Good to Great: How to Scale With an Outsourced CFO

Many small businesses struggle to keep up with the day to day of operating their businesses – let alone bookkeeping and managing tax obligations. In the midst of staying on top of orders and customer service, there’s little time to even try to make financial forecasts and plans for the future. Realistically speaking, though, all businesses can benefit from stopping for a little time each mth, reviewing KPI performance and a little help from a CFO who specialises in this space can accelerate performance regardless of your businesses size.

 

CFOs offer so much more than just figures and reporting. They can provide insights into strategy and planning, cash flow management, cloud accounting, organisational design and more. Simply put, a CFO can help your business to reach peak performance. But not many small businesses can afford to pay a CFO’s full time salary or just don’t have enough requirement through the month for this resource to be of use week in week out.

 

The answer? Outsourced CFO services that are scaled to your small business needs. Let’s take a look at the many benefits you could reap from this low-cost solution.

 

Increased Revenue or Reduce Costs

What could your company do with increased revenue? Hire new talent? Expand? Invest in new capital?

 

Since CFOs analyse all aspects of a company’s finances, they can make big-picture suggestions that increase revenue quickly. For instance, they might assist you with pricing models, understanding which customers or product or services are more profitable than others and areas to focus on. They can also assist to negotiate with vendors for lower costs on supplies or implement new software that makes the business run more efficiently and measure aspects of production you never quite understood the importance of (e.g. inventory management). With an expert eye on your finances, an outsourced CFO can assist you increase your revenue or reduce your costs – or even more importantly do both to maximise profitability.

 

Less Bookkeeping Time

Running a small business is hard enough. Add taxes, and business owners may want to throw their hands up. You know you have to confront them, but managing all the receipts and expenses seems overwhelming.

 

A CFO can turn your books into a clean, streamlined system that makes tax time a piece of cake. Best of all, you can turn your taxes over entirely to your outsourced CFO and not waste another minute worrying about the details.

 

Smoother Cash Flow

From being passive about past-due receivables to not keeping a cushion of cash on hand, small business owners often struggle with cash flow. One study found that up to 82 percent of business failures can be blamed on poor cash flow management.

 

Your outsourced CFO can implement strategies that smooth out your cash flow and provide a more stable financial foundation. With budgets and forecasts, your CFO will keep your books in the black and help you prepare for the future.

 

Business Planning

Is your business surviving from day to day? Or is it moving down a strategic roadmap to success? A well-defined strategic business plan will move you along toward sustainable growth and ultimate success.

 

A comprehensive business plan should include prototypes for registration, finances, marketing, employer obligations and compliance. Additionally, your CFO can help you to establish a realistic timeline for accomplishing your goals.

 

Updates to Your Technology

In the past, CFOs worked primarily with accounting, but today, they play a critical role in keeping companies’ technology up to date. New tech can optimise cost savings and increase transparency for employees and stakeholders alike.

 

An outsourced CFO will get to know your organisation and apply their knowledge of cost-saving technology to make proposals that reduce costs and improve your bottom line.

 

Easy Answers

How many times have you wanted to make an impromptu business decision, but you didn’t have the necessary information?

 

With managed CFO services, you can get expert answers when you need them. Whether you need a generalised explanation or specific information about your current cash status, your CFO offers specialist knowledge when you need it.

 

To learn more about our outsourced CFO services, or to set up a consultation with one of our business experts, reach out to us at Altus. You’re taking the first step toward growing your business and reaching your goals.