Who it is for
Fractional, outsourced and part-time CFOs serving several small and mid-sized business clients.
What gets in the way
- The monthly close depends on a client who sends statements and payroll after the reporting date.
- The CFO manages several clients and cannot see which ones are still open without asking each team.
- The forecast and the board report start from a close that is not finished.
- The client's documents arrive in email, shared drives and text messages, with no single record.
The close is the foundation
A forecast, a board report or a lender package starts with a close that is current. The CFO needs the statements, the payroll register, the sales reports and the receipts before the numbers can be trusted.
A recurring checklist with the same due date each month gives the CFO a predictable close and the client a predictable request.
Manage several clients in one view
The CFO needs to see the status of every client before the reporting week: who is in, who is late and what is missing.
A shared request list gives the CFO and the client team the same status, so no one has to ask for a separate update.
Collect for the forecast and the board
The forecast needs the current sales pipeline, the hiring plan and the major costs. The board report needs the close, the cash balance and the questions behind the variances.
Add those items to the request when the reporting cycle needs them, instead of sending a new email for each one.
Where Usual fits
Usual sends the monthly checklist from a link in the CFO's email. The client finishes it on a phone, and the answers save as they go.
The CFO sets the reminder schedule once, and the reminders stop when everything is in. Accepted files are filed into the client's folders by year.
The CFO keeps the forecasting, reporting and advisory tools. Usual does the document request, the reminders and the filing.