Free Resources
Learn the Framework. Free.
You make stuff. You do stuff. You sell stuff. Do you know if you are actually keeping any of it?
These are teaching tools. They show you how the five problems work, help you recognise the symptoms in your own business, and give you a way to look at your numbers that a tax return will not. What they cannot do is tell you which of your numbers is wrong or what it is costing you. That takes someone reading your actual financials.
What you will learn to spot
Five problems show up over and over in owner-operated businesses. These resources teach you what each one looks like.
- The Cash Flow Trap. Revenue is fine. The bank account is not.
- The Owner Pay Gap. You pay yourself last.
- The Breakeven Lie. A tax breakeven and a management breakeven are different numbers, and only one of them counts you.
- Profit Leaks. Labor, pricing, marketing, or management overhead.
- The Scaling Blind Spot. No model for the next hire or price.
Recognising a problem and diagnosing it are different things. These tools help with the first. If you are ready to see where profit may be breaking down and what deserves attention first, apply for a Profit Opportunity Review.
Easy Numbers P&L
A simplified, educational version of the P&L layout I work from. It teaches you to read your business the way a CFO does — owner pay treated as a real cost, a breakeven that counts you, and a first look at where margin goes. It is a learning tool, not a diagnosis: it can show you the format, but it cannot tell you which of your numbers is wrong or what the gap is worth.
See Your Business The Way A CFO Sees It. Free.
Pick the version that matches what your business does. Fill in your numbers. See your real picture for the first time.
- Shows you what an owner pay gap looks like on a P&L
- A management breakeven, with your wage inside it
- Three productivity ratios, so you can see where margin tends to go
- A simple monthly dashboard layout. Color coded, blue inputs.
Not sure which one? Book a 15-minute fit call and I will help you pick. Free.
Direct LPR 2.92x. MPR 11.7x. Pretax 14%.
Owner Pay $60,000 total. Already in. Not added back.
Tax Bracket Truth Calculator
A side note, but a common one: "I don't want to make more because I'll just move into a higher tax bracket." That is not how brackets work, and this calculator shows the math. Free download.
Two inputs. The math always wins.
Inputs: current taxable income, new taxable income.
Outputs: bracket-by-bracket tax breakdown, effective rate, and how much more you actually keep.
When you want a closer look
A downloaded template can teach you the framework. It cannot compare your business with relevant targets, reveal where profit may be breaking down, or show which problem deserves attention first. That is what the Profit Opportunity Review is designed to do.
Find out what your business could be missing.
I select five owners each month for a no-cost Profit Opportunity Review. It establishes what the business is producing today, what healthier target economics should look like, a conservative Validated Financial Opportunity for the next 12 months, and which opportunity deserves attention first. It does not rebuild or implement the financial system — that is what the 60-Day Cash & Profit Reset is for.
- Is your labor making money?
- Is your marketing making money?
- Is your management being productive?
- What is the gap between what you pay yourself and what the business should?
- How have revenue and profitability actually trended year over year?
No pitch deck. No proposal you did not ask for.
Nick, The Fractional CFO.