INSIGHTS IN ACTION
OUR LATEST FINANCE & ACCOUNTING INSIGHTS, IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES
TEST (Clone of Controller vs CFO…)
What is the difference between a controller and a CFO? Which does my business need? Do we need both?
8 Must-Have Metrics for Your Finance Dashboard
When was the last time you jumped in the car to head for a new destination — without a GPS by your side? Does 10 years sound about right? Perhaps longer! Your GPS has become...
5 Crucial Questions To Ask About CFO Professional Services
Understanding CFO Professional Services Are you considering CFO professional services? It’s a fantastic option for some small businesses and nonprofits, but don’t make the mistake of thinking every CFO services company is a good match...
5 Questions Every Owner Should Ask Their Financial Controller
A small business owner places a great deal of faith and responsibility on their financial controller. If you don’t yet have a financial controller, read on to ensure you or other members of your team...
The Easiest SaaS KPI to Get Right (and Wrong) | SaaS Metrics Playbook
Picture this: you walk into your SaaS company’s monthly board meeting, exchange hellos, and then you get hit with this question — “what did we book last month?” Both your CEO and Head of Sales...
What Is A CFO Service? How To Know if You Need One
One of the top issues keeping your business from growing the way you would like is its financial management. That is, you just can’t get the numbers together to tell you where your biggest risks...
How to Use the SaaS Rule of 40 | SaaS Metrics Playbook
Every SaaS founder wants to maximize their company’s value—a goal that requires high performance in two key areas: growth and profitability. In fact, the more you can demonstrate a combination of revenue growth and operational...
Do I Need Interim CFO Services or Should I Tough it Out?
Small businesses and non-profits may benefit from interim CFO services in a variety of circumstances. Your current CFO may be absent for what is expected to be a few weeks to a few months due...
7 Ways to Use Fractional CFO Services to Your Advantage
Driven-Insights_fractional-cfo-services Is cash tight? Are you frustrated with the state of your organization’s finances or financial leadership? Do you need confidence that you’re tracking the right metrics? Tired of flying blind financially? Need help interpreting...
CFO Consulting Services Breakdown: Top 10 Pros & Cons
Most CFO consulting services include a one-time engagement. The consultant comes in and looks at a snapshot of your business in its current state. Financial planning, capital structure, finance operations – you name it.
When & How to Use SaaS Magic Number | SaaS Metrics Playbook
One of the most critical decisions a SaaS founder or CEO must make is when to invest in scaling their SaaS business. When the timing is right, a strategic investment in sales and marketing efforts...
How to Find a Good Bookkeeper: Outsourced Bookkeeping Services for Rural Firms
Nearly all small businesses struggle with hiring experienced staff at one time or another. The 2024 NFIB Small Business Problems and Priorities Report ranks “locating qualified employees” as one of the top 10 struggles of...
9 Ways Gross Profit Misleads CEOs: Calculating Gross Profit
Gross profit is gross profit, right? The math is simple enough. To calculate gross profit: subtract the cost of goods sold from revenue of the same time period to yield your gross profit. To calculate gross...
4 Steps to Useful Cash Flow Projections
Profits don’t pay bills, cash does. Just because a firm is profitable doesn’t mean it won’t run out of cash. Cash flow projections may be the single most important business planning activity you perform, in...
When to Hire an Employee: Be Careful to Time it Right
As a trusted adviser to our clients, we routinely have a seat at the table during the hiring debate. Business owners will want to weigh a handful of factors when considering the timing of their...
Maxio vs NetSuite: Who’s Best for Subscription Billing?
Your SaaS business is gaining traction and you’re outgrowing the basic accounting software that’s gotten you this far. With recurring and non-recurring revenue streams, varying contract terms, and higher volume, revenue recognition has become a...
ASC 606: SaaS Revenue Recognition in Five Steps
For most SaaS businesses, recurring revenue generated from subscriptions is the primary driver of growth … and of enterprise value. But, while the business model is conceptually simple, the financial reporting and revenue recognition policies...
Why Do A Bank Reconciliation: 5 Reasons to Reconcile Monthly
First things first, for those new to reconciliation, to reconcile a bank account means to identify and explain the differences between the entries in your accounting system and the corresponding transactions listed on your bank...
Netsuite vs. Intacct: Which is Better for SaaS Accounting?
For early stage Software-as-a-Service companies, simple, easy-to-use accounting software makes sense. Many startups combine a cloud accounting platform like QuickBooks Online with a subscription billing tool like SaaSOptics. This can be an effective solution—up to...
Key SaaS Metrics Glossary: Align Your Team | SAAS METRICS PLAYBOOK
SaaS metrics are more than cookie-cutter formulas for tracking high-level KPIs. They are dynamic growth tools that should inform the decisions your leadership team, management, and board make on a routine basis. Used well by your...
How Much Do Part-Time CFO Services Cost In 2025?
Are you frustrated with the state of your firm’s finances? You’re not alone. That happens to a lot of small business and nonprofit leaders. That’s the reason there is both supply and demand for part-time...
The Average CFO Salary (2025) + 27 Key CFO Interview Questions
What’s the average Chief Financial Officer (CFO) salary in the United States in 2025? Well, the typical CFO salary depends on the size of your business and whether your business is located in Keya Paha,...
How To Make An Invoice: 5 Tips to Get Paid Faster
All business owners want to receive prompt payment. But many small business owners don’t realize their billing process may generate invoices lacking the five elements that facilitate quick payments. Here’s how to make an invoice...
Why Use a Balance Sheet: 3 Compelling Reasons
With all that a small business owner has to do, why add a regular balance sheet review? Won’t your CPA advise at tax time if something is amiss? The fact is, an owner can’t afford...
2 SaaS Metrics Every Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Firm Must Master
Let’s face it: As the CEO or leader of a growing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business, you have your hands full. Whether you’re busy acquiring customers, onboarding new customers, retaining existing customers, hiring to meet anticipated demand,...
Why Excel SaaS Financial Models Stink and What to do About it
Spreadsheet financial models for SaaS companies stink, whether built in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. There, we’ve said it. That doesn’t mean that spreadsheet models don’t provide some value in the very beginning stages of...
33 SaaS CFO Interview Questions (and Answers to Look For)
Your SaaS firm is growing, and it’s time to hire a new CFO or to explore outsourced CFO services. In both cases, generic interview questions for a CFO just won’t cut it. To find financial...
5 Greatest Benefits of Outsourced CFO Business Advisory Services
Sometimes for business owners, pushing your business into growth mode feels like being stuck in the mud. You think you’re gaining traction but suddenly you find yourself sliding right back into the muck.
Does Your Firm Need a SaaS Accountant, Controller, or CFO?
As your SaaS company evolves from an early stage startup and reaches key milestones, your finance and accounting inevitably need to change. Leveling up to a new stage of growth can be the right...
Essential SaaS CFO Duties for Each Stage of Growth
Your SaaS company is growing, and each stage brings new finance and accounting (F&A) challenges. As your focus shifts from achieving product/market fit, to building a repeatable sales process, to scaling the business, F&A roles...
3 Ways to Calculate Churn (and Why) | SaaS Metrics Playbook
As the founder, CEO, or key stakeholder of a SaaS business, you need a clear picture of the day-to-day health of your business. In theory, SaaS metrics can satisfy this need with basic formulas for...
How CFO Services Solve Financial Challenges For Nonprofit Organizations
Raise your hand if you’re a nonprofit executive director (or you serve on a nonprofit board) and have a long list of mission-advancing ideas but scarce resources to make them a reality. Keep it in the air if...
Outsourced CFO vs. In-House: What’s Best for Your SaaS Firm?
As your SaaS business grows, your finance and accounting capabilities are being stretched thin. Frequent errors, omissions, and inconsistencies point to the need for more experienced SaaS financial professionals in leadership, and that means adding...
Why SaaS LTV is Misleading (& How to Address) | SaaS Metrics Playbook
Lifetime Value (LTV) seems like a straightforward SaaS metric. Its job is to simply measure the amount of revenue generated over the duration of a customer relationship. But, as is the case with many other SaaS metrics,...
The Right Way to Calculate & Use SaaS ARR | SaaS Metrics Playbook
When it comes to key SaaS metrics, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the one every stakeholder has their eyes on. When a SaaS company is experiencing ARR growth, it’s a signal to founders, CEOs, investors,...
SaaS Dashboard KPIs Need to Evolve (SaaS Reporting Per Growth Stage)
One of the most powerful ways to monitor the operational health of SaaS companies is through SaaS dashboards. Dashboards bring together your most important SaaS KPIs and present them in a clear and concise way...
Controller vs CFO: Which Does My Business Need?
What is the difference between a controller and a CFO? Which does my business need? Do we need both? If you are asking those questions, give yourself a pat on the back. It means you’ve...
More Productive Board Meetings Start with this Board Packet
How constructive was your last board meeting? Can you name at least 2 or 3 specific insights or outcomes that will add meaningful value to your enterprise? You’re not alone if you view these quarterly...
3 Ways to Use Financial Reporting Services to Become More Profitable
How long has it been since you last went on a road trip, or even to a new destination, and didn’t have an app on your phone (eg: Google Maps) to guide you, step-by-step, towards...
How Integrated Bookkeeper, CFO and Controller Services Deliver Critical Financial Insights
Have you ever stopped to wonder if the staff you have running your firm’s finance function is helping or hurting? You might be surprised to learn that the model used to manage accounting in most...
Financial Metrics for SaaS Companies During Product/Market Fit Phase
Why do startups flop? The team at Startup Genome found a common thread. A survey of 3,200 startups showed that, of the companies which crumbled, 70% of them tried to scale too quickly.
7 Steps to Maximize the Effectiveness of Your SaaS Metrics Software
SaaS metrics software – also known as subscription billing management software or recurring billing software – should be one of the most powerful weapons in a SaaS CEO’s arsenal. The complexities of managing subscriptions are real...
What’s included in Virtual CFO Services? Why is it a growing trend?
Now more than ever, startups and corporates are looking for ways to run lean. There is pressure to make cuts to staff and outsource when possible, and this has led to a trend of hiring...
SaaS Accounting & SaaS Finance: Twin Engines for SaaS Growth
Optimizing your accounting practices for the SaaS space is critical to running a healthy SaaS business, but it’s not enough to transform it into a market leader. For that, SaaS finance expertise is essential. In...
Debt vs. Equity: Selecting the Right Type of SaaS Capital
Two of the primary forms of SaaS capital—debt and equity financing—are often defined by their drawbacks. Debt financing, as the name implies, requires taking on a loan and repaying principal with interest. Equity financing avoids...
How to Build a SaaS Finance/Accounting Team by Growth Stage
Your SaaS company is poised for rapid growth. As you scale, solid financials are the key to growing efficiently and maximizing valuation—but your finance department is already getting stretched thin. You’ll need more resources, more...
When Are Fractional CFO Services Right for a SaaS Business?
Your SaaS business is going from strength to strength. You’re bringing in more customers, building your ARR (annual recurring revenue), and positioning your firm to tackle the next stage of growth. Until now, you’ve been...
How to Find a Virtual CPA: 4 Questions to Navigate to the Right One
Your Virtual CPA (certified public accountant) is a crucial part of your finance team. They must turn a year’s worth of accounting entries and financial data from your accounting department into final yearend financial statements...
9 Reasons to Entertain an Accounting Career
There are so many reasons why anyone would want to consider a career in accounting and finance. This article addresses the most compelling motivations below, but first, we thought it was important to clearly define...
ARR vs. EBITDA: Best SaaS metrics for Valuation
Valuing SaaS companies is complicated. Every business model is unique, every deal is nuanced, and markets are constantly evolving. With so many factors involved, it’s no wonder that buyers, investors, and sellers often arrive at...
SaaS Subscription Management: Choosing the Right Platform
Identifying the right SaaS subscription management platform is one of the most important decisions a growth-minded SaaS business will make. There are plenty of options to consider, from entry-level subscription billing software to full-scale ERP...
9 Advantages of an Outsourced Virtual Finance Department
If you receive accurate, insightful financial reporting and operation reports each month — without taking time away from where you need to be adding value — and that information fuels the decisions that drive...
10 Steps to Better Financial Insights From Your Finance Function
As operators, we know how many balls a small business owner needs to keep in the air. Sales, operations, crisis management, and the crucial yet often neglected realm – financial administration. This is where the...
Get Tighter Control of Your Business with Outsourced & Virtual Bookkeeping
As a business owner, it’s natural to be hesitant to hand over the reins of your accounting processes and financial reporting to an outsourced virtual bookkeeping firm. You trust your in-house bookkeeper to file the...
Why You Need a Financial Close Checklist
As a refresher, a financial close is the process of entering all of your expense and revenue transactions from the most recent period, reconciling your bank and credit card accounts and a handful of others...
Manage SaaS Growth Fears with Cash Flow Forecast & Cash Burn Rate
The CEO of a high-growth SaaS company has plenty of things to worry about on a daily basis. One of their biggest anxieties, however, can simply be the fear of running out of money. One...
Small Business Insights: What your Reporting RevealS about Your Firm
Are you thirsting for more business information? You know that feeling when you’re so thirsty that you just can’t stand it anymore? Sweat is beading on your brow, you’re parched and all you can think...
Fundamentals of Financial Management: The Secret to Profitable Growth
HOW TO GET MORE FROM YOUR Virtual CFO, & Virtual BOOKKEEPER What are your goals for your business? Do you want to expand your market, release a new product or increase sales? Believe it or...
How to Find Gross Profit Percentage: Careful- It’s Often Misleading
As a business owner, you know that your gross profit is an important figure, to you and to potential (or existing) lenders, investors and acquirers. For starters, your pricing strategy, ability to benchmark your performance...
Stop Managing Your Books for Uncle Sam
Most small business owners keep bookkeeping records because they have to, not because they want to. Said another way, they manage their firm’s finances primarily for tax compliance purposes. But in so doing, they miss out...
October Small Business Tax Deadlines: They Don’t Have to Be Scary
Halloween isn’t the only frightening event in October; there are several October small business tax deadlines looming ahead. Here’s the list of important due dates next month. October 2 – Businesses who take wagers must file...
Sources of Competitive Advantage: Start With Your Finance Department
The term “competitive advantage” might trigger thoughts of a company with a defensible market position, best product, lowest price (and cost), superior customer service or consistent client outcomes. But the truth is, there are many...
How to Calculate CAC (the Right Way) | SaaS Metrics Playbook
For a SaaS business, knowing exactly when and how much to invest in growth is critical to success. Overspending in areas like sales and marketing will cause a SaaS firm to burn through cash too...
Outsourced Virtual CFO & Bookkeeping: Your New Best Resource
Sure, every small business could use a new salesperson who can “make it rain,” but this year, we recommend you look to another – less obvious – position to fill the most important gap on...
Private Equity vs. Venture Capital: Which is Best for Your SaaS Firm?
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) are among the most common sources of SaaS equity funding, but which is the right choice for your company? Understanding the unique advantages and drawbacks of each...
How to Act on Your LTV to CAC Ratio | SaaS Metrics Playbook
The financial priorities of your SaaS business will change as you move through each growth stage. In the initial phases, you’ll likely be working toward product/market fit, with a strong focus on bringing in customers,...
7 Essential Features Your Finance Dashboard Must Have
When you’re on a road trip, how often do you check the gauges on your car’s dashboard? Routinely, if you’re like most people. Those indicators tell you important information like where you are in your...
A Remote Culture Built Around Your Experience
Working remote, but not working alone
Cash Management Practices and Strategies for Your Slow Season
Managing your firm through its slow season can be difficult. But by developing cash management practices and strategies, you’ll be positioned to hit the ground running when your busy season resumes.
A Guide to Small Business Funding Sources for Growth
The Best Financing Option May Surprise You
Cash Accounting vs. Accrual Accounting: Which is Right For Your Firm?
If you are a new business owner, you have undoubtedly already tackled many decisions regarding your company operations. However, one of the most impactful choices to make is whether you should use the cash or...
4 Ways Yearend Financial Statement Preparation Shortcuts Can Hurt You
The end of year financial statement preparation is not a favorite task of most business owners. Under the stress and pressure of yearend, these important reports are often created quickly with a few clicks of...
Outsourced Bookkeeping: Why Your Bookkeeper’s Exit is an Opportunity
Have you ever thought you need more informative financial reporting from your bookkeeper but competing priorities stood in the way of making a change? Have you ever used the departure of an employee as an...
5 Most Popular CFO Advisory Service Insights & Deliverables
Let’s face it, the vast majority of small business CEOs and nonprofit executive directors are flying blind when it comes to having sound, data driven insights upon which they can base their decisions. For a...
A Successful Capital Raise Starts with Your Financial Story
So your organization has reached the point where you need to initiate a capital raise. Maybe you’ve dialed in your business model and it’s time to scale. Or perhaps you’ve quantified your nonprofit’s operating deficit...
5 Steps to Prepare Your Business Plan for Next Year
Large firms have the finance staff and business intelligence tools to inform their decision making and provide a competitive edge. Here are 5 simple, cost-effective steps to level the playing field for your small business,...
What To Expect From Shared CFO Services
Your small business has reached the point where you’re considering shared CFO services – otherwise known as fractional, part-time or contract CFO services. The decision to bring in the right financial leadership is a milestone...
How Big Does My Company Need To Be To Contract CFO Services?
Before selecting an outsourced CFO service, companies must weigh the pros and cons. How long does it take for the business to get a positive ROI? How big does the company need to be to...
Mud Season is the Perfect Time to Build Profits. Really.
Last weekend, I took my retriever, Fletch, for a run in the woods and found myself post-holing through the snow. With every stride, I sank ankle deep into the soft snow, slowing me to a...
CFO Services For Startups Under Financial Stress
Much has been written (and spoken) about navigating the winding road to startup success. So much so that it’s hard to know which resources to trust and when each should be tapped. It’s also not...
When Temporary CFO Services Might Not Be Right For You
Sooner or later, circumstances lead many small business owners to consider engaging a temporary CFO. When you find yourself in that mode, you might wonder, is now the right time to engage a CFO? What...
The Outsourced CFO Services Buyer’s Guide
The massive move of data and systems to the cloud over the last few years is enabling many small businesses and non-profits to “go lean” while simultaneously driving business growth. These organizations now depend on remote...
7-Step Accounting System Migration Checklist
Changing accounting systems can cause a serious disruption in your business operations. Therefore, it is crucial to have a plan in place before you get started. Follow our 7-step accounting system migration checklist to help...
5 Ways to Keep Personal and Business Finance Separate
When was the last time you checked your financial reports for accuracy? Making key decisions based upon inaccurate reporting can be costly – even fatal – for an organization. Central to ensuring accuracy and tax...
February Small Business Tax Deadlines
Small business owners seem to always be facing some type of deadline. Whether it’s meeting payroll or filling a contract on time, it never seems to end. Fortunately, small business tax deadlines are minimal in...
Tax Deductions Often Missed by Small Businesses
Small business owners have to work harder and smarter in order to retain as much of their profit as possible, when it comes to taxes. In order to minimize the bill from Uncle Sam, an...
Managing Your Cash Flow: 101
Managing your cash flow may be the single most important business planning activity you perform, in good times or bad. Whether you are wondering if you can afford that next hire, take a dividend or...
January Small Business Tax Deadlines
The fourth quarter is coming to a close and before you know it, you’ll be toasting the new year and making your business resolutions for 2018. But before you bid farewell to the “auld lang...
ROI Marketing in 3 Simple Steps
We were invited by social media marketing leader Likeable Local to write a guest article for the steps required to measure marketing return on investment – ROI Marketing. Click here to read it now.
December Small Business Tax Deadlines: You’ve Earned a Reprieve
With the busy holiday season upon us, it’s a good thing there are only a few small business tax deadlines for December.
3 Basic Accounts Receivable Best Practices to Increase Cash Flow
Managing your accounts receivables is crucial to maintaining steady cash flow in your business. Here are three accounts receivable best practices you can implement to clean up your books and bring in the money due.
Bookkeeping Management 101: Is Your Bookkeeper Happy?
Where to start when you’ve committed to take control of your firm’s financial management? A small business owner could look to the current reporting, reevaluate the accounting technology or even thumb through the accounting manual....
November Small Business Tax Deadlines: Why to be Thankful
As we move further into the fourth quarter, small business owners everywhere begin to breathe a sigh of relief as their most pressing tax deadlines fade into the distance.
Make Your Finance Dashboard Visual
Your finance dashboard – not unlike your car’s – should present the most critical indicators of your firm’s financial performance to help you steer it toward achieving your objectives.
Why Budgeting is Important for Business: 3 Reasons
Successful small business leaders view their annual budgeting process as one of their most important managerial tasks. Ever stop to think why budgeting is important for business in the first place? Reasons abound, but here...
Outsourced Bookkeeping Fills the Accounting Void for Rural Businesses
As a rural business owner, are you struggling with how to find a good bookkeeper or controller? This is a common problem for rural businesses, largely because a smaller town means an even smaller pool...
Why Do a Bank Reconciliation: One Significant Reason
As a small business owner, you know all the ins and outs of your product or service, down to the most technical detail. But how much do you know about your day-to-day accounting? As long...
1 Question to Tap the Power of Your Small Business Financial Reports
Does this sound familiar? Month after month, your bookkeeper or controller dutifully produces the financial reports you need to monitor your business. And month after month, you check the bottom line on the profit and...
September Small Business Tax Deadlines
Summer may be drawing to a close, but the IRS turns up the heat in September with several important tax deadlines for businesses. Mark these dates on your accounting calendar so you have time to...
3 Tips for Creating Cash Flow Projections
Does your company experience ebbs in revenue at times? Or periods of particularly heavy costs? Is growth constraining your cash position? Creating cash flow projections will help ensure you’ll always have adequate cash to pay...