At what point should my business hire a Virtual CFO?

So your company is growing, you've never been busier. Sales are up, new customers are piling up, you're on a hiring spree. You struggle with cash… the numbers just don't seem to be at the levels you expect, given your success. You are not alone! Most entrepreneurs are mostly salespeople and inventors – not accountants. Here are a few signs that should ring the alarm bell, telling you that it's time to hire a Virtual CFO.

1. Not getting the financial information you need 

Many startups use QuickBooks. It is usually set up by your tax accountant to help prepare your tax returns.  While QuickBooks is great for companies just starting out, you may run into a problem when you need useful data for your business, which is easy to understand.  It should not be as difficult as it is now to get the financial information you need to run your business. As your business is growing, you will have more transactions and complexity in your accounting. How do you parse through what information is important to you and what isn't?

2. Never seem to have enough cash 

This is very common with our new Virtual CFO clients. You have a good feel for when your cash balances will rise and fall, but you are not tracking cash as often as needed. You would like to have more predictability,  more stability in your day-to-day cash flow, as well as, your long-term cash trajectory so you can make more confident decisions. You also would like to have access to capital - something to soften the ups and downs.

Related: Understanding the Difference Between Profits and Cash Flow.

3. You need help creating a plan for your business

You understand the importance of creating a financial plan and would like to set up your goals for the next 12 months. However, when will you push it in to your schedule? Even if you do somehow find the time and you have the know-how to create a plan, how will you track and measure performance against it?

4. You need a financial sounding board

Every now and then, it would be great to speak to someone about your business. Sure, you have friends, maybe even a business coach, and mentors that are here to help you out. There are times though that you need to get into the details of your business. ie, how much should I be paying for a given position? What should new product pricing be? what is the correct margin that we need in order to stay afloat? What are the risks to my business that could put us out of business?

5. You want to spend more time working on your business, not in your business 

Many business owners spend far too much time working in the business, especially on their books. You want to see things a certain way, and your bookkeeper doesn't seem capable of getting the books where they need to be. So you step in, spending valuable time getting financial information when you could be building the business.

Read more here about Oberladner & Co Virtual CFO services