What Level of Financial Management is Right for Your Business?

11.1.2021

Every Business Has Unique Financial Management Challenges

If you’re a small business owner, you are partially responsible for the unique makeup of your community. Small businesses provide a level of specialization, variety, and a personal touch that big box businesses aren’t set up to deliver for their customers. They provide jobs and distinct services to the surrounding area and help define the overall identity of their communities.

A successful small business owner is one who found a way to position their business as a key part of their local, regional, and sometimes national market landscapes. Another important marker of success for small business owners is their ability to create a sustainable business that doesn’t rely on their own constant labor to remain active.

Most small business owners spend much of their time on the business, but are they using that time wisely? The time and creative capacity it takes to manage a business is a harsh demand that can stretch business owners to the limit. The tension this situation creates is often where hiring decisions come from. 

Naturally, business owners hire staff and make investments based on the unique needs of the company. These decisions flow from analysis of performance metrics and what the owner simply does not have enough time or attention to address themselves. When determining paths forward, owners and operators are well served by a thorough, pertinent financial analysis.

For this reason, businesses experiencing growth pains, or those who simply wish to grow, are wise to seek help with financial management. Financial management processes and subsequent data analysis take time, expertise, and an ability to connect the numbers to desired results. 

Your Financial Management Needs May Vary

Even for owners who are well versed in the concepts and terminology of financial management, getting the right level of financial management service can transform their operations. It also frees up their own time and attention so they can apply more focus to the day-to-day operations of their business as well as their personal lives.

This is why Advantage Insights offers a sliding scale of financial management services. We meet clients where they are, learn about their challenges, understand their goals, and help them connect the dots to create financial management processes and solutions that address real needs right away.

So, where do you fit in?

Essential Insights

The Essential Insights package is best for those business owners who are simply looking to get their bookkeeping done accurately. We provide monthly reports to help manage your business, general advice, and end-of-year tax support.

For Essential Insights clients, we review current financial statements in QuickBooks to better understand the condition of their financial records. If cleanup is needed, or the records need to be brought current, we take care of that.

We review accounts receivable, accounts payable, reconcile checking accounts, credit cards, and every item on the balance sheet to make sure their accounting is correct and up to date. Collaborating closely with our clients, we design processes that fit how our clients like to work, providing training for processes like invoicing and proper workflows for financial reporting.

Some clients prefer not to do their own invoicing. They send us their contracts and we take it from there. At the end of each month, Essential Insights clients receive current, comprehensive financial statements they can use to take to their banker or complete their tax returns. 

Advantage Insights clients who choose the Essential Insights service package receive a better view of their financial performance than they had before, which often leads them to seek the more comprehensive analysis and consulting services we offer through our Progressive Growth tier.

Progressive Growth

Our most popular service option is the Progressive Growth plan. This level of financial management includes everything in the Essential Insights package plus one-on-one coaching designed to help build a stronger foundational understanding of the business’ performance compared with their strategy and overall financial goals. 

Progressive Growth clients are continuously engaged with the Advantage Insights team. Not only do they receive valuable reports that help them manage their business, they also gain access to decades of analysis and strategic experience by working with Advantage Insights.

We conduct monthly meetings with Progressive Growth clients to review financial information and answer any questions they may have. We also put together an annual budget, defining KPIs and other metrics that we will continue to review on a monthly basis, looking for areas of improvement.

For businesses with accounts receivable, we can provide weekly and monthly detailed sales and accounts receivable monitoring reports. If they are experiencing cash flow challenges, we can connect  cash flow management software and review the resulting data on a weekly or biweekly basis to address those challenges.

Depending on the business, we tailor this service to provide reports on a timeline that fits their operational cycles. If they need their weekly reports to be current with completed transactions, we can make sure all bank transactions are recorded and posted on a weekly basis. Ultimately, every client we work with receives a service solution that fits their needs and meets their challenges.

Advanced Performance

Advantage Insights can act as your business’ fractional CFO through our Advanced Performance service level. These clients receive all of our financial management services—budgets, sales reporting, cash flow management reporting, and accrual accounting where necessary.

We facilitate multiple meetings each month depending upon the needs and schedule of our clients. In these meetings clients are given in-depth analysis of their financial performance, advisory services, and strategic counseling. More complex business challenges can be addressed with the level of data we provide Advanced Performance clients, and we help them navigate that data, offering strategic solutions.

For instance, Advantage Insights offers Management Advisory for internal staffing challenges that includes personality assessments and organizational restructuring. We also provide Strategic Advisory and financial planning detail for 1, 3, and 5 year plans. With Advanced Performance, our clients have a fractional CFO they can count on to help them understand how each operational decision impacts their bottom line.

Data, Expertise, and Insights for Success

In business, knowledge is power. It’s the power to make decisions based on financial performance data that will actually address challenges and uncover unseen potential for their business. Financial awareness allows business owners to clearly see where they can improve, allowing them to introduce efficiencies that will optimize profitability and give them back more of their own time to focus on strategic development.

For owners and operators who aren’t sure how to improve their financial awareness, our Essential Insights service level can help illuminate key areas of improvement. From there, Progressive Growth offers a higher level of engagement and access to expert insights. If a business owner is unsure how they can interpret and act on their financial data, this service level provides direction, guidance, and a higher level of performance visibility.

Ambitious business owners who want to work closely with their accounting coach gain an unmatched level of access and expertise through the Advanced Performance tier. More comprehensive financial tools and frameworks for long-term strategic decision making can transform a business for the better and help address problems that were previously hidden.

No matter what financial management or operational challenges your business faces, Advantage Insights offers a service package that can address your needs directly and provide valuable insights.

If you want to learn more about our services, call 402-281-3785 or email info@youradvantageinsights.com. You can also get started with a free consultation to find out how financial management services may be the key to conquering your business challenges.

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