Service 01 · Fractional CFO
A CFO for your company, without one on the payroll.
Richard Carvajal has spent more than fifteen years putting growing companies' numbers in order. We step into yours, get the information in order and hand you a dashboard every month that you can actually make decisions with.
Free · no commitment
Management dashboard
Receivables over 60 days past due
Sample interface · illustrative data
Who it's for
If any of these sound familiar, this is for you.
“I know how much I sell, but not how much I make on each business line.”
“My books arrive late, and they're good for filing taxes, not for making decisions.”
“I'm selling more than ever and the cash still isn't there.”
“If a big payment falls through tomorrow, I don't know how many days I can hold out.”
“I set prices by what the competition charges, not by what it costs me.”
“I want to apply for financing and my numbers aren't presentable.”
How we work
This is the first month, and every month after.
No consulting that ends in a report nobody opens. The work has a fixed rhythm and deliverables with dates.
01Week 1
Strategy conversation
We sit down and talk about your business seriously: what you sell, how you sell it, what it costs you and where you want to go. With that and the financial information you already have, we get started. We don't ask for access to your bank accounts and we don't move money.
What you bring: the information that already exists and an in-depth conversation about your company.
02One to two weeks
Financial diagnostic
A document with the real state of the business: profitability by line, cost structure, cash cycle and the three or four issues costing you the most money today. It's presented and discussed in a meeting, not just sent by email.
What you get: the diagnostic and a prioritized list of what to tackle first.
03The next two weeks
Setup
We build the management dashboard and the 13-week cash flow forecast with your company's data, using the metrics that matter in your industry, not a generic template.
What you get: the dashboard up and running, with your numbers in it.
04Every month from here
Leadership meeting
A monthly meeting with the dashboard in front of you: what happened, what gets decided and who does what before the next one. Decisions are written down, with their reasoning.
What you get: an updated dashboard, the month's alerts and the meeting minutes.
Monthly deliverable
This is what you get every month.
Sales against target, margin by line, days of cash and the alerts that call for a decision. A living document that is reviewed in a meeting.
Management dashboard
- Services41%
- Product33%
- Distribution27%
- Digital21%
- Receivables over 60 days past due
- Margin above target in Services
Sample interface · illustrative data
Deliverables
What's inside, specifically.
Monthly management dashboard
Sales against target, margin, days of cash and profitability, compared with the previous month and the previous year.
13-week cash flow forecast
What comes in and what goes out, week by week, over the next quarter, with the moments when cash gets tight flagged in advance.
Profitability by business line
How much each product, service or location really makes, with overhead allocated on an explicit basis.
Cost structure and break-even point
How much you need to sell not to lose money, and what happens to that number if a cost goes up or a price goes down.
This month's alerts
What calls for a decision now: overdue receivables, falling margins, stalled inventory, a client that weighs too much.
Meeting minutes
What was decided, why, and who's responsible for each item before the next meeting.
Honesty up front
Who it works for, and who it doesn't.
It works if
- Your company already has steady revenue and the owner can't keep the numbers in their head.
- You have an accountant, and what's missing isn't bookkeeping but interpretation.
- You're growing, planning to invest or about to apply for financing.
- You want to decide with numbers, not gut feeling.
It's not for you if
- You're looking for someone to keep the books and file taxes: that's your accountant's job. Ours is what comes after.
- You need to fix a cash emergency this week: a diagnostic doesn't replace a loan.
- There's no willingness to make uncomfortable decisions when the numbers point to them.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before starting.
Does this replace my accountant?
No, and it shouldn't. Your accountant records what already happened and handles what the law requires. Financial leadership interprets that information and turns it into decisions going forward. They're two different jobs: ours starts where theirs ends.
What if my books are a mess?
That's the most common case, and it's not an obstacle. Part of the first month is precisely getting the minimum information in order so you can make decisions. Everything doesn't have to be perfect to start.
How much of my time will it take?
Handing over the initial information and one meeting a month. We do the work of building, reviewing and forecasting; you decide.
Do you need access to my bank accounts?
No. We work with reports and accounting information. We don't handle, move or authorize any client's money.
From what company size does it make sense?
From the moment pricing, purchasing or hiring decisions carry enough weight that getting them wrong is expensive, and the owner can no longer keep all the numbers in their head. That happens much earlier than most people think.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the size of your company and how far the work goes, so we cover it in the diagnostic call instead of posting a rate here. That conversation leads to a concrete proposal, and deciding afterwards costs nothing.
Do you work remotely?
Yes. We have a team in Ecuador and in Berlin, and we work in English and Spanish. Meetings are by video call unless being there in person is needed.
Next step
Twenty minutes with your numbers on the table.
A short executive diagnostic to understand where you stand and tell you frankly whether we can help. No commitment.