Business owners don't often have a realistic budget down on paper. And they struggle every day because of that. I see it all the time. Business owners will have ideas in their head about that they can spend every week, and what they think their company will sell every week. They'll also have a pretty good idea of what they'll collect in a week and what they'll have to pay that week.
It's easy, right? Sell, collect, pay, and keep the rest.
I hear "Why should I waste the time putting down on paper what I already know in your head? Then I ask questions like:
"How much revenue did you plan to bring in last month, and were you on target?"
"What does the trend look like for your receivables?"
"Did you over-spend or under-spend in any areas last month, or year to date?"
I find that many business owners did a one-year budget back in January, and the problem is, they really haven't looked at it in a while.
It's time for you to take budgeting more seriously.
Audience. The budget is used internally to help you manage your business. That's a little different than putting together financial projections for a bank or investor.
Usefulness. A budget is only useful if you, well, use it. The only way it's useful is if you compare what you actually did last month with what you planned to do. I find that when business owners pay someone to help them, they actually get that thing done. Don't delay because you say "I can do that myself". Maybe you can. But when you wait, every week that goes by is a disaster waiting to happen. Your business is worth more than using your old ways, right?
Departments. Perhaps you've got department heads that have to knock on your door every time they want to spend money. I don't have to tell you that gets old. Set them up with their own departmental budget and mange the exceptions, instead of managing everything all the time. If you let go a little, that frees up time so you can go grow your business.
The development of a real, usable budget is an interactive exercise with CxO To Go, not created in a vacuum. Our budget planning work includes teaching the business owner(s) and department heads how to explain financials. You get an understanding of fundamental financial terminology. An additional bonus is you get to demonstrate to your operations and your bank that you can talk better about your business in financial terms.
That gives you an advantage.
We have developed a set of financial tools that become part of your plan. We embody the experience of hundreds of combined years of CFO experience building budgets for small and huge enterprises.
These are the financial elements of a budget:
· Sales Model
· Capital Expenditures
· Operating Expenses
· Fixed Assets
· Investments and Returns
· Income Statement / P&L including EBITDA
· Cash Flow Projections
· Financial Ratios
· Balance Sheet Projections
Professional. You get the expertise of our CFOs who have decades of experience assembling budgets and actually using them in many operations, large and small. It's more than a piece of paper, but we help you operationalize it, taking your business to the next level when you do this right. To us, a budget is just as much art, as it is science.
Sophisticated. Not just a spreadsheet with some numbers on it. Our budget tells the story behind the numbers, which gives you higher confidence, and shows you and your leaders that you are more financially sophisticated. You gain an advantage over your competition.
Effective. We don’t have to guess at this. We are fast and keep things simple. We are the high value solution to your budget and cash flow issues. This isn't theory, it's actionable and practical.
Standardized. We use best practices tools and methods familiar to the industry. We don't use the overly complex "spreadsheet from hell" from the local university or CPA firm. Instead, we customize the easiest format that works best for your situation.
$1,000 - $8,000. Depending on the sophistication level of your current budget. The better the condition of your existing financial documentation, the lower the cost. Because then we have to ask fewer questions and require less direct involvement from you and your team. This is a fine piece of work that's fast, useable, and actionable.
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