Books + CFO
$3,500+ per month
Monthly cadence, the standing agenda above, 13-week cash forecasting, and margin and pricing work.
Service line 02 · Advisory
Fractional CFO services in Tyler, TX — without a full-time finance hire.
Most owner-led businesses in Tyler and East Texas reach a point where the decisions outgrow the reporting: whether a hire pays for itself, what a job really earned, whether the pipeline supports the payroll about to be signed. Advisory puts a CPA beside you for those questions, using your own numbers.
The two advisory engagements
Operating Partner
$5,000+ per month
Everything in Books + CFO on a weekly cadence, board-style reporting, lender and banking support, and direct involvement in hiring, pricing and capital decisions.
The standing agenda
- Results
- Monthly review of performance with the owners, in plain terms
- Margin
- Job, service line, or client-level profitability and pricing
- Overhead
- What fixed cost the business is carrying, and what it should
- Cash
- 13-week rolling forecast, timing of payables and distributions
- People
- Hiring and capacity models before an offer is signed
- Controls
- Close-process discipline and separation of duties as you grow
How an engagement begins
Orientation. We start with the free first conversation, a review of the last twelve months and the current balance sheet, and I tell you plainly what the numbers can and cannot support yet.
If you want that answer in writing before committing to anything, the Diagnostic engagement delivers it in two weeks for $2,500.
Baseline. A short set of measures the business will actually be run on — margin by the unit that matters to you, overhead absorption, and a rolling cash view.
Cadence. A monthly working session with the owners, with modeling between sessions when a real decision is in front of you.
Common questions
- How is this different from hiring a full-time CFO?
- It is the same financial counsel without the salary, the search, or the seat. You get a standing monthly working session and access between sessions when a decision comes up. Businesses that eventually need a full-time finance leader can use this engagement to get there in order.
- What actually happens each month?
- A working review of your own results with the owners: what the period earned, where margin moved, what cash looks like for the next thirteen weeks, and the two or three decisions in front of you. You leave with figures and a recommendation, not a deck.
- Do I need clean books first?
- Yes — advice built on an unreconciled ledger is guesswork. If your accounting is behind, we either start with the Accounting engagement or work alongside your existing bookkeeper until the numbers are dependable.
- What kinds of businesses is this for?
- Closely held and owner-led businesses, generally where uneven revenue, long sales-to-payment cycles, and owner compensation decisions are ordinary conditions rather than exceptions.
- Does advisory include tax planning?
- No. This practice does not provide tax preparation or attest services. I model the financial effect of a decision and coordinate with your tax preparer, who remains independent and gives the tax position.
- What does advisory cost?
- The Books + CFO engagement starts at $3,500 a month and the Operating Partner engagement at $5,000 a month, both quoted in writing before work begins. Where you land depends on entity count, meeting cadence, and how much modeling the year requires.
- Where do you work with clients?
- The practice is based in Tyler, Texas and serves owner-led businesses across East Texas — Smith, Gregg, Cherokee, Rusk, Anderson, Henderson, Wood, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Harrison counties. Working sessions are typically held by video, with in-person meetings in the Tyler area when useful.
Advice is only as good as the ledger underneath it.
If your monthly close is not yet dependable, the Accounting engagement is the place to start.