CFO On Call, LLC

Start up, Small Business, Non Profit; all businesses that likely do not have a full-time CFO. Why? Two main reasons come to mind. First, many start-ups and small businesses in today’s economic times are “bootstrapping” their operations and can’t see past the expense of paying a CFO on staff. Second, many business owners and entrepreneurs think they know enough to wing it till they can see daylight.

There are several reasons why start-ups and small businesses are making a poor decision when it comes to this line of thought. Many new business owners and even savvy local establishments have the passion for success, but lack the skills and networks to leverage good financial and debt practices. A qualified CFO can leverage receivables make a solid case for expanded funding and resources, and even handle tough audit and liability questions before they become critical complications.

HERE ARE FEW MORE BENEFITS OF HAVING AN ON-CALL CFO. (COURTESY OF THE DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL)

Assistance in obtaining financing: Bookkeepers perform a wonderful service, but it often takes a certified public accountant (CPA) acting as an outsource CFO to Are you accounting for every piece of your pie?
Are you accounting for every piece of your pie?

present financial statements that are suitable to submit to a lending institution for financing approval. The outsource CFO can identify weaknesses and strengths on the balance sheet and income statement and prepare the business owner with the financial information the bank will be seeking. Many times, the outsource CFO can introduce the small business to banking sources which match the company’s lending requirements and, then, help steer the business owner through the financing process.

Developing budgets: In order to successfully grow a business, the company needs a plan for revenue and expense management. An outsource CFO can help the business owner develop a model demonstrating what the needs to be done to meet a sales goal, turn a profit, or achieve a desired gross or net profit margin. Without a budget, it is hard to run the business efficiently or understand how to manage it to become profitable. Additional models can also be built to help owners with decisions such as when it makes sense to add additional employees or identify the level of sales that need to be achieved to attain break-even profitability.
Managing cash: Nothing is more important to small businesses than the ability to have adequate cash available to run the day-to-day operations. Many small companies do not have a tool in place to forecast cash on a week-by-week basis or to get a more forward-looking vision of their liquidity needs. An outsource CFO can build a model to forecast cash-flow requirements on both a short-term and long-term basis. The CFO can also assist management in prioritizing cash-flow needs.