General Accounting

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 three locations of a food service provider that I had just begun to provide virtual CFO services.  The company sold several retail products but also produced fresh, ready to […]

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 a struggle for many business owners.  If it weren’t, you wouldn’t find over 4 million results for “What do bookkeepers do?” on Google.  Finding the right fit for your

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 struggling in general.  Several surveys have shown just how deep the impact has been. Alignable found that by April 4th, 43% of businesses had temporarily closed and 39% had

In my opinion, business owners worry too much about the impact of price changes on their customers.  I have a client who has not raised prices in 4 years.  Every year we have the same discussion and I get the same answer; “My customers will revolt if I increase my prices.”  Most clients I work

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 36% of franchised concepts. A report by FranchiseGrade further shows that after two years of trying to franchise, 65% of concepts sell no locations.  It shouldn’t come as a

In early 2020 I was talking with the franchisor of a gym concept in Texas. Let’s call the franchisor Dave to make things easier. “Dave” and I were walking through his sales and finance process.  Four years earlier, Dave had opened up his first store.  A year later, he opened up his second store.  One of his clients,

Andy Bell was tired of the corporate world after 17 years in the food and beverage industry.  In 1998, he founded his own franchise Handyman Matters in Lakewood, Colorado.  Over the next 21 years, Bell would build the system to 57 franchisees collectively employing approximately 250 handymen and women in 121 territories across 23 states.   In 2019,

A commodity is a basic good that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type.  For example, silver is a commodity.  That is not to say silver does not has value.  However, if you were in the silver market, you would not care if you got it from Vendor A or Vendor B.  Why?  Because silver is silver.  The raw

We are all sometimes guilty of living in our own little bubble.  In business, it is vital to know what is going on around you.  I have learned in my time in franchising that if you are experiencing a problem or issue, several others are going through the same. In the spirit, here are seven