What Gets Measured?

• What Analysis would help you improve profits?

What Gets Done?

• I Extract, Transform, and Load the data from your legacy systems to provide Flexible, Comparative, Drillable Data.
• I frequently act as a guide to answer question during on-site meetings with Owners. When comfortable, I give Owners access so they can delve into the data and perform their own analysis.
• Finally, the data you need to make effective profit decisions at your fingertips in real-time.

Tools:

• Microsoft Excel is the backbone of all financial analysis and Tools I create for You. I use Data Models created with Power Query and Measures to construct Flexible, Drillable, Comparative Reports in Power Pivot.  Data empowers effective decisions to improve profitability.

Features:

• For users who have a solid understanding and Pivot Tables, Power Pivot cuts out the middle report-writing man. Fields from tables are drag and dropped in sections of the table.  Data is drillable.  Slicers can be added for frequent filtering for such things as Months, Segments, CLASSes etc.
• If you have never experienced using them, I think you would really enjoy seeing them in action.

What Gets Measured?

• Do you have valuable data locked up in non-financial software that could be key to understanding profitability at a more granular level?
• Do you know what your Machine Overhead Rates are?
• Are you able to allocate Corporate and other costs to Products and Services?

What Gets Done?

• Extract, scrub and integrate data from non-financial systems with financial information.
• Develop Overhead Rates by Machine.
• Determine consistent ways to allocate Corporate and other costs to Customers and/or products/Services.
• Cost Segregation Analysis.
• Analysis of Estimated and Actual Margins.
• Corporate and Administrative Cost Allocations.

Tools:

• Excel Data Models, Power Query, Power Pivot
• Work Instructions (WI)

Features:

Trying to get your arms around profitability by segment? How do you allocate administrative and corporate costs? How do you create reliable estimates based on actual results so that you are quoting, manufacturing, and delivering work profitably?

Your company likely has separate software for production and accounting. Your products and services may have significantly different margins. I help with cost segregation analysis (variable versus fixed costs) as well as allocating administrative and corporate costs. I also identify and document key metrics and their source.

While setting up procedures for your employees to capture data in your software is preferable, I can design Excel models to help bridge any reporting gaps.

This is critical information to have if you are ever going to effectively manage profit margins.

What Gets Measured?

• Do you get panicked calls from Staff that you’ll run out of cash soon?

What Gets Done?

• Cash Projection templates in the frequency you need them: Weekly, Bi-Monthly, Monthly, Quarterly.
• As detailed as you need them to be: Sales in total or by customer, Spend by Cost of Goods Sold and Expense or by Vendor.
• Easily updated by Staff.

Tools:

• Excel Data Models, Power Query, Power Pivot
• Work Instructions (WI)

Features:

• Most Business have funding limitations and may encounter ebbs and flows of available cash throughout the year. I can design cash flow forecasts for your team to update at a high level, or more granular depending on how tight cash may be.  This allows you to manage Collections, Vendor Payments and make any arrangement for short term funds with the insights provided.

What Gets Measured?

• Would you love to see Sales and margins trends by Segment and Customer to understand any actions needed on pricing?

What Gets Done?

• This is a popular Service. It’s the right data at the right time.  I Publish Quarterly Comparative Data for the Key P&L Lines (Sales, margins, SG&A) to spot trends by quarter and year.
• It will also include any Budget, Forecast, Dashboard, and/or Metrics produced.
• Excel based tools collecting data from sources maintained by Management.
• Work Instructions (WI)

Tools:

• Typically, a collage of information collected from various sources organized into one Word Document or PDF of Excel reports.
• Most supported by drillable Excel Pivot Tables.

Features:

• I’ll spend a couple hours guiding you through the results, drilling in where you want more detail, then summarize any questions or action items for you and your staff to follow up on.

What Gets Measured?

• Are you lacking traction in the areas of your business you know drive profit?
• Do you have a way to hold your Managers accountable for results?

What Gets Done?

• Metrics are determined for key Profit Drivers. They can be financial, Operational or both.  Achieving these metrics ensures you will hit your profit goals.  These are often collected into Dashboards.
• Just like the windshield and dashboard on your car, Dashboards give visibility and provide indicators and at times warnings about results and trends.

Tools:

• Excel based tools collecting data from sources maintained by Management.
• Work Instructions (WI)

Features:

• Finally, you and your Managers can agree on critical profit drivers and review results against expectations on a regular basis.

What Gets Measured?

• Are your Managers connected with Customers and Vendors?
• Are monthly results a complete surprise (once you get them)?

What Gets Done?

• Unlike Budgets, Forecasts (typically monthly) help to remove surprise results.
• These engage the entire management team to estimate Sales, Margins and Profits for the coming month based on information from Customers and Vendors.
• These are a challenging exercise for any team, however they always lead to a better-informed team and give you more options to control results BEFORE the end of the month.

Tools:

• Excel Data Models, Power Query, Power Pivot
• Work Instructions (WI)

Features:

• After customizing the template to your business, this should take no more than an hour for Accounting Staff to update, collecting information from Designated Managers.
• It is most useful to produce after, say, day 7, day 25 and compare to actual results to understand any surprises and improve future forecasts.

What Gets Measured?

• Are your projects always over-budget (and usually a surprise at the end of the project) and never reach the projected profit?
• Do you have a system to collect, approve, finance, and track the spend and/or results of large projects and their paybacks?

What Gets Done?

• Managers document their requests & Paybacks are documented so you can evaluate and challenge assumptions.
• Requests are summarized and ranked by payback so when cash/funding is available, you’re ready to go.

Tools:

• Project Request Form
• Project Status Summary

Features:

• Project Request Forms and a related Summary ensure you spend wisely, get the expected return, and know who your best decision makers are. There are so many ways a capital project can go wrong.  Using this one-page tool documents who the owns it, who needs to provide input for it, the fit to your existing business, Quantifies the Dollar (investment and ongoing maintenance) and any internal Labor hours requested.  It identifies critical success factors, alternatives, calculations, next steps, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, how the results will be measured.
• Create Summary Tool to Track Project by Status (Request, Need additional information, Hold, Approved pending funding, Approved, Completed, Payback Measurement).
• These are culture changing forms for you and your organization.
• For any of us, slowing down the process of spending by documenting assumptions, calculations, options and how the project fits the current business model consistently leads to better decisions.
• Add a “Challenge Process” to that and it gets even better.

What Gets Measured?

• Is your bank asking for a Budget Annually?
• Do you have visibility on your profit for the next year in total or by month?
• Are you preparing Budgets and/or forecasts to better project cash needs and funds available for desired protects?

What Gets Done?

Prepare Budgets and Forecasts to:

• Provide Managers with approved spend limits
• Forecast Cash for solvency & Cap Ex
• Project EBITDA for Bank Lending, future sale

Tools:

• Excel Budget Templates
• Work Instructions (WI)
• Excel Data Models, Power Query, Power Pivot
• Sales, Production, Labor, and Capital Expenditure Budgets
• Cash Flow Projections
• Metrics

Features:

• Owners frequently know profitability isn’t where it should be. They lack more granular reports for Managers to review actual results compared to standards or budgets. This additional reporting helps Managers identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• I help by integrating information from your Production and Accounting software to provide the summary variance reporting you need. This may be production statistics vs. estimates/standards or financial statements showing Actual vs. Budget.
• Budgeting often involves separate Sales, Production, Labor and Salary and Operating expense budgets. These are typically spread by month to provide a cash flow projection.  A Prioritized Capital Expenditure Budget assists with timing expenditures based on actual results of the period forecasted.

What Gets Measured?

• Transactions consistently entered with correct Period, Account, and CLASS (if used).
• Do existing reports include the information you need for decision making?
• Should QB be able to do that?

What Gets Done?

• Chart of Accounts cleaned up and Organized; Historical Transactions Scrubbed
• Memorize customized comparative reports (Prior Periods and/or Budgets)
• Enable and train on QB workflows – like linking Estimates to Sales Orders/Purchase Orders

Tools: 

• QuickBooks Pro
• Premier
• Enterprise
• Online

Features: 

• Financial Statements reflecting Your Business

QuickBooks is an inexpensive yet robust accounting package for Small Business.  Many Owners are only scratching the surface of its tracking and reporting capabilities. I help by upgrading the Chart of Accounts to align with the way the business functions. This allows me to create useful financial reporting, including budgets and segment reporting. Reporting can be memorized allowing you to run reports on demand.

Did you know QuickBooks can integrate Sales Estimates with Sales Orders, Purchase Orders and Invoices? I can equip your team to use this functionality.

What Gets Measured?

I coined the term “Results Owner” because accountability is the name of the game when it comes to managing Revenues, Cost of Goods Sold/Services, and Expenses.

What Gets Done?

Reporting Actual results compared to Budgets and/or Prior Year Results ensure Results are being Managed.  Adding %age of sales analysis provides an additional way of ensuring trends are heading in the right direction.

Tools:

• QuickBooks Memorized Reports
• Comparative Financial Statements
• Percentage of Sales Calculations

Features:

• Actual results compared to Budget and Prior Year.
• Percentage of sales added for better comparative analysis.
• Results Owners provide reporting for their line-item responsibility.

What Gets Measured?

• Have all Balance Sheet Accounts been Reconciled to a detailed Subsidiary Ledger to ensure the accuracy of profit reported?

What Gets Done?

• The secret to an Auditors success is to nail down all the balances sheet accounts.
• Down-the-Road Surprises are eliminated (Good news travels fast, Bad news travels slow).
• Provide timely statements, consistently. Once those are right, Profit must be right!
• Your staff will now have a tool to help them achieve this, creating a “No-Surprise” environment that you may start taking for granted.

Tools:

• AA Master File.xlsx
• Work Instructions (WI)
• Records Information Management (RIM) Folder
• Staff Training on Accounting and Excel

Features:

• The #1 reason clients bring me in is to get financial statements on time and eliminate reporting surprises.
• You likely already have a committed Bookkeeper or Accounting Manager who wears a lot of hats – Accounting, HR, IT. In the back of your mind you know you are asking them to do a lot and yet they just don’t have enough horsepower to get the job done.
• I help by creating closing checklists, upgrading your chart of accounts and providing integrated account reconciliation tools. The procedures I add are documented should you experience turnover.
• I will teach your staff how to use Excel to rapidly organize and analyze data. Comparative
• Account Status Summary ensures all accounts have been reconciled and are up to date before publishing an Income Statement.

What Gets Measured?

• I can’t get Financial Statements on a timely basis.
• I get surprises monthly or at year end when my Outside Accountants review/audit our books.

What Gets Done?

• First I clean up and organize your Chart of Accounts (Balance Sheet and Income Statement). Update Chart of Accounts with Account Groupings that reflect the way your business is managed.  P&L is organized the way your business runs and you can easily know who to hold accountable when targets are not obtained.
• Second, I scrub Historical Transactions and ensure they are coded to correct Period, Account, and CLASS (if used).
• Third, I reconcile all Balance Sheet Accounts to Detail Subsidiary Reports. Think Accounts Receivable compared to Accounts Receivable Aging, Bank Statements, or Loan Statements

Tools: 

• Your Financial Accounting Software’s:
  • Chart of Accounts
  • General Ledger Transaction History

Features: 

• Down-the-road surprises are eliminated (Good news travels fast, Bad news travels slow).
• You get timely statements, consistently.