A few years ago, one of our clients received a customer payment for over seven-figures on December 30th. The payment itself was not a surprise, but the timing was. They were expecting the payment to come in January. This could have resulted in a large unanticipated tax bill for our client. We had met with […]
Category Archives: Goals
20
Oct
Oct
You open your financial reports and see that your business made a profit. That’s supposed to be good news. Then you log into your bank account, and the balance tells a completely different story. If you’ve ever wondered how your business can be profitable on paper but still struggle with cash in the bank, you’re […]
06
Oct
Oct
One of our construction clients bought two new vehicles at the end of December. The deal was rushed to close before year-end, which meant taking whatever vehicles were available with the terms and financing that were offered. They would have had more options a few weeks earlier. They came to us after the fact, when […]
29
Sep
Sep
When you’re running a business, it’s easy to focus on one number above all else: Revenue. More sales feel like success. Bigger months feel like growth. But revenue alone doesn’t tell you whether your business is actually becoming healthier. That’s where gross profit comes in. Gross profit is one of the most important financial metrics […]
15
Sep
Sep
When I first started working with business owners, most of the conversations happened after something had already gone wrong. Cash got tight unexpectedly. A tax bill showed up larger than expected. Revenue looked strong, but the business still felt strained. A hiring decision created pressure nobody saw coming. Their reports were technically accurate. The bookkeeping got […]
Bookkeeping, Goals, Going Beyond, Saving Money
Why Your Bank Balance Won’t Tell You What You Need to Know
18
Aug
Aug
A client bought a truck to reduce their taxes. They didn’t talk to us before the purchase. By the time we learned about it, the deal was done. We ran the numbers and showed them what that payment was actually going to cost the business over the next 60 months, and what it meant for […]
21
Jul
Jul
Many business owners do not realize how often they look at the numbers too late. The reports come in at the end of the month. Sometimes even later. You finally sit down to look everything over and realize something does not look right. Costs were higher than you thought. The bank account is lower than […]
30
Jun
Jun
You look at your reports and see that the business made money. Sales are up. Work is getting done. But at the same time, the bank account feels lower than expected. Bills need to be paid. Payroll is around the corner. You start wondering how both things can be true at once. It usually comes […]
Goals, Help, Reporting, Uncategorised
You Don’t Need More Financial Reports -You Need to Understand Them
26
May
May
Most business owners don’t wake up thinking, “I really wish I had more reports.” They want to understand the reports they already have and use them to make better decisions about where the business is going. We worked with a client who brought us messy books. Once we cleaned everything up, they finally had accurate […]
21
May
May
Early on, I thought clean books were the goal. I remember the feeling I would get when everything was tied out: all accounts reconciled, all transactions categorized properly, everything clean. Like I had done the job right. And for a while, I believed that was the finish line. A lot of business owners still believe […]