Client Outcomes
What we've done for our clients.
Restaurant Owner Who Couldn't Explain His Own Numbers
The Problem
A restaurant owner was doing around $1.2M in annual revenue but had no real handle on his food costs, labor percentages, or actual profit. His books were 10 months behind, and he was running the business entirely from his bank balance. He wanted to open a second location, but when he approached the bank for an SBA loan, they asked for financial statements he couldn't produce.
He had tried to keep up with the books himself using QuickBooks, but transactions were miscategorized, vendor payments were mixed up, and the numbers didn't tell any kind of useful story.
What We Did
We caught up 10 months of transactions and rebuilt his chart of accounts to match the way a restaurant actually operates. We set up proper tracking for cost of goods sold, separated food costs from beverage costs, and created categories for labor by role. We produced monthly P&L statements that showed the ratios any restaurant owner and any lender needs to see.
We also helped him put together the financial package the bank required, including a clean balance sheet and a cash flow projection for the proposed second location.
The Result
The first thing he noticed was that his food cost was running at 37%, well above the 28-32% range he should have been targeting. Once he could see the numbers broken down by category, he found specific areas of waste in his prep process and identified two suppliers charging significantly more than competitors. He renegotiated those contracts and tightened up his purchasing.
Within four months, his food cost dropped to 31%. That alone put tens of thousands of dollars back into the business annually.
The bank approved his SBA loan on the second attempt. The loan officer told him the financial package was exactly what they needed to move forward. He opened his second location eight months later, and we now handle the books for both, with separate P&L statements so he can compare performance month to month.
Pool Service Company That Was Always Short on Cash
The Problem
A pool maintenance and repair company had grown to over 180 accounts but was constantly scrambling for cash. The owner was buying chemicals, replacing pumps, and paying his crew, but had no system for tracking which service routes were profitable and which ones were eating into his margins.
Invoicing was inconsistent. Some customers were billed monthly, others quarterly, and a handful hadn't been billed in months because the paperwork got lost in the shuffle. The owner knew money was falling through the cracks but didn't know how much.
What We Did
We set up a proper invoicing system in QuickBooks and went through his entire customer list to identify unbilled work. We organized his accounts receivable and configured automatic payment reminders so he didn't have to chase down every late payment himself. We also categorized his expenses by service type and route to show where the money was actually going.
The Result
In the first month, we identified over $7,000 in services that had been performed but never billed. That money was recovered within weeks.
The route profitability reports revealed that his furthest service routes were losing money once you factored in drive time, fuel, and the wear on his trucks. He restructured his service areas and let go of accounts that were too far out to be worth the trip. He replaced them with customers closer to his core territory.
His average collection time improved by nearly two weeks once the automatic reminders were in place. He stopped floating payroll on his personal credit card, and for the first time, he had enough cash in the business account to buy chemicals in bulk at a discount. That bulk pricing alone saved him several thousand dollars a year.
Real Estate Investor With Six Properties and Zero Visibility
The Problem
A real estate investor with six rental properties in the Orlando area was running everything through a single bank account. Mortgage payments, repairs, insurance, and rental income were all lumped together with no way to tell which properties were making money and which were draining it.
His CPA had been asking for property-level financials for two years. Every tax season turned into a scramble of spreadsheets, receipts, and best guesses. The investor knew he was leaving money on the table but couldn't figure out where.
What We Did
We set up class tracking in QuickBooks so every transaction, from a roof repair to a tenant's rent payment, was assigned to a specific property. We went back through the prior year's transactions to separate everything properly, then built individual P&L statements for each property.
We also set up a system for tracking security deposits, lease terms, and upcoming maintenance so he could plan ahead instead of reacting to surprises.
The Result
The property-level reports told a story he wasn't expecting. Two of his six properties were barely breaking even after accounting for maintenance, insurance, and vacancy costs. One of them had needed three major repairs in the past year that wiped out an entire year's worth of rental income.
He used the data to raise rents on two properties that were significantly below market rate and made the decision to sell the worst performer. The sale freed up capital that he reinvested into a property with better fundamentals.
His CPA told us the following tax season was the smoothest one in years. Everything was documented, organized, and ready to go. The investor now reviews his property reports with us monthly and uses the numbers to evaluate potential acquisitions rather than relying on gut feeling.
Cleaning Company That Had Fallen Two Years Behind
The Problem
A commercial cleaning company had grown from a solo operation to a team of 14 employees in just a few years. The growth was exciting, but the books had not kept pace. The owner had not reconciled a single account in over two years, and she was running the business entirely from her bank balance.
She had received a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue about a late sales tax filing and didn't fully understand what it meant or what she owed. She was also worried about her payroll. She had been paying employees through direct transfers rather than a proper payroll system, which meant no withholdings, no filings, and no compliance.
What We Did
We took on the full two-year catch-up. Our team worked through every bank statement, credit card transaction, and vendor invoice to categorize and reconcile every month. We addressed the sales tax notice by filing the overdue returns and communicating with the state to resolve the issue.
For payroll, we set up a proper payroll system, configured the correct tax withholdings, and trained her office manager to run payroll going forward. We also filed the necessary forms to get her current with both the IRS and the state.
The Result
We delivered a complete, accurate set of books for both years. Her CPA was able to file the overdue tax returns without extensions. The sales tax notice was resolved with minimal penalties because we acted quickly and filed everything voluntarily.
The payroll situation was the bigger relief. Getting on a proper system meant her employees were finally receiving legitimate pay stubs, and she was no longer at risk for the kind of penalties that come with mishandling payroll taxes. Her office manager now runs payroll confidently every two weeks after the training we provided.
The most meaningful change was that the owner finally understood her margins. She discovered she had been undercharging on two of her largest commercial contracts, agreements she had priced years ago and never revisited. She renegotiated both and increased her monthly revenue by several thousand dollars without adding a single new client.
First-Time Franchise Owner Who Needed a Financial Foundation
The Problem
A first-time franchise owner had invested her savings into a quick-service restaurant franchise. She had operational training from the franchisor, but no one taught her how to manage the financial side of the business. She was confused by sales tax, unsure how to handle tips and payroll, and had no idea how to read the reports coming out of her POS system.
Corporate was flagging her for late financial reports, and she was terrified of making a mistake that would cost her the franchise agreement.
What We Did
We started from the ground up. We configured QuickBooks Online to match the franchise's reporting requirements and connected it to her bank accounts and POS system. We set up proper sales tax tracking so every dollar collected was accounted for, and we walked her through the payroll system step by step until she felt confident running it on her own.
Beyond the setup, we spent time teaching her how to read a P&L, what her food and labor costs should look like, and what to watch for each month. We built a simple monthly checklist she could follow to stay on top of her numbers between our regular reviews.
The Result
She went from missing corporate deadlines to submitting her financial reports on time every single month. The franchisor stopped flagging her, and she avoided the penalties that come with repeated non-compliance.
More importantly, she developed real financial habits. She now checks her food cost percentage weekly and catches problems before they get expensive. She told us that understanding the numbers changed how she runs the business entirely. She stopped guessing and started making decisions based on what the data actually showed her.
When the franchise offered a promotional pricing program that would have cut into her margins, she was able to run the numbers herself and decide whether it made sense for her location. A year ago, she would have said yes without thinking. Now she evaluates every decision through the lens of what it does to her bottom line.
Electrician Running His Business From a Notebook
The Problem
A licensed electrician had been in business for three years but had never set up a real accounting system. He was tracking income in a notebook, losing receipts for materials and fuel, and filing taxes based on incomplete information. He knew he was probably missing deductions but had no way to prove them.
He was also mixing personal and business expenses on the same debit card, which made it nearly impossible to figure out what the business was actually earning.
What We Did
We set up QuickBooks Online, connected his bank and credit card feeds, and taught him to use the mobile app to capture receipts on the spot. We separated his personal transactions from business expenses and created categories for materials, fuel, tools, insurance, and subcontractor payments.
We also built a simple job tracking structure so he could see how much he was spending on materials per job versus what he was charging.
The Result
The receipt problem disappeared almost immediately. Instead of a pile of crumpled paper in the truck, every expense was captured digitally and categorized as it happened. His CPA told him it was the cleanest set of books he had ever received from a trades client.
The job tracking revealed something he had suspected but never confirmed. His smaller residential service calls were barely covering his costs once he factored in drive time and materials. His commercial work and panel upgrades, on the other hand, were his highest-margin jobs by far.
He adjusted his minimum service call fee and started prioritizing the work that actually paid well. Within a few months, he was working fewer hours but bringing home more money. He now reviews his numbers with us monthly and has a clear picture of where every dollar goes. He said it was the first time the business felt like it was working for him instead of the other way around.
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