I come in to look at the books. That's usually how it starts. A business owner wants a cleanup, a fresh set of eyes on their finances, or a clearer picture of where they stand. But almost every time, I end up looking at their tech stack too, because the tools are...
A client called me on a Tuesday. He was in the middle of acquiring a smaller competitor he’d been eyeing for years. The deal was weeks from closing. Then the lender flagged a cluster of transactions in the target company’s books that didn’t add up. It wasn’t a huge...
Most business owners don’t think about selling their company until they’re ready to stop working. And by then, they’ve often already left money on the table. Here’s the thing: an exit plan isn’t a retirement document. It’s a business strategy. And the owners who treat...
A transportation company came to us with a question they’d been sitting on for a while. They operated in multiple states, had deliberately built the business over the years, and, by most measures, were doing well. But one location had been nagging at the owner....
Most small business owners I talk to see accounting as a cost they have to pay for, like insurance or utilities. I'd like to gently push back on that. If accounting is just overhead in your mind, it's probably working against you in your business. This is such an...
One of the most consistent challenges I see in cannabis businesses has nothing to do with product or demand. It’s money movement. Cannabis has a real cash problem. Banking access is limited. Processing options shift. Accounts are scrutinized differently and more...
I work with cannabis business owners from very different backgrounds. Some have run successful companies before. Others came into cannabis through passion for the product and the industry itself. Both groups care about doing things right. Regardless of their business...
A family-owned business reached out a while back for what they thought was a simple cleanup. They were interested in working with us on long-term accounting services—and a cleanup is typically where I start. Nothing major — just a few inconsistencies between their...
I’ve seen it many times — a family business passes the torch to the next generation, and on paper, everything looks ready for growth. But behind the scenes, things are far more complicated. Even after leadership changes hands, the older generation often remains deeply...
A client once came to me frustrated about rising costs, specifically related to their company fleet. Repairs were stable. Maintenance was normal. But somehow, fuel expenses had jumped nearly 40%. She assumed it was just higher gas prices. But when we compared her...
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this: “We’re a small business — we don’t need all those internal controls.” Usually, that line comes right before we find something that’s been quietly draining cash or creating chaos for months. It’s rarely fraud. It’s...
I can spot the telltale signs that one person is running the whole show almost immediately when reviewing a new client’s books. They’re entering invoices, approving payments, reconciling the bank account, and managing payroll. Outwardly, it might look like efficiency....
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