SMB FinanceOS
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THE COMPLEXITY TAX (WHERE PROFIT AND CASH QUIETLY DISAPPEAR)
You ever have a month where the team is slammed, revenue looks fine, and you still feel like margin disappeared? Not because you got lazy. Because the business has gotten heavier. A little more custom work.A few more exceptions.One more tool.One more “we’ll just handle it.” That wear and tear shows up in two places fast: gross margin and cash. Now, here’s what’s inside this week’s newsletter: THE QUICK HIT: A simple gross margin definition you can use. DEEP DIVE: The Complexity Tax (where...
WHAT HOME DEPOT TAUGHT ME ABOUT CLEAN FINANCIAL DATA
WHAT HOME DEPOT TAUGHT ME ABOUT CLEAN FINANCIAL DATA read on the website A few weeks ago I reunited with a long-lost friend: Home Depot. For years before we had kids, we were always working on a project. I worked on some flip houses, renovated my own house from scratch, and we became very familiar with each other. When I walked back into the store a few weeks back, it was a different type of task: building a sandbox for my children. I gathered the wood. I grabbed the landscape fabric. I...
GOOD PEOPLE ARE NOT A SYSTEM
So we missed the newsletter last week… I was on a trip dealing with family sickness, and had an article queued up, and managed to not schedule it. I didn’t realize this till Friday, and at that point figured, well, guess we’ll just talk to everyone next week. So here we are. Sickness is gone, and we’re getting back in the groove. Here’s what’s inside: DEEP DIVE: GOOD PEOPLE ARE NOT A SYSTEM CFO CORNER: BSCAI CONFERENCE RECAP + CASE STUDY (AND THE QUIZ) WATCH OR LISTEN: LESSONS LEARNED FROM...
THE 3 FUNDAMENTALS THAT KEEP A BUSINESS ALIVE
You can do a hundred things right, but if you miss the few fundamentals, the business still dies. And the opposite is also true: if you do the fundamentals right, you can have duct tape and zip ties on the rest for a while and still be okay. I released a podcast this week where I discussed this with my business partner, Travis. We talked about our experience as advisors and how interesting it is to see “live.” It’s easy for us to get into a business and judge what they’re doing, but the...
WHEN THE PLAN BREAKS: PAIN, INJURY, AND THE NUMBERS THAT KEEP YOU GROUNDED
This week we're going to just have an article from me, as I reflect on a recent accomplishment. We tie it to business, so you'll get the same stuff you're used to. But before we do that, I want to remind you: May 18-22, we're running my workshop again, 5 Days to Financial Clarity. I'm not sure I've done the best job selling this, as we changed it earlier this year and the feedback sense has been the best we've ever gotten. Why the change? I changed it because while the last version did a good...
DON’T BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AROUND YOUR BEST MONTH
You can have a great business and still build a fragile one. It usually happens in the same moment: you finally hit a “best month,” cash feels easy, and you start making big decisions. A bigger lease. A bigger payroll. A bigger personal draw. A bigger bet. Then revenue returns to normal, and you realize your fixed costs are now higher and eating all your profit. We talk about this today, but also, this is a great lead in to an announcement: I'm running my workshop, 5 Days to Financial...
STOP CALLING YOUR BOOKKEEPER A CFO
Most business owners don’t wake up thinking, “I should hire a CFO.” They wake up thinking: “Why are we profitable, but cash still feels tight?” Or: “Who do I trust on this, and what do I actually need?” And that’s where the trouble starts, because the market has made “CFO” a label you can buy without actually buying the outcomes. This week’s theme is simple: stop buying titles. Start buying systems. Because you don’t hire a CFO to get reports. You hire a CFO to get better decisions, faster,...
STOP FIXING REPORTS AND START FIXING THE CYCLE (THE ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE OPERATING CYCLE)
Every business owner has a “we’re fine” story they tell themselves. The P&L looks okay. The bank balance is not terrible. Payroll clears. And then one weird week hits and it gets real fast. A chargeback. A delayed customer payment. A surprise tax bill. A key employee quits. Nothing “changed” on paper, but suddenly you are white knuckling cash. That is not bad luck. That is a system that is too thin. Today we’re talking about a business owner who found himself in a bad situation and the...
YOUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEM IS BROKEN WITHOUT THESE THREE DOCUMENTS
Most business owners don’t have a finance problem. They have a system problem. When close lives inside one person’s head, the numbers are only “true” as long as that person stays in the seat. And if you’ve ever looked at your financials and thought: “We’re profitable… so why does cash feel tight?” “Where did the money actually go?” “I know I should understand this better, but I don’t even know where to start.” …that is not a motivation problem. That is missing infrastructure. That’s exactly...
BANKING 101: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BANK (AND AVOID SURPRISES)
Today, we have a few different pieces. I'm trying to go back to the "section" approach so I can fill this email with even more value. Here’s what’s inside this week: THE QUICK HIT: a simple overdue AR follow-up playbook (what to do at 0–14, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ days). DEEP DIVE: how to pick the right bank before you get surprised, plus the covenant trap that turns “good terms” into a problem. CFO CORNER: a few mistakes I see physical security owners repeat, and the simple fix behind each...
Get smarter about business finance in 5 minutes a week. Join 35k+ business owners and leaders learning financial statements and growing their business, for free.