Keep each client’s close, forecast and board pack on one engagement record.

A virtual CFO firm sells judgement by the month. A founder with no finance chief hires a partner and an analyst to close the books, read the numbers, build the forecast and sit in the board meeting. Each client is small, and every one expects a full pack.

The firm’s work runs on other people’s ledgers. Clients keep books in their own accounting package, their bank and payment feeds sit elsewhere, and the firm reads from all of them. What the firm produces is a calendar of deliverables. Miss one and trust goes.

After month end, the bookkeeper or the client’s own accountant posts the final entries. Next the analyst pulls a trial balance, checks bank and payment platform balances against the ledger and reviews the ageing of payables and receivables. Then comes the management pack: profit and loss against budget, cash position, runway and a short list of variances. The partner reads it and writes commentary. It goes out before the review call.

Between closes there is other work. A cash flow forecast is rolled forward every week for a client with thin cash. A budget is rebuilt for the next year. A data room is prepared for a fundraising round, with a cap table, contracts and board minutes. A lender’s covenant certificate falls due. One partner may carry fifteen clients, each on a different tier of retainer, each with a year end of its own and a founder who wants an answer today. Deadlines arrive in clusters.