Transit contractor · 800+ employees
−$1M → +$4M
Annual result in 18 months. Rebuilt how costs were coded so leadership could see the labor model clearly, then restructured it.
Financial strategy for people-powered businesses
The numbers behind your next decision.
Hire now or wait? Raise prices? Take the big contract? I'm Alex Smith. I work with owners of agencies, firms, practices and service companies doing $2M–$20M, where payroll is the largest line on the P&L. You get numbers you can trust, a clear view of cash, and a straight answer on what to do next.
15+ years in finance leadershipFormer CFOBuilt and sold my own business
Service firm, 34 people
TRAILING 12 MONTHS
| Revenue | $4,200,000 | 100% |
| Payroll & contractors | $2,814,000 | 67.0% |
| Rent & overhead | $610,000 | 14.5% |
| Software & tools | $168,000 | 4.0% |
| Everything else | $330,000 | 7.9% |
| Operating profit | $278,000 | 6.6% |
Illustrative example
Who I work with
Built for businesses where people are the product
If you sell your team's time, skill or capacity, your profit lives in payroll, pricing and the gap between paying people and getting paid. That's the work.
$2M–$20M
Revenue
Big enough that a few points of margin are real money. Too early for a full-time CFO.
15–150
People on payroll
Employees, contractors or both. The size where every hire changes the math.
35%+
Of revenue goes to people
When labor is your largest cost, it's also your largest lever.
- Marketing & creative agencies
- Staffing firms
- Law firms
- Home services & trades
- Physical therapy & outpatient practices
- IT & managed services
- Engineering & architecture
- Contact centers
- Contracted transportation
What I help with
Four kinds of decisions, one advisor
Most owners have a bookkeeper who records the past and a CPA who files the taxes. I sit beside you on what comes next.
Will we make payroll in week nine?
Cash & runway
- 13-week cash forecast
- Credit line and lender planning
- Closing the gap between payroll and collections
Which clients actually make us money?
Profit & pricing
- Profit by client and service
- Pricing and rate increases
- Payroll ratio and utilization
Can we afford to hire, open or buy?
Planning & growth decisions
- Budgets, forecasts and scenarios
- Hiring plans tied to revenue
- The math on a new location, contract or acquisition
Can I trust these numbers?
Finance operations
- A clean monthly close and reporting pack
- Working with your bookkeeper and CPA
- Bank, board and investor reporting
The method
Five numbers that run a people business
Every engagement starts here. In plain English, every month, with what to do about each one.
- 1
Payroll-to-revenue ratio
How much of every dollar goes to your people?Warning signHeadcount grew faster than revenue last year. - 2
Revenue per person
Is each person producing more than they cost, fully loaded?Warning signBillable hours slipping while the team stays busy. - 3
Cash gap, in days
How long between paying your people and getting paid?Warning signPayroll Fridays depend on the credit line. - 4
Profit by client and service
Who and what actually makes you money?Warning signYour biggest client is your least profitable. - 5
13-week runway
Can you make payroll in week nine?Warning signNobody can answer that without opening the bank app.
How it starts
Ten business days from files to a plan
Send five files
Your P&L, balance sheet, payroll summary, AR and AP agings, and revenue by client. Read-only accounting access works too.
I find where the money goes
I rebuild your five numbers, a 13-week cash forecast, and who and what is actually profitable.
You get the plan in an hour
We walk through it together. You leave with five actions, each with a dollar figure attached.
Pricing
Fixed prices. No hourly billing.
Start small. Keep going only if the numbers are worth more than the fee.
Start here
Profit & Cash Tune-Up
$995 $1,500
Founding price for the first 5 clients. Delivered in 10 business days.
- Your five numbers, with red, yellow and green flags
- 13-week cash forecast
- Payroll and client profitability analysis
- Top 5 actions memo with dollar impact
- If it doesn't find at least 3× its fee, you get it back
CFO Essentials
$2,500/mo
For owners who need a monthly read and a steady hand.
- Monthly five-numbers pack
- Rolling 13-week cash
- 60-minute review each month
CFO Partner
$5,000/mo
For growing firms making real decisions every month.
- Everything in Essentials
- Budget, forecast and scenarios
- Bank and board reporting
- Two meetings a month
Cash & Runway Diagnostic
By quote
An optional deeper look when cash is tight, a lender is asking questions, or a big bet is on the table.
- Detailed runway model and scenarios
- Credit line and debt review
- Written findings you can share with a bank or partners
Monthly plans are billed in advance and run month to month with 30 days' notice. The Tune-Up fee is credited to your first month if you continue within 30 days. Projects are quoted on their own.
Results
What the numbers changed
Marketing holding company · 3 agencies
45 → 15 days
Built the finance function from scratch, including the company's first dashboard of client profitability and utilization. Month-end close fell from 45–60 days to under 15.
Public agency · CFO
+$1.5M / yr
New interest income from cash that had been sitting idle, with no added risk. The money was already there.
Who you work with
I've made payroll from a garage.
My wife and I started a business at home, grew it into a 2,500-square-foot shop with five employees, and sold it. I know what Thursday night feels like before payroll hits.
Before and after that, I spent 15 years in finance leadership: Fortune 500 analyst, a turnaround at an 800-person transit operation, director of finance for a $60M marketing group, and CFO of a public agency.
You work with me directly. No junior staff, no handoffs.
Questions
Straight answers
I already have a CPA. Why do I need you?
Your CPA looks backward: taxes and compliance. I look forward: what to price, who to hire, when cash gets tight. I work alongside your CPA and bookkeeper, not instead of them.
My books are behind. Can we still start?
If they're within a couple of months, yes. If they're further behind, I'll connect you with a bookkeeping partner to catch up first, quoted separately, so the Tune-Up is built on real numbers.
What does the Tune-Up guarantee mean?
If the Tune-Up doesn't identify profit or cash opportunities worth at least three times its fee, you get the fee back. For businesses this size, that bar is usually cleared in the payroll analysis alone.
Do you need my bank passwords?
No. I use read-only accountant access to QuickBooks or Xero and the reports you export. I don't move money or pay bills.
How do you work so fast?
Standard templates, the same five numbers every time, and AI-assisted analysis. Every number is checked against your own files before you see it. You pay for the answer, not the hours.
Do you only work with Phoenix businesses?
I'm based in the Phoenix area and love meeting in person, but most of the work runs on video calls and shared files, so I work with owners anywhere in the US.
See your five numbers in ten business days.
5 founding Tune-Ups at $995. After that, the price is $1,500.