About Master Plan
Strategic finance for the businesses too big to wing it, too small for a full-time CFO.
Master Plan Financial Advising exists for one specific moment: when an owner-operated business in the $1M–$5M range starts making decisions that are bigger than its financial infrastructure can support. We help you see whether that moment has arrived — and if it has, we step into the CFO seat part-time.
Why we built this
We kept meeting the same owner. Revenue was growing. The business was real. But every meaningful decision — a hire, a location, a loan, an offer to buy the company — got made on gut and a glance at the bank balance, because the numbers only ever looked backward.
Some of those owners needed a fractional CFO yesterday. Others were a year early and would have wasted good money hiring one. The hard part was almost never the work itself — it was knowing whether it was time. So we built the resource we wished existed: an honest, jargon-free way to answer that question, whether or not you ever work with us.
That's what the readiness assessment and the library are for. The advisory practice is what comes after — for the businesses that are genuinely ready.
How we work
Four principles we don't bend on.
Timing over selling
We'd rather tell you it's too early and keep your trust than take on an engagement that won't pay for itself. Some of our best relationships started with “not yet — call us in two quarters.”
Forward-looking, always
Bookkeepers and controllers keep the numbers accurate. Our job is different: to use those numbers to see around the next corner and model the decisions before you commit the money.
Plain language
If you leave a conversation more confused than when you started, we've failed. The work includes translating the numbers into something you can act on quickly.
Right-sized scope
A standing retainer isn't always the answer. Sometimes it's a four-week project. We scope to the decision in front of you, not to the biggest possible engagement.
A good fit if…
- You're doing roughly $1M–$5M+ and growing or changing.
- You have a real decision or event on the horizon.
- Your books are reasonably clean but nobody's looking forward.
- You want a straight answer, not a sales process.
Probably not yet if…
- You're pre-$1M with simple, steady operations.
- Your bookkeeping isn't reliable yet — fix that first.
- There's no specific decision a CFO would work on.
- You're looking for someone to do the day-to-day accounting.
Not sure where you land?
See exactly where your business sits in ten minutes.
The readiness assessment gives you a stage, the reasoning behind it, and specific next steps — whether or not you ever talk to us.