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For five years, I built a fractional CFO firm that deliberately avoided bookkeeping. No payroll. No bill pay. No constant fires. In my last issue, I shared the backstory. Full-service bookkeeping created burnout, unpredictability, and mistakes that always rolled uphill. So when I launched my firm, I stayed focused on CFO and advisory work. It worked until it didn’t.
One client exposed the limitation. Their accountant gets pulled into tax season, their books fall behind, and the service line margins I need for advisory become guesswork. Direct costs are coded inconsistently. Some service lines look profitable when they are not, and others look weak when they are carrying the business. I referred the client to trusted people. They would not commit. At some point, I had to decide whether to keep working with unreliable data or rebuild the bookkeeping components that matter most for advisory.
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The problem we had to solve
The core issue is simple. The client cannot make informed growth decisions without accurate service-line margins, and we cannot deliver strong advisory without reliable numbers. This engagement is not about becoming their bookkeeper. It is about restoring clarity so the advisory work has a foundation.
What we are actually doing
We are tightening the structure of their books so margins by service line are accurate every month. Instead of doing all the data entry ourselves, we will design simple workflows for the client’s internal team to follow, supported by clear SOPs and Loom videos. This keeps us focused on interpretation and decision support rather than transactional work.
Just as important is what we are not doing. We are not taking over payroll. We are not committing to the reactive, high-urgency environment that made me avoid bookkeeping in the first place. Every part of the scope is defined by one objective: accurate numbers that support advisory.
The good news: the tech stack was already in place
The client is already on Xero, Bill, and Gusto, so that we can focus on processes rather than migrations. We may layer in something like Uncat later or move them to a more streamlined proposal and invoicing system, but I prefer adding tech only after the underlying process is clear. Tools make sound systems faster, not broken systems better.
Resetting the payroll boundary
One area where scope creep often begins is payroll. Their current bookkeeper has been processing bonus payrolls. It seems small, but it quickly pulls you into the kind of urgent, break-fix work that derails your team. We will not be doing that. Instead, we will build a simple Loom walkthrough showing the client how to enter their own bonus payrolls in Gusto. My pitch to them is straightforward. You are already typing these bonus numbers into an email. You might as well type them directly into Gusto and keep complete control.
What this means for your CAS firm
You do not need to revive full-service bookkeeping to strengthen your advisory work. Start with one client and one objective. In this case, the objective is accurate service line margins. Build a narrow scope around that, keep transactional work with the client when practical, and use the existing tech stack before adding new tools. This lets you protect your team, protect your margins, and finally get the clarity you need to deliver meaningful advisory.
In a future issue, I will focus on how I approach bookkeeping within a CAS-first firm.
Thanks for reading, Luke Templin!
P.S. There are four ways I can help you grow your CAS offerings when you are ready:
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