Level up your game with quality financials made to elevate the growth driven CEO
Accounting evolved through extensive experience and designed for today's small businesses
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Accounting evolved through extensive experience and designed for today's small businesses
Learn More
Entrepreneurs today face a very different business landscape than the one that existed in their great grandparents’ time. Up against intense competition made possible by technology and global connectivity, every business decision must be on point and on time. The game has changed. Available tools and information make it easy to start a business. But to maintain longevity and reach sustainable growth, every business big or small must keep pace with the moving world.
The importance of good measurements and money management does not change with time. What does change is that these measurements and money management are now critical to every business, from a year-1 startup to a year-25 corporation and everything in between.
We take pride in our collective experience working with business of all types and sizes. We witness, highlight and make note of what works and what does not work. Our experience ascertains that small businesses require an accounting relationship that is equally evolving and involved. It is our goal to make better numbers and financial advisory accessible to all businesses.
Kristine
Founder and Principal
Pretty Books
Every business is unique. Our broad experience tackling challenges across many different industries, types, and styles has helped us test and refine the way we work. From simple bookkeeping setups to complete financial controller takeovers, here are case studies of some of the work we've done with our clients.
Due to complications in workflow, customer portals, and communication, the client had over $300,000 in customer accounts that went uncollected. The client was facing a cash flow problem. The Client worked primarily with enterprise customers. Each customer had a comprehensive process for how they preferred to receive invoices and process payments. Often times the customer would require its vendor to set up in its payment portal and be verified legally in order to be paid.
The Client did not have a process for following up on work once a contract was signed with their customers. There was a disconnect between the sales team and their financial controller. There was no system in place to alert that a new contract was in place or to follow up with customer invoicing and collection.
We set a standard process for communication
We reviewed the client's processes and noticed a lack of communication that was causing things to slip through the cracks. We established a process to capture all new contracts and alert the controller team to set up in the customer’s portal and generate a customer invoice for submission.
We identified contracts that are collectible and overdue
We reviewed contracts with the sales team to identify which customers owed money to the client. We investigated each customer to map out the process they required in order to get paid. We identified whether they had been set up correctly, and if not, we took the necessary steps to make sure they were.
We implemented a process to ensure collection of receivables
We developed a reminders and collections process to ensure that the client wasn't missing any receivables. This process set up reminders both before and after the payment was due, an email to verify that the client is in queue to be paid, and a check in if the customer was 5 days late in paying.
Within 60 days, we were able to collect the 300K in customer receivables, cleaning up our account receivable aging. With the new process, we were able to collaborate with the different departments to capture contracts, get paid timely, and communicate directly with customers about any delays. This allowed us to project the client's cash inflow and even flag any potential delays and collectibles based on the information the customers provided.
Close Study
The amount of money reported by the various point of sale systems and online platforms did not add up. The amount in each of these systems was different than the actual amount of money collected in the bank. Each sales platform was unique in how it recognized revenue, payment and liabilities. Some of these systems were integrated directly to the client’s accounting software while some depended on a more manual process when it came to the recording of sales. The integration and accounting setup in addition to the financial complexity of the business made it extremely difficult for the business owner to identify errors and reconcile the numbers.
We investigated the data output
We reviewed each platform to understand how it managed data. We looked at previous transactions to identify when the platform recorded data. We looked for hidden fees, errors in the accounting, and what the data means.
We analyzed the integration
We looked at how each platform sent data to the accounting software. We identified when transactions were created and whether or not hidden fees were accounted for. Each platform was integrated differently. One reported gross value, another took out the fees. One reported a sale when the money hit the bank, another reported it before the payment was even processed.
We mapped the numbers
We used our findings to map the movement of money across systems, through the accounting software and into the client's bank account. We analyzed the flow of money to identify how we could align the data to reconcile accurate revenue reporting.
We were able to use our findings to reconcile the numbers and correct the revenue recorded in the client’s books. We presented to the client a comprehensive document describing how each sales platform works and how it reports revenue. We identified additional work required monthly in order to align the numbers accurately and to audit for accuracy on a monthly basis. Our work helped the client produce accurate financials that could be used for financial projections and profitability analysis.
Close Study
The client provided marketing consulting services. The owner was the only employees, and always hired subcontractors for projects. The client recognized that the company had a potential to yield greater profits if some of the work was kept in-house by permanent employees. However, the client was nervous to make any decision because they were not clear whether they could afford the cost of hiring employees or if they would have sufficient cash flow to meet the requirements of building an in-house team.
We identified the costs of hiring an employee
We met with the client to identify the position they'd like to hire for and the market compensation rate. We discussed how an in-house team might save on general cost by project and as the company scales. We looked over the financials and discovered that (1) cash-based accounting does not make it easy to align profitability and (2) the inconsistent owner’s draw made it difficult to budget cash burn. We made note of the client’s thinking and concerns.
We built a forecasting model and tested the "what-ifs"
We used our discussion notes and additional research to formulate a mathematical forecasting model that would help us understand the company’s projections in revenue, cost and overhead expenses based on their current and historical trends. We used the model to identified levers that would impact profitability and cash flow. We added the cost of payroll to the model and ran it against different timelines. We tested different scenarios- the impact of bringing in one employees, 5 employees or maintaining the work with outside contractors.
We analyzed the results and created possible action plans
We analyzed the results and flagged potential scenarios that could cut costs, improve the profit margin, or help the business scale. We identified possible action plans for the client to take to ensure growth for their company.
For example, we found that handling 50% of the work in house dramatically improves the profit margin, but causes cash flow issues. Contractors are paid when the client is paid, at the end of projects. Employees are paid whether or not a project is completed. While the client would make more money with in-house employees, they would need to reserve some cash for payroll before they start hiring.
We sat down with the client and talked through the different scenarios we tested. We identified pros and cons and what actions they would need to take with each "what if." Through our model, we found that without a doubt, hiring employees would increase the profit margin, but the company would need to have additional cash reserved before they could bring people in. We pointed out that since the majority of customer collection averages 60-90 days, this lag in money burdens cash flow. We came up with a list of items the client could work on to optimize profitability and cash flow while growing an in-house team.
Close Study
