1The shared work and review
Use a finance folder with access appropriate for company reports and payroll. Keep one dated file for each practical task. Preserve source exports and identify the reporting basis and period. Perform practice calculations in copies; posting an entry in QuickBooks or changing billing in Syncro requires the normal company approval.
The admin manager prepares the books, supporting schedules and monthly report packet. The CEO reviews exceptions, supplies growth assumptions and approves major commitments. Forecast exercises are studied together. Where one person prepares and pays a transaction, arrange a separate review of the evidence and bank activity.
At the end of each session, compare your result with the answer check in the lesson. A correct quiz supports recall. The completed practical work demonstrates that you can perform the finance task.
2The session work portfolio
| Session | Completed practical work |
|---|---|
| 1. Money Through an MSP | One client transaction map and a preparation, review, and approval responsibility table. |
| 2. Invoices Bills and Payments | A four-event entry review and a short approved account guide. |
| 3. The Profit and Loss Statement | A September P&L reconstruction, August comparison, and one-page monthly profit commentary. |
| 4. The Balance Sheet | A supported September balance sheet summary and a balance-level exception list. |
| 5. Profit and Cash | A worked hypothetical cash bridge and a documented September-to-October cash investigation. |
| 6. The Monthly Close | A reusable monthly close checklist, reviewed package, and exception log. |
| 7. Recurring Revenue and Collections | A dated recurring revenue reconciliation and a client collection list. |
| 8. Delivery Cost and Capacity | A supported delivery cost and capacity worksheet with definitions, reconciliation, and missing-evidence list. |
| 9. Client Profitability and Pricing | A checked client contribution report with one recommendation for CEO review. |
| 10. Projects Hardware and Cash Commitments | A project approval packet with estimated profit, cash timeline and purchasing conditions. |
| 11. Ratios and the Finance Scorecard | A finance scorecard with definitions, supported figures and an exception list. |
| 12. The Monthly Finance Review | A reviewed monthly finance packet with a decision list and follow-up register. |
| 13. The 12-Month Operating Forecast | A twelve-month operating forecast with sourced assumptions, checks and a baseline comparison. |
| 14. Hiring and Growth Capacity | A hiring decision packet with verified cost components, workload evidence and cash timing. |
| 15. The 13-Week Cash Forecast | A thirteen-week cash forecast with dated sources, a lowest-balance explanation and decisions for CEO review. |
| 16. Scenarios and Client Concentration | A baseline and scenario comparison with concentration definitions, sourced assumptions and a CEO decision plan. |
| 17. Borrowing and Growth Funding | Funding comparison, current debt schedule and unresolved terms for CEO review. |
| 18. Owner Pay Equity and Distributions | An owner-transaction register and a proposed-payment cash review for the CEO. |
| 19. Taxes Payroll and the Obligations Calendar | A dated tax and payroll checklist, an explained calculation of payroll amounts still owed, and a list of unresolved problems with a person responsible and next action for each. |
| 20. Equipment Automation and Investment | An investment comparison with cash timing, benefit evidence and an implementation measurement plan. |
| 21. Office Space and Expansion | A comparable space and expansion worksheet with cash timing, contract obligations and a slower-growth case. |
| 22. Buying and Integrating Another MSP | A diligence request list, earnings reconciliation, funding worksheet and integration cash plan. |
| 23. Business Value and Sale Readiness | A sale-readiness evidence register, supported earnings reconciliation and price-to-proceeds template. |
| 24. The Finance Decision Capstone | A complete company finance-review packet with source notes, reconciliations, cash commitments, exceptions and a CEO decision record. |
3Monthly close checklist template
| Check | Evidence and exception | Prepared / reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Billing completeness and service-period cutoff | Contract list, Syncro invoices and accounting totals | _____ / _____ |
| Bank and card reconciliations | Statements, book balances, outstanding items | _____ / _____ |
| Customer and vendor balances | Aging detail, credits, payables and disputed items | _____ / _____ |
| Payroll, benefits and tax liabilities | Register, postings, remittances and remaining obligations | _____ / _____ |
| Prepayments, equipment, depreciation and debt | Schedules and approved accountant adjustments | _____ / _____ |
| Three-statement review and close approval | P&L, balance sheet, cash explanation and unresolved items | _____ / _____ |
Add the reporting month, preparer, reviewer, completion dates and a link to each source in your working checklist. An unexplained difference remains an open item even when the software shows a balanced report.
4Monthly finance packet template
| Page or schedule | Information needed |
|---|---|
| Reported results | Revenue, COGS, gross profit, overhead, operating and net income; consistent periods and classifications. |
| Balance sheet and cash explanation | Reconciled cash, receivables, payables, cards, payroll/tax obligations, debt and equity; changes explained. |
| Service and client economics | Contract commitments, client costs and time, coverage gaps and reconciliation to reported totals. |
| Forecast and exceptions | Actual versus forecast, dated 13-week cash forecast, assumptions changed, missing evidence and actions. |
| Decisions | Recommendation, alternatives, cash effect, capacity effect, downside, approval and review date. |
5Weekly cash schedule template
| Row | Calculation or evidence |
|---|---|
| Opening cash | First week: reconciled starting cash for the selected accounts. Later weeks: prior week closing cash. |
| Customer receipts | Dated invoice collections, including timing assumptions and disputed amounts. |
| Other inflows | Loan proceeds or owner contributions separately identified. |
| Payments | Payroll bank dates, taxes, vendors, cards, loan principal/interest and capital purchases, without duplicate costs. |
| Closing cash | Opening cash + customer receipts + other inflows - payments. |
| Cash minimum and headroom | CEO-approved minimum; headroom = closing cash - minimum. |
| Actual versus prior forecast | Replace elapsed weeks with bank actuals; explain timing and amount differences. |
6Decision memo template
| Field | Your input |
|---|---|
| Decision and alternatives | Approve, defer, decline, or a smaller alternative; what commitment is being considered? |
| Inputs and evidence | Approved source totals, dates, contract evidence, quotes and explicit assumptions. |
| Profit effect | Incremental revenue and costs, including replacement labor and ongoing obligations. |
| Cash effect | Initial payment, payment dates, funding, working capital, minimum cash and downside. |
| Operational effect | Capacity, service quality, dependencies and integration workload. |
| Recommendation and authority | What the admin manager can support; what the CEO approves; accountant/attorney questions. |
| Review | Named owner, next check date and conditions that change the recommendation. |
7Completion criteria
You can complete the course when the admin manager can trace an invoice, bill and payment through the books; reconcile balances; prepare a monthly close and report packet; and explain a report exception without guessing. The CEO and admin manager should also be able to build a forecast together and explain how a proposed decision changes profit, cash and capacity.
The final capstone uses the supplied reports and your approved company inputs. Any missing evidence is listed with a next action and owner. Keep an unverified result unavailable rather than replacing a missing cost, payment date or client balance with zero.