Insights

Sharp ideas on profit & cash.

Practical thinking on margins, cash flow, tax, and growth — written for owner-operators and franchisors.

All General Accounting Accounting Strategies For Small Business Business Accounting Guides Outsourced CFO Business Advisory Services Small Business Financial Reporting Small Business Accounting Terms Business Strategy Small Business Cash Flow Management Franchising

General Accounting · 7 min read

Inventory Accounting = Higher Profits

In January 2020, Mark Belle knew he was going to have a challenging conversation with his boss. Mark was the general manager at one of the…

General Accounting · 6 min read

Good vs. Evil Accounting Departments – 10 Traits to Look For

With Halloween upon us, let’s talk about the differences between a good and bad (or dare I say evil) accounting department. Small business accounting can be…

General Accounting · 9 min read

COVID + Budgeting – A Cost-Cutting Primer for 2021

Many business owners face the same dilemma this upcoming budgeting season: how to make ends meet. Despite pockets of success stories, most data points to businesses…

General Accounting · 5 min read

Small Businesses Lessons from Public Companies

While sitting with a client recently, we needed to solve a problem – they needed aluminum cans. Production was being constrained by the lack of aluminum…

Small Business Financial Reporting · 7 min read

4 Metrics Any Business Owner Should Review Monthly

Part of the problem with financial statements is they do not tell the whole story, metrics wise. Each financial statement tells part of a story. One…

Small Business Financial Reporting · 7 min read

Financial Reporting Falls Short of Todays Entrepreneur’s Needs

From day one, a business owner has been told they need to care about the financial statements. If an owner attended business school, most classes reinforced…

General Accounting · 7 min read

3 Best Practices on Price Changes

Quick answer: the three keys to a price change that sticks are preparing your team and customers before you announce it, moving in deliberate steps rather…

General Accounting · 8 min read

Is Your Franchise a Good Investment?

Of the 3,800 concepts that are currently franchising, over 25% have 0 franchised units. Going up to the next tier of 1-25 units, you’ll find another…

Small Business Financial Reporting · 6 min read

You Could Be Losing Big If You Aren’t Tracking Marketing ROI

No matter the size of your business, you are most likely spending money on marketing. In total, companies in the United States spent $2.1 trillion on…

Business Accounting Guides · 7 min read

Demystifying Financial Modeling

Most clients I talk with don’t realize that financial modeling is usually just a financial tool that is created in Microsoft Excel. When I first bring…

Business Accounting Guides · 7 min read

A CFO and Bookkeepers Role in Restructuring Finances

The COVID-19 virus has created an economic crisis that is unique. While many have seen a financial crisis before, we have not seen one that has touched…

Outsourced CFO Business Advisory Services · 12 min read

From Bookkeepers to CFOs: A Primer on Small Business Accounting

Growing a business is hard, and there are many documented reasons why. However, there is a reason that you don’t see discussed as often. Smaller companies…

The Clarity Brief