The close takes three weeks, and nobody agrees which margin number is right.
The company grew. The reporting didn't. Financials arrive weeks after month-end, the numbers change after they arrive, and the management team argues about definitions instead of decisions.
What's usually going on
Diagnosis, not blame. These are the causes we find most often.
— The chart of accounts still describes the company from five years ago.
— Revenue and cost aren't captured at the level you now manage (by job, location, truck, product).
— Month-end depends on one person and a lot of adjusting entries.
— Reports were built for the CPA's convenience, not for running the business.
What we'd look at first
Written for the person who'll check whether we know what we're talking about.
01
The close calendar and where it stalls.
02
Whether cost of sales is actually matched to revenue by job or unit.
03
The chart of accounts against how you really run the company.
04
Which three numbers the owner watches and whether the reports produce them.
05
Whether gross margin is defined the same way in every report.
What changes
What you get
Financials within 15 days, with commentary, and a one-page scorecard of the numbers that matter.
What improves
The management team argues about what to do, not about the data.
What you can now decide
See margin by customer, job or location and price, staff and cut accordingly.
Where to go from here
Tell us what's going on. We'll tell you what we see
One conversation with Chris, no deck. He'll tell you what he sees and what it would take to fix it, including if the answer is that you don't need a CFO yet.
Chris Greco, Founder and President.
Your first call is with him, not a sales team.