Your books tell a story. We read it with you, in plain English. Before a loan, an expansion, or a big hire, you will know exactly where the money comes from, where it goes, and how much room you really have.
Read the Story Your Books Are Telling
Most owners look at two numbers: sales and the bank balance. Both can be misleading. Sales can climb while profit shrinks. The bank balance can look healthy right before a large tax bill, a slow-paying customer, or a payroll week drains it. A financial review looks at the whole picture, in plain English, so you know exactly where you stand.
This is not bookkeeping and it is not an audit. Your bookkeeper and CPA keep the records accurate and handle taxes. We help you read those records as a business owner and make better decisions with them.
What We Review
- Profit and loss. Where the money comes from, where it goes, and how those patterns have changed over the last two to three years.
- Balance sheet. What the business owns and owes, and whether debt, receivables, or inventory are tying up cash.
- Cash flow. The timing of money in and out. Many profitable companies still run short of cash because customers pay slowly or inventory is bought too early.
- Margins by product, service, or customer. Which work actually makes money, and which work only keeps people busy.
- Overhead. Fixed costs that crept up over the years and no longer earn their keep.
When a Financial Review Makes the Most Sense
Owners usually call us before a big decision: applying for a loan, bringing in an investor, buying equipment or a building, hiring a key manager, or opening a new location. In each case you want to know how much room you really have before you commit. We also hear from owners who are simply tired of guessing where the cash went at the end of the month.
How It Works
You give us read-only access to your accounting system or send the last few years of statements. We review them, ask questions, and meet with you to walk through what we found. We bring charts and a short written summary, not a pile of spreadsheets.
Then we build a twelve-month cash flow forecast so you can see slow months coming before they arrive. If you are preparing for a lender, we assemble a clean, organized package of statements, forecasts, and a short business summary, the documents bankers expect to see.
What Owners Usually Discover
Every business is different, but a few findings come up again and again. A long-time customer turns out to be the least profitable account. Prices have not kept up with labor and material costs. A few overhead items have quietly doubled. Receivables are older than anyone realized. None of these show up in the bank balance until they become a problem.
What You Walk Away With
- A plain-English summary of the health of the business.
- Margin analysis showing which products, services, and customers carry the company.
- A twelve-month cash flow forecast you can update yourself.
- A lender-ready package if you need one.
- A short action list to improve profit and cash, ranked by impact.
The review is done for a fixed fee agreed up front. Tax planning and tax filing stay with your CPA; we are happy to share our findings with them so you get the most out of both relationships.
What the Job Includes
- Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow review
- Margin analysis by product, service, or customer
- Cash flow forecast for the next 12 months
- Lender-ready financial package
- Clear action list to improve profit and cash
Owners preparing for a loan, an investor, a major purchase, or simply tired of guessing where the cash went.