These six guides each explain one tool we build with clients during a consulting engagement, step by step, with a worked example whose arithmetic you can check. They are written for owners and managers of Canadian small and mid-sized companies who would rather understand the method than take a recommendation on faith. You can use every one of them without hiring anyone. If you later want help applying them, each guide ends with a link to the matching service.
They fall into three groups: money (cash, margin and price), measurement (the scorecard), and the way work and responsibility are organised (process and roles).
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Building an accountability chart and finding the owner hours to hand off
An accountability chart names one owner for every recurring outcome, and a decision-rights table says who decides what, up to which limit. Pair them with a two-week audit of the owner's hours and the first handoffs choose themselves.
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The rolling 13-week cash flow forecast, built line by line
A 13-week cash forecast lists every dollar you expect to receive and pay, week by week, starting from today's bank balance. Rolled forward every Monday, it shows a cash squeeze six to eight weeks before it arrives, while you still have choices.
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Contribution margin by service line: finding the work that pays for the rest
Split revenue by service line, subtract only the costs that line causes, and you see its contribution margin. In most owner-led companies one line quietly loses money before overhead is even counted, and the total profit figure hides it.
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A one-page KPI scorecard: nine measures, exact formulas and who owns each
A useful scorecard fits on one page, defines every number by an exact formula, names one person responsible for each, and colours each line red, amber or green against thresholds the business sets. Nine measures cover cash, profit, capacity, sales and quality for most service companies.
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Price change math: the volume you can lose, or must gain, before profit falls
After a price increase, you can lose a surprising share of volume and still earn the same contribution; after a discount, you need far more volume than most owners expect. One formula tells you which, and by how much.
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Process mapping: how to measure one workflow and price its rework
Pick one workflow, walk it with the people who do it, time each step, and count how often work comes back. Multiply the correction hours by a loaded labour rate and you have a figure the whole team can act on.
Money: cash, margin and price
These three guides answer the questions owners most often bring to a first conversation: will we have enough cash, which work actually pays, and what happens if we change our prices.
The rolling 13-week cash flow forecast
The 13-week cash flow forecast guide shows how to place every receipt and payment in the week it will clear, starting from today's bank balance. It covers receivables ageing, biweekly payroll, rent and loan dates, and treating GST/HST remittances as cash that belongs to the government until paid. The worked example follows an 18-person company through a full quarter, shows the week its balance dips under the minimum line, and then shows what one late-paying customer does to the same quarter. Read it first if you have ever checked the bank on the Thursday before payroll.
Contribution margin by service line
The margin by service line guide explains how to build a loaded labour cost per billable hour, assign direct costs to each line of work, and calculate what each line contributes before overhead. Its example company has three lines: one earning 34.4%, one earning 23.2% and one losing money. It then works through repricing, redesigning and dropping the losing line, with the numbers for each, and explains why allocated overhead can push owners toward the wrong decision.
Price change and volume math
The price change guide gives one formula for the volume you can afford to lose after a price increase, or must gain after a discount, before profit falls. A table shows the answer at several contribution margins, and a worked Canadian example walks through a 6% increase. It closes with a method for testing a change on part of your customer base before committing. Read it after the margin guide; the two use the same inputs.
Measurement: the owner KPI scorecard
A scorecard turns the money guides into a weekly habit.
The owner KPI scorecard guide sets out nine measures, each with an exact formula, a named owner, a review cadence and example thresholds: cash runway, days sales outstanding, gross margin, labour utilisation, revenue per employee, quote win rate, rework rate, customer retention and backlog. Every measure is worked through for a hypothetical 20-person company, including what a small improvement is worth in dollars. It also describes a 20-minute weekly review where only red and amber lines are discussed. Read it once you have the cash forecast in place, because cash runway is its first line.
How the work is organised: process and roles
These two guides deal with the operational causes behind weak numbers: work that has to be done twice, and decisions that all wait for the owner.
Process mapping and the cost of rework
The process mapping guide explains how to pick one workflow, walk it with the people who do it, time each step and count how often work comes back for correction. The example follows an order-to-invoice process at a 22-person distributor and turns correction hours into an annual dollar figure using a loaded labour rate. It then shows how to choose and estimate fixes. Read it if your margin or rework numbers look wrong and nobody can say why.
The accountability chart and decision rights
The accountability chart guide shows how to name one owner for every recurring outcome, write a decision-rights table with spending and approval limits, and audit the owner's own hours for two weeks. The worked example puts a dollar figure on the owner's time and uses it to choose which responsibilities to hand off first. Read it if the business slows down whenever you take a week off.
Where to start, depending on your situation
A short guide to the guides:
- Cash is tight or unpredictable: the cash forecast, then the scorecard.
- Busy but not profitable: margin by service line, then price change math.
- Too much rework or missed deadlines: process mapping, then the scorecard's rework line.
- Everything runs through you: the accountability chart, then process mapping.
- Not sure what the problem is: that is what a business diagnostic is for, and it usually uses parts of all six.
How the guides relate to an engagement
Each guide matches a stage of how we work. A diagnostic looks across all of them; the financial clarity service builds the cash forecast, margin analysis and scorecard; operations improvement applies process mapping; organisation and roles builds the accountability chart; growth strategy uses the pricing math; and implementation support uses the scorecard to track progress month by month.
The guides are free to use and adapt. Engagement options and fees are on the pricing page, and the background on how we work is on the about page. Consultations run online by video call or in person, as well as by phone. If something in a guide does not fit your business, call, text or email; a short text to (604) 632-4959 is a good way to start, and we take it from there.
Frequently asked questions
Which guide should I read first?
If cash feels tight, start with the 13-week cash flow forecast. If cash is fine but profit is thin, start with margin by service line. If the business depends too heavily on you, start with the accountability chart.
Are the numbers in the guides real client figures?
No. Every example uses a hypothetical company so the arithmetic can be shown in full. The methods are the ones we use in engagements; the figures are illustrative.
Do the guides replace advice from my accountant or lawyer?
No. They are management tools. Tax filings, payroll deductions, employment law and contracts stay with your CPA, payroll provider or lawyer, and each guide says where that line falls.
Can you build these tools with my own numbers?
Yes. Each guide maps to one of our services, and most engagements build two or three of these tools in the first weeks. Call, text or email to talk it through.