Business Operating System Setup

What it is

The Business Operating System Setup gives a growing business its own operating system without buying a new one. Over four weeks we set up your private page on Wickham OS around your business, so the numbers, the plan, the registers and the enquiry figures are in one place and kept current from your accounting file every month; we configure the quote, deposit, variation, invoice and chase steps in the tools you already have; and we write the weekly, monthly and quarterly rhythm the team runs to, with a name against every item. Nothing is ever written to your books, and every model and report can be downloaded at any time.

How we do it

We start with your accounts, bank statements, BAS, your list of apps and who uses each, your quote template, invoice and terms of trade, and where your enquiries come from. Then we 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.

In the first two weeks we set up your page, connect a read-only feed from Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks (or agree a monthly export routine if you have no accounting file), load your contracts, insurances and licences onto the renewal register, and configure the quote template with a deposit, the variation form, the invoice terms and due dates and the chase cadence in the tools you already own. Tracking links go on your ads so the enquiry figures can tell the sources apart.

In weeks three and four we prepare the first monthly pack with you, write the one-page rhythm calendar, set up access for the people who need it, and hand over in a 60-minute session that is recorded and saved on the page. We call 30 days later to check the rhythm has taken.

Is this for you?

Clients usually call us for this when:

• You run the business from memory and a bank balance.
• Reports come late or not at all, and month-end depends on one person.
• Quotes, invoices and chasing depend on one person, usually you.
• Nobody knows what the advertising costs per customer won.
• You have seen the demo page on our website and want it for real.

What you receive, and what each gives you

• Your private page on Wickham OS, set up around your business: numbers at a glance, the monthly pack, the living 13-week cash forecast with your cash floor and alert, the 90-day plan, the renewal and people registers, documents and messagesOne place that shows how the business is going, updated every month, that your team and your accountant can be given access to.
• Read-only feed from your accounting file (Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks), or a monthly export routine if you have none; nothing is ever written backThe numbers arrive by themselves each month; nobody re-types them and nobody can change your books through us.
• Job-to-invoice flow configured in the tools you already have: quote template with deposit, variation form, invoice terms and due dates, the chase cadence and who does each stepWork that is done gets billed, deposits get taken and variations get paid for, using what you already own.
• Marketing and enquiry figures on your page: where enquiries come from, what each source costs, cost per lead and per customer won, with tracking links for your adsYou know which advertising pays and which does not, in dollars, before you spend more.
• The operating rhythm: a 20-minute weekly numbers check, the monthly pack by the 10th, a quarterly review, with a one-page calendar of who does whatThe business runs to a rhythm rather than to whoever remembers, so it keeps working when you are away.
• Access set up for the people who need it, with a 60-minute handover and a recorded walk-through saved on the pageEveryone who should see the numbers can, and the walk-through answers the questions that would otherwise come by email.
• Findings and handover report, a 30-day check-in call, and the first monthly pack prepared with youThe first month is done together, so by the second it is habit.

What changes for you

• You open one page and see how the business is going, without asking anyone.
• Work that is done gets invoiced, deposits get taken and the chasing happens on a set day.
• You know what each advertising source costs per lead and per customer won.
• The team runs to a weekly, monthly and quarterly rhythm that does not depend on you remembering.

The questions it answers

• Can we see how the business is going in one place, without buying a new system?
• How do we make sure every job is quoted with a deposit, invoiced on time and chased?
• Which of our advertising actually pays, in dollars?
• What does the team need to do each week, each month and each quarter, and who does it?

Words we use, explained

Operating rhythm

The set of things that happen at a set time, with a name against each: a 20-minute weekly numbers check, the monthly pack by the 10th and a quarterly review. It is what keeps the business running when the owner is away.

Read-only feed

A connection from your accounting file to your page that can see the numbers but can never change them. Nothing is written back to your books.

Cost per lead

What you spend on an advertising source in a month divided by the enquiries it brought in. Cost per customer won is the same spend divided by the customers it won.

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
• Bank statements for the last 3 months (all business accounts)
• Aged debtors and aged creditors as at the last month end
• Last 4 BAS lodgements and the ATO integrated client account statement
• Which accounting file you use (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or none) and who administers it
• A list of every app or system used to quote, schedule, invoice, pay and keep records, and who uses each
• Your current quote template, a recent invoice and your terms of trade

Not included

• Selling, building or implementing accounting, job-management or payroll software, or moving data between systems. Choosing and fixing systems is the Finance Systems Review and System and ERP Selection.
• Bookkeeping, reconciliation, BAS, tax or payroll processing. The pack is only as accurate as your books, so keeping them reconciled stays with you or your bookkeeper.
• Advice on employment, tax or insurance. Where a question comes up in those areas, we flag it for the right adviser.
• The page and its feeds run while the monthly service runs; you can download every model and report at any time.
• Targets and ratings on the page are for steering the business, not a forecast.

The technical detail

Your private page on Wickham OS set up around your business, the read-only feed from Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, the job-to-invoice flow configured in the tools you have, the marketing and enquiry figures, and a 60-minute handover.

Common questions