A Financial Planning and Analysis Guide
If you want to learn more about financial metrics, you can read the full guide for free right here on my website. The sample company in the guide is fictional.
Read the free guide
Put the guide to work on your business
A clear read on your cash, profitability and financial health, built from your own books.
Business Numbers Report
Interested clients will be sent a sample report.
The report is financial analysis using metrics and ratios, and does not include tax preparation or tax advice.
3-Scenario Cash Flow Forecast Template (Excel)
Intermediate knowledge of Excel recommended. A forecast is a planning tool based on the assumptions entered, not a guarantee of future results.
See the Cash Flow Forecast Template (Excel): what you get and how it works
Download the slides (PDF)
10-Hour Books Review for a Customized Setup Plan
See a sample: Willow Creek Farm
A fictional farm where each crop is a program, set up in QuickBooks and analyzed in Excel.
I’ll look at how your books are set up today and how transactions are entered. After 10 hours, you’ll have:
Then choose what’s next:
“Your financial reports can generate a graph, but they can’t pinpoint why your direct costs spiked or if your bookkeeper accidentally duplicated revenue in receivables and as a cash deposit (a common mistake).”
Ongoing Controller Plans
Looking for bookkeeper help?
I also offer hybrid controller/bookkeeper plans, with bookkeeping at a flat rate of $45 per hour.
Launch rates stay locked in for one year.
What your controller hours can cover
Mix and match any of these on any plan. Before we begin, we meet to agree on a statement of work for your business.
Month-End Close
Additional Reports
Process Improvements
You Tell Me
Need something else? If it’s accounting or finance related, we’ll build it into your statement of work. I don’t prepare tax returns, but I can prepare the reconciled reports your tax preparer needs.
Location
I work remotely with clients across the U.S., using your cloud accounting system (such as QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, MIP or NetSuite) and secure file sharing. We can stay in touch by email or meet by video call, whichever you prefer.
How the ongoing plans work
Start small, upgrade when you need to
Unsure how many hours you need? Choose a lower plan to start. You can move up a tier by paying the difference, depending on availability at the time.
Paid upfront, time reserved for you
Plans are paid at the start of each service period, which reserves your dedicated time on my calendar.
Hours are allocated monthly
Unused hours don’t roll over, but if hours are left mid-month I’ll reach out to suggest high-value projects, like forecast modeling or system cleanup.
Month to month, no long-term contract
Plans run on a rolling monthly cycle, and you can stop anytime. Since each month is paid upfront, your plan simply runs through the end of the month you’ve paid for.
Testimonials
We have found Heather Waters’ FP&A Guide extremely useful. While our former accountants provided us with regular financial reports, they generally did not spend much time reviewing the information or helping us analyze it. The FP&A Guide demonstrates that Heather understands small and medium-sized business owners often do not have extensive financial education in their backgrounds, so interpreting numbers wisely and making good financial decisions can be a challenge. Using the FP&A Guide, along with talking through business questions with Heather regularly, helped us understand where we were making costly mistakes, and led to better decisions and outcomes. Heather is a great resource to help grow your business, and she is smart, efficient and kind, a true pleasure to work with. Highly recommend.
15+ years running accounting departments and consulting for complex nonprofits, now for small businesses
Heather WatersWaters Books & Ops, LLC
For details on my clients and full-time work experience, see my LinkedIn profile.
I’m a Financial Controller who learned by doing, advancing from bookkeeper roles to the Controller level. I’ve overseen month-end close, fixed data errors, prepared for annual audits, and cleaned up general ledgers for nonprofit organizations with $21M to $45M budgets.
Nonprofit accounting demands rigid compliance, restricted funds, and complex allocation rules. I built my FP&A workbook from scratch to bring that same discipline to small businesses, and I explain metrics without unnecessary jargon.
Using a different system? With six-plus years of consulting across different setups, I pick up new systems quickly.
Led GL conversions and implementations including MIP to Intacct, QBO to Intacct, and QBO to Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Let’s talk about your books
Open the short form below to get started with an ongoing plan or project-based work, or to order a standalone Business Numbers Report or Cash Flow Forecast Template (Excel). Nothing is billed until we’ve talked.
Your financial data stays confidential. Your books and reports are shared only with you. My Standard Client Terms (PDF) are attached here for your review.
Email contact@watersbooksops.com to receive a sample of the Business Numbers Report. The FP&A Guide isn’t included, since you can read it on this website anytime. The report follows a standard PDF format. See the 10-Hour Books Review for a Customized Setup Plan and Ongoing Controller Plans for several options to work with me.