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Next Year's Plan, Built From Last Year's Numbers.
Budgets, projections and what-if scenarios for growth, a new location or a big equipment purchase, built from your closed books so the plan matches how your business actually earns and spends.
Business Financial Planning For Michigan Owners
Plenty of small businesses run on last year plus a hunch. That works until the hunch involves a new hire, a second truck or a lease on a bigger space, and the difference between a good year and a tight one comes down to assumptions nobody wrote down.
We build the plan with you. Starting from closed, reconciled numbers, we set a budget for the year, project profit and cash month by month and test the decisions you are weighing before you make them. We work with owners across Michigan and virtually anywhere in the country, as part of our CFO and advisory services.
One boundary, stated plainly: this is planning for the business. Personal and investment financial planning goes to our financial planning partner, and we are glad to make the introduction.
The Pieces Of A Plan You Will Actually Use
Every plan is scoped to the business, but these are the pieces owners lean on most.
- A budget built from last year's actual results, adjusted for what you already know is changing
- Monthly profit and cash projections that follow your real seasons, not an even twelfth each month
- Break-even figures for the business, a location or a product line
- Scenario models for growth, expansion, new hires or a slower year
- Equipment analysis comparing buying, leasing and financing, and what each does to cash
- Monthly targets you can check progress against once the year starts
- Written assumptions, so partners or a banker can follow the logic
Decisions Worth Modeling Before You Commit
A plan earns its keep when a real decision shows up. These are the ones owners bring us.
Turning Last Year Into Next Year
A good plan starts with an honest look at what happened. We review last year by month and by line, separate one-time surprises from real patterns and ask what you already know is changing: a supplier's increase, a lease renewal, a key employee leaving.
Then the plan gets used, not filed. In our fractional CFO engagements, monthly results meetings compare actual results to the plan and adjust the forecast, and cash flow analysis and forecasting keeps the cash side current in between. Tax effects get checked along the way, since the same team prepares your returns. If the plan points toward a sale or a buyout, a business valuation is often the next step.
Planning Questions Owners Bring Us
How far ahead should my business plan?
A detailed budget for the next twelve months, broken out by month, is the working core. For bigger decisions like an expansion or a major purchase, a two- or three-year view helps, with less detail the further out it goes. We match the horizon to the decision rather than forcing one format.
What if my books are not ready for this?
Then that comes first. A plan built on unreconciled numbers only predicts the wrong things more precisely. We tell you honestly what shape the records are in and scope any catch-up work before planning starts, so the budget begins from numbers you can rely on.
Can a financial plan help me get a loan?
It often does. Lenders want to see how a loan will be repaid, and a budget with monthly cash projections and written assumptions answers that directly. At your request, we can also prepare the lender package and act as your liaison with the bank.
Advisory Work That Builds On Your Plan
Monthly results meetings and forecasts that keep the plan honest all year, from an outside advisor who knows your books.
Fractional CFO services in detail Business ValuationA supported view of what the business is worth, for partner transitions, ownership changes or a sale on the horizon.
Business valuation in detail CFO & Advisory Services OverviewFractional CFO work, business financial planning and valuation, from an outside advisor at your table.
Return to CFO & Advisory ServicesLet's Put Next Year On Paper
Bring last year's numbers and the decision you are weighing. We will show you what a working plan for your business would include.