CFO Advisory
Know where you're going, and what to do next.
We help you decide where you want your business to go, translate that into financial targets, determine whether you're on track, and focus on the few moves that matter most.
CFO-level guidance built on your vision and your numbers — and your numbers can come from us, from your current bookkeeper, or from your own team.
Book a Right Fit Meeting
"Vision first, then the numbers that make it real — so every number becomes a decision."
How Advisory Works
From vision to a plan you can act on
CFO Advisory follows a clear path — starting with where you want to go, ending with the specific moves to get there. Each step builds on the one before it.
- 01
Vision
We start with you — where you want the business to go and what you want it to make possible in your life. Every number downstream serves that picture.
- 02
Targets
We translate the vision into concrete financial targets: the revenue, margins, and cash position the business needs to hit for that future to be real.
- 03
Forecast
We forecast where the business is actually headed on its current path — and measure the gap between that trajectory and the targets you just set.
- 04
Cash Flow Drivers
We identify the handful of levers that move your cash the most — pricing, timing, labor, overhead — so effort goes where it changes the outcome.
- 05
Objectives
From those drivers, we narrow to the 2–3 objectives that matter most right now. Focus beats a long list of good intentions every time.
- 06
Action Plan
You leave with an Action Plan — specific moves, owners, and numbers to watch — so the strategy becomes something you actually do, not a report you file.
The through-line: Vision → Targets → Forecast → Cash Flow Drivers → Objectives → Action Plan.
Decision Support
The decisions this work exists to support
Not service categories — the actual choices that keep business owners up at night. Every one of them gets easier when your targets are set and your numbers are reliable.
Hiring
Can I afford this hire — and when?
A new employee is a recurring commitment, not a one-time cost. We model the full loaded cost against your actual cash position and revenue trend, so the decision rests on your numbers instead of your nerve.
Pricing
Are my prices actually covering my costs?
Margins drift quietly. We look at what each service or product line really earns after direct costs, and where a price change would matter most — grounded in your own history, not industry folklore.
Equipment
Lease it, finance it, or wait?
The right answer depends on your cash flow pattern, your tax position, and what the equipment earns. We walk through the scenarios with all three in view before you sign anything.
Owner pay
How much can I actually take out of the business?
Owner draws that feel safe in a good month can starve the business in a slow one. We set a sustainable owner-pay picture based on your real cash cycle, not the balance on a single Friday.
Expansion
Is now the time to grow — or the time to hold?
A second truck, a second location, a bigger shop. Growth decisions made on momentum alone are how strong businesses get fragile. We test the timing against the trendline first.
Cash crunches
Why is there never cash when the P&L says I'm profitable?
Profit and cash are not the same thing. We trace where the money actually goes — receivables, debt service, inventory, timing — and build a plan so the crunch stops repeating.
What It Takes
Advisory needs reliable data — not our data
Good advice depends on numbers you can trust. That data can come from books we keep, from another bookkeeper or accountant you already work with, or from your own internal team.
Part of the Financial Assessment is confirming your data is solid enough to decide on. If there are gaps, we'll tell you — and help you decide the best way to close them.
Books kept by Home Time Business Services
Another bookkeeper or accountant you already work with
Your own internal team or in-house financials
Already a bookkeeping client? Your data is ready to go. Not? That's completely fine — advisory stands on its own.
Getting Started
How an advisory engagement begins
Advisory follows its own path — different from a bookkeeping or tax engagement. It starts with making sure we're a fit, then builds from a real look at your finances.
- 01
Right Fit Meeting
A conversation about your business, your goals, and what you're trying to decide — so we both confirm advisory is the right kind of help before anyone commits.
- 02
Financial Assessment
We take a structured look at your financial picture using your existing data, wherever it lives, to understand where the business actually stands today.
- 03
Assessment Review & Proposal
We walk you through what the assessment found and lay out a clear proposal for the advisory engagement — scope, cadence, and what you'll get from it.
- 04
Onboarding
Once you're in, we set up the working rhythm — targets, forecast, and the first Action Plan — and the standing advisory relationship begins.
Fit
This is for a specific kind of owner
Advisory only earns its keep when there are real decisions on the table. Here's an honest picture of who gets value from it — and who doesn't yet.
CFO Advisory is a fit if
- You have real revenue and real financial decisions to make
- You have employees, or you're deciding whether to hire your first
- You're facing choices bigger than your current visibility — pricing, expansion, equipment, owner pay
- You want a standing financial conversation, not a once-a-year tax appointment
It's not the right starting point if
- You're brand-new and mainly need clean books and a tax return filed
- You're looking for investment advice or legal counsel
- You want someone to make the decisions for you — this is decision support, not decision replacement
If you're a brand-new business that mainly needs clean books and a tax return, that's what Bookkeeping and Tax services are for — and that's a fine place to start.
Who You Work With
The background behind the advice
16 years in banking
More than a decade and a half inside the banking world — seeing up close how businesses win, where they get into trouble, and what lenders actually look for.
Performance-audit background
Training in performance auditing — the discipline of asking whether the numbers actually add up to results, not just whether they balance.
Accounting & tax experience
A decade of hands-on bookkeeping and tax work, plus an MPA in Budget & Finance Management — the technical foundation under every recommendation.
A business owner herself
Kim runs her own business, so she understands the decisions from the inside — the payroll, the cash-flow gaps, the weight of every choice. This is advice from someone who lives it too.
A note on scope
Advisory services are educational and consultative in nature and do not replace legal or investment advice. The goal is to help you understand your business finances and make informed operating decisions. We collaborate with licensed professionals in other fields when your situation calls for it.
Questions
Common questions about CFO Advisory
Do you have to keep my books to be my advisor?
No. CFO advisory requires reliable financial data, but that data can come from books we keep, from another bookkeeper or accountant you already work with, or from your own internal team. What matters is that the numbers are trustworthy enough to make decisions on — and part of the Financial Assessment is confirming that they are.
How is CFO advisory different from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping keeps your financial records accurate and current — it answers what happened. CFO advisory uses reliable records to answer what to do next: where you want the business to go, the targets that get you there, whether you're on track, and the 2–3 objectives to focus on now. They solve different problems.
Is this financial advice or investment advice?
No. Advisory services are educational and consultative in nature — they help you understand your business finances and make informed operating decisions. They do not replace legal or investment advice, and we collaborate with licensed professionals in those fields when your situation calls for it.
What size business is this for?
Established small businesses — owners with real revenue, often with employees, who are making decisions bigger than the visibility they currently have. If you're pre-revenue or just starting out, clean books and a solid tax foundation are the right first step, and we can help with both.
Other ways we help
Advisory stands on its own, but many owners also work with us on the day-to-day. Each service solves a distinct problem.
Start with a Right Fit Meeting.
A short conversation about your business, your goals, and what you're trying to decide — so we can both confirm CFO Advisory is the right kind of help before anything else.
Book a Right Fit Meeting