Small business finance: see cash, protect margin, plan decisions
A practical finance guide for owners who need clearer cash timing, cost control, reporting, and growth decisions.
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46 entries across all topicsSelect a business model to preview its guide, then open the full page when you are ready.
A practical finance guide for owners who need clearer cash timing, cost control, reporting, and growth decisions.
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A practical finance guide for agencies reviewing project profit, scope creep, client economics, utilization, pricing, and collections.
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A practical guide to evaluating AI-assisted finance, connected records, modeling, bookkeeping review, security, and the boundary with human finance leadership.
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A practical finance guide for contractors reviewing job cost, margin erosion, cash timing, progress billing, retainage, and project profitability.
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A practical finance guide for online sellers reviewing landed cost, contribution margin, inventory methods, marketplace fees, returns, and cash.
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A practical finance guide for service firms reviewing utilization, project cost, work in progress, realization, capacity, pricing, and collections.
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A practical finance guide for subscription businesses reviewing revenue recognition, recurring metrics, churn, unit economics, and accounting systems.
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A practical finance guide for founders managing burn, runway, forecasts, investor reporting, and the timing of finance leadership.
Open full guide ↗46 entries
“How can I compare a finance agent with a fractional CFO using our actual records?”
| Work | Finance agent | Fractional CFO |
|---|---|---|
| Calculate | Accelerate | Review |
| Trace evidence | Retrieve | Challenge |
| Recommend | Draft | Own judgment |
“How can I evaluate AI finance software for connected business data using our actual records?”
| Control | Tool A | Tool B | Tool C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source coverage | 4 systems | 2 systems | Uploads |
| Read-only | Yes | Optional | No |
| Traceability | Record links | Report only | None |
“How can I review AI-assisted bookkeeping using our actual records?”
| Transaction | Suggestion | Confidence | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| $48.20 | Software | 96% | Pass |
| $684.00 | Contractor | 71% | Source needed |
| $2,418 | Equipment | 54% | Human review |
“How can I use AI to assist financial modeling using our actual records?”
| Assumption | Downside | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | 2% | 7% | 12% |
| Gross margin | 64% | 71% | 76% |
| Runway | 8 mo | 12 mo | 17 mo |
“What should I know about generative AI for financial analysis when reviewing our actual records?”
“What does burn rate mean, and how do I calculate or use it with our actual records?”
“How can I manage cash timing and liquidity using our actual records?”
“How can I forecast construction project cash gaps using our actual records?”
“What should I know about progress billing, retainage, and schedule of values when reviewing our actual records?”
| Line | Complete | Billed | Retainage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site work | 100% | $84k | $8.4k |
| Structure | 68% | $172k | $17.2k |
| Finishes | 24% | $39k | $3.9k |
“How can I track construction job costs using our actual records?”
| Cost code | Budget | Actual | Committed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | $84k | $61k | $18k |
| Materials | $126k | $98k | $39k |
| Subcontract | $92k | $54k | $31k |
“How can I track construction job profitability and margin erosion using our actual records?”
“How can I calculate contribution margin by product and channel using our actual records?”
| Product | Direct | Market | Wholesale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | 44% | 31% | 22% |
| Plus | 39% | 27% | 18% |
| Bundle | 51% | 35% | 26% |
“How can I compare FIFO, LIFO, and weighted-average inventory costing using our actual records?”
| Method | COGS | Ending inventory |
|---|---|---|
| FIFO | $62.4k | $31.8k |
| LIFO | $68.1k | $26.1k |
| Weighted avg. | $65.7k | $28.5k |
“How can I measure the margin impact of returns and refunds using our actual records?”
“How can I review marketplace and payment fees using our actual records?”
“How can I track cost of goods sold and landed cost using our actual records?”
“How can I compare fractional CFO pricing and scope using our actual records?”
| Model | Access | Planning | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | As needed | Project | Specific issue |
| Retainer | Weekly | Ongoing | Recurring decisions |
| Fixed scope | Milestones | Defined | Fundraise or model |
“How can I prepare an investor and board finance update using our actual records?”
| Measure | Plan | Actual | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $420k | $397k | Watch |
| Gross margin | 74% | 76% | Ahead |
| Runway | 14 mo | 12 mo | Decide |
“Did the business make money this month, and what changed from the previous month?”
| Account | May | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $84.7k | +8.4% |
| Cost of sales | $31.8k | +12.1% |
| Gross profit | $52.9k | +6.3% |
“What should I know about the three financial statements when reviewing our actual records?”
“What should I know about agency performance metrics when reviewing our actual records?”
“What should I know about financial metrics for startup decisions when reviewing our actual records?”
“What should I know about SaaS performance metrics when reviewing our actual records?”
“How can I assess the financial capacity for growth using our actual records?”
| Scenario | Low cash | Break-even |
|---|---|---|
| No hire | $76k | Current |
| Base case | $42k | Month 7 |
| Downside | $11k | Month 12 |
“What should I know about budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis when reviewing our actual records?”
| Line | Budget | Actual | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $120k | $111k | $116k |
| Payroll | $48k | $50k | $51k |
| Marketing | $14k | $9k | $12k |
“How can I build a 13-week cash forecast using our actual records?”
“How can I analyze client profitability using our actual records?”
“How can I compare service pricing and revenue models using our actual records?”
| Model | Margin | Risk | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | 31% | Low | Variable scope |
| Fixed fee | 38% | High | Defined scope |
| Retainer | 43% | Medium | Recurring work |
“How can I measure scope creep and margin leakage using our actual records?”
“How can I track agency project profitability using our actual records?”
| Project | Fee | Cost | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $42k | $26k | 38% |
| Retainer | $18k | $13k | 28% |
| Rebrand | $31k | $30k | 4% |
“How can I measure billable utilization using our actual records?”
“How can I plan capacity and resource allocation using our actual records?”
| Role | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | 88% | 104% | 96% | 82% |
| Design | 76% | 91% | 108% | 97% |
| Delivery | 93% | 86% | 79% | 74% |
“How can I review work in progress, billing, and realization using our actual records?”
“How can I track professional services project costs and profit using our actual records?”
| Engagement | Labor | Direct | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advisory | $18k | $3k | $14k |
| Implementation | $34k | $11k | $9k |
| Support | $12k | $2k | -$1k |
“How can I analyze customer and revenue churn using our actual records?”
“How can I choose accounting systems for a subscription business using our actual records?”
| Need | System A | System B | System C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing | Native | Partner | Limited |
| Rev. recognition | Partner | Native | Manual |
| Multi-entity | Yes | Yes | No |
“What should I know about subscription billing and deferred revenue when reviewing our actual records?”
“What should I know about subscription revenue recognition when reviewing our actual records?”
Try a broader phrase such as cash, invoice, profit, statement, or reconciliation.
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