How to Streamline Financial Operations

I track one metric religiously. Not revenue. Not burn. Not runway. Every week, I log it: Monthly close. Reconciliations. Paying invoices. Expense reports. Last month: 47% of my time. That’s time not spent on pricing strategy, cohort economics, or helping the team make better decisions. We all know that the value isn’t in maintaining the books, but in driving insights. But most finance teams get it backwards: 80% maintenance. 20% strategy. Then they wonder why they’re not in board meetings. My rule: keep repetitive work under 40%. Here’s my approach: → Weeks 1–4: Learn + set goals + build roadmap → Weeks 5-8: Implement + track processes → Weeks 9–12: Automate + templatize → Weeks 13–16: Train or delegate → Weeks 17+: Review and refine Real examples: • Close: 20 days → dynamic checklist, automated schedules → 7 days • Rev rec: 12 hours → rebuilt workflow, standardized categories → 90 minutes (80% fewer errors) • Reforecasting: 6 hours → simplified model, power queries → 30 minutes Every hour trapped in Excel reconciliations is an hour not identifying why your best customers churn. Every day in the close is a day not analyzing unit economics. The uncomfortable truth: If you're spending most of your time on routine tasks, you're not a finance leader. You're an expensive bookkeeper. Your CEO knows it. Track this metric. When it creeps above 40%, improve your systems. Your value isn't in perfect books. It's in perfect insights. The books just need to be trusted. Not worshipped.

33% of CEOs don't trust their CFOs. The 5 areas I focus on (first 90 days): 𝟭) 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 The first thing I do with a new client is lower their expenses. This provides a quick win and frees up resources. Common cost-cutting opportunities I see: • Extra licenses • Unused subscriptions • Costs that feel worth it but are not –– 𝟮) 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 If the books are messy → I clean them up. If the books look good → I put together the core financial statements and make sure everyone understands them. I like to involve the whole team by opening the curtains wide on the company’s financials. This increases trust and accountability. –– 𝟯) 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 I work with clients to streamline: A) Invoicing Many of the cash flow issues I see with clients can be traced back to slow collections. So I make sure invoices are going out in the correct amount and in an easy-to-understand format. B) Closing the books faster I understand the urge to close the books and move on. But clean books don’t mean much if you don't study them shortly after closing. That’s where I work with clients to get their books ready in about half the time. The result is ample time for reviewing performance. C) Monthly financial reviews A good financial review = meeting with the accounting team to study the P&L and Balance Sheet and investigate any budget variance Your goal is to explain each variance and put together an action plan to reverse any concerning trends. –– 𝟰) 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 We set goals and KPIs, determine what’s doable, and come up with a specific roadmap. For your strategic plan to work, it needs to tie back to the financials and be broken out into manageable steps. –– 𝟱) 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 I’ve yet to work with an SMB that didn’t have any room for improvement here. Collections tend to cause the lion’s share of cash flow issues. But clients often overlook the other side of the equation: when and how they pay their own bills. It’s pretty common for owners to pay bills as soon as they get them. But I don’t recommend it. It's better to wait until the day they’re due and set them up for autopay. This way you keep cash in the business longer without running the risk of dinging your credit. Took me a LOT of scrambling in my early days to have this clarity... But after helping over 75 SMBs, I feel confident these are the first steps a CFO should take with a new client. If you enjoyed reading this, let me know and follow me for more strategic finance, SMB, and business content. — Need help with your finances? Feel free to send me a DM. Always happy to help.

Relying on outdated Cash Flow strategies can limit business potential. Here are 8 innovative innovative approaches to accelerate growth. When it comes to managing cash flow, it's easy to fall back on the tried-and-true methods you're use to. But these strategies don’t always fit every business and can stifle innovation. The key to growth is innovating your cash flow strategy. Yes, it’s a risk – but growth requires it. Here's 8 alternatives to explore: 1. Dynamic Pricing with Cash Flow Optimization: This strategy adjusts pricing in real time based on market conditions, demand fluctuations, or customer behavior to maximize revenue and cash flow. 2. Subscription-Based Cash Flow Generation: A model where businesses generate consistent, recurring revenue by offering products or services on a subscription basis, ensuring more predictable and stable cash flow. 3. Blockchain-Based Payments and Smart Contracts: Utilizing blockchain technology to streamline payment processes and implement automated, self-executing contracts ensures quicker, more secure transactions and improves cash flow predictability. 4. Demand Forecasting & Pre-Selling with Data Science: Using advanced data analysis to predict future demand and enable pre-sales of products or services, allows businesses to secure revenue and improve cash flow before the product is delivered. 5. Cross-Border Revenue Optimization with Dynamic Currency: Managing currency exchange and cross-border transactions to optimize revenue and reduce cash flow disruptions caused by fluctuating exchange rates and international payment fees. 6. Data-Driven Customer Payment Plans: Creating personalized payment schedules for customers based on data analysis, helping to improve cash flow by increasing payment collection rates and reducing the risk of delayed or missed payments. 7. Collaborative Logistics & Shared Distribution Channels: Partnering with other companies to share logistics and distribution networks, which helps reduce costs, improve delivery efficiency, and maintain cash flow through more efficient operations. 8. Al-Driven Payment Collection Optimization: Using artificial intelligence to automate and optimize the process of collecting payments from customers, improving cash flow by reducing delays, enhancing collection efficiency, and minimizing bad debt. The status quo can keep you afloat, but bold moves create waves. Take time to do an assessment, plan ahead to mitigate risk, and try something new. ___________________ Please share your thoughts in the comments Follow me for more finance insights  If you need help developing and executing a financial strategy DM me or Book a 30 Min Call https://lnkd.in/eFwzRbiD #Finance #Strategy #CashFlow