-to for pulling reports, updating the website, and handling all the little (and not-so-little) tasks that keep everything running smoothly. Organized, resourceful, and quietly unstoppable, Jessica brings structure and calm to even the most chaotic to-do lists.
When she’s not keeping Blue Magnolia on track, you’ll find her in the woods of West Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two dogs, and three crested geckos. Her idea of a perfect day off? Logging off and playing with the pups in the fresh mountain air.
