Case study · Financial clarity
A losing January. Seven months later, six figures to the bottom line.
Fiber and utility cabling contractor · Gulf Coast · January to July 2026 · Client name withheld
This is one of the two results behind everything we do. Names are withheld and the numbers are the client's own, on an accrual basis.
The situation
Growing, and still could not tell if a month made money
The business was busy and getting busier. What it could not do was answer the one question that matters: did this month make money? The answer always arrived weeks late, after the books closed. January closed at a 21 percent loss, and it read like a failing business instead of a timing problem.
What we found
The leaks were real, and none of them were visible
→ Job cost was running at 72 percent of revenue and nobody knew until the books closed.
→ Receivables sat at more than a full month of revenue, with a meaningful share already past due.
→ One customer carried 28 percent of the outstanding balance, a concentration risk nobody was watching.
→ Cash had bottomed out, which is what made a timing problem feel like a losing business.
What we built
A weekly financial cycle the owner could actually run
One dashboard, every Monday. Revenue, direct cost, operating expense, net margin, cash in the bank, and every open invoice by age, with the collection calls named for the week. Not a report to admire. A cockpit to fly the week from, so the owner could see the month while there was still time to change it.
The outcome
Seven months later
Direct cost fell to 56.7 percent of revenue and operating expense to 35.1 percent, both dropping as a share while the business grew. Past due fell about 60 percent across the whole book, and cash recovered into the six figures off the floor.
Figures on an accrual basis, from the client's own books. Client name withheld on request.
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