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Corporate finance and fractional CFO · St. Louis

Know your numbers. Make better calls.

You're the one putting out fires, making payroll and keeping the lights on. The numbers get whatever time is left over, which usually isn't much.

Forward Business Advisors is the finance partner who keeps an eye on the numbers for you, and works through the decisions with you, so you can get back to running the business. CFO-level support for owners doing $1M to $10M, without the full-time salary.

Book a 30-minute intro call

Built for owner-led businesses on QuickBooks Online.

13-week cash forecastExample
Stop checking the bank balance before every yes. Week 7, payroll and a quarterly tax payment land together. Seen six weeks out, it's a plan. Seen the day before, it's a crisis.
Margin by product lineExample
Busier than ever, so where's the money? Often it's the line you sell the most of. The monthly reporting pack shows where you actually make money, by product and by customer.
Monthly KPI scorecardExample
Cash runway9 wksOn target
Days to collect52 daysTarget 35
Gross margin34%Target 38%
Overdue invoices6Down from 11
Know what's slipping in five minutes, not five weeks. A handful of numbers you control, each with a target and an owner, reviewed every month.
Budget vs actualExample
BudgetActual
Every big decision feels like a bet. A new hire, a truck, a price increase. The 12-month budget shows what it does to profit and cash before you sign, then tracks how it actually plays out.

Sound familiar?

You didn't start a business to fly blind.

You're not short on effort. You're short on time, and on a clear view of what's coming early enough to do something about it.

"I check the bank balance before I say yes to anything."

Cash you can see coming

A rolling 13-week forecast, so payroll and big purchases are never a surprise.

"We're busier than ever. Why isn't there more money?"

Know where you make money

Margin by product and customer, so you can raise prices, fix costs or walk away with confidence.

"I find out how we did a month or two after it's too late."

Numbers you trust, on time

A clean monthly close and a P&L, balance sheet and cash flow you can read in 10 minutes.

"Every big decision is a gut call, and it's all on me."

A partner in the room

A monthly review with someone who knows your numbers and helps you decide what to do next.

How it works

Start small. Build the system. Keep it running.

Each step stands on its own. You only move to the next one if the last one was worth it.

Step 1

Finance Health Checkup

$500 fixed fee
  • 60 to 90 minute working session in your QuickBooks
  • 24-point finance scorecard
  • One-page readout with your top 3 gaps

The full fee is credited toward the Sprint.

Step 2

Finance Foundations Sprint

From $7,500 fixed fee · 6 weeks
  • Close checklist and monthly reporting pack
  • KPI scorecard and 13-week cash forecast
  • Driver-based 12-month budget
  • Your first monthly review, together

Fixed fee, quoted to the size of your business.

Step 3

Monthly support

From $1,500 per month
  • Monthly close review and CFO report
  • 60-minute monthly review meeting
  • Weekly 13-week cash check

Available after a completed Sprint.

The Sprint

Finance Foundations Sprint

Six weeks to get the finance basics in place, built around your schedule, so you can run the business off real numbers instead of guesses.

KickoffQuickBooks access, goals, current pain points
BuildClean up, build the pack, scorecard, forecast and budget
HandoffWalkthrough, training, first monthly review
Investment From $7,500 Fixed fee for the full 6 weeks, quoted to the size of your business after the intro call. No hourly billing.
  • Books you can trustA close checklist for your bookkeeper and a chart of accounts review, with fixes or a handoff plan for your bookkeeper and CPA.
  • Monthly reporting packP&L, balance sheet, and cash flow in a format you can read in 10 minutes.
  • KPI scorecard5 to 10 numbers you can actually control, starting with cash.
  • 13-week cash forecastA rolling model, built for your business, that you can update yourself.
  • 12-month budgetBuilt from the drivers of your business, with budget vs actual each month.
  • Decision cadenceA simple monthly review agenda so the numbers change what you do next.

Focused projects

Need one piece, not the whole system?

Each piece of the Sprint is available on its own. If you go on to the full Sprint, what you paid is credited toward it.

Close & books review

$1,250

Close checklist for your bookkeeper, chart of accounts review, and a clear pass or fix list.

KPI dashboard

$1,750

5 to 10 KPIs with definitions, owners and targets.

13-week cash flow

$2,500

Built from your AR, AP, payroll and recurring bills, with a weekly update routine.

Monthly reporting pack

$3,000

P&L, balance sheet, cash flow and 12-month trends, mapped from QuickBooks.

12-month budget

$3,000

A driver-based budget with budget vs actual.

One-off questions

From $1,300

Pricing, a hire, a loan, a big purchase. One question, one deliverable, fixed fee.

Who this is for

A good fit if you're

  • An owner-led business with $1M to $10M in annual revenue
  • Running QuickBooks Online (other systems considered)
  • Growing, but making big decisions without a clear view of cash and margin
  • Wanting to understand your numbers, not just receive a report
Scott Horan

About

Scott Horan, founder

Running a small business means you're the CEO, the head of sales and the person who fixes whatever broke today. Cash flow, pricing, hiring and profitability all land on your desk, usually at the same time, and usually without good numbers behind them.

I strive to make finance simple. I've spent 12+ years in corporate finance building the budgets, cash flow forecasts and monthly financial reporting that keep a business on track. Now I bring that to owner-led businesses as a fractional CFO.

My job is to take the finance side off your plate. I watch the numbers while you run the business, then sit down with you and your team to decide what to do next: when you can afford to hire, where you're actually making money, and how much cash you'll have six weeks from now.

Forward Business Advisors works with St. Louis business owners doing $1M to $10M in revenue who need a finance partner, not a full-time CFO.

Fractional CFO support Budget and forecast buildouts Board and investor reporting Financial model builds

Get the numbers off your plate.

A 30-minute call about what's going on in your business and whether we're a fit. No prep and no homework. Just bring what's keeping you up at night.

Book a time
Or email Based in St. Louis, Missouri