Business Backbone Review

What it is

The Business Backbone Review looks at the six processes every business runs whether it knows it or not: winning work, doing it, billing and collecting, paying, keeping records and steering. We rate each one green, amber or red on evidence, work out the eleven numbers that warn of trouble but never appear on a profit and loss, and map how work flows from the first enquiry to the cash in the bank. You leave with a 90-day fix list, ranked by dollar value, with an owner and a date against every item, starting with the fixes that need no new software.

How we do it

We start with your accounts, bank statements, BAS, payroll and a list of the apps you use, then spend two hours walking through the business with you and whoever quotes, invoices and pays the bills, so we see how the work really runs rather than how it is meant to.

We rate each of the six processes green, amber or red on what we find, and calculate the eleven hidden numbers for your business: for example how much of the cash in the bank is really the ATO's and your staff's, how many days pass between paying for a job and being paid for it, how far sales could fall before you make a loss, and how much depends on you alone.

We map every step from enquiry to cash, showing where time and money leak, start a register of your contracts, insurances, licences and renewals with their expiry dates, and write the 90-day fix list. We walk you through it in a 60-minute session and call you 30 days later to see how it is going.

Is this for you?

Clients usually call us for this when:

• You are the only person who can quote, invoice or chase payment.
• Work gets done but not billed, or variations are done for free.
• Tax and super are treated as cash you can spend.
• Contracts, insurances and licences expire without warning.
• Month-end depends on one person's memory.
• The business is growing and you can feel it slipping.

What you receive, and what each gives you

• Backbone scorecard: the six processes (Win, Do, Bill and collect, Pay, Keep, Steer) rated green, amber or red, with the evidence for each ratingA one-page scorecard rating the six processes (Win, Do, Bill and collect, Pay, Keep, Steer) green, amber or red, with the evidence behind each rating, so you can see at a glance where the business is solid and where it is exposed.
• The hidden numbers: eleven figures calculated for the business on one page (cash that isn't theirs, cash conversion cycle, break-even and margin of safety, customer concentration and days to pay, labour cost per productive hour, unbilled work and lost variations, price-cost lag, overhead creep, owner dependency, compliance and contract dates, record quality)The eleven numbers that warn of trouble early, calculated for your business on one page and explained in everyday words, including how much of the cash in the bank is really yours.
• Enquiry-to-cash process map as it runs today, showing where money and time leakA map of how work moves from enquiry to cash today, step by step, showing who does each step, how long it waits and where money and time leak.
• 90-day fix list ranked by dollar value, with an owner and a date against every item, no-software fixes firstA 90-day fix list ranked by what each fix is worth in dollars, with an owner and a date against every item and the fixes that need no new software first, so you know what to do on Monday.
• A started register of contracts, insurances, licences and renewals with expiry datesA register of your contracts, leases, insurances, licences and renewals with their expiry dates, started for you, so nothing lapses without warning.
• Findings report with a one-page summary, a 60-minute session with the owners, and the 30-day check-in callA findings report with a one-page summary, a 60-minute session with the owners to agree the plan, and a 30-day call to check how it is going.

What changes for you

• You know which of the six processes to fix first, and what fixing it is worth.
• You know how much of the cash in the bank is really yours to spend.
• Work that is done gets billed, and variations get paid for.
• Fewer things depend on you alone, so the business can run when you are away.
• Nothing important expires without you knowing in advance.

The questions it answers

• Where does work leak time and money between the enquiry and the cash?
• How much of the money in the bank is really ours?
• What should we fix first, and what can we fix without buying software?
• How much of the business depends on me alone?

Words we use, explained

Cash conversion cycle

The number of days between paying for the materials and wages on a job and being paid for it. The longer it is, the more cash the business needs just to keep going.

Margin of safety

How far sales could fall before the business starts making a loss.

Variation

Extra work a customer asks for after the job is quoted. If it is not written down and invoiced, it is done for free.

What we’ll need from you

A one-page checklist comes with the engagement letter, with a private page to upload everything. The main items:

• Profit and loss and balance sheet for the last 2 financial years and year to date
• Aged debtors and aged creditors as at the last month end
• Bank statements for the last 3 months (all business accounts)
• Last 4 BAS lodgements and the ATO integrated client account statement (shows any tax debt or payment plan)
• Payroll summary by role for the last 12 months, and the super payment dates
• Sales by customer for the last 12 months
• A list of every app or system used to quote, schedule, invoice, pay and keep records, and who uses each

Not included

• An audit, or a legal check of your compliance.
• Advice on employment, tax or insurance. Where a question comes up in those areas, we flag it for the right adviser.
• Putting the fixes in place, or building or connecting software.
• Keeping the register up to date after handover, unless the monthly service is taken.
• The savings and risk figures are estimates of scale to rank priorities, not forecasts.

The technical detail

The six processes (winning work, doing it, billing and collecting, paying, keeping records and steering) rated green, amber or red on evidence, the eleven numbers that predict trouble but never appear on a profit and loss, a map of how work flows from enquiry to cash, a started register of contracts, insurances and licences, and a 90-day fix list with an owner and a date against every item, no-software fixes first.

Common questions